|Carmen's POV
I spent eight years with him, and it wasn't until a few months before my eighteenth birthday that I understood what the look in his eyes meant.
Desire. Unfiltered desire.
We were siblings, and the thought of it disgusted me. He was my brother, and I might have been able to ignore it if he wasn't so perfect at everything.
Father adored him—enough that my future started to blare in red every time he sent me off and beckoned my brother closer.
"Well done, Nico! Your aim was perfect! As usual!" Father praised him as I walked behind them, sweating and wiping my face.
My gaze fixed on their backs as I glared, careful to hide my frustration.
My aim had been abhorrent. Another word for bad—and it wasn't for lack of trying.
Having had enough of staring at their backs, I turned to head to my room, only to be surprised by footsteps behind me some minutes later.
I turned around to see Nico standing about a foot away on the stairs, a smile on his face. One that would have looked innocent and naive if not for the look in his eyes.
He was about five years older than me, and he looked at me like he wanted nothing more than to take a bite out of me.
"Carmen! I can show you a few tricks! It would improve your aim," he offered, as he usually did, and I instantly turned him down like usual.
"Thanks, but I'll manage!" I said, aware that he desperately wanted to get closer, like a puppy wagging its tail in front of its master.
It was obvious he fancied me and not the way a brother should to his sister.
The thought disgusted me even more as I walked away.
He's nothing more than Father's adopted son. He would still have to serve me when I take over, I thought to myself.
But all that changed when I heard a maid whispering as I got closer to my room, Nico having turned back to head to his own.
"Nico is so handsome. Apart from his Asian features from his mother, it's obvious he looks like Mr. Castillo. It's clear they are related, and he simply brought his mistress' son home," she whispered to her friend as they mopped the wide floors.
"Of course Mr. Castillo is grooming him to take over! Isn't it obvious?" the other responded as I headed past them straight into my room.
I slammed the door closed as a sinking thought occurred to me, realizing that it hadn't even been that long since my mother died before he found another woman. And of all women, it had to be one with such a grown-up child.
A plan formed in my mind right then and there as I waited until nightfall before executing it.
I called Nico on his cell to my room, wearing nothing but a flimsy white robe. My heart pounded heavily in my chest as I heard a knock on my door.
"Come in!" I told him, ignoring the taste that lingered on my tongue of the wine I had drunk to find courage.
He paused at the door, staring at me for a full minute before finally taking a step in. His steps were hesitant, almost like he already knew it was a trap—one he couldn't resist. He stepped in and closed the door behind him.
He made his way toward me without my saying a word. My breathing became labored.
His slanted eyes looked even more cunning than usual as he stopped right in front of me, so close that I could smell the perfume clinging to his skin.
"Are…" he began, an almost putrid joy in his gaze. "Are you aware of what you're offering?"
I nodded slowly.
Stunned, he didn't give me a chance to back out before he closed the distance and kissed me like a man dying of thirst.
It was softer than I expected, though he expertly pushed open my lips and kissed me harder, almost like he was showing me how to do it.
I had never been kissed before. What was even more astonishing was how nice it felt. The warmth of his lips against mine felt right, my heart racing harder, threatening to explode, as I pushed against him. He instantly pulled away, giving me the space I asked for.
His eyes danced with joy as he whispered, leaning close in a way that showed he wanted much more.
"I want you to like it… I want you to like this!" he said softly, a crinkle in his eyes softening his gaze and making him seem like a young man talking to his crush.
It almost made me back out of the plan I had set in motion.
He likes me! He wants me! I could use him! He would do as I want, I thought, only to abandon the thought. Men were fickle with their desires.
Could I take the risk? The answer was obvious.
At that moment, I decided to eliminate a threat.
He leaned to kiss me again, and I screamed.
Everything happened quickly after that. A maid ran in, gasped in shock, then ran back out screaming, "RAPE!"
Nico seemed stunned, backing away, only to step forward and push the robes off my shoulders to reveal bruises he hadn't caused.
My heart raced as I schooled my emotions and spoke coldly.
"This is my house! My father—and I'm the rightful heir!" I told him, stunned when instead of running away, he took a step closer as footsteps echoed toward my room.
"Well played!" he said, a cruel glint in his eyes I had never seen before. He grabbed my head, pulled me closer, and kissed my lips, biting them, drawing a bit of blood as I gasped in pain and pushed him away. He simply smiled.
"I'll have what I'm due!" he said, his dark eyes sliding over my body as I readjusted the robe and glared at him.
"May God have mercy on your soul, brother!" I snapped as more servants ran in, along with Father and his new wife, Bianca.
"Go to hell!" I whispered underneath my breath as I watched father take one glance at me and the bruises I unveiled by pushing the robes to the side before striding towards Nico ready to unleash his fury on him .
Taken aback when Nico managed to respond before my father rained blows on him.
"…I'll see you there!" Nico whispered.
*************
It was that memory that kept flashing in my mind as the bidders called prices on me like I was cattle.
To them, I was cattle.
Father was dead, I was betrayed and drugged and whoever bought me would have a legitimate claim on his territory—my birthright.
My head still buzzed from the drugs they fed me, not enough to stop me from recognizing that I was being sold for an astronomical amount.
"100 million!"
"Five hundred, to the gentleman at the back!" the auctioneer announced, his greed dripping from every word.
"A billion!" a deep, low voice shouted, silencing the room.
The price made me bite my lip until it drew blood, realizing it was a price I could never hope to pay back.
"Sold! To the gentleman with the gold cane," the auctioneer declared.
'Cane?' I wondered, praying that whoever bought me wasn't connected to my father's rivals—the other three Dons who undoubtedly had a hand in his death.
Then everything went black.