Ophelia was still crying when she heard a loud knock on the door. She couldn't even move from where she was sitting, immersed in her thoughts.
She couldn't even think of what to do or how to move on with her life.
Bang! Bang!! Bang!!! The knock grew harder, but again, Ophelia just looked at it without saying a word. Milana, who was already frustrated by the whole situation, stood up and opened the door, with tears still streaming from her eyes horribly.
What she saw baffled her so much that she left her mouth agape as some hefty men, led by Adrain, walked in angrily, all their eyes cold.
They kept scattering everywhere and searching for what remained unknown. Before Milana could even think of saying a word, she was pushed to the side, causing her to fall abruptly.
Seeing this, Ophelia jumped up from where she was sitting, curious to find out what was happening.
"What the hell is happening?" she yelled and rushed to help Milana sit up. They all ignored her and kept searching and throwing their stuff up and down.
Ophelia stood up with confidence and went to meet Adrain, who stood in place directing the guards.
"Please, who are you? Why are you doing this to us?" Ophelia asked patiently, trying not to be rude, but Adrain merely glanced at her without saying a word.
Suddenly, one of the men yelled, "I found it!" One of them said, raising Ophelia's bag. He brought it forward and gave it to Adrain, who angrily threw everything in the bag out and kept on searching till he found the wallet Ophelia saw on her way home inside.
That's when it hit her that she forgot to toss the wallet out because of the shock of her mother's death.
"Who owns this bag?" Adrain said angrily, making Ophelia shiver in fear.
"I…I…a..m the owner," Ophelia said, stammering.
"Take her," Adrain said simply and walked out. Ophelia tried to explain, but she was dragged away before she could even say a word.
Ophelia looked back and assured Milana that everything would be okay.
She was dragged inside a black van and was blindfolded.
************
Ophelia woke up to find herself in a dark room with her hands tied. She tried to move, but she couldn't. She looked around, and everything was dark and silent. She couldn't even see a thing.
Suddenly, she saw some rays of light and heard the sound of heavy metal. She looked in that direction, and the door opened with a roar.
She saw some pairs of shoes entering, and she slowly closed her eyes again, pretending to be asleep.
"Wake her up," she heard that cold voice as some cold water was splashed on her. She jumped up abruptly as the guards untied her hands.
Rome, unable to conceal his excitement, looked at the woman crawling on the floor. "So, you think you can succeed by running off with my money, right?" he said and angrily grabbed Ophelia by the chin. But what he saw next shocked him so much that he quickly let her go and walked out.
Ophelia, who already guessed that he was the owner of the wallet, was not surprised, but what remained unclear to her was why he ran out after seeing her face.
She looked up and saw all of them walking back out again. The door was closed, and everything went dark.
"What the hell was that?" Rome asked, completely annoyed.
"I don't know what you are talking about," Adrain asked, confused.
"That girl is completely new. I don't even know who she is. Why do you always have to mess things up for me, Adrain? Why?" Rome yelled while ruffling his hair.
"I'm sorry, but the wallet was found in her house, and the way she was acting, everything about her was suspicious, so I didn't know what else to do," Adrain replied, trying to explain.
"I will take care of it. Just give me her details that you've collected," Rome replied plainly.
He was given her details, and after going through them for a while, he commanded the guards, "Bring her out."
"Yes, sir," they replied in unison and brought Ophelia out. Seeing the rays of sunlight, she fell and sprained her knee.
"Ahhhh!" she hissed in pain as the guards helped her up and guided her toward Rome.
"Sit," Rome commanded plainly without looking at her.
Without saying a word, Ophelia sat down silently.
"Why did you steal my wallet?" Rome asked, still not looking at her face.
Ophelia bit her lower lip silently in pain while grabbing the hem of her dress. She was confused about what to say.
It was true that she took the wallet, but at the same time, she saw it on the floor, so it was not completely her fault.
Rome looked at the girl in front of him. Seeing that she was already shivering without saying a word, he smiled faintly.
"Don't worry, I won't kill you now, and I will make sure you don't end up in prison. But there is a price to pay for that," Rome said with a smirk.
Hearing that, Ophelia looked up immediately, and her eyes met his. She looked straight into his eyes and finally opened her mouth.
"And the price is?" she said boldly without averting her gaze.
"You bitch!" Adrain yelled, already pissed by her reaction, but Rome stopped him halfway.
He stood up from where he was sitting and walked closer to her. Seeing that Ophelia was still not averting her gaze, he laughed loudly.
"Ha..ha..ha, I like smart girls," he said and sat back on the couch with his legs crossed.
"You will marry me! You will be my contract wife until I'm ready to free you, and in turn, I will take care of your mother's burial and your sister's schooling."
Rome said as he sipped some wine. He paused and continued, "I won't ask for your opinion or persuade you to say yes."
"But surely, you can't afford to say no because I don't take that for an answer," he said with a commanding tone.
Before Ophelia could open her mouth to say a word, he had already left with Adrain, leaving her hanging.