Chapter 2 Acquired Merchandise

At ten sharp, a black sedan weaved through the dusky road to deliver Eleanor to the mountainside manor as promised. The atmospheric and tranquil environment around the house only served to accentuate the extravagance of its interiors. On arrival, the young woman was promptly ushered into a room. Servants fussed over her as they invited her to soak in the bathwater prepared. They then assisted her into a nightgown before leading her to the bed. Nary a crease was discernible upon the sheets as Eleanor lay in the darkness with only her own breath and the rhythmic thumping against her chest for company. Click.Her heart stopped when she heard the door. With her lids clamped down tight, she dreaded for what was to come next. She had not the slightest inkling of how old the man was, what he looked like, and whether he was married. Heck, she was not even certain if he was potent. After all, it was a somewhat reasonable concern - otherwise, why would he need her to bear him a child. As time ticked by, his pending footsteps only served to compound her restlessness as they neared. Following that, she felt the warmth of the sheets retreat. In its place crept a seeking hand that prowled its way up and chilled her skin to the bone. “Ah!” Eleanor yelped shrilly. At this very moment, she felt her body ravished by a pair of despoiling eyes that threatened to violate her very being. The irrepressible aura of a natural aristocrat filled the air and descended over her. “Are you afraid?” The voice of her to-be partner was husky and deep. She tried to rein in her runaway heartbeat as her own thoughts went amok and left her short of breath. The impetus towards acquiring the four million her father desperately needed prompted Eleanor’s lips to shakily enunciate, “I... I’m a little scared, but I can do this.” When these words left her lips, another part of her wanted to skewer her own tongue. For one who had never even dated, she struggled just to wrap her head around the fact that she was about to engage in carnal relations and conceive children with someone whom she had never even met. “We can leave the light on. Perhaps that might help.” The man seemed accommodating enough as he groped through the shadows for the switch on the wall. But he was stopped. “No... don’t.” It was almost like she was begging to nullify at least one of her senses, as she had not the strength to face head-on the events that were to unfold. The man paused before he withdrew his hand. Just as her guard was lowered, she felt her wrists being seized upon, and her mind blanked out instantly. It was as if her nervous system had gone into overdrive. Her survival instincts then took over as she tried to twist herself free. It was not even remotely a contest as the male’s strength far surpassed that of hers. “Please... No...” the diminutive girl struggled in vain against these tendrils of terror. Yet, her futile attempt at resistance accomplished nothing more than to rouse the man’s ire. Suddenly, his advance halted. “Are you... not willing?” The man’s inflection dropped a few notches. “Do you regret agreeing to this?” This question was met by silence, and then the temperature dropped a few notches. “Do you not understand the purpose of your being here?” He then narrowed his eyes. “If it’s not something you want, I won’t force you. You could leave now.” Leave... Is he letting me go? As soon as she came to her senses, her stepmother’s words revisited. I’m sure you couldn’t bear to watch your father die, could you? “No... I won’t leave...” She simply could not. As she said that, she held his hand tightly while her whole being trembled involuntarily. When he stilled himself, his tone grew colder. “Shall I show you how?” Eleanor bit her lip as she shook her head. He then resumed from where he left off. Slowly, his fingers traced their way down her torso while hers tensed around the sheets. “Sir... It’s my first. So... could you be gentle with me?” the young one implored reticently. That sparked a chuckle from the man. Now that he had smelled the fear of his prey, he meant to crush her will. The girl’s face ran red to the ears. Never before had her veins experienced such shame. Perhaps, it was her fate to be made a woman this day.