My husband auctioned off my virginity publicly.

All because I told his first love we were getting married.

He spiked me with sex pills and let his friends take turns with me.

I managed to escape by stabbing myself.

He had no idea I was the precious daughter of the CEO he'd been trying so hard to please.

His days were numbered.

***

After the wedding, I found Brad Dunn in a private room at the restaurant with my phone in my hand.

He was bargaining with his friends. "150,000 dollars for a night. Not a penny less!"

"Come on, Brad. Even if Lara's still a virgin, that's way too much!"

"Too much? I just married her, OK? You know what? I'm raising the price!"

They burst into laughter.

"Brad, it's your wedding night, and you're here drinking with us instead of being with Lara. Aren't you worried she might get upset?"

"I wanna see her get upset. She deserved it. She deliberately flaunted it in front of Whitney. I was already down for not being able to marry the woman I love. But hey, I've got ... these." He took out a blister pack of white pills. "She'll be so high, she won't even know who's touching her."

My phone slid to the floor, and tears followed.

"Brad, that post you made about auctioning your wedding night? Must've got hundreds of likes, right?"

Smiling complacently, Brad nodded and said, "Yeah, something like that."

"What if Lara sees it? Won't she come after you?"

Brad sneered, "Please. I'll just tell her I was joking. What's she going to do? Throw a tantrum?"

His friends clapped their hands together, fawning, "No wonder Lara chased after you for years. You've got serious charm, Brad. But what did she do to piss you off this much? You actually went and made a virginity auction post?"

Brad raised an eyebrow as he was praised.

"She showed off in front of Whitney. Not marrying Whitney is my biggest regret. If I don't teach her a lesson now, she'll keep strutting around like she won something."

He looked down at his phone, scrolled for a bit, and then smirked. "Found it!"

With this, he held up his phone.

"Don't tell me it's not worth it. Look at her body-those curves! Still think she's not worth 150,000 dollars?"

His friends cheered and whistled lewdly.

I wanted to rush inside to stop Brad from continuing, but my body trembled violently. My throat felt blocked, raw, and burning.

Brad and I had been engaged since we were little.

Three years ago, when his family hit a financial crisis, he suddenly reappeared in my life.

I fell for him at first sight and chased him hard. We got together quickly.

He was so considerate. He always deboned fish for me, peeled shrimp for me, opened the car door for me, and ordered the food I liked...

His thoughtfulness made everyone envy me.

Seeing how happy I was, doubled down on helping the Dunn family, expanding their reach in the semiconductor market, and landing them two major contracts. Meanwhile, the wedding became the next step.

A month before the wedding, a woman named Whitney Bond suddenly came to our door, telling me she was Brad's beloved.

What did Brad do back then?

He crouched down in front of me, his eyes filled with guilt and anxiety.

"Lara, listen to me. You're the only one I love. Whitney is full of crap. Don't fall for her lies. From now on, make sure she doesn't know anything we do, or things will be so tricky."

I thought he was telling me the truth, that it was all Whitney's wishful thinking. But...

I posted a wedding photo on Instagram and forgot to block her. On that very night, she posted a video on Instagram, too.

In the video, she was all sad and drunk. Her eyes were glistening with tears, which streamed down her fair cheeks. The single tear clinging to her nose tip further added a touch to her vulnerability.

In the small hours, Brad's friends carried him back home, and he was totally wasted.

I was so worried as I saw him and asked them what had happened. One of them glanced at me and said, "What do you think? He didn't get to marry the woman he loves."

At the time, I didn't follow.

Now that I thought about it, it was probably one of the signs.

Whitney was the one Brad loved. As for me? I was nothing but a necessary means to get the Dunn family back on their feet.

I didn't know how I managed to walk out of the restaurant. My eyes were bloodshot as my parents' words of advice before they left echoed in my mind.

I looked up, thinking, "Sorry, Mom. Sorry, Dad. I chose a man who doesn't love me and threw my happiness away..."

Brad didn't love me, so he didn't give a toss about my dignity or my feelings. He made me, along with our wedding night that I had always longed for, the biggest laughingstock.

I walked back to our apartment alone. Looking around at the place I meticulously decorated and the sexy lingerie I chose for tonight, I covered my face and burst into tears.

Then my phone rang.

"Lara, where are you?"

I wiped away my tears. "I'm..."

In the next second, the door to the apartment was burst open.

"Brad, Lara is in your apartment alone!"

A dozen of men barged in. My hands trembled, and my phone fell to the floor. I immediately crossed my arms over my chest as a gesture to protect myself.

"Come on, Lara. Don't be shy."

A man reeking of alcohol swaggered forward, and the smell sickened me.

His gaze fell on the silk lingerie on the bed, and he hooked it with his finger, smiling lewdly.

"Brad wants us to come here to be with you..."

I tried my best to stay calm and composed. "Get out! I have surveillance in here!"

To my surprise, he was even more excited.

He sat next to me, checking me out.

"Drop the act, you slut. Your husband is with another woman on your wedding night."

"Indeed. We've all seen your photo with most of your tits out. Stop pretending you're so sacred."

"Sacred? Give me a break. She actually asked Brad to sell her virginity, OK? Only sluts would do that."

I quickly denied it, "I didn't!"

Tears streamed down my cheeks. My bestie took the photo for me, and I only sent it to Brad.

The man suddenly wasn't in the mood to tease me anymore.

He was about to touch my body when someone chuckled at the door.

"It's Brad's wedding night. Of course, I'll show up and celebrate."

It was Whitney.

Upon entering, she saw me surrounded by a group of men. She arched an eyebrow, and I saw the hickeys on her collarbones.

Coupled with the complacent look in her eyes, I couldn't help but wonder...

"I'm sorry, Lara, for being late. The puppy I got is so needy," she said and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. I was shocked to see Brad's wedding ring on her finger.

Then she pulled out two glasses of wine out of nowhere and handed me one. "I'm sorry that I missed the wedding. Here's a toast. No hard feelings, OK?"

The men burst into laughter. "Brad is so weak. Whitney actually still has the energy to come here and rub it in Lara's face?"

"What the heck do you know? The Dunn Group is about to be listed soon. They no longer need the Mendoza family, and of course, Lara is no good to Brad."

I kept shrinking back as the pills in Brad's hand emerged in my mind.

Who knew if the wine in Whitney's hand was tampered with?

"Take it away! I'm not going to drink it!"

I raised my voice, only to be teased.

"Lara, I feel disrespected."

Whitney grabbed my wrist and pulled me closer to her.

Leaning close to my ear, she whispered, "Sorry, Lara.

"I spent Brad's wedding night with him. As for yours... Are you worried that I drug you? Lara, you poor thing. You've already been drugged; the wine you drank with Brad was tampered with."

My mind went blank.

At the wedding, Brad said to me, "Lara, let's drink."

I was intoxicated by his eyes filled with affection.

Blushing, I drank it in one gulp.

So, that was when he drugged me?

"Lara?" Brad's familiar voice rang out as he walked in with a gentle smile.

Today, he buttoned his shirt all the way up, which was the first time. But I could still see the hickeys underneath, which screamed what he had done.

I bit my lip and clenched my fists so hard that my nails dug into my palms. The pain was so real.

He sat next to me, took my hands, and put them down.

"What are you doing? They're all my friends. You don't trust us?" he asked.

Suddenly, everything became a blur. A surge of heat in my lower abdomen shot through my body, and suddenly, I found the room unbearably hot.

"Look at her! Brad, it seems the pills have kicked in."

"Brad, are you sure we can do this?" The man in the lead double-checked.

Smiling, Brad said, "Of course. The Mendoza family is in trouble lately, and it'll take them quite a while to recover. Man up and do whatever you want. I got your back."

With the last bit of my sanity, I clutched Brad's arm, bursting into tears. "Tell me, Brad. Why?"

Why would he do this to me? I loved him wholeheartedly. Why would he hurt me like this?

Brad's eyes were bloodshot as he gripped my chin.

"Lara, your family has done so many lousy things. This is just the beginning."

Then he flicked his wrist, and I fell into bed.

My limbs were all weak due to the pills. Without shooting me a glance, Brad wrapped his arm around Whitney's shoulders and walked out.

Before stepping out of the door, she turned back to look at me triumphantly.

Once they were gone, all the men came forward to tear at my clothes.

"Help..." I wanted to cross my arms around my chest, but I had no strength at all. Soon, my body was exposed in mid-air.

They surrounded the bed, leaving me nowhere to run. I wanted to crawl away, but someone gripped my ankle and pulled me to the side of the bed. In the next second, pairs of hands reached out to grope my body.

I bit my tongue so hard that I tasted blood. Finally, I got some strength back.

Then I remembered the pair of scissors my mom put under my pillow. She said they were to keep bad things away from me.

Gritting my teeth, I tried to move toward the head of the bed. Meanwhile, they ran their hands over my body while whistling, licking their lips, and saying all kinds of nasty things.

"Fuck yeah."

"Virgins are indeed different. See? Every part of her body is so tender. I couldn't imagine how Brad managed to keep it in his pants for so long."

"Who cares? We got to pop her cherry. That's what matters."

"Let's do it together!"

Someone had found their way to my private part, and I couldn't help but pant due to the drugs while waves of pleasure made me have hallucinations.

I continued to bite my tongue hard, and a trace of blood streamed down from the corner of my mouth.

The man in the lead clutched my chin and slapped me hard. "You fucking bitch! Stop acting like we're raping you!"

Finally, I touched the scissors under my pillow.

"Don't come over!" I yanked out the scissors and aimed them at the men.

"My, my. You've got tools? Lara, you're into BDSM? We don't mind playing along."

They weren't scared at all; someone even laughed out loud.

With all my remaining strength, I wrapped my arms around my body, and the scene where their hands were all over my body kept coming back to me.

I raised the scissors high and stabbed my belly. Immediately, the whole room fell silent.

Without giving them a chance to react, I stabbed myself again. The sharp pain overwhelmed me, counteracting the drugs while bringing back my consciousness.

"You want me to die? Fine!"

My blood stained the bedsheet as I lost all my strength. Finally, I passed out due to the massive loss of blood.