An instant later, she was fully aware of everything surrounding her, but incapable of responding in any way. Not a single sound came out of her mouth. She couldn’t even open it.

The man pushed a button and she stood up as if he controlled her completely.

No! She’d heard of things like this, but she’d always thought they were lying about them.

Why would Darling do this to her?

Why do you think? Could he really hate her so much that he’d let this become her fate?

Her heart shattered as the truth stared her straight in the eyes. In the end, he was an aristo. Buying and selling people like her came naturally to him.

With a satisfied smirk, the man forced her to walk out of the cell. “I’ll send your credits to you after the auction.”

“Thanks.”

Once they were alone, the man stopped Zarya so that he could touch her hair and smell it. “Too bad the prince is gay. Sometimes I can get a lot more money for a prince’s whore. Male plebs like to take possession of something they know was used by a blue blood. It makes them feel important.”

If she’d been able to, she’d have laughed at his words. Darling wasn’t gay. Not by a long shot.

But who would ever believe her?

The man’s eyes softened as he released her hair. “Don’t worry. We’ll find you a worthy master.”

You’re not going to find me anything. She’d kill herself before she allowed him to sell her.

And as he forced her to walk in front of him, she realized that death was the only outcome she could have.

It’s all right. At least in death, she’d be with her family again.

Darling stared at the scars on his face. After all the surgeries and pain…

He looked even more like a twisted freak than he had before.

It’d been bad enough when only half his face was scarred. But this was revolting. They had literally butchered him. There wasn’t an unmarked inch left anywhere on his face or neck.

“You’re going to remember us. Every time you look in a mirror, Your Putrid Highness, you’re going to think back and know that your family is the one to blame for your deformity. They wouldn’t pay two creds to save you. You’re going to wear their cruelty on your face the way we wear it in our hearts.” Pip’s voice rang in his ears. His only wish was that his friends had saved Pip for him. That heartless bastard was the one he’d wanted to rip to shreds the most.

Then again, he had a long list. Not everyone who’d attacked him had been there when the Sentella had freed him.

But soon they would meet again. And this time, he wasn’t chained…

He looked down at his hand where Syn had attached a cybernetic finger to replace the one Pip had cut off. At least it looked natural.

Unlike his face.