My father sold me to the Mafia King

Chapter 120:

Olivia’s Point of View

I stood in the hallway, watching Robert and his heavy breaths, and I realized that this was the perfect moment. I approached him calmly and said: ”Today is for the girls, as you know... they are gathering in the ballroom.”

Robert stopped and turned to me with a sharp look: ”Yes... and what does this have to do with Julie?”

I interlaced my fingers and said with a soft inquiry: ”Is she allowed to join them or not?”

He cast a quick glance toward the corridor then said dryly: ”Fine... no problem.”

Robert left, while I headed directly toward Julie’s room. I pushed the door and entered; Axel was crouching beside the bed, and he growled lightly upon seeing me. I didn’t understand the secret of Robert’s insistence on leaving his dog with her, but I ignored the matter.

Julie jumped from her place and retreated backward until her back hit the wall, then she picked up a massive book and shook it in my face with a trembling threat: ”Get out, Olivia... or I will strike you!”

I drew a cold smile on my lips while examining the trembling of her hand: ”Don’t be afraid... I came to tell you that in two hours there will be a party for the girls only... come and attend.”

She lowered the book a little and scrutinized me with a look filled with suspicion: ”I am no longer a commodity... have you forgotten?”

I exhaled in boredom while adjusting my attire: ”Julie... it’s a party for the girls only, don’t you understand?”

”There are no men in it?” she asked me, trying to read my facial expressions.

”There are none.”

She took a step forward, her eyes gleaming with confusion: ”In the morning you try to kill me, and now you invite me to a party? What is happening to you?”

I moved toward the door, and before going out, I turned to her and cast a scrutinizing look at her simple clothes: ”Let’s just say that everything is more beautiful in its proper time... don’t forget to dress up; all the girls will be very elegant.”

I went out feeling the euphoria of victory; for behind that ”friendly” invitation, I am preparing a surprise for her that will make her wish the pillow had actually suffocated her in the morning.

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Julie’s Point of View

I stood before the open closet, and confusion had taken hold of me. Olivia’s intentions were not clear, but the idea of meeting the girls away from these problems perhaps amidst that noise I might find a loophole to escape, or at least, breathe away from the pressures.

I pulled out a pair of trousers and a regular shirt, but I stopped while contemplating the fabric in my hand.

I tossed them aside and said to myself defiantly: ”What is this, Julie? Come on, be brave... only the girls will be there.” My hand extended to a short gray dress that shimmered under the light, but I retreated immediately, my cheeks burning: ”Oh no... this is too bold.”

Finally, my choice settled on a blue dress; it was short but seemed more dignified, with long sleeves and a delicate opening in the back.

The fabric slid over my body, and I felt its details tracing my waist in a way I wasn’t used to. I combed my hair and let it fall over my shoulders and put on some makeup, then I sprayed my perfume.

When I put on the silver heels, I looked in the mirror; the girl standing there didn’t resemble me. I said to myself: ”Today I will forget the pressures of everything I’ve been through.”

I left the room and walked toward the hall. As soon as I opened the door, a wave of loud music hit my face. I closed the door behind me and stood watching the girls scattered in their full elegance on the luxurious sofas.

Olivia was not around, but I glimpsed Sarah. Despite the dryness of our last meeting, I headed toward her; for she was the only familiar face to me. I approached her and said in a low voice: ”Hello, Sarah.”

Sarah replied in a curt tone: ”Hello, Julie.”

I sat beside her on the sofa, and I felt the tension in my shoulder muscles: ”Sarah... if you are thinking about Olivia’s words, I swear to you it’s not true.”

Sarah looked at me with eyes filled with doubt, then said dryly: ”Fine, Julie.” It was clear she didn’t believe me, but she soon changed her tone while admiring my appearance: ”You look different today... I mean, you are beautiful.”

I smiled shyly: ”Thank you, Sarah... you are also very beautiful.” I felt looks piercing my side, so I turned to find ”the red-haired girl” staring at me with a strange stillness; perhaps she is still resentful because of the Carlos incident.

I whispered to myself bitterly: ”Well done, Julie; it seems everyone you meet, you give them an unforgettable image of yourself.”

Sarah extended a glass of wine toward me: ”Here, take it.”

I moved my head back a little: ”No... I don’t drink.”

Sarah frowned and said insistently: ”Come on, Julie... just one glass.”

I took the glass from her, feeling the coldness of the glass in my hand. I drained it in one gulp.

Immediately, I felt a strange and strong taste stinging my tongue and a sudden heat exploding in my stomach.

Sarah burst out laughing seeing me: ”You can’t drink it like that! A small sip each time.”

I said while wiping my lips, my body shivering from the strength of the drink: ”But its taste is bad!”

”You’ll get used to it,” she said as she poured me a second glass. I took it from her and tried this time to sip it slowly as she did.

I took another sip from the glass and felt the numbness creeping to the tips of my tongue, then I felt a shadow standing over my head. I raised my gaze slowly; the red-haired girl was standing at her full height looking at me.

She said: ”Hello, I am Luna.”

I adjusted my seating a little and answered her in a lethargic tone: ”Hello, Luna, I am Julie.”

She squeezed herself into the small space beside me on the sofa and said: ”I saw you that time when you came to Mr. Carlos.”

I nodded my head while remembering the features of the dark room on that day: ”Yes, that’s right.”

She tilted her head toward me, examining my dress with narrowed eyes: ”And who are you here? In what capacity?”

I said while trying to maintain the steadiness of my voice: ”I am Mr. Robert’s personal assistant.”

She raised her eyebrows as if evaluating the word in her mind: ”Hmm... I see.”

Then she rose suddenly and extended her hand toward me: ”Let’s dance.”

I moved my body back, sinking into the sofa more: ”No... no, I feel tired, you dance.”

Luna left me and headed toward the center of the hall, where she began to sway with the rest of the girls. I was watching them feeling bewildered; their bodies were moving with amazing flexibility and a strange harmony that made me shrink into myself, realizing I would never be able to shake my body in that way.

Sarah interrupted my wandering thoughts while moving her glass in the air: ”And how did you find the work, Julie?”

I felt a lump in my throat, so I said bitterly: ”It’s bad... I can’t stand being with that lowlife Robert.”

Sarah turned toward me with her whole body and seemed interested suddenly: ”And what do you do? I mean, what are the things Mr. Robert needs your assistance with?”

I swung the glass between my trembling fingers: ”Well, he asks me to take care of his dog, or bring his coffee, and also help him in reviewing the files.”

She pursed her lips and nodded her head slowly: ”Hmm... fine.”

I approached her more, feeling my hand gripping the edge of her dress unconsciously, and whispered desperately: ”Sarah... I want to escape from here, do you have an idea about that?”

Sarah’s features changed immediately; the spark in her eyes faded and she turned her face away from me, sighing in frustration: ”Julie... I told you before that there is no way to escape.”

Sarah extended the third glass toward me, so I felt my head getting a bit heavy. I pushed her hand away and said firmly: ”No... enough of what I’ve drunk.”

She tried to convince me while bringing the glass close to my lips: ”Come on, Julie, it won’t hurt you.” But I shook my head in categorical rejection; for the memory of my past drunkenness and the clouds that obscured my memory then made me cling to the edge of the sofa tightly.

At that moment, a dark-skinned girl I hadn’t seen before approached. She spread her palm before me to show colored candy pieces.

She asked me in a calm tone: ”Do you want one?”

I picked up a piece and thanked her for her kindness, then the girl left quietly. I unwrapped it and put it in my mouth.

After minutes, I felt a sudden contraction in my lower abdomen and an urgent desire to go to the bathroom. I turned to Sarah and asked in frustration: ”Is there a bathroom here?”

Sarah replied without looking at me: ”There isn’t one.”

I rose with a body swaying a little and went out of the hall. I found Olivia standing in the hallway, and as soon as she saw me, she tried to push me by my shoulder to return me inside, but I slipped away from her and said with losing patience: ”I want to go to the bathroom!”

I left her and walked toward my room. I entered the bathroom hurriedly then went out.

And suddenly... everything changed.

I froze in my place feeling a wave of heat coursing from my fingertips toward my heart; a strange energy began to explode inside my body as if I were charged with electricity.

My eyes widened and I felt that my senses had multiplied a hundred times; the silence around me became noise, and I began to hear with terrifying clarity the sound of my blood as it flowed and roared inside my veins, and the sound of my heartbeats pounding hard.

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Carlos’s Point of View

I stepped into the hallway, and suddenly my body froze in place; Julie was standing there at the door of her room.

My heart contracted with a force that shook my chest as she appeared in that blue dress; the fabric was hugging the curves of her body accurately, and her long legs stood out with a breathtaking softness under the dim light.

I approached her, feeling saliva filling my throat as I said: ”Hello, Julie.”

She turned toward me, and a wide smile appeared on her lips that I hadn’t seen before.

Instead of retreating as was her habit, she rushed toward me with a sudden lightness, and I felt the touch of her warm lips on my cheek. I froze in my place, my eyes widening in bewilderment; am I in a dream?

She whispered in a voice full of playfulness: ”Hello, you troublemaker!”

I knitted my brows, feeling anxiety seeping into me; where did the ”Mr. Carlos” she used to utter with formality go? I asked her while examining her dilated pupils: ”Are you okay, Julie?”

The words began to come out of her mouth with an unnatural speed, as she moved her hands in the air with agitation: ”Yes, I am fine, don’t you worry... where are the flowers? Didn’t you bring me flowers this time?”

Then suddenly, her fingers extended to touch my earring gently, and she said while tilting her head: ”Your earring is very beautiful, and it really suits you.”

Before I could comprehend what she was doing, she leaned and snatched my cane from my hand.

She began waving it right and left as if she were holding a sword, jumping with unsteady steps as she cried out: ”Look at me... I know how to fight!”

I realized then that her mind was not with her. I gripped her hand gently and said trying to calm her: ”Fine, Julie... come with me so we can enter the room.”

Quite simply, her hand slid into my palm, and she clung to my fingers with an unexpected strength as she said with a vacant smile: ”Let’s enter.”

As soon as we entered, she began to spin around herself in the center of the room frantically.

Her feet tripped and her leg collided with the corner of the wooden table with a force that made a muffled sound, but she didn’t blink, and her face didn’t contract in pain, as if her body had separated from feeling.

I rushed toward her and grabbed her shoulders to steady her in her place: ”Julie... calm down!”

She raised her face toward me, and touched my cheek with her trembling fingers, and said with withered eyes: ”You look handsome today.”

I felt heat invading my face; I know she is not in her senses, but her words pierced my defenses. I whispered to her in a low voice: ”And you look very beautiful, Julie.”

At that moment, the door was pushed and Olivia entered. She froze in her place and said in a surprised tone: ”You are here, Mr. Carlos? Sorry, I didn’t know.”

Julie turned toward her slowly, and her features changed to sudden coldness, then she pointed her finger toward Olivia while looking at me with a terrifying seriousness: ”Do you know, Carlos? This bitch tried to kill me twice!”