My father sold me to the Mafia King

Chapter 32: 32/Wink Code

Chapter Thirty-Two:

Julie’s point of view

I rose from the floor, where I had been kneeling amidst the books, and looked him directly in the eyes eyes no longer inhabited by fear.

I said with a deathly coldness:

”Good morning, my little boss.”

His face darkened instantly. I saw the muscles of his jaw tighten with suppressed rage as he asked in a sharp tone:

”Who are you calling little?”

I stepped into the center of the room, challenging him within my own space, and said with certainty:

”You.”

He began to walk with slow, deliberate steps away from the door, his eyes never leaving mine.

”I see you’re trying to fight a new war, Julie. It seems everything that happened yesterday failed to make you submit.”

I clapped my hands together loudly; I felt a delicious sting in my palms. I began to circle him like a hunter surrounding its prey, saying:

”There you go... you’re starting to know me well.”

Amazement peeked from behind his mask. Yesterday, I was a wreck on the edge of the abyss, and today... today, a new soul was born from the ashes of brokenness. He said in his raspy voice, carrying a tone of threat:

”Then you are ready for tonight’s party.”

I stood directly in front of him, lifted my chin, and said defiantly:

”Of course I am ready... in fact, I am excited!”

He raised his eyebrows in disbelief, seeing my enthusiasm for a party I had once wished to die before attending. He muttered in shock:

”You’ve truly surprised me.”

I closed my eyes for a second and whispered to myself:

”There are many surprises, Mr. Robert, that wouldn’t even cross your mind.”

Then, I slapped my palm against his in a striking gesture and said:

”Now, we shall discuss what I lack, Mr. Robert.”

He looked at me with confusion and remained silent, so I continued in a commanding tone:

”I want a small desk, paper, and pens. And since your immense generosity has poured over me like rain and you’ve brought all these books, I need a small library worthy of them.”

I watched his face as he tried to decode the ciphers of my mind. Perhaps he was wondering: Who is this madwoman standing before me? He said mockingly:

”Julie... don’t you think your requests are becoming too many? Especially since you do nothing here that benefits me.”

The bastard! He wanted me to ”benefit” him in the arms of his filthy men.

I swallowed his insult and decided not to let anything poison my calm. I took a step forward and said:

”I will sing for you tonight, remember?”

He put his hands in his pockets and said coldly:

”Hmm... I think this singing will cause me a great deal of headache.”

I returned to my books, kneeling to check the titles, and said without looking at him:

”You told me before that you never knew the easy way. Have you changed your principles, Mr. Robert?”

He fell silent for a moment before answering stiffly:

”My principles do not change.”

I said with a victorious smile:

”Then... endure the headache.”

I heard the thud of his shoes approaching on the marble until his shadow completely covered me. He said in a low voice:

”I will fulfill your request, but I want you to dazzle the audience tonight.”

I smiled and looked up at him; he looked like a towering mountain. I said:

”I will dazzle you, Mr. Robert, not just the audience.”

He leaned down slightly, approaching my face until I felt his breath, and said:

”If you ruin this...”

He paused, and I felt a slight shiver of terror trying to creep into me, but I clung to my smile. He finished:

”You know what will happen.”

I shifted my gaze back to the books and said nonchalantly:

”Rest and don’t think about such things... you worry too much for no reason.”

I stood up suddenly and reached out boldly to adjust the blue handkerchief in the pocket of his dark red blazer. I whispered in front of his face:

”It will be a night to remember.”

This moment was interrupted by the entrance of the elegant Olivia, looking as if she were the star of the show; her golden dress was almost blinding.

She looked at us in shock, and I realized my hand was still on his blazer, so I withdrew it quickly, as if I had been caught in a suspicious position.

Robert said stiffly:

”Olivia, you’ve arrived at the right time. Prepare Julie tonight to be the star of the stage.”

Olivia glared at me with eyes sparking with hatred and said:

”Yes, Mr. Robert... do not worry.”

He moved to leave, saying:

”I trust you.”

But, in an involuntary movement, I grabbed his massive arm it felt like a concrete pillar my fingers couldn’t even encircle and said firmly:

”I will not wear anything revealing.”

Robert smiled with a clear irony, looking at my current clothes before saying in a mocking tone:

”What? Do you intend to sing while wearing trousers and a shirt?”

I swallowed his veiled insult and fixed my gaze on him intensely, saying:

”I will wear a dress... but on the condition that it is long.”

He didn’t argue. Instead, he gave a meaningful wink with his left eye toward Olivia and said in a voice carrying a hidden command:

”Bring her a long dress then.”

He then turned and left the room with heavy steps, leaving behind air laden with the scent of his perfume and tension.

I was left alone with Olivia, who looked at me as if she wanted to tear me apart with her golden dress.

That wink wasn’t just an agreement; it seemed like a code between them, as if the ”long dress” he agreed to wouldn’t be what I imagined.

A cold shiver ran through me, but I didn’t waver. The battle had already begun, and I no longer cared about the garment as much as I cared about the poison I would feed him that night.

Olivia approached me with quick steps like a snake preparing to strike.

She grabbed my wrist with a force that almost crushed the bone, screaming in my face with a voice full of malice:

”This hand... what was it doing on Mr. Robert’s blazer?!”

I pulled my hand away with great difficulty. Damn this woman; her physical strength rivaled the cruelty of her heart. I said coldly:

”Nothing.”

But she wasn’t satisfied. She squeezed my hand again violently, threatening:

”Next time, I will break it for you, Julie!”

In that moment, the volcano I had been suppressing exploded. I pushed her with all the strength I possessed and screamed in her face:

”Who do you think you are, you psychopath?! Am I a child standing before you to be lectured every time because of your pathetic master?!”

I saw her lose her mind. She raised her hand high in the air, attempting to slap me with all her might, but I was faster than her rage.

I stepped back gracefully toward the boxes of books and picked up the heaviest book my hand landed on.

With a sudden movement, I struck her over the head with all my strength.

Olivia let out a cry of pain that echoed through the room, while I stood over her, my breath rapid and my eyes flashing with a defiance she had never seen from me:

”You cannot make me your doll to be insulted and beaten, Olivia. I advise you to look for someone else.”

Olivia held her head, pain gnawing at her features. She screamed in a choked voice:

”What is wrong with you, you lunatic?!”

She rose from the floor with difficulty, straightening her golden dress which had wrinkled from the fall, and began to look at me with deep-seated hatred.

As for me, I didn’t budge. I gripped the book tighter in my hands, as if it were my sacred weapon, and looked at her with gazes as sharp as daggers, saying with a defiance that brooked no argument:

”Don’t you dare, Olivia, think of insulting me again or touching me... because I will certainly strike back with all my might!”

She stood staring at me, stunned, drowned in a heavy silence she never expected. She hadn’t imagined in her worst nightmares that the girl she thought was fragile would dare such a violent reaction.

The surprise paralyzed her more than the pain itself; despite her superior physical strength, and despite her body looking like a solid machine compared to mine, I had found my own ways to overcome her.

I taught her in that moment that strength is not just in muscles, but in the will born from under the rubble, and in the ability to use anything even a book to stop an aggressor.

Her breath was racing as she tried to process that the ”doll” now had fangs, and that the rules of the game in this room had changed forever.

Olivia didn’t break as I had hoped; instead, something stranger happened.

The corners of her mouth began to rise slowly, and a faint, provocative laugh escaped her lips until it became a wide smile that made her look like a deranged woman who had lost her senses.

She wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead and said in a tone dripping with venom:

”Now... only now have I begun to enjoy playing with you, Julie.”