My father sold me to the Mafia King

Chapter 137: 137/Toxic Gratefulness

Chapter 137

Julie’s Point of View

I rose from the bed, my body trembling with a frail weakness. I headed out looking for Max; I needed a sane voice to salvage me from this labyrinth.

In the hallway, Olivia cut off my path.

She approached with confident strides, her eyes scanning my face with a toxic curiosity, and said boldly: ”What happened last night? Did you and Robert have sex?”

My body stiffened, stunned by the sheer audacity of her question: ”What?!”

She didn’t care for my bewilderment and pressed on: ”I know about the aphrodisiac. Tell me what happened.”

I asked, trying to gather my scattered thoughts: ”Who told you?”

She said with a coolness that left me speechless: ”I was the one who told Robert.”

My mind couldn’t process what I just heard. Olivia? The one who tried to drown me, slapped me, and nearly killed me, was the one who saved me from that guard? I muttered in shock: ”I thought you hated me.”

She answered brusquely, averting her gaze: ”I do hate you.”

I couldn’t help myself; in an involuntary motion, I threw myself into her arms and gripped her back tightly.

I felt her body turn to stone under my hands, but I didn’t let go. I said with a lump in my throat: ”Thank you, Olivia... you’ve done me a favor I won’t forget.”

I saw her features flicker and shift, and she pried herself away from me quickly, saying: ”Fine,” then ran down the hallway.

I wondered why she didn’t shower me with her usual questions about Robert, but I ignored it and went down to Max’s room.

I pushed the door open without knocking and froze. Max was locked in a deep kiss with the nurse. He pulled away in a panic, while the nurse shot him a sharp look and walked out, deliberately slamming her shoulder into mine.

I said with embarrassment, touching my shoulder: ”I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.”

Max exhaled in frustration, straightening his clothes: ”Don’t you know how to knock?”

I said: ”I didn’t mean to barge in like this.”

He said, wiping his face with his hand: ”Forget about it, but now she’ll think I’m cheating on her with you.”

I knit my brows in disbelief: ”What?!”

He waved his hand as if dismissing the thought: ”Don’t worry about it... where have you been? And why haven’t you shown up for training?”

I stepped toward him and sat on the edge of the seat, saying in a heavy tone: ”Max... if you only knew what happened, you wouldn’t believe it.”

He gestured with his hand: ”Close the door and come here.”

I closed the door and sat before him, starting to recount everything: the party drugs, the fake escape plan, all the way to the aphrodisiac. Max remained silent for a long time, interlacing his fingers, then said: ”Alright... I don’t think I’ll be able to wrap my head around all this, Julie.”

I nodded tiredly: ”Me neither, Max, believe me.” I hesitated for a moment and added: ”I didn’t tell you something else.”

He raised his head and asked: ”Is there more?”

I said, fiddling with the hem of my shirt: ”Carlos confessed to me today that he likes me.”

His brows drew together in shock: ”Carlos Mendoza?”

”Yes... he said he’s attracted to me and sees me as different.”

He asked, leaning his body toward me: ”And what was your response?”

I answered simply: ”I told him ’okay’.”

He slapped his palms together: ”That’s it?!”

I said helplessly: ”What could I say? I couldn’t find an answer.”

He looked directly into my eyes and asked: ”And do you like him?”

I went silent, trying to probe the depths of my heart, then said: ”I don’t know, Max... don’t forget that I’ve never been attracted to anyone before. I don’t know this feeling.”

He asked me: ”Fine... does your heart thrum when you see him?”

I answered him naively: ”The heart always thrums, Max, what kind of question is that?”

He exhaled with forced patience and focused on me: ”Julie, focus... do your heartbeats change? Do they get significantly faster when you see Carlos?”

I tried to recall those moments; I hadn’t felt a shiver or a race in my chest. I said: ”No, that didn’t happen... I don’t really remember. I’ll have to check next time.”

He whispered thoughtfully: ”Mmm... alright.”

I asked eagerly: ”What? Am I attracted to him?”

He shrugged: ”How should I know?”

I said with annoyance: ”You’re the expert here!”

He replied sarcastically: ”Believe me, Julie, with these answers of yours, no one’s going to know but you.”

I stood up suddenly, feeling irritated: ”I’m the fool for coming to seek your help!”

He asked suddenly, watching my reaction: ”And what happened with Robert? Did he do anything to you?”

I said curtly, averting my gaze: ”No, he didn’t.”

He narrowed his eyes and asked: ”And why did you say it so briefly?”

I said tensely: ”What do you mean?”

”You said it as if you weren’t satisfied with that outcome.”

I flared up quickly, trying to hide my confusion: ”Stop it, Max! I’m just annoyed because you didn’t help me regarding Carlos!”

He said soothingly: ”Fine, take it easy.”

I suddenly remembered what Olivia told me, so I said in awe: ”You won’t believe what I’m about to tell you... Olivia is the one who told Robert that the damn guard put an aphrodisiac in my drink.”

His mouth hung open in shock: ”Really? Olivia?! Are you sure?”

I nodded vigorously: ”Yes, it was her.”

He said, still under the influence of the surprise: ”I’m floored!”

I said, sitting down again, feeling lost: ”Me too... but why would she do this when she hates me? It’s so confusing, Max.”

Max tightened his jaw thoughtfully, a small vein pulsing in his temple as he muttered: ”There’s a secret behind that woman... this can’t be normal.”

I breathed deeply, feeling my tongue tremble as I dropped the final bomb: ”I forgot to tell you that Carlos promised me he would get me out of the club.”

Max’s mouth fell open in shock, his pupils dilating as he whispered: ”What are you saying?”

I nodded, squeezing my hands: ”Yes, just as you hear, Max.”

He shook his head in denial, his back stiffening as he said: ”Carlos is Robert’s friend... he can’t betray him, Julie.”

I remembered the scene of blood and shattered faces in the hallway, so I said, my voice faltering: ”They fought this morning beyond description.” I fell silent suddenly, a coldness coursing through my limbs with a sudden realization, and I said in panic: ”Did Robert find out that Carlos wants to get me out of here?”

Max narrowed his eyes and said: ”It’s a strong possibility.”

My heart contracted, and I felt the walls of the room closing in on me: ”I’ll never get out of here.”

Max looked directly into my eyes and asked a question that made the blood freeze in my veins: ”When you escaped... why didn’t you go to the police, Julie?”

I froze in my tracks, tension snaking down my spine. I didn’t have an answer; even I didn’t understand why I hadn’t done it. I swallowed hard, trying desperately to hide my shifting gaze, and said: ”Robert is a dangerous man, Max... I was afraid that going to the police would make him kill me.”

He shook his head slowly, appearing convinced by my lie: ”Yes... you’re right.”

I stood up quickly, feeling a desire to flee his probing gaze: ”I have to go now.”

He asked, watching me with a steady look: ”Will you come this evening?”

I nodded as I headed toward the door: ”Yes, I will.”

I left the room and headed upstairs. When I reached the hallway, I saw the maid gathering piles of laundry.

As she bent down in a swift motion, a metal key fell from her; it hit the floor with a ringing sound, but she didn’t notice and continued walking until she left the hallway.

I lunged forward, deftly picking up the key. I felt the coldness of the metal in the palm of my hand and recognized it instantly; it was the master key the key that opens every locked door in this hell.

I gripped it tightly until it dug into my flesh, and said with a hiss full of menace: ”Today, I’ll face you, Sarah.”

--++++------------------

Olivia’s Point of View

I froze in my place as if I had turned into a statue of ice; that shiver that raced through my body when she trapped me in her arms wasn’t because of the cold, but from a disgust mixed with something else I couldn’t name.

What came over me to allow that wild sow to touch me? And why did I freeze in that humiliating way instead of shoving her away?

Whenever I tried to probe the depths of what happened, I found my mind turning into a battlefield. My actions lately have begun to gnaw at my nerves and exhaust me.

I asked myself as I walked down the hallway with angry strides hitting the floor: Why didn’t I let Miles finish his mission? I could have watched him tear her virginity apart, making her despise her very existence and hate herself forever... I could have waited until his filth was done, then simply told Robert to kill him and be rid of him killing two birds with one stone.

But I couldn’t.

My stomach churned violently when I imagined the scene; I couldn’t stomach the thought of that bastard putting his hand on her in that way. I gritted my teeth hard until I felt pain extending to my jaw, and my grip on the hem of my dress tightened until my knuckles turned white.

I said in a muffled hiss, my voice trembling with rage: ”You little sow... why do I pity you? Why?!”

I spat the words as if I were expelling poison from within me, and felt the heat of anger rising to my cheeks. My hatred for her was as clear as the sun, but this cursed ”pity” was a black hole swallowing all my venomous plans.