Chapter 40

Aurora

We are officially out of money.

It’s not good.

Somehow, to my horror, Anders managed to blow through $3 billion. I sold my virginity for that money. It’s supposed to be our livelihood, our fortune, our nest egg for the rest of our lives.

For God’s sake, who can’t live on $3 billion? Somehow, my brother has defied the odds, and he’s plundered through our fortune...twice.

I’m becoming increasingly angry at him. I know he’s in a bad state, but he can’t keep doing this to me.

I honestly have no idea how we’re going to dig ourselves out of this hole.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t regret a thing when it comes to my virginity. The Grayson brothers were the perfect people to have given that away to. I waited my whole life for that moment, and it was so worth it.

But at the same time, I don’t deserve to be poor. I don’t deserve any of the hardship Anders has thrown at me—not to mention the fact that he’s disappeared again.

He goes out and is gone for days at a time. No phone call or message of any kind. Of course, I get worried sick.

It seems like my life is in the eye of a perfect storm. Everything’s happening all at once, and I don’t how to stop it.

I get on the phone with my financial advisor.

“Hey, it’s Aurora. I’m sorry to be calling you again. But we have a situation on our hands.”

“Aurora, yes,” he says. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you as well. The situation has become very dire. If you don’t get some funds in the account soon, you may lose the company. Not to mention your apartment.”

I think a minute about what can be done. I’m not exactly financially savvy, but there has to be a way out of this mess.

“Well, can you take out some cash from our investments to tide us over? I’m sure the chocolate company will begin making money soon,” I say to him in a pleading tone as if he can fix my fate.

He says the words very solemnly, “Aurora, I hate to be the one to break this to you, but Anders took all the investment money out a few days ago. He said that you two were both on board.”

“What? That can’t be true. He couldn’t have done that. That was my safety net!”

“I’m really sorry to have to tell you this. He told me that you knew, that you wanted it that way. That’s why I keep saying that you must have separate accounts if you don’t want something like this to happen.”

His words do nothing to help me now. They make everything worse.

I was relying on those investments. I thought that, at least, we would have those to depend on.

“You have to excuse me. I need to find my brother to sort this out,” I say, eager to get off the phone.

“Of course. Just contact me when you can,” he says before hanging up.

My heart beats fast with rage and fury. I can’t believe my brother did this to us—to me—again! We could be homeless in a matter of days.

Just when I’m making my daily calls to the police station, Anders stumbles through the door.

He looks more haggard and drugged up than I’ve ever seen him before. He looks like a different person, thin and withdrawn.

“Anders, what did you do with the money?” I say to him angrily.

To my surprise, he starts to cry. “Aurora, please, I’m so sorry. You have to forgive me. You just have to.”

I’ve never seen my brother cry before.

The tears streaming down his face unsettles me. What happened to him?

“I’m serious, Anders! You better have something to say for yourself. We have no fucking money, and it’s all your fault!”

I expect him to apologize or to, at least, tell me where the funds went. Instead, he’s pleading with me.

He’s still crying and has already sunk down to the floor.

“Aurora, I don’t know how to tell you this. First of all, let me just say that I know I need help. I know it okay?”

I look at him for a moment and my anger slowly ebbs away. Is he really saying what I think he’s saying?

The tension in my stomach uncurls a little bit.

“Anders...I’ve been waiting for you say that. You do need help. Badly.” Sensing the urgency of the situation, that he needs to enter rehab now, I continue, “I can get on the phone with Dr. Pembroke. He has a very nice place for you to go. It has a very high success rate. Let me just call him.”

But then, he looks up at me and practically screams at me, “No! Aurora, stop. I’m not finished. I’ve done something very bad, very, very bad.”

I look at him solemnly, wondering what’s on his mind. What more could he have done to ruin us?

“What are you talking about?” I ask, although a part of me doesn’t want to know the answer.

He looks up at me with bloodshot eyes and says, “I found a way out of this mess. I promise this will be the last time. It’ll take care of us for life. You’ll never have to do it again.”

I sink down to my knees so that I can see his face. “Anders, what are you talking about? Tell me what you’ve done.”

It’s hard to understand his words because of all the sobbing, but I manage to make out most of it.

“There’s this guy, this man. He saw you at the auction, Aurora. He still wants to have you. He was the other billionaire that was bidding on you. He bought most of the girls, and I know he wants to buy you, but it’s only for one night. You just have to give yourself over to him one time and then we can be rich again. Don’t you see? I’ve done it. I figured out our situation.”

He says the words almost triumphantly, and I want to hit him in the face.

“Are you trying to tell me that you sold me to that disgusting guy?” I say, the fury thick on my tongue.

“I had to do something, Aurora. All the money’s gone.”

“Yeah, and it’s all your fault! What were you thinking?”

Hot, angry tears trickle down my cheeks. The two of us probably look like a hot mess.

“I’m sorry, Aurora. What more can I say? I’m just...sorry. I’ll do anything to get back in your good graces, to be your brother again. I know I need help, okay?”

His words should be music to my ears, but instead all I can envision is that disgusting man in the mask from the billionaires’ auction. He was old and overweight.

I had felt sorry for the girls that he bought, and now it looks like I’m going to be in the same position.

“You’re still my brother,” I manage to say. “You’re always my brother. And I won’t give up on you.”

Maybe I should be feeling happy that my brother’s finally seeking treatment.

But all I can think about is what I have to go through to get our money back.

I’m going to have to sell my body again—this time, like a cheap whore. That’s how it makes me feel.

This is worlds away from the Grayson brothers. Everything with them is...different. They make me feel special and treasured, adored even.

But this guy, this monster with money from the auction, is not going to make me feel special. He’ll make me feel degraded and beneath myself.

“Oh, Anders,” I say softly. “How could you?”

He looks up at me with tears in his eyes in his drug-induced state. I have a feeling Anders has finally reached rock bottom.

At least I think that’s what this moment is. He seems genuine enough.

The two of us sit on the floor. I’m just about to call Dr. Pembroke when there’s a knock at the door.