Chapter 17: Awake

The first thing Sofia noticed was the harsh white light above her.

It burned into her eyes, forcing a soft groan from her throat as she blinked slowly. Her vision swam as the world came into focus bit by bit, until the room finally stopped spinning.

“Where am I?” she whispered.

She pushed herself up on the bed, her body stiff and aching. Then she felt it—the deep soreness between her thighs—and her breath caught, but before she could gather her thoughts, the door suddenly swung open.

A maid walked in.

Her eyes were cold, filled with disgust as she shut the door behind her and stepped closer.

“I see you’re awake,” she sneered, staring at Sofia like she was something filthy.

Sofia opened her mouth to speak, but the maid cut her off.

“Alpha Damien should have just let you die… I wonder why he ordered you to be taken care of.

She scoffed, shaking her head. “You don’t deserve it.”

Sofia’s chest tightened. Before she could stop it, memories from last night rushed back into her mind like a movie on replay.

Her body stiffened as flashes of pain and shame replayed in her head. She remembered how scared she had been—how everything she once dreamed of was taken from her in the most cruel way, how she lost something precious without love or care.

Tears filled her eyes.

It wasn’t a nightmare.

It had really happened.

“Get up,” the maid snapped, breaking her thoughts.

Sofia flinched.

“You’re not here to lie around,” the maid continued coldly. “Alpha Damien has ordered that you join the other slaves at the construction site.”

Sofia’s heart dropped.

“Get dressed,” the maid said. “Meet me outside in ten minutes.”

With that, the maid turned and walked out, slamming the door behind her.

The room fell silent.

Sofia slowly stood up and walked toward the mirror. The girl staring back at her looked nothing like the Sofia she used to know. Her hair was messy. Her eyes were dull and tired. Dark circles sat beneath them.

She barely recognized herself.

Tears slid down her cheeks.

“This is my life now,” she whispered.

She went into the bathroom and turned on the water. As she bathed, she scrubbed her skin again and again, hoping she could wash away the memory of his hands, his voice, the night that broke her.

But no matter how hard she scrubbed, the feeling stayed.

When she finished, she looked around the room.

There were no clothes.

Only the old dress she had worn two days ago lay folded on a chair.

She put it on quietly.

When she stepped outside, the maid was already waiting.

The maid looked Sofia up and down and sneered, her lips curling with fake disgust. But deep inside, a very different thought crossed her mind.

Damn… she is beautiful.

Not the thin, sharp kind of beauty everyone praised—but soft, curvy, and striking. The kind that made people look twice without meaning to.

Sofia had no idea.

To Sofia, she was still the same girl she had always been—the “fat” sister, the unwanted one, the girl no one chose. She saw only her size, her flaws, and the way people had mocked her for years. She believed she was ugly because that was all she had ever been told.

But to them—to the maids, the guards, the men who looked away too slowly—she was a curvy goddess.

Strong hips. Soft skin. A face that held quiet sadness and gentle beauty.

And that was exactly why they would never tell her.

The maid’s eyes hardened. Better she never knows, she thought bitterly. Better she keeps believing she’s nothing.

Because a girl who knows her worth is dangerous.

And Sofia… Sofia was already too much without knowing it.

The maid lifted her chin and hid her thoughts behind a hard face.

“Follow me,” she said sharply.

Sofia nodded and did as she was told.

They walked through the halls of the mansion. Servants stopped what they were doing to stare at her. Some whispered. Some glared. Others frowned.

Sofia felt it in the air.

They knew.

Everyone knew she had been in Alpha Damien’s bed last night.

Jealousy burned in their eyes. They were jealous because she was lucky. To them, she was lucky to be in Alpha Damien’s bed…

“How was it?” a maid teased at her, but Sofia kept her head down. Her hands trembled at her sides.

When they reached the outside, the noise hit her at once.

Metal clanging.

Stones hitting the ground.

Voices shouting orders.

The construction site.

Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined she would be reduced to a slave.

She—the eldest daughter of Beta Stephen—was now lower than even an omega.

The maid shoved her forward. “This is where you belong now,” she said coldly before turning and walking away.

Sofia stumbled but managed to stay on her feet.

A large man stood at the front of the slaves. He looked her up and down slowly, his eyes crawling over her body. His lips curled into a crooked smile.

“So this is her,” he muttered.

Sofia felt sick.

He spat on the ground and pointed. “You,” he said. “Go with them. Pick blocks.”

She followed the other slaves to a pile of heavy stones. Her back already ached just looking at them.

She bent down to lift one.

As she did, she felt eyes on her again.

She straightened slightly and saw the man still staring. Not working. Just watching her.

Her skin crawled, but she ignored it and bent down to pick up more stones. But as she did, the slave master continued staring lustfully at her rounded ass, which was so visible beneath the dress she wore.

“Damn… that ass,” he groaned to himself, feeling his cock already twitching at the sight of her.

Suddenly, a deep voice cut through the air.

“Stare at her one more time like that, and I’ll pluck out your eyes.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep