I was born with a natural baby-doll voice. Because of it, people always treated me like a freak, whispering behind my back. At our college graduation afterparty, I gathered my courage and handed a custom-made anime figurine—one I had crafted with my own hands—to my long-time crush, Ethan Vance. But before he could take it, his childhood sweetheart, Scarlett Thorne, smirked and knocked the gift right out of my hands. Ethan, however, bent down and picked it up. He gently brushed the dust off the figurine, and then, to my shock, dropped to one knee. "It’s adorable. I love it," he said, his voice incredibly soft. "Chloe, will you be my girlfriend?" We fell head over heels in love. Ethan became completely obsessed with hearing me whisper sweet details into his ear in my signature anime-girl voice. To please him, I recorded private, sweet voice notes for him every single day, catering to his every little whim. On our anniversary, he took me to a private VIP lounge at an upscale club to celebrate his birthday. But inside the crowded lounge, in front of all his rich friends, he opened a folder on his phone. It was a compilation of the private, intimate voice notes I had recorded just for him. Ethan wrapped his arm around a smiling Scarlett, looking at me with eyes as cold as ice. "Listen up, everyone," Ethan announced. "This is how Chloe Miller seduces men in private. Tonight, these voice notes go to the highest bidder."
"And here I thought she was innocent. She's absolute trash on the inside!" "God, that voice is doing things to me." "How much? I'll start at ten grand!" I felt like I had been plunged into a freezing lake. I could barely stand. The sound of my own intimate whispers blasted through the speakers, piercing my eardrums. Every word felt like a knife carving into my heart. "Ethan... why?" I choked out, my voice cracking and raspy. He didn't even look at me. He just turned to Scarlett, gently tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear with pure tenderness. Scarlett wrapped her arm tightly around his, a cruel smirk playing on her red lips. "Ethan, I have a fantastic idea." She looked at me, her eyes dripping with triumph and disgust. "Make her apologize to me in her sweetest, most submissive voice. Make her admit she was the one who threw herself at you." My heart squeezed painfully. I could barely breathe. "Otherwise, we’ll just send these audio files to her parents and her college professors," Scarlett added, her wicked smile widening. "You promised me..." Tears streamed down my face, my throat tight as if someone was choking me. "You promised no one else would ever hear these..." Ethan finally looked at me. His gaze was colder than death. "Did I? I don't recall promising anything." "You said you loved me!" I screamed, completely losing my mind. The room erupted into even louder laughter. "Love you?" Ethan’s best friend slammed his glass on the table, laughing hysterically. "Babe, you were just a bet between him and Scarlett!" "A bet?" A wave of dizziness washed over me. "Yeah. We bet on whether a girl with a voice like yours would be a total screamer in bed," another guy chimed in, sneering. The guy acting as the auctioneer stood up on the central table, holding a microphone. "Ladies and gentlemen, tonight's special auction is officially open!" "Starting bid is five thousand! Increments of one thousand!" "Is her cheap voice really worth that much?" "Trust me, guys, you won't be disappointed!" Vile, disgusting comments flooded my ears. My fingers trembled violently as I unlocked my phone. I opened Snapchat and clicked on a contact I hadn't messaged in years. *Marcus, please save me...* The message sent, but I had no idea if he would even see it. Ethan noticed my movement and let out a cold laugh. "Trying to call for backup?" He strode over and snatched the phone out of my hands. "Too bad. No one is coming to save you." He leaned down, his breath freezing against my ear. "Apologize now. Or I’ll personally make sure your family and your dean get to 'enjoy' your little performances." I raised my head through a blur of tears, seeing nothing but sheer cruelty in his eyes. In that exact moment, I finally realized that the man I had loved for three years was nothing but a monster.
Ethan’s eyes turned icy as he grabbed the custom headphones I had gifted him. I had stayed up for three straight nights designing them, engraving our initials on the side. *Smash—* He slammed them onto the hardwood floor. They shattered into pieces, just like my heart. "You actually had the nerve to give me this trash?" Scarlett giggled, deliberately grinding her high heel over the largest broken piece. "Aw, Chloe, look at you. You look like a drowned rat. How pathetic." Her voice felt like a venomous snake slithering over my skin. Every word tore at my soul. I bit my lower lip raw, forcing myself not to let another tear fall, though I was bleeding to death on the inside. Suddenly, a sharp ringtone pierced the noisy room. My phone, still in Ethan's hand, was buzzing. "Chloe... help me..." My little sister Lily’s voice came through the speaker, trembling and terrified. "They locked me in a dark room... they want half a million dollars..." My knees buckled. I almost collapsed to the floor. "Lily! Where are you? Who took you?!" My voice shook violently. The laughter in the VIP lounge instantly died down. Everyone stared at me. "Ethan, please, let me go! My sister has been kidnapped!" I threw myself at him, grabbing his sleeve in desperation. "Lend me the money, please! I swear I'll pay you back every cent!" He coldly shoved me off. His face didn't show a single ounce of empathy. "Apologize first. Admit you seduced me. Then we can talk about money." I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "My sister might die! Do you not understand?!" Ethan suddenly grabbed my wrist, squeezing so hard I felt my bones crack. "Then you better hurry up. Aren't you good at begging?" "Use that sweet little voice of yours. Tell everyone what a shameless slut you are." Scarlett clapped her hands happily. "Yes! Just like that. Let’s make sure everyone hears it." From the phone, Lily’s muffled cries were still playing. My heart was ripped in two. "Ethan, I'm begging you... please lend me the money to save my sister..." I fell to my knees, my tears finally spilling over. He looked down at me from his height, a sadistic smile carving into his lips. "For every minute you waste, the price of your audio files doubles." The crowd started chanting, cheering for my total humiliation. Scarlett pulled out her phone and aimed the camera straight at my face. "I'm going to record this and post it on the university forum." My dignity on one side, my sister’s life on the other. The scale was tilting violently. "I... I..." My throat felt like it was clogged with ash. I couldn't make a sound. Suddenly, a loud shriek came from the phone, followed by the heavy thud of something collapsing. "Chloe! Help me! They said if we don't pay now, they'll—" The call was abruptly cut off. I completely broke down, burying my face in my hands, sobbing hysterically. But Ethan only glanced at his watch. "Time's up. The price just doubled." His sheer cold-bloodedness made me feel utterly hollow. I had once thought he was my Prince Charming. Now I knew he was just a demon wearing a human face.
To save my sister, I grit my teeth and forced the tears back. "I'm sorry, Miss Thorne. I was the one who shamelessly seduced Ethan." I forced the words out in my sweetest, most high-pitched baby-doll voice. My throat felt like it was being sliced by razor blades. A look of pure triumph flashed in Scarlett's eyes. She took a slow sip of her red wine and gestured for me to continue. "I... I know that the two of you are the perfect match." Every syllable felt like it was being ripped out of my flesh. Ethan wrapped his arm around Scarlett's waist, his lips curved into that smile I had once thought was warm. "Too quiet, Chloe. No one can hear you." He used the pet name that used to belong only to us to stab me one more time. I looked up and saw nothing but mockery and cold indifference in his eyes. For a split second, a memory flashed in my mind—a rainy night when he had gently held an umbrella over my head. It felt like a lifetime ago. "I said, I, Chloe Miller, am a shameless, disgusting slut!" I screamed the words, my voice turning so sharp it practically pierced the eardrums of everyone in the room. The lounge erupted into roars of laughter. Some guys even let out crude, suggestive whistles. On the screen, the bids for my private audio files kept climbing. My dignity was being sold off like cheap merchandise. "Fifty grand!" "Eighty grand!" "One hundred grand! Anyone want to go higher?" Each number was a heavy boot stomping on my soul. I stared blankly at Ethan, searching for even a shred of guilt on his face. But he was just casually playing with Scarlett’s hair, completely ignoring my existence. My phone buzzed again. A live location sent by Lily flashed on the screen. "The money... you promised to give me the money..." I pleaded in a whisper, completely drained of all emotion. Ethan finally looked at me, his gaze resembling someone looking at a piece of garbage. "Call me 'My sweet Ethan' one more time, and I'll give it to you." The crowd cheered louder. Scarlett’s eyes gleamed with malice. I had called him that in countless intimate moments when we were wrapped in each other's arms. Now, it was my final lifesaver. "My sweet Ethan..." Suppressing the urge to throw up, I forced the words out in my most sugary, breathless tone. Ethan nodded in satisfaction. He pulled a stack of hundred-dollar bills from his wallet and carelessly threw them at my feet. "Pick it up. That's all you're worth." The bills scattered across the dirty floor, just like my shattered pride. I dropped to my knees, picking up the dirty cash bill by bill. My tears fell onto the paper, smudging the green ink. Scarlett walked over in her high heels and stopped right in front of me. She tilted her wine glass. The ice-cold red liquid poured directly over my head, dripping down my soaked hair. "Oops. My hand slipped," she apologized mockingly, her eyes full of venomous joy. I looked up at her, and suddenly, I smiled. The smile made Scarlett take a half-step back, a flicker of unease crossing her face. I stood up, stuffed the wet money into my pockets, and turned toward the exit. Ethan’s voice rang out from behind me. "The auction isn't over. You can't leave." I paused, but I didn't turn around. "My dignity is already sold out. There's nothing left for you to auction." My voice was incredibly calm—so calm it terrified even me. As I pushed the heavy doors open, I knew that whatever love I had for him had officially died. My phone screen lit up. A message from that long-lost Snapchat contact finally popped up: *I’m downstairs. Don't be afraid.* A small spark of warmth flared up in my chest, only to be instantly frozen over. No. I would never trust anyone ever again.
Scarlett sneered, stepping closer to me. "Who do you think you are?" she whispered, her voice low and toxic. "You're nothing but a toy. If Ethan wants you on your knees, you stay on your knees." Her eyes held a deep, irrational hatred that I would never understand. I stared at her pretty face blankly, wondering how someone could hate me this much for no reason. Suddenly, her expression shifted. It was the look of a predator watching its prey fall into a trap. "Ah!" Scarlett shrieked, throwing her body backward with dramatic force. She deliberately scraped her elbow against the edge of a marble table as she fell, immediately bruising the skin. "It hurts so much..." she cried, clutching her arm as tears instantly flooded her eyes. Before I could even process what happened, Ethan rushed over. "Scarlett!" his voice panicked. He shoved me out of the way so hard I stumbled backward into a chair. "Chloe! Did you do that on purpose?!" Ethan yelled, his eyes blazing with fury. "You know she has an old injury there, and you shoved her?!" "I didn't..." I tried to explain, but my voice cut out. Ethan's face was dark with rage. His eyes locked onto the silver necklace around my neck. It was a cheap necklace. Lily had saved up her lunch money for a whole year when she was ten just to buy it for my birthday. *“Chloe, when I grow up, I'm going to buy you the biggest diamond in the world!”* her little voice echoed in my memory. But now, Ethan reached out and violently ripped the necklace off my neck. The thin chain dug into my skin, leaving a sharp, red scratch. He threw the necklace onto the floor right next to Scarlett. "Keep it," he said coldly. "Consider it her apology." My neck felt cold. I touched my bare skin, my vision blurring. Scarlett picked up the broken necklace, a smirk returning to her face. "It's cheap and tacky, but I suppose I'll take it." Ethan glared at me, disgusted that I was still standing there. "What are you waiting for? Get down on your knees and apologize to Scarlett!" My legs felt like lead. I couldn't move a single inch. This was not the Ethan I knew. "Are you deaf?" his patience completely evaporated. He raised his hand, holding his phone, his thumb hovering over the screen. "Since you want to play difficult, don't blame me for what happens next!" His voice was ruthless. The screen showed the file-sharing app, ready to blast my private audio files to the entire school database. The guy acting as the auctioneer mocked, "Looks like the lady wants to do this the hard way." I closed my eyes in despair, waiting for the final blow. Right at that exact second— *BANG—* The heavy double doors of the VIP lounge were kicked off their hinges, slamming onto the floor with a deafening crash. "Let's see who dares to touch her!"
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