Chapter 4 SOLD HER OUT

"Young man, if... if you want to marry my younger daughter, you can take her away now... you can do anything you desired to do with her! Just stay away from us!" Lydia mumbled shakily chiming in.

"Take her! You can do whatever you want! Just stay away from us!" her father declared openly with all his might! His face revealed a stern and determined expression showing no ounce of hesitation.

"Please, dad... I beg you... Don't dump me like this..." the 17-year-old teenage girl pleaded desperately bowing her head on the floor with her swollen eyes and cheeks.

"Don't call me dad! You're not my daughter!" her father shouted furiously and raised his hand to slap the teenage girl again.

THUD!

Zane had suffered another slap again from her father. The corners of her mouth were bleeding due to the strong intensity of the slap.

She pursed her lips tightly and closed her eyes in defeat hiding all the agonizing pain that she felt. Tears started to pour down her cheeks as she lowered her head helplessly.

"Think of this day as your engagement, I won't be taking her with us!" He added hastily as he dragged his wife and daughter towards the door and decided to leave the teenage girl behind. He didn't even bother to spare a glance at his younger daughter and proceeded to walk ahead.

"Dad, what are you doing? He can't marry Suzy, it should be me!" Laira protested crazily.

Lydia stood at the door, look behind her, and pointed her finger towards Suzy, "...from now on, you can't go home and stay away from us! You're not part of the family anymore!"

And with that last heart breaking words, the Brooks couple finally took their leave and dragged the hysterical Laira with them.

Zane on the other hand was frozen in shock on her spot. Everything happened so fast that she wasn't ready to absorb it! Her mind was obviously in turmoil. Her mother's words lingered on her mind and brought her back to her senses.

Did they just give her to a stranger that easily? What's going on? What was her worth to them? Was she only a thing for them or perhaps a mere pet that could be easily dumped without giving too much thought?

He was a stranger to her for god sake! She stood up hastily and was about to run after them and try to beg to take her with them but a pair of strong arms caught her by the waist. She went stiff on his arms and uneasiness settled in her heart! She felt so frightened under the stranger's touch.

"Young girl, don't bother to run after them, they were desperate to abandon you away..." Max gathered himself together and tried his best to speak softly as he could to avoid scaring the teenage girl. He loosened his hold on her slowly when he felt that she was gradually relaxing in his arms.

"But... but... how about me? I... I have nowhere to go..." she cried, tears streaming down her cheeks. "They are my family, aside from them I don't have anyone else..." she added bitterly as she sniffed with her puffy nose.

Maxwell slowly hugged the crying girl and patted her back gently, "...shhh, I'm here remember? I'll be the one to take good care of you..." he sighed deeply and started to stroke the young girl's long black hair.

He had just turned 24 years old last night and now he had a 17 years old fiancée? What was he thinking? He released out a long sigh again. He couldn't even put himself in the right place and yet he managed to add another responsibility on his shoulder.

What the hell is wrong with him?

He questioned himself with uncertainty. But he was relieved to take care of this young girl than to marry a scheming bitch! He was flabbergasted on why the young girl's parents seemed to hate her so much and were desperate to sell her out to the devil.

Luckily, he was the one who happen to be here in this room with her if not, the girl would end up in the worst situation in some irrelevant person's hands. She might have been violated in such a case or worst gang raped!

Whatever their reason for their unreasonable behavior towards her, he was determined to protect the young girl with his entire life starting this very hour.

"Are you feeling better now?" He asked tenderly. "Your cheeks are swollen..." he mumbled with sympathy. His eyes looked at her like she is a part of his family.

"I'm... I'm fine Mr-..." Suzy stammered nervously. She was baffled by the man's strange kindness towards her. What was this man's intention towards her?

"What's your name young lady?" he asked as he stretched out his hand in a friendly way.

"S-Suzzane Brooks..." she mumbled shyly as she lowered her head in embarrassment.

"Well... Hello Suzzane... I'm Maxwell Davis... Perhaps we can start as friends?" He reached out his large palm towards the young girl for a handshake and Zane took his gesture with a shy smile.

"H–Hello, sir..." she shook his hand in a friendly manner trying to keep herself calm.

"You shouldn't call your fiancé that way, you can call me Max or whatever you want..." he tried to joke to lighten up their foul moods but the teenage girl took it his words seriously.

Zane was stunned.

She wasn't seeing this fiancé thing coming! Isn't a fiance meant to be a husband in the future? Her timid mind short-circuited and she mentally blocked out!

What?! Fiancé? Does it mean that she... she would sleep with him if he wanted to?

Her eyes went wide in horror as she took a step back distancing herself a few inches away from him. She was starting to get scared as she could see that the man has a perfect muscular body while she is just a half size of him. What would happen to her?

"Zae, come on... I'm just kidding..." he released out a soft chuckle and stepped forward towards her. He then patted her head fondly as if he was taming a little pet.

The young girl then relaxed and accepted his little touch and nodded her head shyly. Nonetheless, she was confused as to why he was so good to her when they had just introduced themselves a few seconds ago. She wanted to ask him about it but she felt embarrassed to launch a conversation about that matter and she feared that the guy might change his mind and heaven knows what would the latter be capable of doing something to her in the end!

"Come, let's have breakfast together and I'll bring you to my home..." he then ushered her towards the table and dialed the room service for their orders, and waited for a few moments.

KNOCK!

KNOCK!

KNOCK!

Ten minutes later, there was a cautious knock on their door. Max stood up from his seat and walked towards the door gracefully. He then welcomed the room service carrying their breakfast in a trolley and gestured his hand towards their table.

*********

"Boss, the jet is ready..." A young man's husky voice cut the woman's long train of thoughts. "Axelle is already waiting for you..." he added with a faint smile on his face at the mention of the kid's name.

"Alright! Let's get going!" Florr mumbled flatly and stretched out her hand to grab the thick confidential file that lays on her table but her assistant beat her to it.

"I'll be the one to take this..." the young man grinned.

"I'm your cousin therefore there is nothing to worry about it..." he added hastily and sprinted forward to dodge his boss's sudden attack.

"Alexander Valdez!" Florr gritted her teeth and throw a light kick towards her playful cousin.

"Come back here, brat!" she yelled as she caught up with him storming out from her office like a kid catching for her playmate!

Her heels clang loudly on the tiled floor but who cares? She was the CEO of the Valdez Defenders Law firm! Anyone who dared to talk about her will end up miserable and jobless until she finally felt satisfied with her specific punishment!

Florrabelle Valdez is famous for being notorious in terms of issuing punishments for her employees. She's a strict and meticulous but a reasonable boss. Her concerns towards others always matter to her in terms related to her judgment especially those citizens with low status in the community. She valued them higher than those arrogant people wrapped in crisp business suits who weren't even capable of doing the right thing!

Compare to the other outstanding lawyers who were ambitious enough and wanted to level up their careers higher, Atty. Valdez is weirdly different from all of them.

In short, she's the total opposite! She is an outstanding lawyer who could solve a tricky case but of course, she got a special helping hand from her operatives. But the difference is that she didn't accept any lawsuits that related to some shady deals or dealing with the poor to get an advantage in their situations! In that case, she would refuse to handle the case and pass it to another law firm and she will be the one to offer her service to the poor for free! She would gladly defend them without any miscellaneous fee!

Lawyers lie to defend their clients! That's the painful truth and Atty. Valdez is well aware of that! That's the main reason why she refuses to appear on tabloids, news, and some sort of interviews to hide her real identity. She made her appearance in the public as limited and only her trustee lawyers appeared on the court to defend their high-profiled clients.