Chapter 5
At the competition site, pots of roses were carried onto the stage. When they reached the last one, someone pulled away the black cloth.
Gasps spread through the crowd.
I was buried in the soil and covered with roses.
The bright blood dripping on the petals made the whole thing feel more enchanting.
“She turned herself into a rose just to win a man’s favor? How low can she go?”
“If I were her mother, I’d be too ashamed to claim her.”
The audience’s whispers cut through me like knives.
“You can’t judge a rose just by its bud. It has to be fully open to be appreciated.”
That sentence startled me. Before I could make sense of it, I saw Javier wave at his bodyguards.
Two bodyguards moved toward me and ripped off my clothes.pleted
I screamed, “No! Javier!”
I stood there exposed, their eyes shamelessly roaming over me.
Clutching at myself to hide the most private parts, I looked to him, silently pleading for help.
Javier looked annoyed and gave the order.
“Snap her wrist. A rose shouldn’t have a mind of its own. How are the judges supposed to admire it like that?”
I kept shaking my head, silently begging Javier to stop, but his bodyguard used a baseball bat to break my remaining
hand.
I cried out, but someone quickly shoved a cloth into my mouth to shut me up.
After all, roses in beauty pageants weren’t supposed to scream.
The judges looked pleased with what they saw. I wasn’t sure who suggested it. Soon, I was tied up on a rack with limbs spread out, showing my private parts.
Countless hands touched my body. I shut my eyes tight and forced myself to forget it all.
Javier clicked his tongue in frustration. “You call this appreciation?”
“Mr. Gomez, maybe we should stop now?” Clara suggested carefully.
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Chapter 5
“No,” he replied coldly. “We’ve won first place every year. If we lose now, Michelle will be disappointed.”
A camera was set up, pointed directly at me.
I opened my mouth silently, and my eyes were frozen with despair.
“Every rose gets looked at. What’s she being so dramatic about?”
“Michelle’s rose must win. That’s all that matters. Keep going.”
Javier turned away and sat back down.
288 Vouchers
His silence permitted them. They grew bolder. I had no idea what was being placed inside me. All I could hear was the man’s sinister laughter.
“The most crucial part of a rose is the stamen. We must observe it well!”
I couldn’t even close my legs as they were forcefully spread and examined.
Some even suggested using a flashlight to look inside.
