I was raised for only one purpose, to be sold to the highest bidder once I reached 18. Most women were. Some of us would end up becoming whores, while others, if lucky, would be bought by very rich and powerful men, to become their bride and bear their children.
I was supposed to be among the lucky ones. I was pretty enough to fetch quite a high price and my master had been impatiently waiting for me to reach 18. However, on the night of my 18 birthday, it all took another turn.
That night, we had a small party and I was offered some alcohol by the son of my master. This would be our little secret, he told me. After the party, we all went to bed, and that night, the son came knocking at my bedroom door. That night he told me he loved me, he told me I was so beautiful and he could not bear the thought of me being sold to the highest bidder tomorrow. He told me he wanted me to be his and promised to talk to his father that very next morning.