Sold to Feed the Hungry.

By Aria williams

Seventeen-year-old Mae-Lynn has spent her entire life in Bangkok, Thailand. But when her father brings home an old white man to choose among his daughters, Mae-Lynn knows her duty to her family—the money this man pays will feed her parents, her seven siblings, and the baby on the way for a long time. Still, the thought of being married off to someone old enough to be her grandfather is painful, and she clings to her siblings the night before she leaves.
When Greg decided, at sixty, to choose a pretty little virginal Thai bride, he'd hoped it would satisfy his sexual urges. But that doesn't happen, so he soon returns to his affair with his secretary, asking his best friend's son and his own employee Tristian to keep his unhappy young wife company.
Tristian knows better than to fall in love with his boss's wife. But he can't help it. With her delicate Thai beauty and her bright blue eyes, everything about her calls to him. And the longer they spend together, the stronger those ties grow.
But all it takes is one mistake to bring deeply held secrets out into the open—no matter what anyone wants.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Aria williams
• Release date: Apr 11, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393684473

Book preview

Prologue

The sun had reached its lowest peak for the day, casting orange and yellow shades over a dirty slum in the poorest part of Bangkok. The area was comprised of four rotten walls barely being held together by too many rusty screws and a door made of a bright purple cloth.

The rich cloth was far too extravagant for a house on this side of the river; it had been thrown out because of a slight imperfection in the stitches, deeming it not good enough for those who lived along the eastern banks. The people who lived in this run-down home cherished it, as it was the only nice possession they owned.

I knew this because it was my home; it wasn’t much but it was all we had left these days. The hard-packed dirt floor of the lounge room, which also doubled as the kitchen and sleeping area for the rest of my family, was smaller than all the other huts in our village but we couldn’t complain. Anything was better than begging on the streets or sleeping in the rain.

I sat by the creek braiding my youngest sister’s hair for the third time today since my parents had left for work. Dad had been away for days now. I prayed every night for his safe return yet with each morning that past my anxiety for him doubled. He was never gone for this long.

Tying Winnie’s hair with the last of the string we had found in the rubbish piles behind the restaurants, I vowed to not let the fine strands get lost. Tomorrow morning, I would search through our bedding till I found her elastic band.

Winnie was a careless child but I adored her for all of her faults; she was the baby of the family and the one with spirit. I was always jealous of her wild nature and wished that for one day I had no responsibilities. But as the second eldest girl, it was my job to care for all of the littlies. My older sister Fern worked just as hard as I did but that was a different kind of work, she was a seamstress in a factory for the white men. Every day she left before sunrise and came home at dusk. Now that we had finished schooling, our lives revolved around working, eating supper, and then bed.

I didn’t have the right to complain. I only had eight children to cook for each day and make sure they made it to school on time. But next year would be different, I would have to go to work and try to make enough money for the new baby growing in my mother’s belly.

Grabbing Winnie’s hand, I lead her to our makeshift outdoor kitchen and stirred the broth cooking on the fire as we passed by. I would love to serve myself up a bowl but if I did, I would surely get the cane. In our family those who worked ate first and due to me being fully grown and stayed home all day, I would eat last, if there was any left at all. I walked back through the door into the house and cleaned up a small mess the younger kids had made.

An excited squeal carried on the wind from down the road, I strained my ears to hear if the noise had come from my siblings who were playing in the open marshes that lined the road from the city. A few seconds later the wild sounds of excitement became closer. I popped my head outside the curtain and my own elation started to flourish.

I turned around to deliver the wonderful news to Winnie, Daddy’s home Win. A giggle exploded from her mouth as she clapped her hands together.

I stepped away from the door to let the children inside, followed closely by my father. Behind him was an older white man with a grey mop of receding hair. I put my head down and made sure my hair covered my eyes, as from young age I had been told to not let strangers see my face.

I was very different to the rest of the family. My siblings had been born was the darker skin tone and round faces. Dad’s family originated from Cambodia generations ago. My mother’s family were lighter in skin tone and had heart shaped faces. I had unique feature that had skipped many family members. A relative many aeons ago had married a western women, the colour of my eyes came directly from her.

Dad handed me a bag of fresh bighead carp and brown rice, then nodded to the broth that was simmering outside.

Wow this must be a special occasion! We never eat so well unless it’s a celebration. I threw the ingredients into the soup mixture and watched in delight as our meal tripled. The feeling of being watched crept up my back in large goose bumps. This unexplained feeling was new to me, I couldn’t place my finger on the emotion.

More loud noises came from the littlest kids. I turned to see why they were so happy to find my mum and older sister Fern had come home. The white man looked to Fern with keen interest, she pranced into the house swaying her hips from side to side while flashing her killer smile. With a shake of his head and open disgust, he turned his eyes back to me with a large smile on his face and whispered something to my father.

I stayed by the meal while it cooked, too afraid to leave it to spoil. The fish would have cost us a week’s wage and I knew the trouble I would be in if it was overcooked or burnt.

With no warning my mother yelled out loud to my father, No!

My father looked at her with a warning and calmly said, Yes. I knew to not upset him when he looked at someone like that, there was a real warning behind his angry look. My mother had never brought upon this cautionary glance, so whatever was happening must be serious. I turned my attention away as it was none of my business and I tasted the fish and rice. Satisfied I had cooked a great meal, I pulled the pot off the coals and took it inside. My dad whispered a few words to my mother who rose from the spot she sat on the ground and came over to hand me a plate of fish. I stayed where I was until Dad called me over.

Put your head up child and let us see your face. I couldn’t believe my Dad was making me show this stranger the curse I had been born with.

Raising my head, I flipped back my very dark brown hair to reveal the mystic blue oceans that have stolen my eyes. A loud gasp escaped from the white man, and then the same look that he had given me goose bumps returned. The white man blurted a sum of money, my father shook his head and automatically another number was thrown out into the air. My hands left my lap and reach for my face in shock, it was all becoming clear now what was going on. This man had come to buy me and my father was bartering a higher amount.

My head started to feel dizzy, I felt the blood leave my face in one fast rush. This was all happening too fast, I should have realised this much sooner and burnt our dinner to a crisp. Surely if I couldn’t cook, I wouldn’t be such a prize.

I heard the faint echoes of dollar amounts being passed back and forth with my dad trying to keep up with the conversion into Thai baht. Three thousand. I felt like a bobble head as I watched with giant butterflies flying around my stomach, I crossed my fingers and toes that this stranger didn’t want to pay what my father had in mind. Four thousand; silence pursued with a long pause followed by a slow shake of my dad’s head. The white man looked over to me, his eyes slid down my body, taking in my petite frame and stopped on my small perky breasts. I looked away and shivered to myself.

Seven and a half thousand and that is my final offer.

Where was the man who lovingly held me in his arms as a child to forsake the rest of the town? Where had he gone to? He told the town to go to hell when I was shunned by the village folk for being a ‘demon child.’ Thai girls were never born with blue eyes but I had defied the odds.

Where was that man now? The greedy gleam in my dad’s eyes told me that man had died and sold his soul to the devil.

I was so angry inside, I wanted to throw my plate at my dad in the hopes he would be knocked out and wake up with a bit more sense.

I couldn’t stand this anymore! I stomped out of the room and outside into the cool night air.

***

I was so confused, I poked the fire that had cooked our evening meal with a large fat stick and the smoke smouldered in my face, making my eyes water. I didn’t feel the pain, all I felt was numbness. An hour ago I was a carefree teenager and now I was to become a no one.

The bitterness I originally felt had melted away, I should have been happy. I was getting a one-way ticket out of poverty but I couldn’t shake the feeling that now I was an object and no longer a real person with real feelings.

My dad had sold me the exact same way we sold the feral cats we trapped.

The longer I sat outside, the it became inside. I knew an agreement had been reached when the white man exited our house with a large smile across his old face. Shortly after he exited, my mother came to sit with me, the tear streaked eyes and quiet sobs told me the truth to the burning questions that sat under my tongue. My poor mother hadn’t known about any of this until she came home tonight.

Her body trembled upon the sorrow, each emotion stacking onto the other, pulling me into her arms. I tried to soak her up and make my soul remember her.

I’m hurting my daughter, this should have never happened. I vow to pray to the Gods for your safe return one day.

When do I leave? I hoped for a few weeks; I wanted to braid Winnie’s hair one last time, cook a beautiful meal made with love for my mother and hug all of my friends goodbye.

With a trembling lip, I couldn’t believe the whisper that fell off her tongue, Tomorrow.

No not tomorrow! It can’t be that soon! I expected frantic tears to explode but none came. I was too shocked. Mother was sobbing uncontrollably.

With my small hands, I reached up and wiped the wild tears seeping from her eyes. I searched for something to say to comfort both of our distraught hearts. I