In the dim light of the auction house, the air was thick with the scent of sweat and uncertainty. The young woman stood on the stage, her bare skin glistening under the harsh fluorescent lights. She was just nineteen, yet the weight of the world felt like an anchor around her neck. The sound of murmured conversations reverberated around her, a cacophony of judgment and desire.
She tried to meet the eyes of the faces before her, but they seemed


