Love For Sale

-Xander-

"You...what?" I exclaimed.

Adrianna covered her face with her hands, avoiding my gaze and obviously embarrassed that she had asked me this, yet I felt bewildered.

"Adrianna, are you asking me to commit a crime?" I asked.

"Um, maybe?" she replied, peeking through her fingers and appearing even more nervous.

"Absolutely not! Your car isn't worth that much," I stated, shaking my head and refusing right away.

"It isn't so simple," she insisted, leaning toward me.

"No? Explain," I demanded, crossing my arms and refusing to add this to the contract yet.

"I...can't," she replied.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Because...it's...complicated," she admitted.

"No, I'm not breaking into some high-tech bank just to fill your pockets so you can satisfy your obvious shopping addiction," I retorted, thinking that was the reason she wanted me to risk going to jail.

"I don't need money!"

"You apparently do, since your daddy is cutting you off," I pointed out, but she shook her head, her eyes showing a vulnerability that surprised me.

"No, really, that's not it," she assured me.

"Then what is it?" I asked.

"My...last boyfriend...stole something."

"He stole something? Why didn't you call the police?" I asked.

"Because I sort of...can't," she replied, her apprehensive growing, and the broken look on her face tugged at my heartstrings.

"I'm not following," I said.

She sighed and avoided meeting my eyes, so I tried to capture her gaze with mine, but she kept evading me.

"Adrianna?" I pressed, feeling a bit worried.

"Okay, so we were together for quite a while," she admitted.

"And?"

"Well, it didn't end well."

"Okay..."

"And so he...stole my dog," she revealed.

My mouth fell agape, and I just stared at her while she looked embarrassed, focusing on the ground and wrapping her arms around herself, as if to shield her body.

"He...stole your dog?" I inquired.

She nodded.

"But that's an obvious crime!" I exclaimed. "Give the police the certificate for your dog, and problem solved."

"I can't," she confessed.

"Why not?" I asked.

"The dog sort of...belongs to him," she replied, her voice growing weaker.

"Um, what?"

"It was adopted under his name because I actually didn't want one, but he pressured me into adopting it," she explained.

"But if you didn't want it, then why do you want it back?" I asked, feeling so confused.

"Because I came to love him. My ex was never taking care of him, leaving him hungry and trapped inside the house if I didn't take him out. He wasn't showing him any affection, and he soiled the floor all the time. He was obviously scared, so I took him in for a while, but when we broke up, he took him back. I tried explaining the circumstances to the police, but I won't be able to remove Beast unless I can prove animal abuse or neglect, and I haven't been able to do either," she confessed.