“Dad, stop it, please!” she pleaded.
“You wish for this! You should’ve prepared the money I need!”
“Dad, no! It hurts!”
Her father pulled her hair that made her cry more. A devil-in-disguise as her biological father punched her in the stomach.
She could only gasp with pain as she fell to the cold, tiled floor. Whimpering due to the excruciating feeling from her stomach after being punched by her own father, Michelle had no strength to fight anymore.
As tears kept shedding on her face, she recalled how her life became miserable after her father turned into a gambler; multiple debts were passed on her to pay, the threatening words from the loan sharks where he borrowed from and paying the high interest that completely ruined the plan she had in life. She was only twenty-two, yet had a handful shits on her plate because of her addict father. She was tired of it!
“I’m telling you this, Michelle!” Her father’s voice thundered inside the little apartment where she bunked with her best friend, Megan. “I need the money by tomorrow! It’s just a simple request to save your father’s life! Don’t be so selfish!”
Selfish. That was how her father saw her whenever she couldn’t give the money he demanded. He thought she was selfish, not even knowing that getting it wasn’t something that could be easily done. In fact, she had to sell herself just to pay his over-the-neck debts!
Michelle sat upright when her father finally left the apartment. Her arms had bruises after the beatings she got from her own father; the pain was evident yet the reality that her father didn’t see her worth was way upsetting more than the physical abuse. She was just a daughter who wanted to be loved; who wanted to be treated fairly by her father; to be taken care of just like the normal daughters out there. However, that wasn’t the case given to her.
***
“My goodness, Mich! What happened to your face?!” Megan rushed towards her as soon as her best friend saw the bruises on her face.
Michelle was sitting in front of the little vanity mirror, trying to cover her bruises by applying makeup tricks. She needed to go to work... for the last time, as she decided to end her misery. Her savings should be enough to pay off her father’s handful debt. After that, she would live a new life. She wanted to be selfish for once and her father had no right to say a thing about it.
Megan looked at her worriedly. “Did your father come here again? Did he do that to you? I think we should report him to the cops!”
“There’s no need, Meg. I’m fine,” she said, offering her a thin smile.
“No, you’re not! You’re abused, for the love of God, Mich! Look at yourself!”
Michelle let out a sigh of defeat, and spun on Megan. “I swear this will be the last time that you’ll see me with all these bruises. This time, I’ll do what I want without thinking about him.” She smiled but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I have enough of his shit.”
Megan’s expression softened and embraced her. “God, I’m so disappointed in your dad. He’s lucky to have you. He should see your worth.”
“I’m disappointed in him too.” She sighed, blinking her tears away.
***
Michelle took a few deep breaths as soon as she arrived in the familiar stripper’s club. She worked as a stripper in that place, not only to support her education, but also to pay off her father’s debt. Sure, the work wasn’t the typical job of someone who had taken a professional business course in college, but she had no choice three years ago. This was the only job that could give her the money she badly needed.
“Let’s give one last look at this filthy place,” she uttered, surveying the outside appearance of the club before going inside.
She went straight into the dressing room after handing over her resignation to her boss, sat on the vanity table and started retouching her makeup, making sure that her bruises weren’t visible as she could not afford to disappoint. After minutes, she was done and satisfied with her overall look.
Michelle appeared to be a walking temptation, dressed in sultry lingerie that complimented her hourglass-shaped body. Following a couple of performances by her colleagues, Michelle went backstage for her turn as the night's highlight.
"Gentlemen, let’s give a round of applause to the sexiest and hottest stripper in the club. Here comes the queen, Mika!" announced by the host.
"This will be the last time, Mich...” she whispered, walking onto the stage where she was greeted by the loud cheers coming from the crowd.
Seconds later, she heard the enticing French music she chose for her last performance. The strobe lights went red and blue, and the spotlight hit her torso. She strolled sexily onstage and swung her hips, dancing with her hands all over her body, making men drool.
She closed her eyes, swayed her hips, and then caressed her crotch. When she opened them, she saw a man's marble gray eyes among the crowd. Michelle had to admit that the man was handsome and enigmatic. A tingling excitement coursed through her by the way he looked at her thighs and crotch.
Michelle captured the attention of every male in the crowd, including the man who first caught her attention. By his looks, she could see he was turned on.
Minutes afterwards, her performance ended. All the men cheered, applauding their hands. She gave a flying kiss and thanked everyone, then glanced into the man’s direction, meeting his intense gaze before she walked to the backstage.
"Bravo! Our star has done it again!" Chester, the owner of the club, congratulated her. "I want to give you something as a gift, Mika. Come to my office."
"Sure!" Michelle then followed Chester to his office.
"Have a seat," Chester told her when they entered his office. Michelle sat on the couch, and then noticed him staring at the brown envelope in his desk. "Actually, someone wants to—"
"Don’t forget that I’m a performer, Ches. Not a sex worker," she cut him off before he could finish his words.
"No, this is different. I just need you to share some drinks with him!"
"This is my last night. Please don’t ruin it. I trust and respect you so much." Michelle stood up to her feet. "If you have nothing else to say, I’ll leave."
"That’s five hundred thousand dollars, Mika!" Chester remarked, which made her freeze in her place.
What? That much for a drink? Michelle thought.
“That much, Ches?” She gave him a wide-eyed look.
Her boss smirked. “Of course. Your worth isn’t just a bare minimum, Mich. It’s just a few drinks and you’ll get the money. No sex required.”
The offer was indeed good, and whoever paid a lot for her time may have saved her years from another rat race.
"What do you think?"
Michelle blinked, as she contemplated. It was a one of a life time offer. She couldn’t let it slide. Besides, it was only for a few drinks...
After a minute, she finally made a decision.
“Deal!”
Michelle’s mouth fell open seeing a gray limousine that picked her up in the parking lot. She could not help but wonder how rich her client was. So many thoughts started to swirl around her head. Sure, it was a one-time jackpot in her last night being a stripper!When the driver assisted her, she didn't hesitate to get in.But when she saw the familiar orbs of the man sitting comfortably inside the car, she was taken aback and her jaw dropped immediately.It was none other than the man she had glanced throughout her final performance. He looked totally hot as he sipped from his wine glass.Her gut twisted when their eyes met again. Even her heart seemed to have forgotten how to stay calm. His look made her want to swoon, but she knew it would only embarrass her.She cleared her throat, sat next to him, ashamed.“I second-thought you would reject my offer,” he said. His tone of voice echoed in her head. It was deep yet soothing, and enough for her knees to go jelly. “Would you like a d
Life has been hectic for Michelle for the past two weeks. After graduating from college and paying off her father’s debt, she busied herself looking for a decent job. She submitted her application to three companies, but deep within she prayed so hard that her dream company—Steinfield Company—would be the first to contact her.And it was like an answered prayer. Today, she received an email from them, and as she read the letter, she couldn’t help but be in tears.They invited her for an interview this afternoon!Michelle let out a loud shriek, still not believing what she’d just read.She didn’t waste any time and prepared herself for today’s interview. She wore her best formal clothes partnered with her oozing confidence. She reminded herself that she should not fail the interview, or else, she would regret it for the rest of her life.With a joyful feeling inside her chest, she went to the company to be interviewed. Her heart raced so fast when the cab stopped in front of what seeme
“You will be the personal secretary of Mr. Ethan Steinfield, the CEO of this company.”Shocked to hear it from the Human Resource manager, Michelle could only gasp, still looking at the HR manager who briefed her about her position.“Ms. Finley?”She came back to her senses and blinked a few times. “Y-Yes?”“Were you listening?”“I am, I apologize,” she answered, trying to compose her thoughts.Just when she thought she could get away from the man she didn’t want to cross paths with, fate brought her into a nerve wracking situation, again.But what choice did she have? She needed this job more than anything else. Her pride could not provide for her.“His office is located on the 78th floor. You can go up now and wait for the CEO to give you orders.”She went out of the manager’s office and walked her way out of the Human Resource floor. Michelle walked past the group of employees who were having a conversation in one office cubicle.“There she is. I heard she blacked out during the in
“Is that a bruise?”Michelle came back to her senses, and looked at the man in front of her.Even though there was a fiasco that happened in the apartment last night, she still forced herself to go to work as she didn’t want her co-workers, including the CEO, to have a bad impression of her.She tried to cover the bruise on the corner of her lips by using a makeup, but it seemed like she failed to do it perfectly.Ethan looked at her in an intense manner. “Where did you get that?”She covered the bruise using the back of her palm. “This is nothing, Sir.” Then she put the summary report he needed on his desk. “Here’s the report that you asked me to submit. Please let me know if there are revisions I need to do.”“Did someone hurt you?”Michelle breathed in heavily. She didn’t want to recall what happened last night, yet her boss was making her remember the horrible event she wanted to forget.“No, Sir. Please, don’t mind me,” she told firmly. “Is there anything else you need me to do?”
“What did you say?” she asked, her voice low and confused. “Don’t make me repeat myself, Mika,” Ethan replied dryly. She blinked several times, trying to observe the emotions behind his marble gray-colored pair of eyes, but all she could see was dominance, arrogance, and a sheer amount of amusement as he stared down at her. “Please, don’t call me by that name,” she uttered. “And I want to understand those things you just said a while ago.” Ethan’s brow arched up as he crossed his arms against his chest. “I said your father and I came up with a deal.” He stared at her darkly. “I will pay his debt, and as part of the deal, you will have to marry me.” “Are you insane?!” Michelle was so shocked, and angry. Ethan smirked before he clicked his tongue. The fact that the man still had the time to look so arrogant and gorgeous made her blood boil to a high level. “I swear you wouldn’t like to see me get insane.” He chuckled and continued, “You need help, and I need a wife. It should b
“I repeat. Who are you?!” An old brunette woman approached her; forehead creased and expression in grim.“M-My name is Michelle,” she said, still unable to move on from what she saw inside that red room on the second floor.The woman’s expression changed, and raised an eyebrow as she looked at Michelle from head to toe, and then gazed back at her. “So you must be Ethan’s wife.”“I-I am,” Michelle stuttered. “I—I apologize. I didn’t mean to startle you.”“Yes, I was indeed surprise to see you coming down from the second floor,” said the woman in distate. “I am Priscilla, the housekeeper. Did you happen to enter some rooms?”“N-No!” she lied.Priscilla narrowed her eyes as she crossed her arms. “Well, please be cautious the next time. Ethan doesn’t like it when people enter some restricted rooms, especially on the second floor.”Fuck, is she referring to that room? She thought.Michelle couldn’t help but swallow hard. Sure, she felt that Priscilla was the type of housekeeper that she sh
“We can go to the office together,” Ethan said coldly during breakfast.Michelle shot him a glance, but he didn’t meet her gaze. He acted so distant; face grim and silent. He was like a kid ready to throw a pit at one touch or a rabid animal ready to snarl if someone tried to joke around.Michelle shook her head. Just because she questioned him about the secret room last night, he became aloof from her, as if bringing up that room was taboo.“I will take a cab,” she replied dryly and sipped on her coffee.She waited to see Ethan’s reaction to her response, but all she got was a nod.“We shouldn’t go to office together since I want this relationship to be a secret in the office,” she added.He glanced over at her for a second and then sipped on his coffee.“I’m not forgetting that.”“Cool.” Michelle couldn’t hide her smirk. It was only twen
Just when Michelle thought that her day would be getting better, hell opened up to deliver the devil that had ruined her sanity.Ashley clearly knew a lot of things about Ethan, and the way she talked gave Michelle a hunch that the woman also knew about his unusual hobby. What’s worse was that she told her that Ethan married her so he could use her as his subject, his slave.Her stomach twitched at the thought that Ethan would use her sexually. She kept biting her lips until she tasted the metallic blood on them.She was inside the bedroom when the door swung open. Ethan entered inside and their gazes immediately locked.He stared down at her blankly, and it frustrated Michelle that she couldn’t see any emotion in his marble gray eyes. It was as if he mastered the art of coldness so well that no one was allowed to see a single weakness, even in his eyes.“I need to talk to you,” she uttered firmly while sitting down on the b