"Dede," Julia called out and both Brian and Dede's attention shifted to the door as they both heard footsteps approaching.
"Now, you don't want to create any confusion. Just in case she asks of me, tell her you have not seen me. Do you understand?" Brian said and entered the bathroom leaving Dede to answer the door.
"Dede," Julia called out again, standing in the corridor not sure which door leads to Dede's room.
Dede walked to the door and opened it to find Julia in the corridor. Julia entered admiring the room. Dede smiled but was trembling inside knowing Brian was in her bathroom.
"Your room is very nice," Julia admired and sat on the bed. "I am so excited we are here. Now we need to find ourselves jobs and get a better living," she said and Dede managed a smile still standing in the middle of the room, just a distance away from the door.
"Dede, are you alright?" Julia asked with a frown. "Why do you look like you have seen a ghost?" she added.
"Er, am.." Dede stammered as she wanted to tell Julia about Brian but their attention was drawn to the bathroom door as Brian's voice was heard.
"That should do it," Brian said and entered the room. "Hey, Julia, when did you get here?' he asked.
"Just a couple of minutes ago," Julia replied with a frown wondering why Brian was in Dede's room.
"Hope the shower in your room is working. You know, no one had used these rooms for a while. I should have had them checked before she guys arrived," Brian explained.
"Oh, mine is working fine and thank you," Julia said with a smile and Dede felt a bit relaxed.
"Okay, you can take your shower now," Brian said to Dede and turned to look at Julia as he offered her his hand. "Let's go," he said and Julia accepted his hand already feeling like a princess in a Disney movie.
"Dinner will be ready half an hour from now. See you downstairs in the dining room," Brian said to Dede with a wink when Julia was not looking.
The two left the room and Dede knew she needed to be careful around Brian. Julia had introduced him to her as her boyfriend so why was he looking at her that way? She picked a straight boring dress and changed into it. She left her bag on the bedside table and exited the room.
"Please how do I get to the dining room," Dede asked the servant she met in the corridor.
"Mr Jackson sent me to fetch you. I shall take you there," the servant replied.
"Thank you. I am Dede Mensah and you are?" Dede asked.
"Call me Kate," the elderly woman who appears to be in her fifties replied.
"Okay, ma'am," Dede said with a smile and the woman led her to the dining area.
Julia was already sitting next to Brian behind the table laughing about something. Dede entered and greeted before making herself comfortable on one of the chairs which was next to Julia. Brian sat at the head of the table with his bad-boy look.
"Dede, you missed all the jokes," Julia said as soon as Dede was seated.
"Anyway, you are both welcome to my home. I will be here from now till the end of the week and I will go to my family's house. I will be passing by to check on you guys occasionally," Brian said alternating his gaze between Julia and Dede.
"I hope I won't have to stay here that long without you," Julia asked feeling all in love and happy seeing the man she had been chatting with online for two years.
"No, you don't have to miss me that much. I will be here," Brian said and kissed the back of Julia's hand. "Well, let's eat before the food gets cold," he said.
The servant with them quickly uncovered the food and the aroma filled the room. On the table was rice, vegetable salad with prawns, sauce and grilled chicken. The servant served the three and they all started eating. Once they were done with dinner. They watched TV together before retiring for the night. Dede said goodnight to Brian and Julia before heading for her room. Brian went with Julia to her room and once he closed the door. He grabbed Julia and began to kiss her. In a matter of minutes, they were on the bed and Brian was on top of Julia pounding her.
Dede on the other hand climbed into bed and drifted off to sleep after taking a shower. Dede felt something cold which quickly turned warm in her chest area and it was followed by a ticklish pleasurable feel which made her squeeze her face. She felt a hand on her thigh which made her open her eyes only to find Brian on top of her.
"Ah!" Dede screamed but Brian's hands quickly covered her mouth.
"I want you. I will give you anything you want. Your friend doesn't need to know about this," Brian said and Dede frowned and pushed herself up away from him.
"Please, go back to your room. I can't," Dede pleaded.
"You are in my room," Brian said and Dede was surprised wondering how she ended up in Brian's room.
The lights came on and Julia was standing at the door. Brian jumped out of bed pushing Dede away.
"How did you get here?" Brian yelled at Dede who was surprised by Brian's sudden reaction and Julia stood there looking at the scene before her.
"Get out of my room," Brian yelled at Dede and Dede got out of bed.
Dede got out of bed and looked around the room shocked. That wasn't the room she was given. She was wondering how she ended up in Brian's room. She recalled getting into her bed and sleeping on her bed inside the room that was given to her so how did she end up in Brian's room? She was lost in her thoughts when she felt like her ears could not hear anything anymore. The feeling was followed by a sharp pain on her cheek and another one landed on her remaining cheek before she registered Julia had just slapped both of her cheeks. Dede's hands flew to her cheeks.
"Dede, how could you? For four years, I took care of you without asking you for anything and the first thing you did was to jump into my boyfriend's bed?" Julia questioned.
"Julia, I swear to you. I don't know how I got here," Dede explained.
"Of course, it has never been your fault. You are always the victim. Dede, that is the problem. You are always the victim," Julia growled as this wasn’t the first time such a thing had happened.
Brian stood by his bed watching Julia descend on Dede. He just wanted to sleep with Dede. He had another plan on his mind so he decided to say something to worsen Julia's mood.
"Julia is that the kind of people you have as friends? For once I thought you were the one until she spoke," Brian said with a frown standing next to the bed wearing just trousers but no top.
His well-formed chest was in clear view and the dragon tattoo on his left shoulder stretching towards his elbow could be seen. Julia looked at Brian briefly and returned her gaze to Dede.
"What do you mean you don't know how you got here? Your room is on the next floor. So how is it that you are here?" Julia asked looking at Dede disappointed.
"Dede, what is your explanation this time? Brian came onto you?" Julia asked sounding angry "Before you tell that lie as you did to Mike, remember you are the one in Brian's room," she reminded and Dede went silent.
Mike was Julia’s first fiancée back in Ghana and a similar situation led to the end of the relationship. Back then, Julia believed Dede was attacked by Mike because she was at home and Mike came to visit but this time, it was Dede in Brian’s room.
At this moment, Dede knew there was nothing she could say that would make Julia believe her. After dinner, she went to her room. She took a shower and climbed into her bed. So how did she end up in Brian's room? This was a question she could not answer.
"You think you have an extraordinary beauty so you will seduce men and play the victim when caught? You see, today your deeds have found you out. You know what? Mike was right about you. Mike may not be a good person but I am beginning to think between you and Mike, on that day, you were the one lying," Julia said. "I never had a sister, so I took you as my sister and the reason I gave you everything. Dede. Have I ever denied you of anything? So why my boyfriend?" she yelled.
"Get out," Julia yelled without waiting for any explanation from her.
Dede exited the room and Brian walked up to Julia, pulling her into a hug. She immediately broke down in tears.
"I loved her like my sister. I never thought she could do this to me," Julia said in tears.
"You can never trust people. I am so sorry about your friend," Brian consoled wishing he had drugged Julia to sleep after their passionate session.
Earlier, he had entered Dede's room and carefully carried her out of her room into his room on the next floor. Dede was exhausted from the long flight and the little alcohol in the cocktail drink served on the table induced the deep sleep. Brian didn't expect Julia to wake up and come look for him seeing she was also very tired. He had thought she was going to sleep till morning. Julia caught them and he pushed everything on Dede. He liked Julia but he was lusting after Dede and only wanted to sleep with her.
"So, what are you going to do about your friend?" Brian asked holding Julia in his arms as they both lay on the bed. "Did you know she sent me nude pictures of herself from the bathroom," he added and Julia was surprised.
Brian pulled his phone and showed the pictures to Julia. Julia felt very disappointed.
"She has no one except me. If we were back in Ghana, I would have thrown her out into the street but here I don't know what will happen to her. Can you help me find her a job that comes with an accommodation so she can move out?" Julia asked and lifted her head to look at Brian.
"You two just got here. I need a work permit, to begin with. The process can take a while but let me talk to some friends and see," Brian replied.
"Hmmm," Julia said and lay her head back on Brian's chest wondering why Dede stabbed her in the back like that.
"You know; this will not be the first time I have caught her with a male friend of mine in such an awkward situation. I had always thought it was the men trying to take advantage of her but tonight had made me realize she only plays victim when caught," Julia said and Brian kissed the top of her head and continued to rub her shoulders gently.
Brian could hear Julia talk but his mind was on the brief feel of Dede's body in his arms. Dede on the other hand was sitting on her bed wondering how she ended up in Brian's room.
The next day in the morning, Julia pushed the door to Dede's room open like she was the madam of the apartment. Her eyes narrowed at Dede whose eyes had turned red from no sleep and tears. Brian had left for work so it was just the two of them in the four-bedroom apartment together with the servants.
"I paid for the whole process for you to be here. My boyfriend paid for our plane ticket. I wanted to throw you out into the street but this is what I am going to do for you as a friend and our friendship will come to an end. Brian will find you a job. Once he does, you will leave this place. I don't want a repetition of last night's incident," Julia said.
Dede got out of bed and went on her knees with tears in her eyes.
"Believe me. I don't know how I ended up in Mr Jackson's room. I took a shower and went to bed. Here in this room, Julia. It is our first time in this apartment. How could I have known Mr Jackson's room was upstairs?" Dede said but Julia was finding it hard to believe.
"You want me to believe that when you can easily ask any of the servants or even follow Mr Jackson to his room?" Julia spat at her.
Julia recalled the nude pictures of Dede on Brian's phone when Dede mentioned she had taken a shower. The pictures were taken in the bathroom. Brian told her, he had received it from Dede.
"So that was when you decided to take the nude pictures of yourself and send them to Brian's phone?" Julia asked.
"Nude pictures? What nude pictures?" Dede asked surprised.
"Of course, you will act shocked like you are hearing it for the first time," Julia spat. "Look, as part of becoming a model, you can add acting to it because you know what, you are so good at acting. You play innocence so well but guess what? You will not fool me this time. I am done with you Dede," she yelled at her and exited the room.
Dede sat on the floor with her back against the side of the bed facing the dressing table. The mirror picked her image and she frowned immediately but her eyes were quickly filled with tears. Her appearance had caused her so many problems.
"God, why didn't you create me like everyone else? Must you give me all these features to create problems for me? I am sure it was the same reason why my birth parents abandoned me in front of the orphanage home. What if I didn't have these features, I would not have problems, right?" Dede thought and stood to her feet.
She went out of her room and asked one of the servants for a knife. The servant got her the knife and Dede headed for her room. Kate was curious to know what Dede was going to do with a knife in her room after hearing the yelling that went on in Brian's room at 11 p.m. She knew Brian all too well and his womanizing behaviour.
Inside Dede's room, Dede looked at her face for the last time in the mirror and shifted her gaze to the knife she was holding in her hand.
"This is for the best. No more trouble and problems," Dede said and gave herself a cut on the cheeks which started bleeding immediately.
She moved the knife to her other cheek to give herself another cut. She intended to give herself multiple scars on her face. She knew by doing this, she may never get the job as a model because all the models she had seen in the magazines had flawless skin and now she is giving herself scars.
She moved the knife to her other cheek to give herself another cut. She intended to give herself multiple scars on her face. She knew by doing this, she may never get the job as a model because all the models she had seen in the magazines had flawless skin and now she is giving herself scars."Ms, what are you doing," screamed Kate startling Dede who suddenly dropped the knife in her hand as her gaze shifted to the opened door.Kate entered and walked up to her. Dede took a step back but Kate caught up with her and was surprised to see the blood on her face. "What are you doing?" Kate asked but Dede could not speak and her eyes were rather filled with tears threatening to fall. "Whatever you are going through, harming yourself is not a solution. It would rather give you more problems. Every problem has a solution," Kate said sounding like she was scolding Dede. "Look, I don't know what your problem is but I can assure you what you are doing now is not a solution," Kate said."What d
Dede was wondering what was wrong with him. Meanwhile, Julia was back in the apartment exploring her new environment. Back at the hotel, Dede was pinned against the wall trapped in between Brian's arms who had his lips on her neck. "Can I take a shower first?" Dede requested. Brian raises his head to look at her face. He stared at Dede for a while and leaned in to kiss her but she quickly turned her head away and Brain ended up kissing her ears instead. "Sure, take a shower, my seductress. I will wait for you," Brain groaned and took a step back freeing her from his grip. Dede ran into the bathroom and quickly closed the door behind her. She placed her hand on her chest trying to calm herself down. She was scared thinking of what was about to happen. She looked at the bathroom and it was a bathtub with a faucet sprout and so many knobs lined up on the walls. She didn't know what controls what. She ignored it and only thought of a way to get out. She thought she could accept Brian'
Dede was happy and she thanked the manager unaware of how she would be dressed while serving strangers in the restaurant. As requested, Dede went to see the HR who had already been informed by the manager that she was coming to see him. "Ah you must be Dede," came the voice of a man. "Yes, please," Dede responded excitedly "What you are going to do is not difficult. You will be waiting on tables. I will give you two tables for a start," the man said. "Sit down," he said standing up from behind his desk. Dede sat down on the chair in front of the desk. The man continued to talk with one hand in his pocket as he paced up and down his office. "All you need to do is. If you see anyone sitting at that table, you attend to them. It is that simple. Take their orders and serve them," he said and tossed a book onto the table startling Dede. He slammed his hand on the table and stared at Dede on his left as he bent over the table. He smiled looking at her face but his face became serious a
"You can't run away from me. I always get what I want," Brian said with a smirk and Dede's heart began to race. "Let's see. You lied to me at the motel and you ran off," Brian scoffed. "And now here you are. A worker in one of my many businesses," he added with a smirk. "I will scream," Dede said leaning against the door and Brian laughed so hard he held his stomach. He stood up from behind his desk, leaned against the desk facing Dede, and folded his arms across his chest. "Since you said you only have a basic education. Let me ask you this question. Do you know what soundproof means?" Brian asked and Dede just stared at him in silence. "Let me tell you what it is," Brian said. "Soundproof simply means not allowing any sound to go through something," he explained. "Guess what, that is what this room is. Soundproof. You scream your lungs out, no one will hear you," he said with a smirk. "What do you want from me? You have a beautiful girl who loves you. My sister Julia. So why ar
"We are going for a ride," Brian said. Steve went for the car key and soon, they were out of the building with Steve behind the wheel. "She was behind the building. So use the back street," Brian said and Steve made a turn onto the road leading to the back street behind the restaurant. Dede was out on the street, not sure which way to go. She walked on the pavement trying to find her bearing. She had come in from the front, now she was behind the restaurant. "Okay, Dede think," She said to herself. "If this is the back of the restaurant," Dede said and looked at the road behind her. "This road should lead to the front of the restaurant. I can find my way back to the junction and return to the shelter," she said and decided to use the road. Dede had only taken a couple of steps when she saw a car heading in her direction. A couple of cars had driven past her earlier but this particular car seemed like it was heading for her. When the car was close she saw Steve behind the wheel an
"Bryson, which other girl are you bringing in this time?" Melissa thought as she descended the staircase. "Hello, Bryson is doing it again. Find out who the girl is," Melissa said on the phone and ended the call before exiting the building. Alex returned to the hospital and was directed to the ward where Dede had been kept. He pushed the door open and frowned immediately. "Who did this?" Alex asked the nurse who was with him. "She was being difficult. We strap her to the bed because we didn't want to sedate her," the nurse replied. "You should have used the sedative. Now she looks like a criminal," Alex said and stood by the bed. "What do you want from me?" Dede asked with a frown but even with her frown she looked pretty making Alex blink twice. "Nothing," Alex replied. "Left to me alone, I would have just given you the bundle of cash and left you but my boss wants to help you after hearing your story," he added and Dede's frown deepened. "My story?" Dede repeated. "Yes. I k
"No, no, this can't be happening," Dede whispered on her lips taking some steps back. She turned to walk away but heard someone call out to her. There were two people she recognized from the people sitting together. One was the man she had seen on the television the first day she arrived in the country and the second was the lady she met at the restaurant who spoke to her harshly. "Does Mr Jackson own this place too?" Dede thought, not sure what to do as she continued taking slow steps backwards. "Hey, are you not supposed to bring the drinks here," came a lady's voice. There were two men and four ladies. Bryson sat relaxed in his seat with his arms stretched on the backrest of the seat. Melissa sat next to him and the other gentleman sat opposite Bryson with the three ladies sharing a seat with him. Eva sat on his right side and Jolie and Christina sat together to his leftDede paused in her steps, walked towards the group and with trembling hands, placed the tray of drinks on the
"Scream and you are dead," the man said pointing a gun at her. "Come in and have a sit. We are just going to chat like adults," the man said and used his gun to gesture for Dede to sit down. Dede sat on the sofa furthest away from the man. "I am here because you mess with the wrong person. You kissed someone's boyfriend," the man said and Dede frowned. She was the one who got abused if this man sitting in front of her was referring to what happened in the club, so, what is he talking about? "Where is your sense of humour? I was only making a joke," the man said and stood up. "I am here to do just one thing and that is to kill you," the man said nonchalantly "I'm gonna put a bullet in between your eyes and no one gonna know about it," the man said and tears filled her eyes. Dede had thought her country was the worse place to be and maybe coming to the state, she would have better opportunities and life would be more easier. Her decision was a result of her and Julia hearing peopl