Two Days Interval

Clara's pov

I left the mansion with my legs trembling below me, and even when I was dropped off in front of my apartment, I couldn't walk into my house due to how confused I was. It wasn't just to pay a debt of five hundred thousand dollars at this point, but to become his—not even in a thousand lifetimes will I ever choose him.

My hands were squeezing tightly at the lower part of my gown, and my feet kept tapping the floor.

“What should I do…?” The words barely formed from my mouth, while my eyes widened with what felt like being lost in myself.

I can't afford to submit myself to a crime boss. After working so hard in college and planning my life, on how I was going to work in companies and build my career, only for me to end up as a stripper... and not by my choice, but by someone else's choice.

"Oh gosh... What have I gotten myself into..."

My hands ran down my face as those words left my lips, and when I opened my eyes, Otis, my little dog, was wailing at me with his round, wide adorable eyes.

I gasped, then spread my arms for him to come to me.

Otis was my only companion. When I was bored sometimes, I hugged him in my arms and complained my life out to him, sharing my life experiences and how life had treated me so cruelly, from love to my freedom of choice.

And those round adorable eyes of his were always staring, he was always listening like a human, and at some point, I thought he was the only soul that could actually relate and console me at my weakest point.

My hands ran down his white fur, and my lips pressed against his head. "Are you hungry, Otis?"

He barked at me, then licked my face. I chuckled with a laugh.

"Bad boy... That means yes..."

I stood from where I was seated and went over to my fridge to see if I could find some canned food to give to Otis, but when I got there and checked, there was nothing inside.

"Oh fuck..." I sighed before narrowing my eyes at Otis, who was just on the bed staring at me. "There's nothing for you. I'm going to have to go get you some food from the store."

The grocery store wasn't far from my house, and getting there on foot wasn't going to be a big deal either.

I went to Otis and patted his head before softly saying, "Let me go get what you will eat, okay?"

What I was going to use to buy the food was from the money that was given to me by the crime boss. Speaking of crime, he doesn't even look like a criminal if I'm to judge, but even with that, his words do send chills down my spine.

While going to the grocery store, my head couldn't stop throbbing with those exact words of his. The two-day interval to make a decision was just so absurd, and not just that, I didn't even know the boss's real name.

It felt like I was in a video game, and if I could snap out of it, doing so would be the most grateful thing to ever achieve.

And while in my thoughts, I bumped into someone from behind, and when she furiously turned toward me, we both froze.

"Clara!" She called my name with surprise like she had seen a ghost.

"Lucia!" My voice echoed back.

I was stunned to see her. She was my best friend back in college, and after we both graduated, we never met until now.

"Where have you been all this while..." Lucia asked, looking very happy.

I was also happy seeing Lucia. Back in college, she was my partner in crime; almost everywhere I went, she went with me. But what came out of her lips next made my smile fade: "What are you doing for a living now?"

She grabbed my hands and strolled her fingers over my skin, and with a smile spreading across her face, she added, "Your beautiful skin seems to amaze me. You look more delicate, and it's as though you keep increasing in stunning beauty every second. Please tell me your skincare routine."

Her first question had caused my smile to fade, but I still tried to keep a little of it tugging at the corner of my lips. I couldn't just tell her that I work as a stripper, and not just that, I work to pay off a debt I didn't incur.

Worst of all, how would I explain to her how it had happened? Because even when I was still in college, she knew me with Alaric, and how loving we were together. Back then, she called us lovebirds, only for it now to be history that had led to my nightmare.

With a small smile on my face, I replied, "Oh, about my skin..." I hesitated for a while before continuing, "I don't use any skincare."

And to be honest, what I said was the truth. I have naturally glowing skin and didn't need skincare to make it look good, and I guess that is part of the nature embedded in me.

Lucia smiled before hugging me tightly. "I miss the old days..."

Her hug was so tight that I was already choking. Damn it, I guess she never stopped that playful nature of hers, even after five years of not meeting.

"Why don't we go to a restaurant and get something to eat? Maybe there we could discuss what has been going on for over five years," Lucia suggested. "I know you miss this troublesome nature of mine, isn't it?"

She proudly shrugged her shoulders as she said those words, and to be honest, I really did. But Otis, my dog, is starving, and I can't leave him for long without giving him something to eat.

I chuckled with a short grin before replying, "Yeah, about that, I have things to do right now. Why don't I get your number so we can talk on the phone instead?"

All my attempts to leave failed when Lucia began to drag me by the hand as she said, "All you have to do can wait. Let's spend time together—five years of not seeing each other isn't five days.”