Chapter 61 – The Collision

Michael’s POV

“Mister, you aren’t touching me. Am I not your choice?” the girl straddling my lap asked coyly, her voice a mix of fake sweetness and exhaustion.

Her perfume was heavy, it smelled fruity and cheap — and it clung to my clothes with desperation. She tilted her head, waiting for me to grab her waist or say something, but I just sat there, staring at my glass.

I turned to look at her, my mind foggy from the alcohol. The dim lights of the lounge flickered softly, painting her painted face in shades of red and gold. I took the last sip of my drink, the liquid burning down my throat, but it didn’t burn enough to erase the memory of what had happened earlier with Mannie.

Her tear-stained face wouldn’t leave my mind. Her voice — angry, broken, shaking, kept echoing in my head.

“You fcking abandoned me for months!”

I clenched my jaw. The sound of her voice still stung.

Indeed, she was right. I had no right to judge her. But still… seeing her like that, with those words thrown at me, tore something inside me apart.

I looked at the girl again. She was maybe twenty-two, maybe younger, though her tired eyes made her look older.

“Tell me,” I said finally, my voice rough from too many thoughts and too much whiskey. “Why do you do this?”

Her smile faltered. The playfulness in her eyes dimmed, replaced by a flicker of humiliation. For a second, she looked like she wanted to laugh, but instead, her lips trembled.

“This…” she said softly, and before I could guess what she was about to do, tears rolled down her cheeks.

The drunken haze in my mind began to clear. My stomach twisted as guilt crawled in.

“You look down on me, right?” she whispered, her voice breaking. “You’re wondering why I degrade myself like this.”

I didn’t say anything.

She took a shaky breath and continued, her words spilling out fast, like she’d been holding them in for too long.

“You may not believe this, but I was sold here… by my parents. They needed money for my brother’s wedding. They said I was useless, that at least this way I could help the family.”

Her lips quivered, her mascara smudged as tears streamed freely.

“I’m wanted by no one. Not my parents, not the men who come here, not even myself,” she said. “If I fail to satisfy one more client. If I get one more bad report, they’ll send me to the underground chambers.”

Her voice dropped to a whisper. “You know what that is, right? That’s where they send us to the beasts — the kind of people who don’t stop even when you bleed.”

My blood ran cold.

I leaned back, my mind suddenly sober. “Wait… does that still exist?” My voice rose, disbelief cutting through the air. “This is the 21st century!”

“Unfortunately, yes.” She wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand, smearing her makeup further. Then, as if forcing herself to return to her job, she forced a smile and began twisting her waist again, trying to look seductive.

“Please,” she whispered, voice trembling, “let me just do my job and save my life.”

I stared at her, speechless. Then I sighed and rubbed my face with both hands. “Just go,” I said quietly. “I’ll give you the tip and the good feedback you deserve.”

She blinked, frozen for a moment, like she couldn’t believe what she heard. Then her eyes lit up — real hope shining through the exhaustion.

“Thank you,” she said in a shaky but bright voice. She jumped off my lap and quickly straightened my shirt like she didn’t want to leave a single wrinkle behind.

Then she smiled, not seductively this time, but genuinely. “Thank you so much.”

She spun on her heel and almost skipped out of the room, her giggles echoing faintly down the corridor.

I sat there, staring into the empty glass. My reflection shimmered on the surface — tired, bitter, and filled with regret.

“What could Mannie have gone through?” I muttered under my breath. “What did I make her face?”

I suddenly felt disgusted with myself. All this time, I’d been angry at her for things I didn’t even know, while she might have been fighting battles far darker than I imagined.

I pushed the glass away and stood. The room swayed slightly from the alcohol, but my mind was clearer than it had been all night. I grabbed my jacket and headed for the door.

Just as I reached for the handle, my phone buzzed in my pocket.

I glanced at the screen. The caller read; Granddad.

I didn’t hesitate to answer. “Hello, Granddad.”

“Yo!” The old man’s deep voice boomed through the speaker. I rolled my eyes. His new obsession with youthful slang was both ridiculous and oddly endearing.

“What is it this time?” I asked, a small smirk tugging at my lips.

“Your cousin’s coming home tonight with his preggo girlfriend!” he said, sounding far too excited for a man his age.

I blinked. “Okay… wait—she’s pregnant?”

“Yup! Come see your sister-in-law!” he said cheerfully.

“Wait—Granddad—”

But he’d already hung up.

I stared at the phone in disbelief. My mind raced. Dominic? A girlfriend? Pregnant?

That didn’t sound like him at all. Dominic wasn’t the type to let anyone close, much less fall in love or have a child.

I rubbed my temples and groaned softly. “I’ll have to look for Mannie later,” I muttered.

I headed to the counter and found the manager leaning lazily against it, his cigarette dangling between his fingers.

“I’m leaving,” I said. “That girl from Room 7 — promote her. And give her this.” I placed a thick wad of cash on the counter. “Say she did well.”

The man snatched the money quickly, but as I turned away, I heard him mutter under his breath, “That bitch is lucky.”

My steps paused. A wave of irritation ran through me, but I didn’t turn around.

“Seems like she wasn’t lying,” I thought, gripping my car keys tightly as I walked out.

The night air hit my face, cool and sharp. I breathed it in deeply before heading to my car. The engine roared to life, the sound filling the quiet parking lot.

Even though I’d had a few drinks, I wasn’t drunk — not enough to lose control. My mind was sharper than before, clearer even, though it hurt more that way.

I drove through the city lights, each flash of red and white against the windshield reminding me of the chaos in my chest.

After a while, I reached the familiar iron gates of Dominic’s family mansion. The guard recognized me instantly and waved me in.

The courtyard was bathed in golden light from the massive chandeliers spilling through the tall windows. It looked just as intimidating as always — cold, grand, and too quiet.

I parked and stepped out, straightening my jacket before walking up the steps.

“Good evening, Aunt,” I greeted Dominic’s mother politely as I entered.

Her face was pinched, her lips pressed tight. She didn’t even look at me properly.

“Hmph,” she grunted and brushed past, her heels clicking sharply as she stormed up the stairs.

I let out a breath. “Aunt must be throwing a temper,” I mused aloud, shaking my head.

It didn’t take much to guess why. Dominic’s mother, like my own, had always wanted to choose her son’s wife herself. Any woman outside her control was already an enemy.

They’d both built their thrones on power, not love.

The sad truth? Even the kindest girl wouldn’t stand a chance in front of them.

I walked toward the living room, following the sound of laughter. The low hum of conversation reached me before I even entered.

Granddad’s voice stood out. It was full of energy, booming with excitement.

I smiled. The old man always had a way of making any house feel alive.

When I stepped in, the warmth hit me — the smell of roasted beef, the faint sound of jazz music playing from the corner, and the soft light bouncing off the marble floors.

I saw Granddad sitting on the couch, laughing heartily. Dominic stood beside him, tall and composed, his arm slightly in front of a woman whose face I couldn’t see clearly.

For a split second, I thought maybe she was just shy. But then I noticed the way Dominic positioned himself, a bit protective and shielding.

It made me pause.

“Granddad, I’m home!” I said loudly, forcing cheer into my tone.

The old man looked up with a huge grin. “You stinky brat! How can you come for dinner reeking of alcohol and smoke?”

I laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of my neck. “You know me, old man. Bad habits die hard.”

Then I turned toward Dominic. “Hey, cousin, long—”

But the words died on my tongue.

The woman beside him turned slightly.

And my world stopped.

Mannie.

She was standing there, her face pale, her eyes wide, her fingers nervously clutching the edge of her shirt. Her hair was tied loosely, a few strands brushing her cheek.

Her lips parted as our eyes met, both of us frozen in shock.

The air in the room shifted.

I couldn’t move. I couldn’t even breathe.

Granddad, oblivious to the storm that had just started brewing, chuckled. “Seems even your cousin’s sister-in-law can enchant you!”

“Wait,” I croaked, my voice barely working. “She’s… Dominic’s girlfriend?”

Granddad blinked at me, confused for a moment before nodding proudly. “Yeah! The one I told you about. The one pregnant with his child.”

The words slammed into me like thunder.

Pregnant.

With his child.

It felt like the ground had tilted beneath me. My ears rang. My heart pounded so loud it drowned everything else.

I tried to speak, to ask, to deny, to scream but no words came.

My vision blurred. The room spun.

Mannie’s lips moved, maybe calling my name, but I couldn’t hear her.

I stared at Dominic, at his hand resting possessively at her back. My chest tightened until I couldn’t breathe.

The dizziness hit me like a wave.

And then — darkness.

The last thing I heard was Granddad’s startled voice and the sound of chairs scraping against the floor as I fell forward, the world collapsing around me.

I couldn’t accept it.

I couldn’t accept the truth.?