CHAPTER 1

Carolina's POV:

On a Friday evening, I returned home after an unsuccessful job hunt and met my mother, Lilian Edmond, at the front door.

"Carolina, you are 26 years old. Yet, no job or a boyfriend. You cannot continue to eat in this house with us. Leave my house!" my mother shouted, standing at the front door of this rented apartment.

"Mom…" I groaned, as I was already tired after trekking for hours, searching for a job.

I stood in front of my mother, knowing my father wasn't at home and my siblings hadn't return home except for my youngest sister, Cassie, who was inside.

My mother was a 48-year-old woman. She was of average height, but had fair skin, blonde hair, and a curvaceous body. She was wearing a light blue dress and a pair of black slippers as she looked at me disdainfully.

I wore a faded yellow top and an old frayed brown skirt that I had for ages, with a pair of black shoes. I held my worn-out black bag and stood in front of the house, looking at my mother.

"Carolina, you are not entering this house today. You better go back and look for a job. If you do not see any job, then do not come home again. If your father and I had known that sending you to the university was a waste, we wouldn't have wasted our money and saved it for your younger ones. How do you expect us to continue to feed a grown áss woman like you in this house? If you do not want to work, then remain outside there!" My mother went back into the apartment and slammed the door in my face.

I stood outside speechless, looking at the closed door, and sighed.

I am Carolina Edmond, and I graduated with a first-class degree in business management, and so far I haven't been able to secure a good job in this city. It was tough finding a job.

I grew up in a family of five children. Having two younger sisters and two younger brothers, I was the eldest and a 26-year-old woman. Yet, I have nothing serious ongoing in my life. No job, no lover, just me.

I turned to walk back to the road, knowing that my mother shoulders all our family responsibilities as my father was just a deadbeat father. He doesn't truly care. He comes home to eat, and we might not get to see him for days.

As I stood by the roadside, I thought of what to do and how to get a job tonight.

It was past 7 p.m., and I knew most of the agency shops had closed. So what work could I get tonight?

Shutting my blue eyes, I reached for my phone in my black bag and contacted my best friend, Lucy Campbell.

Lucy works in a clubhouse, and I am sure that she can help me get money to take care of my bills for this weekend.

"Hello, Lucy," I said, once she picked up her phone.

"Hey, Carolina. What's wrong?" Lucy asked me, shouting over the phone call, as I noticed that she was at work. The loud sound of club music reverberated in my ear.

"I am homeless, Lucy. Can I come and stay at your place?" I asked her, knowing that she lived alone and also trying to fight back my sobs.

Lucy was my childhood friend, and we attended the same college. Well, she didn't have a troubling family like mine. But she chose to live alone and work in a club.

"Why? What happened with your family again? Your mom threw you out?" Lucy asked, already guessing the problem. "This is 8 p.m. How can she send you away at night?" Lucy was angry, and I tried not to cry.

"I cannot blame my mother. The economic situation is too hard now, and my mom is just trying her best to provide for us. I need to get a job to support her. If I can find any job for tonight, I do not mind doing it even if it's prostitution," I told Lucy, sobbing at last, and she sighed.

"It's alright, Caro. Actually, I am at work now. Can you come to The Blues Clubhouse? It's the biggest club here in town. I will try to speak to my boss to employ you. But you must quit speaking big grammar and speak like a local like me. That way my boss can employ you and take you seriously. Also, you must be friendly with the male clients. You will have to endure their touch and how they interact with you," Lucy said.

"Really? I must do all this if I want to get the job. Will it involve kissing or what?" I asked Lucy, feeling my heart throbbing faster.

"No. What is wrong with you, Carolina? You will just have to put on a smiling face; that's what I mean. Well, you know that you're a pretty woman. So some of the men might want to ask you out," Lucy said, and I thought of it.

"I do not have any problem with that. What matters is that I earn money. Even if it means selling my body. I feel like a failure right now," I told Lucy as I sobbed.

"It's okay, Caro. You are not a failure. Where are you? Start coming over. Do you have your transport fare, or should I lend you some money? Although, I do not have money to dash you right now. My eldest sister's wedding is next month, and I need to make preparations for it," Lucy said.

"Alright. I will pay you back. Please, help me, Lucy. You are the only best friend that I have," I told her, and she laughed over the phone with her contagious laughter.

"Don't mention that. I am sure that I am not your only friend. Anyway, I will send the money back to you. Get here quickly," Lucy said, giving me a final ultimatum, and she knows how I have been trying to get a job all to no avail.

I sighed, pacing about the road, and I got a message alert of ₦5,000, and I smiled. The money is more than I needed. But I know that I have to pay Lucy back.

Looking ahead at the road, I hailed a taxi and told the driver, "To The Blues Clubhouse."

The taxi driver looked at me from head to toe.

"Are you sure that you are going to the Blues dressed like this?" He eyed me suspiciously, and I frowned.

"Why? I am going there to meet a friend of mine," I told him, and he shrugged.

"Get into the car. All that isn't my problem. But your bill is ₦1,500," the taxi driver said, as I pulled open the car door and entered the back seat.

"Why? Isn't it ₦500?" I tried to ask him, but his eyes darkened at me.

"You can trek. Why get on a taxi?" he said to me coldly, and I frowned.

"It's fine. Take me to the club," I told him, and he nodded and started the car and drove off to the Blues Clubhouse.