03.

༒ ℑ𝔪𝔯𝔞𝔫༒

I didn’t even notice when my phone vibrated in my pocket.

The club was too loud, too full, bodies moving everywhere, voices overlapping, music hitting so hard it felt like it was inside my chest. I had just gotten to work not long after those men left my apartment, and I still hadn’t fully calmed down. My head was all over the place, my nerves still tight, like I was expecting another knock even here.

I kept scanning the crowd, trying to find Pierre, but it was pointless. One of the guys had already told me he was working the VIP section tonight, which meant I wouldn’t be seeing him anytime soon unless I had a reason to go up there, and I didn’t.

Not yet.

I moved around the bar, doing what I was supposed to do, taking orders, avoiding unnecessary conversations, trying to act normal even though nothing felt normal anymore. My phone vibrated in my pocket again, and this time I pulled it out, glancing down quickly between orders.

A message from the site.

My chest tightened a little as I opened it, my eyes scanning the text. The amount I saw made me pause what I was doing, then close the message before reopening it. Reading it again, just to be sure I wasn’t seeing things.

It was way higher than what I had set. Not just a little higher, a lot higher. Enough to make my head spin for a second, enough to make everything else around me fade into the background.

Who the hell would pay that?

My thumb hovered over the screen before I typed back, asking about the date, trying to keep it simple like I had seen others do. My fingers felt slightly stiff, like I wasn’t fully in control of them, but I sent it anyway and shoved the phone back into my pocket before I could overthink it.

I barely had time to process it before I heard someone clear their throat behind me.

I turned slightly and saw my boss standing there. His facial expression was obvious, he didn’t look pleased.

“Come with me,” he said, already turning without waiting for a response. I hesitated for half a second before following him.

I walked behind him through the back hallway, away from the noise, away from the crowd, until we got to his office.

He stepped inside first, then looked at me. “Close the door.”

I did.

“Lock it.”

That made me pause. Something about the way he said it didn’t sit right with me, but I still reached back and turned the lock. The click sounded louder than it should have.

The room suddenly felt smaller with just the two of us in it. He walked past me, moving behind his desk, but instead of sitting, he just stood there, watching me in a way that made my skin crawl.

“You’ve been distracted tonight,” he said. “I'm not paying you to be attentive to your phone.”

“I’m sorry sir,” I replied quickly.

He hummed like he didn’t believe me, then leaned back slightly against the desk, crossing his arms. “I heard about your situation.”

My stomach dropped.

Of course he did.

This place had no secrets.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, even though it was useless.

He let out a short laugh. “Don’t do that. It doesn’t suit you.”

I didn’t respond. He took a step closer, and I had to fight the instinct to step back.

“I can help you,” he said, his voice lowering slightly.

My jaw tightened. “I didn’t ask for help.”

“I know,” he said, like it didn’t matter. “But you need it.”

I stayed quiet, watching him carefully now.

“What do you want?” I asked.

He smiled. That was the first warning sign, It wasn’t a nice smile or even fucking neutral. It was the kind that made your stomach turn before anything even happened.

“I can clear your debts,” he said slowly, like he wanted me to fully understand what he was offering.

For a second, I thought I heard him wrong. “What?”

“You heard me,” he said. “All of it. Gone.”

My heart skipped.

That was it.

That was everything I needed.

No more running, no more hiding, no more waiting for those men to come back and break my door down.

It was right there.

Easy.

Maybe a little too easy.

“What do you want in return?” I asked, even though I already knew. He stepped closer again, and this time I couldn’t ignore it. I took a step back automatically, my shoulders tensing.

“You’re a smart boy,” he said, his eyes dragging over me in a way that made my stomach twist. “I’m sure you can figure it out.”

I felt disgusted immediately.

“No,” I said before I could even think about it.

His expression changed slightly. “No?”

“I’m not doing that.”

“You haven’t even thought about it.”

“I don’t need to.” His eyes darkened just a little, and the air in the room shifted.

“You’re in no position to refuse,” he said, his tone losing that fake calmness. “You need this.”

“I’ll figure something else out.”

He laughed, but there was no humor in it. “Like what? You think anyone else is going to offer you something like this?”

I didn’t answer.

Because he was right.

And I hated that he was right.

He stepped closer again, faster this time, closing the distance before I could move. “Don’t be stupid, Imran. This is a good deal.”

“Not for me,” I said, my voice tighter now. His hand grabbed my arm suddenly, his grip harder than I expected.

“Let go,” I snapped.

“Stop acting like you’re above this,” he said, his voice dropping, his face closer now. “You work in a club. You think you’re different from the rest?”

Something in me snapped at that.

“I said let go.” Instead, his grip tightened, and he tried to pull me closer.

That did it, I even didn’t think. My fist connected with his face before I even registered the movement, the impact sharp enough to make him stumble back with a curse.

For a second, everything went still.

Then I moved.

I unlocked the door so fast my hand almost slipped, pulled it open, and got out before he could recover. I didn’t stop, didn’t look back, just kept moving through the hallway, through the crowd, through everything until I was outside.

My heart was still racing, my thoughts a mess. I kept walking, not even sure where I was going, my mind stuck on what just happened.

I could have done it, that was the worst part.

It would have solved everything.

One night, that’s all it would take.

So why couldn’t I?

I ran a hand through my hair, exhaling sharply. It wasn't just about sleeping with someone, It was him. The way he looked at me, the way he spoke, the way he grabbed me like I didn’t have a choice. It made my skin crawl just thinking about it.

And honestly?

The man was bald, round, and had no sense of decency. I didn’t even want to think about what kind of diseases he might be carrying.

I let out a dry breath, shaking my head slightly.

Yeah.

There was no way.

I was halfway down the street, already putting distance between myself and the club, when my phone vibrated again.

I pulled it out, expecting nothing important, then I saw a message from my potential client. I chuckled, it's quite ironic that I was referring to him as my client like some whore. But I was a whore, at least in a different way. I pushed my thoughts aside and opened it.

“Tonight. Room 201.”