3. Offers

Dahlia Carrington

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THREE MONTHS LATER

I finally understood why my parents took their business seriously; why they’d rather sell me out to a man I barely know in the name of marriage rather than let their business fall.

Okay, maybe saying I understood them was a stretch. They shouldn’t have to exchange my future for theirs but I was at a very critical point in my life.

Someone rapped their knuckles against the counter, bringing me out of my thoughts. Thankful to see that it wasn’t my boss, I plastered a fake smile as I stared at the man. “What can I help you with?”

“Two bottles of beer.”

After he paid, I handed the bottles to him and he left. I sighed as another customer came immediately after. I barely had time to rest whenever I was working, which was almost every hour of the day and I wasn’t getting paid as much as my coworkers were. My salary was cut in half because I was offered accommodation by my boss. It was a very small studio apartment that seemed like it could collapse anytime soon but it was either that or staying out in the streets.

“What are you going to do about your issue?”

I turned around at the voice of my coworker, Anya. She was a nice girl who was also in her early twenties. Unlike me, she didn’t have any passion for school and didn’t even try attending college. She had become a good friend of mine which was why knew about my issues.

Another sigh escaped my lips. “I don’t know.” I shook my head. “School starts in a few weeks and I don’t even have enough for accommodation, not to talk of tuition.”

“I don’t know why you’re stressing yourself out. You can just go back home and get married to that rich ass man you told me about. It’s not like he’s not handsome.”

Just like I’d planned, I ran away from home. That night, I packed a suitcase. I filled it with a lot of clothes and enough jewelry. Since I didn’t have any money, I had to pawn off the jewelry. I knew they were expensive but I didn’t know just how much they cost, which was why I knew I had been cheated a lot.

However, the money I got from it was used to book a bus ride to New York. I had to sleep in the sauna for more than two weeks searching for jobs before I was able to land a job in this bar and beg for accommodation because I didn’t have any more money by then.

“You don’t understand. I’m going to be trapped for life.” If he’d rather marry me than let me go to school, it was obvious he wouldn’t care about what I wanted or what I liked. I would just end up like my mother, a trophy wife and that was the last thing I wanted.

“You’re right. I’d never understand. I’d rather marry a rich man who thinks I’m a trophy than work this job.”

I understood where she was coming from. Our job was ass. Sometimes, we had to endure mannerless men trying to feel us up before they would order. Our boss didn’t mind much. He thought they left more tips if they got to touch us which was why he only employed women to work at the bar. There was barely any security as well.

The pay was just as bad and Anya had to rely on other methods to pay up her bills since jobs were scarce in New York.

Speaking of said methods, it was beginning to sound like my last resort.

As though she read my mind, she asked, “Are you finally going to give it a try?”

I looked at her sheepishly.

Her eyes went wide but before she could question, a customer was in front of her. As they all were, he was in his late forties and had a predatory smile. I knew it was wrong to judge people before I even knew what they were like, but almost all the men here were the same.

Anya didn’t get the time to question me anymore because we got busy which was why as soon as we took our ten-minute break, she ambushed me at the back of the club.

“You already signed up for the app?”

I nodded. It was morally wrong and I was a virgin for fuck’s sake but I had no choice. It meant I was selling my body for money. It was no different than what my parents wanted to do but at least, it was going to be my choice and for the good of my future, not my parents.

“Did you get any offers?”

I shook my head. When she asked if I got any offers, she meant if any man tapped on my profile yet. It was like a dating site, but it was not. It was basically an app for a fuck buddy, a paid fuck buddy. I didn’t even know how to please a man so I didn’t know what I was doing on the app.

“Are you sure? You’re pretty as hell.” Anya inquired as she dragged my phone from me. Unlocking it with her fingerprint, she went straight to the app. Anya had been on the app for a few years now, since she was nineteen, and while the app was safe, we couldn’t be so sure about the men.

She had encountered a few bad men but there were more good men anyway so she pressured me to sign up. It was the only way I could pay my tuition. I had only two weeks to pay or I’d have to defer the admission. I couldn’t afford to do that.

“You’re crazy. What do you mean you didn’t get any offers? There are millions of them here.”

Certain she was exaggerating, I looked into the phone in her hand and my eyes went wide. There were more than ten offers. I’d only signed up four days ago, right after I was denied a student loan for the umpteenth time. Because of my background, I couldn’t get any loans. For the first time, I hated that my parents were rich. They were affecting my life even after I ran away from them.

“Maybe, I didn’t turn on the notifications.”

“You didn’t, moron.” She flicked my forehead.

I took the phone away from her and right at that moment, there was another offer. After going through the man’s pictures and information, I could not help but add back.