Even If You Sell That Cheap Body

Aurora Brooks POV

"Please do not talk about yourself like that. Out of all of us, you deserve love the most. Because you give it to everyone without asking for anything back."

Ivy gasped in disbelief, as if she had no idea that everything I do in secret is only to make sure she never has to reach out to some hungry wolf of a man. 

Especially little Amelia, who is still just a teenager. The moment she needs something small, a thousand predators will circle her, ready to steal her innocence and tear her womanhood apart.

I fixed the loose strands of hair around my cheek, then lowered my gaze to the open neckline of my shirt. The blue bruises there were fading, but not gone yet.

"I do not have time for love. And I never will, Ivy."

At that moment, a man's shout echoed from the lower floor.

My breath froze.

My heart started pounding hard. My legs turned to jelly. When I decided to go downstairs, I had to hold the wall so I would not collapse from the violent shaking in my body.

"Ivy!"

She jumped up in fear and rushed into my arms. But the sound of Amelia crying, along with my mother Maria screaming downstairs, forced me to pull away.

"Stay here."

I said it with trembling eyes. Something twisted deep inside my stomach, like a sudden miscarriage caused by pure terror. My steps quickened, and the first thing I saw was my father Daniel staggering left and right.

There was a knife in his hand.

I had no idea where he got it from.

I raised my voice sharply, hoping he would stop waving it around.

"Dad."

The word dad came out of my chest like I was vomiting my entire heart. He lifted his head, then rushed toward me with a face dark with rage.

"So you are here. How many times did I call your name and you did not answer?"

I was about to step back, but his hand shot forward and grabbed my hair in a painful fist.

"Did I not tell you yesterday to leave the liquor money on top of the TV before you went to your damned job?"

I grabbed his wrist that was trapping my hair.

"I do not work to spend money on you, Mister Daniel."

I heard my mother's shocked gasp as she tried to step between us. Her crying voice shattered my heart.

"Please Daniel. Leave your daughter alone."

He roared, his voice rough and heavy from the alcohol clogging his throat. It sounded like he had emptied an entire bar just to feel strong enough to attack us.

"If you do not shut that mouth, you will take her place. And I will not show you mercy."

I dug my nails into his hard hand. Even drunk, he was dangerously strong.

"Since when have you ever shown mercy, you perfect father? You are not even worthy of being called dad."

He shoved my body hard against the hall table. When my stomach slammed into its edge, pain shot through me and a broken groan escaped my throat.

"Bring me money from the bottom of the ocean. And if you have to sell that cheap body of yours to any man you find on the way, I do not care."

How?

It had always been a dark guess in my mind that he might push me into prostitution one day.

But now he said it out loud. Without shame.

I lifted my eyes to my shocked mother. She knows I work as a pole dancer in a bar for rich men. She also knows I do not sleep with any of them.

Tears filled her eyes, her throat tight with pain. She could only stay silent.

But I could not.

I shouted in his face, unable to believe what I heard.

"Say that again."

With pure arrogance, my father answered my shaking question.

"You heard me. I have an important bet tomorrow night. If the money is not in my pocket, I will show you exactly what I can do to you. I will make you chew your pain slowly on a low fire."

I pushed myself up from the table with empty hands. If I had not become strong over the years, I would have collapsed into one of my old fainting fits.

"Are you telling me to go sleep with any man for a stack of money... for you?"

He stepped closer, his brown eyes throwing death straight at me. The worst part is that I look so much like him. Sometimes it feels like I am staring at my own face.

"That is exactly what I want."

The moment he finished those words, I screamed at him with raw pain.

"Bastard."

His eyes widened, shocked by what he just heard. I had never exploded like that before. He staggered one last step toward me.

Then his fist smashed into my lower lip.

Blood burst instantly.

"Whore."

The sound of my mother Maria and my little sister Amelia crying reached my ears. They were sobbing quietly, trying not to attract his attention.

He was a monster.

I still remember the many times he brought prostitutes into our house and slept with them in front of my silent mother.

That is why I grew up hating violence.

And hating betrayal even more.

*************

" Aurora, are you okay, sweetheart?"

Amelia's voice reached me as her hand rested gently on my shoulder. Her soft tone pulled me out of my thoughts as I stared at the mirror.

"I am fine. Go back to studying."

She lowered her head and returned to her bed covered in books. I sighed in frustration while covering the cut on my lip with makeup.

I studied my reflection in the mirror that stood in the center of our room.

The only thing that still makes me smile is the fact that I still look young and alive.

Even though my soul died a long time ago.

"I am leaving now."

Ivy jumped up from the bed where she had been lying, watching me with sleepy eyes. Her gaze moved slowly over the bold dress I was wearing, something I rarely did.

"Are you really going to do what he said? Where will you get the money, Aurora?"

I swallowed hard, the lump in my throat refusing to disappear.

"I will figure something out with the bar manager. I am not giving my body to any bastard."

She grabbed my hand, trying to stop me.

"Then why are you dressed like that? I do not feel good about these clothes."

I rolled my eyes and forced a small smile.

"I wear much worse than this when I dance on the stage, Ivy. My dress will never be more humiliating than showing my body to a room full of men."

Guilt lowered her gaze. Then she lifted her dark eyes back to my face.

"I promise you everything we are going through will end soon. Trust me."

I smiled until the cut on my lip stung and pulled open again.

"I trust you, little swallow."

After leaving the house, I took a taxi to the bar.

The car stopped in front of a low modern building guarded by large men. Glass covered the front walls, letting me see the reflection of my own body as I stepped out.

The guards greeted me respectfully despite my work inside. I always considered them my second family, because none of them ever dared to touch me.

My eyes landed on a black Porsche parked in front of the building.

I had never seen it before.

I stepped inside. Soft music filled the air as the sound slowly grew louder. I walked toward my friend Nicole, who was sitting behind the alcohol bar.

She leaned closer and whispered with a soft voice.

"Your outfit tonight is different. That red dress looks amazing on you."

"Thank you, Nicole. But in a few minutes you will see something even more exciting."

She winked at me with that sly smile I never liked, then slid a glass toward me before I walked away.

"Wet your throat before the show."

I looked at her in disgust.

"You know I do not drink alcohol."

I walked to the dressing room and changed into my short, seductive dress. The truth is, I only believe in my feminine power when I wear my dancing dresses.

I stepped onto the stage as the music I knew by heart began to play.

Every man in the room stared at me with hungry, disgusting lust.

Sometimes I wish I could rip their eyes out.

Maybe then I could become rich without having to move my body to the rhythm of this burning song.