CHAPTER THREE

Chapter 3

MAYA’S POV

One Month Later…

It was a bright sunny day as usual, and I woke up. I lived in an apartment in the city, and the money I got paid from the club was enough to make me sustain myself and live well. However, was it really what I wanted?

I graduated from Crestwood University two years ago with a degree in Business Administration. However, I’ve been trying my best to secure a job for over a year, but I couldn’t. Back then, I lived with my Father and he’s not in the best health. He’s currently in a coma in the state hospital and his condition got worse. Knowing that I couldn’t wait for a miracle job, I had no choice but to take advice from Kelly, my friend, who introduced me to Mr. Jared. 

Before I knew it, I became a stripper in the Eclipse Night Strip club and I rose up the ranks until I became their ace in the hole. I would work out every morning and head to a restaurant, where I served as a cleaner. Towards the evening, I go to the club to practice before performing at night and satisfying clients. 

I went through this every single day, and it was exhausting. Every time I perform on the stage or sleep with a random rich man who is ready to pay some amount for my body, I put on a smile to make it seem like I enjoy it. Unfortunately, deep down, it really hurts. And I hate it. My first time, I was inexperienced and tried to connect with one of the men who came to the club. However, he only demanded for sex and when I was no longer of use to him, he simply dumped me. 

Ever since then, I realized something that changed my life and changed the way I think, most men are scum. The worst of them are those that come to the club everyday, seeking for worldly pleasures, but they never try to understand what women go through. Not all of us do this because we want to, but mainly because we have to.

Keeping this in mind, I strove to be the best in whatever I did, and I swore than I would make man beg me for my body. Ever since, whenever I ‘serviced’ a man, they always come back for more. 

I got dressed up for my work in the restaurant and I was just about to leave the house when I suddenly felt a wave of dizziness, forcing me to almost collapse. I held on to the couch and held my head. Things got slightly blurry in my eyes and the dizziness lingered.

‘What… what’s happening to me?’ I thought to myself. These past few days, I had been feeling much more tired and fatigue than usual, but it never got this bad.

‘Should I take a leave from work today?’ I thought to myself but suddenly, my father’s face appeared in my head and I shook off the dizziness.

“No… I have to keep going. I cannot afford to fall here.” I said to myself before getting myself a cup of water and washing my face with it. With that, I was off to work. Due to the mask I wore in the club, not many people knew who I was. So walking around during the day, I didn’t have to be worried about being recognized.

“You’re late, Maya!” Upon entering the restaurant through the backdoor, I was met with the grumpy voice of my boss. He was a middle aged man with a frown on his face. I quickly bowed and apologized, as Mr. Harry was known for his bad temper. I wouldn’t want to get on his bad side. 

“I’m so sorry. I got stuck in traffic.” I gave a simple excuse but he wasn’t having it. 

“Yeah yeah, you always get stuck in traffic. Get to work!” he roared and I shivered slightly before rushing to the bathroom to get changed into the restaurant’s uniform. Once I was done, I grabbed a mob and began my duties. Once I was done cleaning, I would attend to the customers. However, I wasn’t feeling all too good as I did this. For some reason, I felt tired than usual. I would usually feel tired whenever I do this kind of job, but the sort of fatigue I felt now was more than what I regularly feel. 

I held my head and the headache threatened to make me collapse. “Are you alright, Maya?” a colleague asked and I smiled and nodded.

“Yes. I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.” I quickly explained to her so as not to make her worry. Suddenly, I heard another voice calling for me.

“Maya, order on table six.” I got an order from another waitress and I quickly attended to it. I received a tray from the counter and walked towards the table with a man dressed in white suit. Suddenly, the dizziness occurred again and I felt myself almost losing consciousness. 

Suddenly, I felt like collapsing and the tray in my hand slipped, making the coffee on it spill on the man in white suit.

“Holy Shit! What the hell is wrong with you?!” he yelled at me while I tried to use the table to get  back on my feet. I was slowly beginning to recover my balance, but the damage had been done. His white suit was now a mess. 

“I’m so sorry sir. I… I made a mistake.” I apologized frantically but that didn’t seem to be enough for him.

“This s a $2000 suit. What the hell is an apology gonna do?” He yelled. I wanted to calm him down, as I didn’t wan a certain man to  come here for me. Unfortunately, things don’t turn out the way we want them to be.

“What’s the matter sir?” My boss appeared, demanding an explanation. I wanted to speak first but the man in the suit interjected.

“This waitress of yours ruined my suit. What are you going to do about it?!” He grunted. I gasped and wanted to speak for myself, but Mr. Harry gave me a deep scowl.

“Please, young sir. Let us compensate you and serve you better. I’m sorry for the inconvenience my employee has caused.” he pleaded with the man with a smile on his face and an employee handed the man a napkin to use.

I knelt on the floor, wondering what was happening to me and why I was feeling dizzy, but that was just the beginning of hell for me.

“Come to my office, Maya.” Mr. Harry growled and I didn’t dare to disobey. Upon getting to his office, he sat down and took a deep breath. However, seeing him made me feel uneasy, and I could sense an ominous aura from him. My hands went cold, and I felt shivers down my spine.

“Maya… have you any idea what you’ve done?!” he growled and my body shook.

“I… I made a mistake sir.” I tried to defend myself but he slammed the table and slapped my face. My eyes went blank for a second there and tears formed in my eyes.

“A mistake?! You call call that a mistake? You ruined our reputation as a restaurant and made me pay a large sum as compensation. Can you afford $2000 with the puny salary you earn?!” he yelled but I couldn’t answer. Tears could only stream down my eyes as I listened to a man who slapped me for getting sick.

“I-I’m sorry… It won’t happen again.” I uttered.

“You’re right it won’t, cause you’re fired. Now get the hell out of here before I call the guards on you.” he roared and I walked out of his office. I took off the company’s apron and t-shirt and changed to my clothes before leaving the restaurant. I wiped my eyes and tried to act normal, but the outline of his palm still remain on my face, making it red. 

“I’ll need to do a checkup sooner or later.” I said to myself, as I was worried that I might collapse. However, suddenly, my belly began to churn and the urge to throw up increased even more. I quickly rushed to the nearby drainage and poured out my entire bowel. An old lady walking by seemed bothered by it.

“Are you alright, young lady?” the man asked and offered to help, but I refused.

“I’m fine, thanks.” I replied before leaving for the club. Kelly saw me and smiled. “Hey you. Good evening.” she greeted and I tried my best to smile.

“Hi Kelly.” I waved but I wasn’t as energetic as I normally would be. She noticed that and she couldn’t help but ask.

“What’s up with you? You look pale.” she deduced but I returned a soft smile.

“I’m okay. Just a bit tired.” I came up with a small excuse and she bought it. 

“Okay. You ready for practice?” she asked and I nodded. I changed into my bikini and began to stretch my body. However, I was still feeling nauseous and uncomfortable. I knew something was wrong with me, but I wasn’t expecting it to be this much.

‘Should I skip… work?’ I thought to myself as I got up and walked towards Kelly, hoping to tell her that I wasn’t feeling good today. Suddenly, another wave of dizziness hit me and I felt my vision distort.

“No… not… again.” I grunted before collapsing on the ground. Kelly gasped and the last I heard of her voice before drowning into unconsciousness was her screaming my name as she rushed towards me.

“Maya… MAYA!”