6

North’s POV

“What does that even mean?” I asked, stepping into my trousers. I caught Jeremy’s eyes drifting lower than they should and lifted a brow in warning.

“It means tomorrow you’ll be tested. Every test,” he said with a smirk, arms clasped behind his back, his gaze lingering with something that felt like envy disguised as mockery. “We wouldn’t want my boss catching anything unpleasant, would we?”

I glanced at the unopened roll of condoms on the bedside table, then at the used one discarded on the floor, then back at him. I didn’t need to say the question out loud.

Jeremy rolled his eyes and sat on the bed, the one I wouldn’t touch without permission. He stretched like he owned the place. “The boss prefers it without barriers. So everything involved needs to be clean.”

“Everything involved,” I repeated. “That’s what we are now?”

“Tools,” he said easily, like he was clarifying a misunderstanding. “And he ordered me to give you extra cash.” His eyes flicked over me again. “Funny, though. He barely touched you. How much did you beg for it?”

My mouth opened, then closed. Of course, this was who Jeremy really was. A jerk.

As I fastened my belt, I felt his stare burn into me again.“What?”

“Nothing.” He shrugged, then leaned forward, elbows on his knees, chin resting in his palms. “I’m just curious. What makes you different? Are you poorer than the rest, or just more pathetic?”

I exhaled slowly and slung my bag over my shoulder. “So do I get my phone back now, or?”

“Later.” He stood after a pause, positioning himself directly in front of me. He was shorter, slimmer, almost delicate in comparison, but there was nothing soft about the way he studied me. “You’re really not going to tell me what convinced him to keep you?”

I glanced around, then smiled thinly. “I just want to go home now, Mr Recruiter. Shall we?”

His expression soured. He scoffed and walked ahead, as if I were hiding some secret advantage. The truth was, I was just as confused as he was. Why had I passed? Lucien hadn’t even done much, aside from nearly dislocating my jaw with his… I stopped myself. I didn’t need to go there again.

We hadn’t gone all the way, yet his body stayed lodged in my thoughts, unwanted and persistent. Maybe I wasn’t as untouched by this as I liked to pretend.

As the car pulled out of the estate, my phone buzzed. Five thousand. That was nowhere near what Lucien had promised. I glanced at Jeremy. He was busy inhaling from his vape like it was oxygen.

A man like Lucien didn’t lie. But then again, nothing was guaranteed yet. I should have been grateful. Five thousand was still more than I made juggling shifts and exhaustion.

My screen lit up again. Messages from the burger place I worked at . I skimmed until the last one.

You’re fired.

I stared, then swiped it away. Three hours ago, that would have broken me. Fifteen an hour had felt like survival. Now I had six thousand sitting in my account, earned in a single day.

I didn’t feel relief. I felt hungry.

Because if this was what one encounter gave me, then being chosen meant security. It meant control. It meant never worrying about money again.

I wanted to be picked.

I wanted to stay.

Jeremy dropped me off where I asked him to. The hospital.

He did not comment on it. Did not slow down. Just pulled over, unlocked the doors, and watched me get out like this place was beneath him. I shut the door before the smell of antiseptic could seep into the car, before he could say something clever or cruel.

The hallway was too bright. Too clean. Too quiet in a way that made every sound echo.

Winter and Parpai sat across from the ward door. They were my siblings .Parpai was asleep, her head tilted against Winter’s shoulder, her mouth slightly open, exhaustion pulling her under. Winter was awake, scrolling on her phone, her thumb moving too fast, too focused.

I stopped for a second before approaching them, breathing in like I needed armor before stepping back into my real life.

“How’s Dad?” I asked, lowering myself beside Winter.

“P’!” she gasped, jolting upright. Her phone disappeared instantly, shoved behind her back like it had burned her.

I raised a brow. “What?”

She looked at me like I’d materialized out of thin air. “You’re not usually back this early,” she said quickly. “That’s all.”

I glanced at the corner of her phone peeking out between her and Parpai, but the hospital was not the place to interrogate a fifteen-year-old. Whatever she was hiding could wait.

“I got a new job,” I said instead. “Pays better. Shorter hours.”

It was the cleanest lie I could give. The kind older siblings were supposed to offer.

“Oh.” She hesitated, then nodded. “Mom’s been trying to reach you. All of us have.” She gently shifted Parpai’s head off her shoulder and stood. “You can go in. We don’t want to crowd the ward.”

I stared at the door longer than necessary. People passed by, nurses, visitors, strangers with lives intact enough to keep moving. For a moment, I wondered if I could turn around. If I could leave everything at the threshold.

I couldn’t.

I pulled the curtain aside.

My mother sat beside my father, hands folded in her lap, eyes unfocused. The machine beside him beeped steadily, rhythmical and unforgiving, a sound that had become the background of our lives.

“Good evening, mae,” I said softly, in Thai.

She looked up instantly.

“North, where have you been? Where did you get that money?”

Her voice rose before she could stop it.

“Shh,” I murmured, lifting a finger. “Please. You’re too loud.”

“No.” She stood abruptly, panic flashing across her face. “Don’t shh me. What did you do? What did you get yourself into?”

I recognized the signs. The quickened breathing. The way her hands trembled. My mother did not handle uncertainty well. Panic came fast and left scars behind.

I had never lied to her before. Not like this.

“If I told you,” I said carefully, “you wouldn’t believe me.”

Her eyes filled immediately. “A loan? Who gave you a loan? We’re already drowning in debt, North. What were you thinking?”

Her questions came rapidly, frantically, her voice shaking as she struggled to keep it low.

I clenched my fists at my sides, nails biting into my palms. I could lie again. I could make up a story. I could protect her.

But I was tired of carrying things alone.

“I slept with a rich man,” I said, in Thai, clearly, steadily.

The words landed heavily between us.

She froze.

Her face drained of color, disbelief and horror colliding in her expression. For a moment, she said nothing, just stared at me like she didn’t recognize the person standing in front of her.