CHAPTER 1: I'm not a prostitute

Amara POV

"You guys f*cking suck," I muttered habang naglalakad kami papasok sa club na punong-puno ng ilaw at sobrang lakas na music.

"Come on, my little sluty friend, let's party!" sigaw ni Maya sa tenga ko, halos masira na eardrums sa lakas ng sigaw nya sa tenga ko

It was my 18th birthday... and here I was, stuffed into a super tight red dress, na parang bang akala mo 10years old ang mag susuot sa sobrang liit.

,,

Winged thick eyeliner and super kapal na make up na parang mapapagkamalan ka talagan p****k, idagdag mo pa ang sobrang kapal na lipstick na mas matingkad pa sa nguso ni Ursula. My jet-black hair fell down my shoulders habang halos madapa ako sa high-heeled stilettos na pinilit nila sa'kin isuot.

Fuck. My. Life.

"Happy Birthday, Amaraaaa!" sigaw ng mga friends ko sabay tili habang nilalamon kami ng sobrang lakas na music.

I rolled my eyes pero napa ngiti nalang din ako sa kanila habang sumisiksik kami papunta sa dance floor.

Kasama ko sina Maya, Brielle, at Skye — at, swear, kinidnap lang nila ako tonight. Mga baliw talaga. Last week nga, pinasabog nila yung mailbox ng kapitbahay namin gamit lang ang kwitis na napulot nila sa tabi-tabi.

For no f*cking reason.

At si Skye? Nahuli dahil sa over speeding. Tapos nung hiningan ng pulis ng lisensya... ayun tinawanan nya lang ito sabay nakatulog sa sobrang ka lasingan napapailing nalang ako sa sobrang kakulitan ng mga kaibigan ko.

Napabuntong-hininga na lang ako.

sobrang daming tao ang nagsisiksikan sa dance floor, amoy alak at usok ang pumupuno sa baga ko habang sumasayaw ako kasabay ng malakas na music ng bar.

White lights flashed through my vision nang makita kong si Skye, na nakikipag laplapan na sa hindi nya kilalang lalaki.

Then suddenly,

Bago pa ako makapagreact, may dalawang magaspang na kamay na biglang dumakma sa balakang ko.

agad naman akong napalingon, at bumungad saakin ang isang lasing na mid age guy, amoy na amoy ang pabango nito sabay nahahaluan pa ng amoy alak, naparabang kung makadikit ay para syang linta.

“Hey, gorgeous,” lasing niyang bulong, sabay higpit pa ng kapit ng dalawang kamay nito sa balakang ko.

Nanlaki ang mga mata ko habang pilit kong kinakalas ang pagkakahawak nito. Pero wa epek siya, His blurry eyes dragged over my body like he owned it. He yanked me closer, and I could already feel his hard length pressing through the thin fabric of my dress.

I pulled harder, desperate to break free, but he wouldn’t let go if anything, he held tighter. My heart slammed in my chest, loud and frantic, like it was trying to escape me.

Iniwan ko siyang sumisigaw sa likod ko, tinulak ang mga pawisang katawan nya at dumiretso kay Brielle.

"Hey, um, I'm not having a lot of fun, and I think I should go—"

Pero pinutol ang sasabihin ko. Hinila niya ako palabas ng dance floor diretso sa bar.

"Soren!" sigaw niya sa bartender, at agad itong lumapit.

Handsome. Light hair, light eyes, broad shoulders. He had that boy-next-door aura, pero obvious na he was used to scenes like this.

His hand clamped down on the drunk guy’s arm. “Let go,” he said, calm but sharp — the kind of voice that wasn’t asking.

I clutched at my dress, still shaking, while the drunk froze and stumbled back.

Then the guy looked at me steadily, unblinking, like he was trying to read if I was going to run or stay.

"Hey Brielle, who's your friend?" sigaw niya, kailangan ding lakasan para malagpasan yung bass ng tugtog.

Hinila ako ni Brielle papunta sa counter, halos matapon na yung drink na hawak niya. nginitian ko si Soren, kahit awkward.

"This is Amara!" boses ni Brielle, parang gusto niya ata akong ipakilala sa mga taong nasa club.

"Birthday niya, and she wants something na magbibigay sa kanya ng confidence to grind on every horny bastard she sees!" sigaw niya with that devilish grin.

Napakunot ako, ramdam ko agad yung init sa pisngi ko. "No, no, I'm fine," mabilis kong tanggi, pero halata sa mukha niya na hindi siya naniniwala.

Soren raised a brow, smirking like he knew something I didn’t.

Ngumiti si Soren, leaning closer so I could hear him. “What’s that accent? Russian?”

“Yeah, moved down a few years back,” sagot ko, sumisigaw din para marinig niya.

“Yeah, who gives a f*ck, just give her some good stuff!” Brielle screamed, sabay tawa na parang wala siyang pake kung naririnig kami ng iba. Napangiwi ako sa choice of words niya.

Soren chuckled, flashing that boyish smile. “Of course. Anything for Brielle’s stunning Russian friend. Give me a sec.”

Sabay talikod niya, confident yung galaw habang nagmi-mix ng drink. Napatingin ako saglit sa broad lines ng likod niya bago ko mabilis na iniwas yung tingin. Damn it.

“Isn’t he just the f*cking cutest?” sigaw ni Brielle, pawis na pawis na yung bangs niya habang kumakaway pa kay Soren.

“Yeah, adorable,” sagot ko sabay roll eyes. Paglingon ko, andoon na si Soren, at may binabang bluish na drink sa harap ko.

“What’s this?” tanong ko, nakataas kilay.

“Bottoms up,” sabi niya with a grin. “And if you feel like f*cking later, I get off at midnight.” Sabay wink at lakad palayo na parang wala nangyari.

Napailing ako sa linya niya. Seriously?

“Drink it, bitch!” sigaw ni Brielle sabay bottoms up ng sarili niyang shot.

Napakunot noo ko pero tinungga ko rin yung asul na alak.

Halos masamid ako sa unang lagok — ang init, parang sinusunog yung lalamunan ko. Napakagat ako ng labi habang lumuluha yung mata ko sa hapdi, and almost instantly, gumaan bigat sa ulo ko.

“The hell is that?” hingal koani sabay binagsak ang baso sa counter.

“That's Scarlet Tsarina drink, is the key to happiness and sex. And sex is happiness! Now let’s go dance!”

Napabuntong-hininga na lang ako at sumunod ulit sa kanya pabalik sa dance floor. Pero bawat hakbang, ramdam ko—unti-unti na akong nahihilo.

Hours later, ayun na nga—I was making out with some guy on the dance floor. His hands cupped my ass, pulling me closer than close, habang halos hindi na ako makahinga. My palms were flat against his chest, lips moving in sync with his, taste of alcohol mixing with the heat of the room.

Pero honestly? I felt nothing. Para lang akong naka-autopilot, and now that the numbness was starting to fade, I realized I needed to take control.

I pulled away, pawis tumutulo sa mukha niya habang bumababa na yung halik niya papunta sa leeg ko. His hands were already sliding up my dress.

Napakunot ako ng noo. This wasn’t going well. At this rate, it was gonna end in sex, and hell no, I wasn’t about to lose my virginity to some random guy I met in a club.

Tinulak ko siya palayo, kita ko yung inis sa mukha niya. He tried to come after me, pero mabilis akong tumalikod at tumakbo papunta sa bar.

“Soren! Hey, Soren!” sigaw ko.

Sumilip siya mula sa counter, nakangisi. “My little Russian girl. I get off in twenty. My place or yours?”

“What? No.” Napaatras ako. “Have you seen Brielle?”

Sandali siyang natigilan. “Yeah. She left with some guy about an hour ago.”

Napailing ako, and the disbelief was written all over my face. “What? No. She wouldn’t just leave.”

He shrugged. “Sorry.”

Napahawak ako sa ulo ko, ramdam ko na bumibigat ang pintig sa sentido ko. “Okay… um, Maya? Skye? Have you seen them?”

“Skye… the short one with the pixie cut?”

I nodded quickly, desperate.

“Left twenty minutes ago. Pero yung isa? Maya, right? i think she's still here.”

“ yeah,” sagot ko agad.

He scanned the crowd, then nodded towards Maya—already making out with some guy.

“Thank you,” I said with a small, forced smile, relief flooding me kahit papaano.

“Remember, I get off at 12!” sigaw niya pa habang naglakad ako palayo, but I didn’t bother to answer.

“Maya!” Hinila ko siya palayo sa lalaki. “I want to go home.”

She groaned. “I’m staying. Brielle drove here, go get her.”

“She left!”

No response.

“Maya!”

She whipped her head towards me, clearly annoyed. “Chill the hell out, okay? Go home with some guy, have fun. We’re not your babysitters.”

Then she turned back, lips crashing against the guy’s again, habang yung kamay nito shamelessly gumagala sa katawan niya.

My chest tightened. Panic started to claw at me.

Huminga ako nang malalim, pinilit na huwag maluha, at diretsong lumabas ng club.

There has to be a taxi. Kailangan ko lang makauwi.

Back to my apartment.

A few minutes in, ramdam ko na yung sakit sa paa ko. Heels digging in, parang bawat hakbang torture sa paa ko. My dress kept riding up, isabay pa ang malamig na yung hangin pero pawis na pawis ako.

“Great. Perfect. Just f*cking perfect,” I muttered, voice shaky.

The street was dead quiet, except for a distant bass ng club na pinang galingan ko. Wala man lang dumadaan na taxi, no late-night jogger, not even a stray cat. Just me,

Cold air bit at my skin, goosebumps crawling up my arms. Every shadow looked alive. Parang may nakatingin, pero paglingon ko, just empty streets and flickering street lamps.

I tried to steady my breathing, pero every trip ng heels ko made it worse. Lalo akong kinakabahan—like at any second, may biglang lalabas.

I hugged myself tighter and started walking, heels clacking, muntik na akong madapa. “F*cking hell,” I hissed, gripping the wall para hindi tuluyang bumagsak.

My stomach dropped. “W-what?” halos pabulong, but it came out shaky.

The man tilted his head, shades glinting under the weak streetlight. “Don’t play dumb. How much?” His voice was flat, businesslike, like he was ordering coffee instead of talking to me.

“Fuck off,” I snapped, kahit nanginginig ang boses ko. I took a step back, clutching my bag tighter.

Wrong move. His hand lifted slowly, resting on the door like he could open it any second. “Not the answer I wanted, malyshka.”

Goosebumps shot up my arms. My brain screamed, forcing my body to run, but it's not moving

He leaned a little closer out the window, and I caught the sharp line of his jaw, the faint scar cutting across his cheek. That wasn’t a drunk creep from the club. This was something else.

“I don’t…” My voice cracked. “I’m not—”

His smirk was razor-thin. “Oh, I know exactly what you are.”

Napataas ang kamay ko. “I-I'm not a prostitute.”

Ramdam ko ang titig niya, dissecting me, at biglang nanikip ang dibdib ko. Backing away, panic flooding my veins.

“Get in the car,” his voice dropped, low and commanding.

And with that—I ran.