CHAPTER 1

Janet Jackson said, "Come, Lara, let's go inside."

Lara Almond responded, "No, Janet. You didn't tell me we were going to a hotel."

Janet frowned as she stood at the gate entrance to her madam's brothel home. She was a 20-year-old woman who had previously traveled to her village to bring Lara, all because she wanted to help her friend escape poverty.

Janet replied, "Lara, I can't keep standing out here with you. Fine, if you don't want to go inside, you can continue to stand here alone. I have a lot of work to do inside, and my madam has been calling me since morning."

Lara frowned. She was a light-skinned beauty—very attractive—and she wasn't foolish enough not to realize where Janet had brought her.

She knew Janet's parents were poor and still lived in the village, but with the kind of lifestyle and beautiful dresses Janet wore most of the time, Lara couldn't help but admire her. Lara herself mostly wore rags.

Lara replied, "I need to go back home to the village. I cannot go in there with you."

Madam Alora stepped out and saw Janet standing by the gate. She remembered that Janet had taken permission from her to travel to the village and bring her best friend to the city. Janet had even promised that her best friend was beautiful and super attractive.

It was 6:30 p.m., and soon most of Madam Alora's eligible customers—who usually patronized the brothel—would be arriving. She had only four internal ladies signed on to work: Janet, Sophia, Edith, and Mimi. Madam Alora didn't accept much older women, as they proved too stubborn for her to handle and often wanted to know her secrets. Besides, she mostly had young men coming to the brothel to patronize her ladies.

Madam Alora asked, "What's going on there, Janet?"

Janet replied, "Good evening, ma. It's my friend I spoke to you about. She doesn't want to come inside and has been standing outside by the gate since we arrived."

Madam Alora sighed. "Hmph. It's all right. You go inside. I'm coming."

Madam Alora walked out, dressed in a black short gown that barely reached her knees and revealed her dark thighs. She wore red slippers and walked majestically toward the gate. Her eyes grew wide as she saw the beauty standing outside by the gate, holding her tattered traveling bag from the village.

Lara greeted, "Good evening, ma."

Madam Alora replied, "Yes, welcome. Why are you standing out here by the gate? Come inside."

Lara replied, "No, ma. Isn't this a hotel?"

Madam Alora frowned and forced a fake smile. "No, my dear. Or what do you think a hotel is? Have you been to one before?"

Lara said, "No, ma, but..."

Lara peeped inside the gate and saw some ladies dressed in nearly exposed outfits. She gulped, shook her head, and said, "Please, ma, help me call Janet. I need to go back home to the village. I cannot go in there."

Lara began to cry, and Madam Alora's eyes narrowed at her.

Madam Alora had been getting calls from high-and-mighty rich men requesting beautiful young ladies to warm their beds. Seeing the cute, yellow-skinned woman standing outside by her gate—without any makeup—she shook her head and spoke. "Do you have your transport fare to go back home to the village?"

Lara slowly sniffed as she stared up at Madam Alora's face. She replied, "No, ma."

Madam Alora said, "Then you will have to work for it. Are you coming inside or not? And mind you, this isn't a hotel. I actually gave Janet money to travel down to your village and bring you here, as she spoke about you disturbing her to come with her to the city. And now you've just gotten here and want to go back to your village again! How ungrateful of you to come to my home and insult me first, without even saying thank you, ma."

Lara held her traveling bag and apologized. "I'm sorry, ma."

Madam Alora replied, "Keep your sorry to yourself and come inside now—before I ask my guards to lock the gate."

Lara stood speechless for a while, not knowing what to do. She finally pushed the gate open and walked in. She could hear the faint sound of music coming from the beautiful mansion in front of her as she followed Madam Alora, who walked majestically toward the house's frontage. They entered the beautiful living room.

Madam Alora called, "Janet!"

Janet replied, "Yes, Madam."

Madam Alora said, "Show your friend to the room and prepare her."

Lara refused. "No..."

Madam Alora asked, "What do you mean by no? Ain't you going back to the village again? Look, I don't have time to waste on you. Better be quick and move with Janet, or I'll call my guards now to throw you out this minute."

Lara gulped and stared at the rest of the young ladies standing in the beautiful living room, which was decorated with a golden chandelier, golden seats, and golden curtains. The room was painted in an off-white color. Janet spoke to her: "Come, Lara, let's go."

Lara hesitated but finally followed Janet, knowing the woman wasn't joking about throwing her out.

They walked into a room painted pink. Janet kindly took Lara's tattered traveling bag from her hand and spoke. "Lara, I know you're still finding it hard to believe what I do here in the city, but it's not prostitution."

Lara responded, "Liar! You're lying to me. You should've told me before now. I told you I don't want to sleep with any man for money. I don't want to lose my virginity until I'm married."

Janet said, "Hmph. I'm sorry, Lara, but what's the point of you keeping it? You, your sister, brother, and mother could barely feed yourselves. Your father is old, and your mother knew this before she ran to him and married him. Knowing he already had a family, did she think about her virginity or about any of you that she brought into this world?"

Lara yelled, "Shut up! And don't you dare insult my mother!"

Janet responded, "I'm not, Lara. I'm only being honest with you. Look, I'm using the latest iPhone. I have a car here. Do you think I got all that by keeping my virginity?"

Lara replied, "Shut up, Janet! That's you, not me. If you had told me before that it's prostitution, I wouldn't have followed you here. Now your madam says I have to work for my transportation fare to go back to the village. And how will I work for it? If it's with my virginity, I cannot sleep with a man for money. So it's best you lend me the money. Let me go back to the village tonight."

Janet burst out laughing. "No, Lara, you're not going anywhere. I wish I could lend you my money and give it to you for free, but you see, any money I get from going out, my madam takes 70% and gives me only 30%. And it's not even enough for me to take care of myself, let alone give it to you."

Lara frowned. "You should've told me before. Why, Janet?"

Lara began to sob.

Janet apologized. "I'm sorry, Lara. Let's hurry up and bathe before 8 p.m., so we can eat and have some time to prepare before we leave."

Lara replied, "Leave me alone. I'm not eating or preparing to go anywhere with you, you wicked fellow."

Janet smiled and walked past Lara to take her bath in the bathroom. The room was hers, and since Lara was new, her madam hadn't given her a room of her own in the executive mansion.

Lara continued to sob. A few minutes later, Janet stepped out, tying a white towel around her chest, with water dripping down her body.

Janet said, "It's your turn now. Go in and bathe."

Lara replied, "No, you leave me alone. I'm not going anywhere with you."

Janet yelled, "What's come over you, Lara? If you don't hurry, then be ready to leave, as my madam has a hot temper."

Lara sniffed. With no other choices, she walked toward the bathroom door and stood by it.

Lara asked, "Where's the towel I'll use?"

Janet responded, "There are still about five clean towels in there. I hardly use them. Although we have dry cleaners who wash our clothes, so I'm sure they're still neat."

Lara stomped her foot on the ground and angrily walked into the bathroom to bathe.

The bathroom was beautiful compared to the local outdoor one they used in her village. They were truly very poor, since her mother had gone ahead and married an already married man with grown-up kids.

Lara had three step-siblings, but they weren't close. Her mother was very fair, which made Lara fair-skinned too. But her younger sister, Esther, was dark like their father, while her younger brother, Amos, was fair like her.

Her mother later sold fruits in the village square, because her aged father didn't care about them anymore and only used her mother to satisfy his sèxual urges—even if it resulted in them.

Lara knew Janet was right, but she vowed not to sleep with any man until she got married.