1. Bet

Lucia stared into space with her hands folded on the hospital window sills. The sight of the buildings did nothing to comfort her heart, which was filled with grief. 

At a very young age, she had been forced to quit school because of the calamities that had befallen her family; her father's company had caught fire, and her mother and the only sister she had decided to leave Lucia and her father after Henry's company went bankrupt. They quickly took in a wealthy man as a host. 

As if life's misfortunes weren't enough to force her to swallow the bitter pill, now her father, the only family Lucia has, lies ill with kidney failure. 

"Lucia," Henry called in a weak voice, laden with helplessness. 

The girl's eyes widened in shock. Immediately, Lucia wiped away her tears.

"Yes, Father?" replied Lucia as she approached the bed where Henry lay. "What do you need?" The girl's pretty face wore a smile, but Henry could tell that behind Lucia's gray eyes was a lot of sadness. 

"Are you crying?" asked Henry, frowning. It was so lazy that his daughter had just cried. You see, Lucia's delicate eyelashes were still wet with tears. 

Instantly, the 58-year-old's chest filled with a tight feeling, which invited tears to well up in his eyes. Henry's tears came down in rivers that now combined with sobs. 

"Father, why are you crying?" asked Lucia frantically, holding Henry's swollen hand. 

"I'm sorry, Dad, Lucia," Henry said with a sharp intake of breath. "I made you bear all the burden alone." 

"Stop blaming yourself, Dad!" said Lucia with an angry glint in her eye. She hated Henry's repetitive phrases, blaming himself for all the misfortunes that befell them both.

Unnoticed tears also fell in a straight line down Lucia's cheeks, which the girl quickly wiped away with her palms.

"Listen to me, Father. If you're still triumphant over your efforts even now, I'll keep working. I'm very ambitious to become an independent girl, Father. So please, stop blaming yourself." 

All at once, silence fell. Only Henry's labored breathing could be heard as tears forced their way out of his eyes. He felt he had failed as a father, so he let Lucia become a hostess at a nightclub. 

Everyone knew what nightlife was like. It was not impossible that people would label Lucia as a prostitute. Because when a girl decides to sign up for a job as a waitress, it means they are ready to deal with a little harassment in their job.

There was nothing Henry could do but resign himself to the situation. All the assets he had were gone. Lucia and their home were the only treasures the man had at the moment.  

 

..........

In front of the frenetic expanse of the world's paradise that seemed to spoil every sense for its connoisseurs, three men were sitting while waiting for their orders to be delivered.

"Blue Moon," a girl stood before the table of the three of them as she announced the order she had brought. 

The girl placed the order she had brought in front of each of the men there. One of them stared wildly at the girl's chest, deliberately unbuttoning the top button of her shirt to reveal her cleavage. 

"Stop staring at her like that, Eryk." Arvie elbowed her best friend's arm, which managed to quell Eryk's wild fantasies about the servant girl just now. 

Eryk chuckled as the waitress walked away, drumming his fingers on the table. 

"I haven't even said pleasantries to her yet." 

Arvie and Max leered at each other and laughed afterwards. 

"You're only a real man if you can tame that honey-haired girl over there," Arvie pointed at a hostess girl who was standing with another colleague. The girl's face was very attractive. She looked much younger than the other hostesses standing there. 

Eryk grinned after taking a sip from his glass. He assumed that he would easily steal the girl's attention. Countless women had fallen to their knees and thrown their bodies at Eryk with just one blink of an eye. His beautiful face always managed to hypnotize any woman who saw him.

"What will I get if I get it?" 

"I bet $4000 if you get it," Arvie said confidently.

"I'm putting up $6000." Max set down the empty glass with a slight stomp. The man's lips thinned, as if convinced that Eryk would fail to tame the honey-haired girl.

Arvie and Max were sure that Eryk would not win the bet. Given that Lucia, the name of the girl they were referring to, was not an easy girl to conquer, She was even reputed to be the only virgin among the hostess workers at Queen Fortune Bar. 

"It's a small amount. But that's okay. I need some challenging entertainment right now." Eryk said it lightly. 

Shortly afterwards, Eryk waved at the row of hostesses standing in uniform black dresses. The girls seemed to be laughing as they played a game of suits; whoever won was entitled to approach the man who had just waved at them. 

"It's your lucky day, Sofia," said a girl named Sofia, who had just won a suit. The girl struts around, playing the waist of her violin, attracting the attention of the men passing by. The sound of whistling made the girl lift her face even more confidently.

"Good evening, handsome gentlemen. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is—" Sofia's speech was suddenly interrupted by Max. The girl frowned as the three men shook their heads and tapped their foreheads.

"Sorry, it's not you we're talking about; it's the honey-haired girl standing next to you." Arvie's words instantly disappointed Sofia. 

Arvie took out two $100 bills to give to the girl. 

"Accept it, and please call the girl to come here immediately," Arvie said with a cigarette tucked between her lips. 

Sofia's frown instantly changed to an excited smile. 

"Yes, sir, right away." Sofia smiled happily as she ran towards Lucia. But as soon as she arrived in front of the girl, her smile instantly turned into a cold expression.

"The visitor at table 40 asked you to come there, Lucia," Sofia said in a flat voice, full of dislike for Lucia. 

Lucia looked confused as she stared at the faces of her colleagues, who were staring at her with flat stares. 

"What are you waiting for? Get over there!" The bright red-haired girl known as Gabriel yelled at Lucia with bulging eyes.

Lucia was the girl most hated by the other hostess workers. Her beauty was the main factor. The real reason was far from reasonable.

"Ah, well." Lucia immediately stretched her legs towards table number 40. 

"Haa, why is it always her?" Gabriel grumbled as she folded she arms across his chest. One of she other hands was tucked into a lit cigarette. 

"Excuse me, sir," Lucia greeted without compromising her politeness to her visitor in the slightest. 

"Sit down," ordered Arvie, who had been sitting next to Eryk. The man shifted his seat to another chair, allowing the girl to sit in the one he was originally sitting in.

"Shall we begin, Mr. Eryk?" One of Max's eyebrows rose close to his forehead. 

Eryk cleared his throat before starting the action. 

"May I know your name, sweet girl?" he asked with the seductive face and smile that were his weapons in melting women's hearts. 

"My name is Lucia Magnolia." Lucia replied briefly while looking at the faces of the men in front of her.

"Ah, what a pretty name. As pretty as you are, Babe," Eryk poked Lucia's chin, which instantly made the girl blush with embarrassment. Eryk's good looks left Lucia with no more courage to stare at the man for too long. She was reluctant to risk her heart for a man who came just for fun.  

"How much would it cost to sleep with you?" asked Eryk, who now folded his arms across his chest as he leaned against the back of the chair. The man's eyes were looking straight into Lucia's big bead, with a very seductive smile on his lips. 

Eryk was sure that the girl would say, 'Any amount as long as I can feel the warmth of your body, Eryk,', considering that was the answer of the girls he had met before.  

"Ah, sorry, sir, my job is limited to accompanying visitors to drink in this place, nothing more. Without diminishing my respect, I decline your offer. Excuse me." said Lucia, who hurriedly left Eryk and his friends' table.  

Max and Arvie laughed as Eryk's face turned bright red.

"That's so sad, Eryk," Max said as his laughter grew louder.  

"Huh, that's just the beginning! I can prove that she'll bend the knee to me!" growled Eryk as he pounded on the table, nearly making everything on it jump off.  

"Okay, we'll give this handsome prince one week to melt Lucia Magnolia's heart." Arvie nodded slowly as she put out the cigarette on the glass ashtray. 

 

 

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