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AURORA’S POV

"I can't believe you'd stoop so low. Cheating on me with my own cousin is disgusting and gambling our savings away is just cruel" my heart breaking with each word. Sign these divorce papers now."  I said flinging the divorce papers in his face then walked out the room with tears streaming down my face. Those were the last words I told my ex husband eight months ago when I found him in bed with my cousin. 

EIGHT MONTHS LATER

The stones on the sidewalk hurt my feet as I parked my bike in the park  . It was dark outside and the weather looked like it was about to rain. I hoped it wouldn't start until I got home . I just got back from my babysitting job because I needed the money.

After my divorce from that scumbag, I moved in with my sister, Annabelle. I’ve been working overtime for months, trying to save enough money to get my own place. My ex husband gambled away our savings. I know I was stupid to trust him, but I was young and thought I was in love.  I ran to my door and felt relief when I got inside

"Annabelle, are you home? I brought lunch," I called out as I walked into the house, but there was no answer. Suddenly, someone grabbed me from behind and shoved me against the door

"Mrs Reynolds. It’s a pleasure to meet you," said a man’s voice. "I’m Peter Vory. Your husband told us so much about you. He also said that  I could get my money from you." He tightened his grip on my neck. My heart stopped. Everyone in the city knew who Peter Vory was. He’s part of the Mafia and runs a club that’s really a front to launder money.  Thomas swore that he was a bouncer for him and promised to find a decent job but that was just one of his many lies. Unfortunately Thomas owed Peter money and I've been stalked for weeks now by his henchmen. At first I just thought that maybe it was because they were watching me to see if Thomas would try to contact me so they could get their money back but I guess I thought wrong. 

"It’s Miss Knight now, because I divorced him months ago."  I replied . 

"Well, I asked for a threesome with Blake Riley and Julia Roberts, but I’m not getting that, am I?" Peter sneered. "Here’s the dealy Thomas Reynolds owes me a lot of money, and he said you have it. He claims you stole it."  

I stared at him in shock. "That’s a lie! I didn’t steal anything! Thomas cheated on me and wasted your money gambling. The rest he spent on his mistress."  

Peter smirked. "It’s your word against his, and I really don’t care. I just want my money. Call him and tell him to pay up."  

I looked to my left and noticed the man who’d been following me for months standing nearby. Annabelle had told me to go to the police, but the process seemed overwhelming, so I ignored him.  

Peter caught my reaction and grinned. "Ah, I see you’ve already met Kenneth, my right hand man. I needed to make sure you wouldn’t run like you ran away from your husband. Thomas has left the country, and you won’t tell me where he is, will you?"  

"His ex wife doesn’t know where he is," I snapped, trying to pull my hand away. He held on tightly. "And she knows how to use pepper spray, so stay back." I didn’t want Annabelle to hear and get involved. She had already done so much for me.  

"Use your skills to find him," Peter said mockingly. "You found him once, so you can do it again."  

"I haven’t spoken to him in months, and I don’t care to. I have nothing to do with him," I said, trying to push him away, but his grip tightened.  

"Then his debt is now yours. What happened to ‘for better or worse’? How does the vow go?" Peter asked with a smirk.  

"Beats me, Boss. Never been married," Kenneth replied.  

"Smart man," Peter said with an evil smirk on his lips. 

Peter kissed the back of my hand, then slid his tongue between my fingers, showing me what he wanted to do to the rest of my body. I swallowed and breathed through my nose. He was scaring me, and he knew it. Peter was a loan shark who always made sure he got his money, and Thomas owed him over three million dollars. He held my wet hand to his cheek, rubbing it against his face.

"Sorry, Aurora. Nothing personal. I need to collect a debt. If I don't soon, people will think it's okay to take money from me without paying. If you're interested in paying a different way, I can make a deal. I'm not unreasonable. But no matter what, you'll pay your husband's debt, and you better hurry because the interest keeps growing."

"What do you mean?" My heart was pounding, and I felt like it was going to jump out of my chest. This was the first time Peter and Kenneth had hinted at this kind of thing. I was a preschool teacher, how could I possibly come up with three million?.  Even my kidneys weren't worth that much. And yes, I actually googled it.

"I'm saying if you can't pay, you'll have to work for it."

"Just say it, Peter "I snapped, ready to grab my purse and spray pepper spray into both their faces. As sleazy as he was, I doubted he would give up that amount of money  just to have sex with me.

"Serving men who aren't very clean or good looking." Peter smiled like he was sorry. "You're a very beautiful woman, Aurora, even in those cheap clothes." He tugged at my dirty dress. "Work six months in my strip club, doing double shifts every day, and we can call it even."

I slapped him, my whole body shaking with anger. 

"How dare you? I'd rather die than be a stripper!,"  He moved back, but I scratched his cheek. Kenneth stepped forward to stop me, but Peter waved him away and laughed.

"You won't be dancing," he said. "You'll be on your back in the VIP room. Though I can't promise you won't be on your knees too, if they're willing to pay extra." Peter wanted to sell me if I couldn't pay the money Thomas owed him. In the eight months since Thomas left, I had hoped he would come back and fix the mess he left behind, but he hadn't. I thought he might finally give me the divorce I had asked for before he disappeared. I held onto my anger, not wanting to accept that this was now my problem. But now, I realized  Peter had known the truth all along, Thomas wasn't coming back. His problems were mine now. And I had to find a way to fix this, fast.

"What if I don't pay?" I asked, my voice trembling. 

"Then I'll have to make an example out of you. It will hurt me more than you, I promise. It's always sad when the wife has to deal with her husband's mess." He stopped by the door, shaking his head. "But if I let this slide, I'll lose my street credit. You will pay. Either in money, with your body, or with your blood. See you later, Aurora and next time we meet I expect to be paid fully unless you will find out why they call me a monster”. With that, he walked out leaving me devastated with tears rolling down my cheeks.