CAMILA
^*^ “Well, chill dude,” Abigail snapped and pushed at him to let me go. “She doesn’t want to go, what’s the issue?” The first man tapped on the second and in a moment he released his hand on me. I scurried away from them with Abigail gingerly following behind. I didn’t bother to look back and check if they were following or not, I wasn’t in the mood for any of that. “What the hell just happened?” I shouted as we entered the main hall of the club. Please and pleasure club was my life, I’d been working here for a year now and it’s been the only close thing to the support I could ever ask for. “Wow, I never knew them to be this…” She brought her right hand to her chin in a thinking position. “Insisting.” “Me too,” I shrugged. “Let’s get the hell out of here.” We struggled to get out through the dancing bodies in the dance hall. When we got close to the exit hall, we came face to face with our boss, my boyfriend, Nick. “Woah, woah, woah ladies, why the rush?” Nick asked as he walked towards us with a silly smile on his face. “We’re done for the night Boss, we need to go home,” I muttered, my eyes barely meeting his. Nick was my boyfriend and my boss. We had been together for almost a year now, and although things go smoothly for me here in the club, at home, he beats me every single time. Last night, we fought over who should wash the dishes and he took that opportunity to hit me again. “Hm? Home? But the party just started,” He said with a stupid pout on his face as he brought his filthy hand to my shoulder. “Why do you want to leave now?” I gulped. “It’s Wednesday Boss, we only do Pole dancing on Wednesdays,” This was definitely going to bring about another round of beating when we got home. Although Nick was my boyfriend, he drew a line between relationship and work, he warned me never to go by first name basis when at work. I lived with him, he fed and clothed me, so basically, I had no say in whatever. “I see,” His hand left my shoulder as he brought it to his chin in a thinking position. I stole a glance at Abigail who was as straight as a dancing pole. Fear was evident on her face, she dared not speak back at Nick. “Well,” Nick spoke again and my gaze turned back to him. He came in the middle of us and slumped his arms on our shoulders. “Change of rules. Abigail, you are attending the VIP sections for the rest of the night. And Camila, I have a special guest for you.” Shit. This wouldn’t end well. ~^~ “I hate him! I hate him so much!” Abigail said as she turned around for me to tie up the back of her corset. Nick drove us back inside the dressing room and personally picked a skimpy dress for me to wear. I had no idea who this special guest was as I was too fearful to ask him. “Trust me, I hate him more than you do,” I muttered as I struggled with the zipper of her corset. “He makes things difficult every freaky time!” I finished the zipper in time for her to turn swiftly. “What’s still keeping you from running? You planned on doing that last month?” She asked. I sighed and dragged my tired self back to the mirror section and started working on my fake hair. “I still haven’t met my target for the year,” I muttered. “Fuck target!” She hushed, “This guy beats you every fucking opportunity he gets, how long are you going to keep enduring? Are you going to do anything hurt because he takes care of you and your sister?" “Abi, I can’t leave now. I don’t have enough to start my life afresh, I can’t leave and start sourcing from the bottom again. And I have my sister’s tuition to cover. I can’t just leave now.” I was on the verge of tears now. Shit. I hated this vulnerable side of me. Abigail came to me and squatted beside me. “It’s okay, I understand. You’ll get better and everything will be sorted out soon. Come on, let’s finish quick before he barges in here.” She tugged at my elbow and stood straight. I finished my makeup on time as the door opened and Nick rushed in. “What’s taking so fucking long?” He growled. “We just finished and were about to head out—“ He cut. “Well, head out now! The fuck?” Abigail scurried away in panic, leaving just Nick and I alone. I gulped, I sat nervously as he moved slowly to me. His hands trailed around my neck and suddenly, I felt a grip on it. “You dare refuse a VIP offer from a customer?” He growled as his hand on my neck tightened. Well, news travels fast. Nick already got hold of the issue earlier. “I-I didn’t mean to,” I choked out. “I-I already-dy clocked o-out—“ “That doesn’t give you enough reason to decline such an offer.” He growled into my ear and I almost ran out of breath. “I’ve been giving you too many favors these days. You deserve a little punishment to straighten that brain of yours.” He pinched my neck and suddenly released me. I was almost choking as I struggled between coughs to breathe. “I’m sorry,” I said in a whisper, struggling to keep the tears from spilling. “You will be when I’m done with you. For now, come with me, you have a client to impress.” I followed him out of the dressing room while trying to straighten my dress and fix my makeup. He was walking briskly and I was trying to catch up with him. We passed through the main strip lobby, taking the stairs up. This part of Please and Pleasure Night Club was where the main fun happened: Oral sex, BDSM, threesomes, and even torture sex. My breath hicked at the sight of these activities. At least, Nick only let me dance at the pole and I was glad about that. He never allowed any man to touch or use me like the rest of the girls. I guess his greediness won’t let him share his girl with these hungry men. We stopped at the last door to the left, his office. He turned swiftly to me and gave me a stern look. “Play nice, or else you’re staying for days without food.” With that, he pushed the door open and dragged me in. The room was dark with a single red light flickering. I tried to settle my gaze by fluttering my eyes many times, I had been in this office countless times so I was a bit familiar with the surroundings. Nick pushed me further into the room. He walked towards the huge office table, allowing me to study the manly figure sitting around the table. His head was down, and the fedora he wore dipped down just far enough so that I couldn't see his eyes. What I could see of him was more than enough. His shoulders were broad, and his body was built sturdy, as he wrote something down, I could see the veins in his hands working. I couldn’t get a clear view of him the time I danced on him. But now, I have a clear image of the Adam before me. His suit was perfect, even though his body wasn t straight the lines on his suit appeared to be. The perfectly shaped white triangles of his dress shirt hung loosely around his throat. While I couldn’t see his eyes, I could see the square jawline, rugged, and prickled with a five o'clock shape. There was an indent on his chin that was simply adorable and seemed improper in an otherwise stern character. I noticed two men standing by the door behind me… those men who came to me earlier. I gulped. This was a mess, I was in a hot mess. A very hot mess!The night went one quickly with King talking to almost everyone. I didn’t know he was this popular. All the time he was talking, I stood beside him, trying not to shift in these ridiculous heels that made my feet scream.I felt like a misplaced puzzle piece. Everyone else gilded around like they belonged: laughter all around gatherings, women in beautiful dresses moving from one gentleman to another. And I was just… there. Wearing a dress King picked out and pretending I knew how to breathe in it.After a while, King excused himself from me. Work call. Of course, he had said.“Five minutes,” he said softly, his hand brushing the small of my back before disappearing into the crowd.It was probably meant to be reassuring, but his absence hit like a chill. I stood still, unsure of where to go, pretending to admire the chandelier like I understood anything about crystal.A table caught my eye, small pastries arranged on it like art. I drifted over and reached for something flaky and dus
CAMILA . . . I stared at myself in the full-length mirror, barely recognizing the girl staring back at me. Claire fussed behind me, pinning a few loose curls and adjusting the delicate neckline of the deep emerald gown king and I picked hours ago. “You look like a dream,” she said, standing back to admire her handiwork. “Seriously, Camila, King is going to lose his mind.” I swallowed hard, my nerves tying themselves tighter inside my stomach. The dress hugged my body like it was made for me— the elegant, flowing, side slit, v back dress Mr. King had picked out for me earlier when a certain thingy had happened during the picking. Ehem. I dare not remember what happened at the dress room. Claire noticed my flushed cheeks and laughed heartily. “I see someone likes what she sees.” I do, ma’am. I most certainly liked how I was looking in the mirror. I had never worn anything like this in my life. I tugged anxiously at the fabric, trying to cover more of my leg but Claire sla
CAMILA...It had been half a month since I came to King’s house. Half a month since the night he almost kissed me, half a month since Katherine and her Leonard packed up and left the next morning with barely a word.Thank God to that because I couldn’t stand her for one more day.Half a month of living in this enormous, beautiful house with just myself, King and Claire.King wasn’t much better, he only appeared for breakfast or the painting sessions, and even then, it was like being near a ghost. He was always keeping a wall between us no matter how much I tried not to think about the moment in the art room.Sometimes I caught him staring when he thought I wasn’t looking, but the second my eyes found his, he would vanish into himself again.Claire had been my only true companion, her laughter and bubbly energy filling the emptiness I was beginning to feel in my heart, but even she had other places to be. Other friends. Other life even.I was going crazy with boredom, loneliness was
KATHERINE...I paced around my room with my phone pressed tightly against my ear, my voice low and furious.“I’m telling you, Camila is ruining everything,” I hissed into the receiver. “She’s a bad egg for the plan. She’s making him… different.”On the other end, my best friend, Sasha, sighed. “Then take matters into your own hands, Kat. Stop waiting around. If you want to win, you have to fight dirty. You know that.”I clenched my jaw, my nails digging into my palm. “I know. I just thought — I thought it would be easier. She’s nothing special, for god’s sake.”“Apparently, he thinks otherwise,” Sasha said, dry and cutting. “Fix it before you lose your chance.”Before I could reply, a sudden, piercing scream tore through the night air and I stiffened.“What was that?” Sasha asked.“I’ll call you back,” I muttered and ended the call without waiting for a reply.I threw the phone onto the bed and hurried out, my heart thundering but not out of concern. No. It was pure, burning curios
CAMILA...The fire was everywhere.Smoke choked my lungs, the walls cracked and blackened. I tried to find my way though the smoke to my mom or dad, but I could barely move because of the smoke and fire.I could hear Ella crying far from me and I struggled to breathe as I moved to her. The heat was unbearable, the roar of the flames louder than any scream I could muster.“Ella!” I screamed at the top of my voice. “Keep talking I’ll get to you!” I coughed in between words but luckily, my sister heard me as she kept screaming for me to locate her.I dragged her and hugged her when I got to her, keeping her close to me and trying so hard to see through the thick flame around us.Everything was burning, every freaking thing.“Mom! Dad!” I shouted, but the only answer was the creaking, crumbling groan of the house falling apart.I tried to run with my sister towards my parents room but something hot and heavy crashed down between us, cutting me off.The last thing I remembered was a pa
CAMILA...I woke up with the lingering feeling of warmth still pressed against my skin.For a moment, I didn’t know where I was, but then last night came crashing back into my mind.The painting.The apology.The kiss.Oh my freak!He kissed me!My lips tingled at the memory, and I pulled the covers tighter around myself, burying my face into the soft pillow to hide my growing blush — even though there was no one to see it.At some point last night, I must have fallen asleep in the studio, and King… he had brought me here without waking me up.Something about that made my heart ache in a way I didn’t want to acknowledge. I turned to look at the small clock on the bedside table. 10:38AM.“Shit.”I jumped out of bed, scrambling to freshen up and throw on a simple cream top and jeans. I tied my hair into a loose braid and practically sprinted toward the dining area, praying I wasn’t about to get my first official scolding for being late.As I neared the dining room, the smell of butte
CAMILA . . .It was sometime past midnight when I made up my mind.The house was silent except for the soft ticking of the antique grandfather clock downstairs, each tick hammering at my nerves like a countdown to something I wasn’t ready for.I slipped out of bed quietly, pulling on a pair of socks to mute my steps against the marble floors.My heart was thundering so loud in my chest that I was sure someone could hear it through the walls.This was insane.This was stupid.But curiosity burned hotter than fear.I had to know.I crept up the main staircase, wincing at every tiny creak. As I came face to face with the door everyone has warned me not to open, my heart pounded even more louder.I hesitated, my hand hovering just inches from the brass doorknob.‘Don’t do it.’ The voice in my head screamed louder now, but Katherine’s words rang just as strong:“You want the truth? You’ll find it there.”I closed my eyes and sucked in a breath.Then, with trembling fingers, I gripped t
CAMILA ... I sat stiffly on the tall wooden stool, trying not to fidget under the heavy gaze of the man in the room. King. The studio was cold, the kind of cold that settled into your bones and made you feel like you were sitting naked even though I had a thin robe wrapped around me. I shifted my shoulders awkwardly, but his voice came fast, low and commanding. “Don’t move.” I froze instantly, swallowing down the shiver creeping up my spine. “Chin slightly higher,” he said, circling me like a predator sizing up its prey. “Relax your fingers. Tilt your head.” His commands were sharp and emotionless. Like I wasn’t a person at all, like I was just a shape to be captured on canvas. I watched him for a moment, the way his brow furrowed as he painted. His hands moved fast, like an expert, as if he’d done this a thousand times. Maybe he had. The silence stretched so long it became unbearable. “King,” I said carefully, “what happened to the girl before me?” He didn’t answer, o
CAMILA . . . “—What do we have here?” Her voice sliced through the dim kitchen like a knife… silken, sharp, and so very unwelcome. I turned slowly, the fridge still open behind me, one hand wrapped around the box of cookies like it was stolen gold. I didn’t need a mirror to know I looked guilty as hell with wide eyes and a slightly parted mouth. Katherine. She stood there in the doorway like she’d stepped out of a fashion ad. She was dressed in some slinky silk thing that didn’t look sleep-worthy but screamed of high-maintenance seduction. Her arms were crossed over her chest, one hip cocked, her eyes doing a slow drag over me from head to toe. “Stealing now?” she asked, her voice sugar-coated with sarcasm. “Didn’t take you long.” I blinked. “I wasn’t stealing. It’s a kitchen. I got hungry.” She gave a breathy little laugh. “How charming. Like a stray kitten who thinks she owns the house just because someone left the door open.” I closed the fridge softly and set the cookie