Chapter 4. Cruel Lesson

"I don’t need you to do anything to me," I snapped, trying to lift my hand.

My body didn’t feel like mine anymore. My arms and legs were heavy, useless, and even the brush of my own fingers against my face felt wrong. Distant. Unreal.

"How much for the night? I’ll pay you double."

The words cut through the haze, and I forced my eyes open.

The man standing in front of me was taking off his shirt.

Panic hit me so hard it stole what little breath I had left. If I’d been thinking clearly, maybe I could’ve done something. But right now, I could barely move my tongue, and apparently someone had decided I was easy.

"Get the hell out! I don’t sleep with men for money!" I hissed.

Suddenly, his weight pressed down on me.

Please let this be a dream. Please not this.

Then he moved.

Cool air brushed over my chest, and a broken gasp slipped from my lips.

"If you don’t sleep with the men in this club, then what exactly is a girl like you doing here?"

His voice was right beside my ear. My eyes fluttered open again, and all I could see was his bare shoulder. Warm skin. The sharp, woody scent of his cologne.

The fear finally cleared some of the fog from my head.

"I came here with friends. I’m not staff. I have a VIP card."

"I almost believed you," he said with a low laugh.

One side of my chest burned where his fingers touched me. I flinched and tried to push him away, struggling to understand what was happening.

"And maybe I would've believed you were innocent, judging by how sweetly you react to me..." His voice dropped lower. "But your outfit says otherwise. Around here, only escorts dress like that."

"What are you doing? Stop! I really came here with friends!" I cried as his knee slid between my legs, pressing insistently against me.

A strange, sharp sensation twisted low in my stomach, making my whole body tremble.

"Friends?" he said with a rough laugh. "Your friends were happy to take my assistant’s offer. One night with you. And from the look of it... they drugged you too. Do real friends do that?"

He went quiet for a second.

"There’s only one person in my life I’d call a friend. And trust me—this isn’t what friendship looks like."

"You don’t know that..." My voice came out weak and slurred. My eyes kept drifting shut, and I couldn’t make myself pull away from the heat of his touch. "You don’t know them..."

"A minute ago, I wasn’t sure, sweetheart," he murmured against my ear. "But maybe this is a lesson you need."

His voice dropped even lower.

"Remember this. The next man might be a lot worse than me. So maybe start thinking harder about the people you trust."

I tried to answer.

I couldn’t.

Why can’t I talk?

Something filled my mouth, slick and unfamiliar, cutting off even my ability to breathe properly. My lips moved, but no sound came out. My throat refused to obey me.

And then everything stopped.

Warm breath brushed across my damp lips.

"You’re adorable..."

Those were the last words I heard before the darkness swallowed me whole.

My scream tore through the silence—

—and disappeared.

***

My head was pounding, and my eyes refused to open.

Did those three really drug me?

Because this felt a lot worse than a hangover.

With a groan, I finally forced my eyes open—and froze.

I had no idea where I was.

The room was dim, but there was enough light for me to see my naked body beneath the sheets.

Horror crashed over me, and I bolted upright.

My hand shook as I slipped it between my legs.

Then I froze.

Wet. Sticky.

Even without experience, I understood immediately.

I’d spent the night with a man.

And I’d lost my virginity.

A sob tore out of me.

Then another.

Tears streamed down my face so fast I could barely breathe. My throat burned, and before I knew it, I was crying so hard I couldn’t stop.

I jerked my hand away and clenched the sheets instead—but there was something underneath them.

Paper.

Blinking through my tears, I looked down.

Money.

Large bills scattered across the bed.

Not only had some stranger taken the one thing I had protected so carefully...

He’d paid me for it.

Like I was nothing but some cheap whore.

Rage exploded inside me, hot and vicious.

I remembered everything.

Everything except what had happened after the room went dark—like my mind had erased the worst part out of mercy.

I’m going to kill Kriss.

The second I see that bitch, I’m going to kill her.

My clothes were crumpled at the foot of the bed. I got dressed as fast as I could. Every inch of my body hurt, and the dull ache low in my stomach reminded me exactly what had happened.

I grabbed the money too.

Not because I wanted it.

Because I was going to throw it in that bastard’s face.

When I stepped into the hallway and headed downstairs, relief flickered inside me when I realized the club was closed.

At least no one would see me like this.

Humiliated. Ruined.

"Hey! Where do you think you’re going?" an annoyed female voice snapped as a wet mop smacked against my legs. "Use the back exit! Don’t walk all over my clean floor!"

I turned.

An older woman stood there glaring at me with obvious disgust.

God. I feel disgusting.

"Where’s the back exit?" I asked quietly.

"What, you don’t know? Or is this your first time doing this kind of work?"

A lump rose in my throat.

"Where. Is. The exit?" I repeated, louder this time.

With an irritated sigh, she jerked her head toward the hallway near the ladies’ room.

I ran.

I ran like my life depended on it.

Like something horrible was chasing me.

Like if I didn’t get out of there, I would die.

The sun hit my face the second I stepped outside, bright and blinding.

It only made everything feel worse.

How could I have been so stupid?

I always knew Kriss was awful.

So why did I still walk right into her trap?

After I called a taxi, there was only one thing I wanted—

to scrub this night off my skin.

Thankfully, Mom and Dad weren’t home.

Neither was Valeri.

I went straight to my room, locked myself in the bathroom, and stood under the hot water for over an hour, crying until there was nothing left.

Maybe that was the difference between me and Valeri.

She never would’ve ended up in a situation like this, trying so hard to prove something to people who didn’t deserve it.

This was my fault.

Maybe this was the cruelest lesson life could’ve taught me.

But at least...

no one knew.

And no one ever would.

I would bury it.

Forget it.

Pretend it never happened.

Why did it take something like this to make me see the truth?

I didn’t have real friends.

And I would rather be alone than surrounded by people like them.

But that didn’t mean I was going to forgive Kriss.

Not a chance.

By the time my tears finally stopped, I was dressed.

And even though my body still remembered everything—

I was going to find that red-haired bitch

and make sure she understood exactly what she’d done.