ChiaraI stare at Alessio, wondering if he’s serious or if he’s just playing with me. I wait for him to tell me the punchline, but he just holds my gaze with his hand under his chin.At that moment, I would have given everything I have just to take that mask off and see his face.As though sensing where my thoughts are going, Alessio huffs and says, “Well, what do you want? I don’t have all day.”I swallow hard, blinking rapidly to shake off the daze that seems to have been put upon me by his eyes. “I . . . want to be free from here.”“You know I can’t do that.” He laughs, getting up and gathering his bloody clothes. “Besides, what are you going to do while you’re out there?”That completely stumps me. What am I going to do out there? Go back to the strip club and earn measly money to hope that one day it would accumulate well and give me a chance to start over?“I’ve always wanted to go back to college,” I whisper. “I had to drop out before.”“Then I’ll send you to college,” he says

ChiaraAlessio’s sudden action freezes me to my spot, my eyes wide and my hands clenched into nervous fists. I let out a breath, trying to control my emotions and keep them from spiraling, but then a sob escapes my lips. Followed by another.Before I knew it, I’m already crying in his arms.The pain from knowing that Dad abandoned me for good, the fear of getting violated by a man from a job I didn’t want . . . they all come crashing down, tightening into a lump in my throat. I find myself holding onto him for dear life, and he holds me tenderly, like he understands how breakable I can be.After what seemed like forever, he lets me go. I look up at him, but I realize that his gaze is fixated on the man who almost assaulted me.I swallow hard. “Alessio. . . .”Before I can say anything more, Gio and Fia appear at the other end of the alley.“Chiara!” she breathes out, and she runs towards me, hugging me and cupping my face. “Oh, god, you’re bleeding.” Tears start to brim her eyes. “I’m

AlessioChiara’s hand gently traces the edge of my mask, and my whole body goes tense. Everything in my head tells me that I should push her hand away, but there’s this mall voice inside my head that’s urging her to happen, wanting it to be over. . . .But then the door opens and I jump away from Chiara.I face the door, ready to be either angry or relieved, then I see Gio walking in casually. When he sees Chiara and me, he stops and awkwardly winces. “I’m sorry, Master. I should head back out--”“No, stay,” I say, and relief takes over. I face Chiara, who is staring at the floor. Now I feel horribly awkward just standing here. “You may leave now, Chiara. We’ll talk again soon.”Without another word, she promptly gets out of my office and closes the door behind her. Gio stares at the closed door before turning to me. “What happened, Master?”“We just negotiated,” I say airily, but my face feels hot. Fuck. I shouldn’t have trusted myself to be alone with her. She does things to me. Rea

Chiara The sudden impact of my head hitting the wall brings a wave of nausea down my body. For a moment all I can do is blink and try to get rid of the specks that dance in my eyes. Noemi and Vittoria loom over me, closing the door behind them. “You fucking bitch,” Vittoria mutters. “I don’t know what gave you this arrogance but I’m going to beat it out of you!” With that, she reaches over and pulls my hair, but I catch her wrist just in time. Noemi sneaks out of nowhere and grabs the back of my shirt, tugging it hard and causing the neckline to push against my throat. I start to choke, and Vittoria takes that as her chance to pull me to my feet by my hair. She slaps me once, and in a daze, I try to retaliate by doing the same. But this just causes her to pull my sleeve and rip the seams of my shirt. They both laugh, and Noemi starts to tug down my pants, stripping me against my will. I know what they’re about to do. This is something they always took part in at Monamour when the

Chiara Am I dreaming?This is the question that keeps popping up in my head as I blink rapidly. I haven't seen Dad in what feels like years, and now it seems like his features are all wrong. The only thing I remember now is his beaten-up face from the last night we saw each other. The night he betrayed me and gave me away as payment.All the resentment and the questions rise up my throat like bile, but the only thing that comes out of my mouth is, "What the hell are you doing here?"He eagerly sets down the tray on the nearest table, gaping at me like a fish out of water. "Chiara. Oh, god I've been looking for you everywhere!"He tries to reach out to me but I slap his hand away. "Do not come any closer, or else I'll call the guards and tell them you're being a creep."Visible hurt flashes across Dad's eyes but I find that I don't care. Why would I? He literally tried to pay his debt by giving me away. He only ever cared about saving his own skin."I'm sorry for everything," he start