Return My Heart, Keep Your Regret
On the night of my 18th birthday, Enzo Vitale holds me by the waist as he coaxes me to take off my underwear.
"Good girl. You have a beautiful body, Isabella. Let me take a good look at you."
But just when I'm about to reach my climax, the spotlight is turned on. The floor-to-ceiling mirror in front of me becomes a see-through one-way mirror.
On the other side of the mirror shows the faces of all the guests who are here to attend my birthday party.
Soon, the racy video of my lustful side is spread all over Newlyn. My reputation gets flushed down the drain overnight, and yet Enzo's reputation remains unaffected.
On the night we break up, he leaves me a message.
"Your brother had watched my sister getting kidnapped by others back then. Now, it's your turn to have a taste of what it feels like, Isabella. You owe me this much."
My older brother, Marco Rossi, is enraged, to say the least. When he tries to demand an explanation from Enzo, he gets his legs broken by Enzo's bodyguards instead.
Marco drags his broken legs home. But on his way home, he gets into a car crash due to severe pain and blood loss, reducing him to a vegetable.
In order to afford the daily eight-thousand-dollar ICU bill, I become the most famous stripper in Newlyn. For the next three years, I flit between various nightclubs in Newlyn as well as various men's beds. I've been trading my pride and body in exchange for checks.
Three years later, I knock on a hotel room's door as usual.
The door opens, revealing a man wearing a custom-ordered dark gray suit. It's Enzo.
He's thinner now, and his cheekbones protrude even more. His eyes are as glacial as frozen lakes.
I smile brightly at him. "Sir, would you like any special services?"