Chapter One

اجتنب مصاحبة الكذاب فإن اضطررت إليه فلا تُصَدِّقْهُ

Avoid the company of liars, but if you can't, don't believe them

Rose

I look straight into the mirror; seeing my reflection. Sighing, I hear someone calling out my name but more like in a forcing tone. Trying my best to ignore his voice, I keep on washing my hands but my heart stops beating as soon as someone breaks the door—causing me to look at the figure in surprise.

''What the hell took you so long?'' Terry asks and I just roll my eyes at him. Then, he walks at me before pulling me by the arm.

As soon as I try to pull my arm away from his grasp, he pushes me against the wall; his breath right on the side of my neck—making me squirm. I look right into his eyes and he does the same—as if we're challenging one another. His strong muscular arms wrap around my waist before running down to my bottom.

''What are you doing?'' I ask.

Trying my best to push him away but he's way stronger than I am. When his lips reaches mine, I force myself to fight back but he keeps on forcing himself on me. He bites my lower lip—hard, purposely which makes me open my mouth and he takes that as an advantage for him to gain control.

''Get away.'' I say, this time my voice sounds like an order after trying to break the kiss.

He stares at me, ''You're a whore. That's who you are so act like one.''

Just as his hands travel around my body and almost reaching down to lift my dress up, someone interrupts us—making him step back a little. I keep on leaning against the wall, not wanting to get any closer towards him. He's a monster. Nickel, looks at both of us—giving Terry a sign that their boss wants us out quickly.

Terry pulls me towards him before touching my butt. I turn around to glare at him but he just keeps on touching it. As we head out of the restroom, we are heading towards the VIP section where Gonzales—the person who owns this place—the person who owns me—sits. From afar, I can see him laughing as he keeps on touching someone by the waist.

He's a pig, I must say.

Gonzales catches me looking at him and as soon as Terry, Nickel and I reach him—Terry let go of me before pushing me towards Gonzales and I end up falling in front of him; more like kneeling. I hear Terry chuckling behind me while Nickel just eye my entire body. They find this amusing, don't they. They always do.

All of them find this amusing.

They like to torture girls. They've done worse than torturing and I would consider myself lucky that they haven't gotten that far with me. I'm more like Gonzales's favourite little girl—he wouldn't let those fucked up guys do anything to me without my consent but then again, they always touch me. They feel like they have the right to do so when they don't fucking have anything on me.

I stand up as Gonzales pulls me by the waist—forcing me to sit on his lap. He starts to pull me closer and he finds it exciting whenever I resist him. He find me tempting. I can't deny that. I hate it whenever I'm near them but if I don't follow their orders, they might hit me. They've done that. I've been there.

There's this one time when Terry didn't get what he wanted from me—sex. It was awful. It was painful. He didn't think twice before hitting me; they don't have feelings, they don't have sympathy. Like I said, they are a bunch of animals. They are fucked up. Especially Gonzales.

''Come on, baby girl. Don't be shy.'' Gonzales says, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. Then, he runs his hand on my thigh—purposely trying to lift my dress up but I glare at him. He laughs, knowing that I don't like it whenever he touches me that way. I never let them. Even if it kills me, I would never let them.

I move away and sit beside him. I wish I could just get the hell out of here but I know I won't be able to go far. No one has ever survived running away from Gonzales and his gang members. They are killers. They kill without sympathy, they kill anyone that troubles them. That is what they are. Who they are.

Terry sits beside me, touching my thighs again. I slap his hand away and it's obvious that he does not get the meaning of fuck off. The loud music in the background is blasting my eardrums and I try to stay focus on the music without minding Terry but he keeps on touching me.

''Fuck off, Terry.'' I say, this time my voice sounds like I've had enough. He raises his hands up and backs away which is lucky enough for me because he never backs away. I guess he can't do anything that harms me whenever Gonzales is around. Gonzales doesn't like it whenever one of his girls get hit. The funny part is that, he hits them whenever they cause trouble so what's the difference?

I guess that you can finally figure it out. I don't live in a castle with a prince charming but I live here with a few fucked up man. They took me in when they found me in the streets when I was around eleven. Growing up in this environment, you can tell that I am pretty much getting used to this kind of thing.

They forced me into something that I never thought I would ever get myself involved. You can tell. I sell my body for money. This isn't what I wanted in life. Never but if I ever disagree or argue with them, they might burn my face. They've done that with the previous girl.

Guess where she is.

Dead.

Seeing people getting killed in front of me. That's a start. I was so young when I saw them shooting a few men just because they didn't follow Gonzales's orders. That scene has been haunting me since then but as I grow older, I feel numb. Numb to all these things.

My eyes wander around to see Gonzales and his men enjoying themselves. The other girls never seem to disobey or disagree with whatever the men want to do with their bodies. I never understand why they would always give in; I find that stupid. I really find that unrealistic. Maybe they're scared to die, just like me.

It feels like I don't belong here, which I really don't. I never belong here. I need to get out—I need to start a new life. A new beginning. That new beginning sounds impossible for someone like me. What fears me most than death is society—would they judge me for who I am? Would they question what I did? Would they look at me differently?

I stop looking around as I see an unknown man looking at me. His brown eyes are as dark as it could be and his face is nicely sculpted. My eyes continue to eye his entire face—realising how amazingly beautiful he is. How he has a strong jaw and perfectly shaped lips. He's too beautiful to be human; he seems like an angel. An angel that is out of place.

He continues to look at me and I do the same. To my surprise, he says something to the man near him before standing up and making his way towards me. He won't stop looking at me and I can't stop looking at him either. My cheeks heat up as soon as I see him curving his lips into a small smile—revealing his dimples.

God, he's beautiful.

Without me realising, he is already standing in front of Gonzales—only the glass table separating them. Oh wow, how did he get in? I blink a few times before eyeing Gonzales who seems to realise who is standing in front of him. ''It's been a long time, Elia.'' Gonzales says, taking a sip of his drink before putting it back down.

''It's been awhile.'' The beautiful man—who I assume—is Elia, replies. He looks straight at Gonzales before glancing at my direction once more. Then, he sits on one of the seats which is further away from the girls but still close enough to Gonzales and I. He smiles once more, showing his dimples again, ''I want one of your girls.'' He states.

Gonzales chuckles, ''Wise. Choose any.'' He starts to point at the girls on the other side—who seem to be surprised by the beauty they see. I know ladies, don't need to stare. We can all see how gorgeous he is. I thought to myself.

Elia smiles as he looks down at the ground before lifting his head up, looking straight at me. ''No. I want her.'' He points at me—which causes my eyes to widen in surprise but I stay put. It feels as if the whole world has stopped moving. Gonzales turns to look at me but I continue to look at Elia. Who does he think he is? He plans on wanting me? I'm not an object. Oh note the sarcasm. Look where I am and look what's holding me back.

''Apparently, my friend, choose anyone except her.'' Gonzales adds, his face is deadly serious.

A part of me wants to stand up and just run towards Elia even though I don't know him and he could be a serial killer or something but there's just something about him that just makes me feel so attracted. Maybe it's just his looks, maybe he's just too beautiful, that's why.

Elia keeps quiet for a second or two before clenching his jaw and starts to speak once more, ''How much?'' He asks and I start to feel a little pain in my chest.

I know. I'm a fucking whore. Strangers come at me and they pay me for my service. Honestly, I never care whenever they use me but all of a sudden, when it comes to that gorgeous guy over there—Elia, that sudden pain is quite a surprise for me. Oh come on, he may just be like any other guys who tends to have me for one night and throw me out.

''Like I said, she's not for sale.'' Gonzales says, taking out his gun. To my surprise, Elia laughs. Oh lord. Is it just me or is his laughter is the best sound in the whole world? Well, not the best sound but damn. Is he real or am I dreaming? Why have I never met anyone like him before? ''If you have no further wish, leave.'' Gonzales adds.

Elia looks into Gonzales's eyes. The way he's looking shows determination—that he's coming here to get what he wants and he won't leave, not until he gets it. ''Your business is corrupting. Your girls are getting less day by day. Your customers won't stop complaining. Where do you think you're going with that kind of situation?'' He says, calmly. Elia doesn't even flinch at the sight of Gonzales's gun.

I breathe out. This is too much to process.

''One million.'' Gonzales says out of nowhere.

Whoa, wait. One freaking million?!

I look up at Elia and I see him nodding his head before two men stands behind him. One of them says something to him silently while the other one eyes us all. It must be his men. Elia nods once more before standing up—fixing his suit. Then, he gives me his hand. Gonzales stands up, ''If you don't have the money—'' He starts to talk but Elia cuts him off by raising his index finger.

Within seconds, Gonzales's phone starts to ring; stating that there's a notification. He takes his phone out before looking down at the screen. Then, he looks back at Elia—completely surprised himself.

I am left dumbfounded. What the hell am I supposed to do? Gonzales just sold me to a stranger and let me just repeat this, to a beautifully gorgeous stranger but I don't trust him. I don't trust anyone, honestly. Sometimes, I don't even trust myself.

Why am I complaining?

I don't know. Maybe because someone is buying me.

Elia walks towards me before stopping. I look up—meeting his face up close and I see that he's better looking up close. It feels like my entire body is shaking and I can't seem to control myself. As I look back down, I am surprised to see him crouching so that our face would be inches apart. My breathing hitches as our nose touches slightly before he backs away slowly.

He gives me his hand once more and this time, I put mine in his with a slight hesitation. Our skin touches for the first time and I can feel my legs going weak for no reason. Come on, Rose! He's just holding your hand, for fuck's sake. I groan mentally.

Without me realising, I am already standing in front of his car. I breathe out—not really believing that I'm actually leaving this place. Frowning, I start to think of what I did to deserve this kind of opportunity. No, I tend to forget about god and only remember Him when I'm having a hard time. So, let's cross out the 'being religious' part.

Slowly, I start to walk away without glancing behind. I know, he might go after me but this is what I want right? I want an opportunity to run away and leave. Escape this whole bullshit. For the past years, I've been wanting my own freedom. I guess I'm always walking into my own deathtrap.

I hear someone calling out my name from behind but I keep on walking—ignoring the calls. My step starts to fasten on its own; making it easier for me. Although, the dress that I'm wearing makes it hard for me to walk but I try my best. I can't miss this chance. Well, actually, I'm more like already missing the chance to escape.

Turning left, I kick out my heels and start to run into the dark alley. Bad idea, bad idea, Rose! I mentally curse myself but where else can I go? It's dark and I don't know where else I should turn. Right now, I'm running away from that gorgeous stranger because I have already escaped Gonzales. Thanks to that beauty.

''Stop!'' I hear someone shouts from behind and I turn around to see that it was the previous man from before—the man that Elia talked to.

Groaning, I continue to run; making a sharp turn before bumping my arm into the wall—making me groan harder. Fuck the dirty streets, I just need to get the hell out of here. I finally agree with myself for once as I look around—seeing that there's an open street up front. This might be my only chance of escaping! I have to act quick.

As the figure starts to get closer, I fasten my steps. I immediately stop running as I see someone standing a few feet away from me. Due to the dim lights, I can barely see his face but after looking closely, images of him comes flowing by. Of course, he would be here. Of course. Exhaling, I start to take a few steps back but if I do so, I will end up bumping into one of his men but if I just stand here, he'll get me.

Do I have another choice? Nope.

He starts to walk closer towards me and the closer he gets, I get to see a playful smirk plastered on his face. I'm dead. That's for sure. I close my eyes before breathing out once more. As soon as I smell the familiar cologne, I open my eyes to find myself facing his chest. We're close to each other. Too close.

I look up and see him looking down at me—even in the dark, I manage to see the warmness of his eyes. He uses the back of his hand to run it smoothly on my cheek; making me gulp unknowingly. Our eyes aren't looking away, not even a single blink could interrupt us. He leans in and I feel his lips brushing against my cheek, making me hold in my breath.

His lips travel to my earlobe, ''I'm sorry, mio amore.'' He whispers, softly.

Just like that, I feel a sharp pain on the side of my neck and my eyes widen to find him injecting something. I look up at his face as he backs away slightly—looking down at me. My legs weaken immediately as the liquid travels through my veins. My whole body feels like I'm burning; the sudden discomfort, the pain, the numbness; all mixed in one.

I blink a few times, trying to get a clearer vision but everything seems to fade away. Including him.

He glances at my lips before looking straight into my eyes and my eyes closes immediately—only feeling his arms around my waist, holding me back from falling.

What an interesting way to die.