GEMMA
I opened the dressing room door and walked wobbling to the stage amidst loud and cheering noises. I got to the stage, climbed it and stood at the center of the stage. I closed my eyes nervously, exhaling and inhaling. I opened my eyes and stared at the large crowd cheering at me and waiting for me to start performing.
I knew how weird and irritating it felt dancing in front of men old enough to be your father because I've been working in this club as a waitress for a long time and had seen everything that's going on, but here I am, on this stage, about to dance almost naked.
This is my first time dancing almost half naked in front of everyone.
"Just do it. Just one night, if you dance well, you would get enough money to settle your debts once and for all" my best friend's words replayed in my mind.
It was hard for her to bring up this suggestion but she had seen how I've been living a miserable life and living from hand to mouth while trying to pay back the debts my father owed before dying with my little waitress salary.
I was shocked when I found out that my father was owing a certain person a huge sum of money and since I was the only family he had left, I had to pay him back. Since then I haven't stopped receiving notes on my door asking me to pay back and pay fast. But then how would one person own that amount of money?
I felt knots tie in my stomach and I wanted to puke. I wished I could be anywhere but here but I just couldn't make my wish a reality.
"What are you waiting for? Start" my manager, Stacy said as she entered the stage.
I shook my head slightly, forcing back the tears that threatened to fall. I just couldn't do this.
"The men are eagerly waiting for your performance. If you can't do it, then leave the stage and go home" she yelled at me. Thank goodness the crowd couldn't hear her due to the loud music playing.
Leaving the stage right now was something I couldn't afford to do. I needed the money badly.
"I will do it," I muttered.
"Good. Boss is here today and there should be no mistakes and floppy performances" she said and eyed me from head to toe like with disdain and walked off the stage. She had every right to be mad at me. I was the one who told her I wanted to strip dance.
The boss is here? For a strip club, I had to admit this place was oozing pure luxury and had always wondered who owned this magnificent place.
I took deep breaths and tried relaxing myself. The men were screaming at me to strip myself naked, as they were already impatient. Their hungry eyes were feeding on my body. The music changed and I closed my eyes.
I immediately began moving my hips tentatively and ran my hands down my body in a seductively and erotic way. I grasped a long pole as I swirled my body round it.
I didn't realize I had mastered how to strip dance in my head just by watching others do it these past months. I was dancing freely, putting practice to everything I had seen earlier.
The man were howling as they fed their eyes hungrily.
"Slutty bitch"
"That's a great job over there"
"Come sit on my dick"
"I'm fucking hard" one yelled and they all laughed.
I felt so irritated hearing their nude comments but I hid my irritation and kept on swaying myself around the pole.
I opened my eyes and allowed it to travel around the hall and then it suddenly locked with a pair of cold blue eyes, his gaze was like ice, so hard.
He locked his eyes with mine, not cheering or howling like the others. He stared at me like he knew me from before. He stared at me like a predator would stare at a prey and I suddenly felt myself being self conscious of my performance as a result of his fiery gaze on my body.
I couldn't really get a view of his face since he sat in the shadows, surrounded by women dressed seductively and caressing his body to get a reaction. I didn't like the way he was staring at me, it was beginning to stir up some reactions in my body.
I forced myself to look away from him and kept on swaying myself around the pole while the men kept throwing money at me. The sight of the money made me dance more.
Soon, the music came to an end. I bent down and picked up my money littered everywhere on the stage, tucked them in my bra and hurriedly left the stage. The money I made just this night was huge, it was almost a thousand dollars or even more than.
I could still hear the men clapping as I walked back to the dressing room.
"Gemma, that was a nice performance. You did extremely well" Luna, a friend said as I walked into the dressing room.
"Thank you" I whispered.
"You made a lot of money tonight, keep it up" she said and left the room.
I rolled my eyes after she left. The three other girls in the room just stared at me without saying a word to me. I wasn't surprised, we don't really talk.
Keep what up? I just pray this money is enough for me to pay off the remaining debt. Luna came into the room again and began sorting out some dresses.
I changed out of my stripper clothes and wore back my normal clothes. I put all the money I made tonight into my bag. Seeing this money brought joy to me, I don't think I've ever seen this kind of money before in my life. Soon, I would be free of this huge debt.
I was about to leave the dressing room, after waving Luna bye and go home when Manager Stacy walked into the room.
"Gemma, the boss wants to see you," she said.
GEMMA"Gemma, the boss wants to see you," Manager Stacy said.A puzzled expression wiped across my face. "Why?"A huge man came in behind her."I see you're changed already and about to go home but you can't do that now. The boss wants to see you" Manager Stacy said."We've been in this shit longer than you and the boss has never called any of us privately to dance for him. You just danced for the first time tonight and suddenly he wants you dancing for him privately. You've sucked your way to the top" Aria said with disdain in her voice."I didn't do anything," I retorted."You'll have to wait outside, let's get her dressed up" Manager Stacy said to the huge man.He left the room. Manager Stacy went over to where Luna was and fetched a dress. She handed me a nude exposing dress which I wore and shoved me onto a chair. She asked Luna to make me up. In fifteen minutes, Luna did her magic and I looked beautiful, sexier and older."Don't feel special, the boss just likes your pretty face
GEMMAI got back to the room. I slowly opened the door and peeped inside. When I was sure no one was inside I went in. My bag still laid the same way I left it on the couch. "Thank goodness" I muttered and heaved a sigh of relief. I wouldn't have forgiven myself if I had lost this money. I picked up my bag and clutched it to my body tightly.I was about to leave the room when I stumbled upon a body lying on the floor. I could swear my heart literally flew out of my mouth in fear. I covered my mouth with my palm to stop myself from screaming out loud.What's the body doing here? Why didn't I see it when I came in? I kicked the body lying on the floor. It rolled to the other side and I saw it was a man bleeding profusely from the chest. He was shot. He was dead!I staggered back in shock, my whole body trembling at this horrible sight. My hands became sweaty and I paced around, confused on what to do.What happened here?"Leave this room. Now!" My inner voice said and I nodded subconsc
GEMMAI stood outside the club waiting for a taxi to pass by but none was approaching. I moved about restlessly trying to see any car passing by but luck wasn't on my side as no car was seen on the road. Strange wasn't it??I live in a small, poor town, a little bit far away from the club.Suddenly, I saw one of the men coming out of the club. I quickly hid myself from him and started running. He saw me running and gave chase. I ran as fast as my tiny legs could carry me. Two other guys joined in the chase.I kept on running and running. There was still no car passing by. I was breathing heavily and was getting tired, but I couldn't afford to stop running."Run Gemma, run!" My inner voice whispered to me and I forced myself to keep running. I was running on the road leading to my house. I was going to make sure they lose me on the road, then I'd get home, pack my things and leave the country first thing tomorrow morning with the money I made tonight.At some point, I looked back and
Antonio could see fear in her brown eyes, as she stood up slowly from the ground but he couldn't care less. She killed one of his men and she must pay for her crimes."Why did you kill him?" He asked her.Gemma shook her head negatively. Her body trembled in fear. She couldn't even bring herself to speak."Tell me, who are you working for? Who sent you? Dante?" Antonio asked."I don't…don't know what you're talking about," she said with a shaky voice."Don't lie to me" Antonio screamed, hitting the table hard. "I didn't kill me. Believe me, I'm innocent. I didn't kill him" she cried out, rubbing her palms together, pleading desperately."There's a gun in her bag," Luca said.Antonio raised his eyebrow at her when Luca mentioned the gun."I took it to defend myself. I don't even know how to shoot a gun" she cried."You're the last person to leave the room. How else do you want to explain it?" Antonio asked."I ran off to escape you when you left the room hurriedly and I forgot my bag
GEMMAThis ruthless man's subordinates just stood watching everything going on."Sir, can I go home and say goodbye to my best friend and pack up my stuff?" I asked, already accepting my fate."There's no need for that," he replied."But my clothes…what am I going to wear?" I asked."I'll take care of that and buy you so many slutty dresses and I expect you to wear them whenever I want you to" he replied."You're going to live here in my house for a hundred days under the pretense of being my maid, but your main job here in this house is to satisfy me sexually" he said and I nodded my head."Okay, let's do a little introduction. I'm Antonio Romano, the heir to the Veneto Mafia crime family and the leader to a dangerous drug syndicate. I prefer being addressed as BOSS" he introduced himself.I shuddered in fear. This man was deadly and dangerous. The Veneto Mafia crime family was said to have committed so many crimes, but it wasn't easy for the cops to arrest them because they kept a l
GEMMA I kept on tossing restlessly on my bed. Though the bed was big and so comfy, I couldn't sleep as I was worried and scared. I was far away from home, in a stranger's house and was at his mercy. Antonio kept true to his words and sent in so many slutty dresses. Only a few were decent. He got me so many underwear, body lotion and other necessary things he thought I could need.I sat up and went closer to the window. I opened the curtains and stared at the beautiful moon in the sky. It looked so free and happy being up there in the sky and I suddenly wished I was the moon.Gabriella must be so worried about me. I just hope she's treated herself to the bruises Antonio's wicked men gave her. My best friend must be so worried about me but I couldn't even call her to calm her nerves down. Antonio took my phone from me and said he's going to give it back to me at the right time.I never imagined things were going to turn out this way. Hours ago, I was a free young lady working my ass
Antonio walked into Gemma's room and saw her laying on her bed. She sat up immediately she saw him and her eyes widened in astonishment when she saw the chains, rope and belt he held in his hands."What's that for?" She asked as he approached her."No room for questions" Antonio replied and eyed her from head to toe."Nice body you've got there" he said in a mocking tone.GEMMA I was surprised to see Antonio walk into my room with chains, rope and belt and I tried to picture their use in my head.Is he planning to tie me up or what?What about the belt, am I going to get whipped?He came to the bed and sat beside me. I moved back in fear."Scared?" He asked, chuckling loudly."No boss" I replied, biting my trembling lips to stop them from trembling more."Good" he replied, nodding his head, impressed by my answer."Stand up and go wear your heels" he ordered me and I did as I was told quickly."Go over there and dance. Remember what you did the first night I saw you? I want you to
GEMMA I was sitting helplessly on the bed after I was done crying. Sitting helplessly and staring into empty space.I had always envisioned myself losing my virginity to the man I truly love and the man who loves me back. Had it been I know, I would have allowed Leonardo, my ex boyfriend to sleep with me when he asked for it. But I was too shy and wasn't ready then to have sex with him and felt I made the right decision not allowing him when I found out that he cheated on me with one of my closest friends. Now, it'd have been better if I lost my virginity to Leonardo than this monster.Never in my wildest thought did I think that I was going to lose my virginity like this, being helpless and being tied up and what more? to a total stranger.My life's so miserable. I felt hatred, contempt, scorn growing in my heart towards Antonio."I swear to God, I'd kill him whenever I get the chance" I swore to myself as fresh tears started to roll down my cheeks.I wiped it off immediately w
~GEMMA’S POV~ We got to the prison and they locked both Gabriella and I in a cell room and told us we'll be awaiting trial.We were asked if we wanted to contact our lawyers and we said yes. Margaret's lawyer is going to stand as Gabriella's lawyer.I looked around me and sighed heavily!I think I've gotten used to being locked up in a cell. I was starting to be their regular customer.But now, how do I cope with a baby in my womb in this cell?I'm glad that Nanny Emilia is there to take care of Isabella. They must be so worried about me.**** Gabriella and I didn't speak to each other for three days in the cell. I was still very angry at her and so I ignored her even though she tried to show me care when my early pregnancy symptoms started.I asked for a bowl and threw up in the cell room.“Are you pregnant, Gemma?” She finally asked.I didn't reply to her and looked away.She stood up from where she had been sitting and came to sit beside me.“G
~GEMMA’S POV~ I was coming back from the shopping mall and was driving home in my car. I was almost home when suddenly a car blocked my path and stopped.I quickly pressed the brakes to prevent bumping into the car.Who could it be? Who will be after my life now? I know I have so many enemies but I've resigned from being the “Pink Butterfly”I told the crime family and mafia group that I was no longer interested in working with them. It's war as they didn't want me to quit but they finally accepted.And I've asked Mateo and Marco to go their own ways, so now I have no guards protecting me.I saw the door of the other car opening and the driver stepped out. It was Gabriella.What's she doing here? And why is she blocking my path?She walked to where I was sitting and knocked on the door.I wind the glass down.“What is it?” I asked.“Come down, we need to talk” Gabriella said harshly.“Okay” I replied and opened the door and stepped out of the car.Immedia
“What did you just say?” Gabriella asked when she's finally able to speak. She's speaking in a low voice.“You heard me right,” Ivan replied. He's whispering.“What do you mean by that? How could you ask me to do such a thing? You want me to feel guilty for the rest of my life?” Gabriella asked.“That's the only way I can get out of this. I told you my greatest fear is rotting away in prison and it's about to come to pass now”“I don't want it. And I don't want to tell my dad and implicate him. He's the leader of a Russian Mafia group and would be apprehended and arrested by the police”“And I know my father, he would never go down without a fight. He'll rather die than allow himself to get arrested and I'm not sure if I would be getting out of here anytime soon. One of us must live, one of us must be alive and since I'm already locked up here, I have no choice but to do it” Ivan explained.“Still, you shouldn't have asked me to bring poison for you so you can kill yourse
~GEMMA’S POV~ I woke up and saw that I was lying on a bed in the hospital. I looked around me, no one was with me in my corner.Apart from the other patients in their own beds, no one was beside me and the sudden realization hit me.I was finally alone! Luca is dead. Antonio is dead too.If they were still alive, I would have woken up to either one of them sitting beside me and waiting for me to wake up.I started crying again. Luca's death pained me more.“I'll miss you so much, Luca, so much” I cried out.The doctor walked into the room and approached me.“You're awake, Mrs Gemma” he said.“Where is Luca?” I asked.“The man that died in front of the prison gate? His body is at the mortuary now” the doctor replied.My sobs increased and I began hitting hard on my chest.The doctor held my hands to stop me from causing more harm to myself.“You'll harm yourself and the baby” he told me.My eyes fluttered open in shock and surprise.“Baby? What baby?”
~GEMMA~ It was the fourth day when I was finally released from the prison with the help of Antonio's lawyer and my statement.I told them everything that happened, how Ivan kidnapped me, lured Antonio to come alone, killed Antonio and ran off when he saw the police coming.The police released me when they saw that I was saying the truth and went in search of Ivan but he's nowhere to be found.Antonio was already buried as Luca followed my instructions. Even though I missed his burial, I was glad he's finally buried and would be resting in peace now.I didn't know if I was going to take revenge on Ivan for killing Antonio. I'm tired, and I just want everything to end, no more deaths.Luca was with me in the prison with the lawyer. They're going to escort me out. There's a massive crowd waiting out of the prison walls to interview me.News of Antonio's death and my release has spread out wide and that explains the massive crowd.I'm glad Luca
~GEMMA~“Don't move. You're under arrest” the police officer repeated.They came close to me and picked the gun I was holding with a cloth.The other officers inspected Antonio and investigated the cause of his death after they confirmed he's really dead.“He was shot” one of them said and looked around the environment for more evidence.“Someone called us here,” another said.If it wasn't Antonio that called the police, then who did??“You're the only one and we caught you holding a gun. You killed him right, Mrs Romano?” A police officer asked.I remained mute and stared at them without an answer. They exchanged confused looks between themselves.One went and picked the ropes up.“There's more to this. We need to investigate this well. But for now, you're our prime suspect and the culprit to the murder of Antonio Romano” he said.“Take her away,” their leader commanded.It was then I began screaming.“I didn't kill him. How can I kill my own husband? I didn't kill him! I'm innocent”
Ivan was still laughing till Antonio interrupted him.“Son of Dante Karamazov? Russian Mafia Lord?” He asked.“Yes. I came to Italy just to kill you. My father sent me here and I'm here to carry out his mission” Ivan replied.“I won't go down easily,” Antonio said.“I'll see if you still have that confidence when I blow her head off” Ivan said and pointed a gun to Gemma's head.“Don't kill her. Face me and leave her out of it” Antonio said.“Drop all your guns and kick them far away from you” Ivan instructed.Antonio dropped his guns down and raised his arms in the air.“See, there's nothing on me now. Take the gun away from her” Antonio shouted.“Not so fast! Kneel down. I want to see you beg for life. Who knows, maybe I'll pity you and let you live” Ivan said.Antonio knelt down and Ivan removed the gun from Gemma and pointed it at him, approaching him menacingly.He got close to Antonio and fixed his gun directly at Antonio's face.“If only my dad could see the pitiful you
~ANTONIO~ I heard Gemma's screams for help when I was still talking with Sir Edward and informing him of my plans to leave the crime family and leave the country. Gemma was clearly calling out to me for help.I excused myself from Sir Edward and ran towards the car with Mateo and Marco. Halfway, I saw a car speeding off.It increased the adrenaline in me and I ran faster to the car. When I got to the car, I saw that it was widely open and saw Emilia asleep. Gemma was missing. She wasn't in the car.Who could have done this?“Ivan!!” My inner voice answered.He's the only person desperate enough to avenge Margaret's death.I placed my finger in Emilia's nose to confirm she's still breathing. She must have been knocked off by Ivan before taking Gemma away.“Boss, what are we going to do now?” Mateo asked me.“I fucking don't know” I replied. I was exhausted, frustrated and angry and my brain wasn't thinking right now. It's times like this I wish I
Ivan was furious when he saw Antonio and Gemma come down from the car.The nerves of them, to show their horrible faces here!He quickly jumped in and blocked their path.“What the hell are you doing here?” He barked at them.“I came to pay my last respects to the dead,” Antonio replied.“You're not wanted here. Leave before I do something stupid” Ivan threatened.“We don't want a fight. We just want to pay respects to Margaret and leave. Don't ruin Margaret's funeral with your outburst” Antonio said.Gabriella stepped behind Ivan and eyed Gemma from head to toe.“I won't let you both get close to her corpse” Ivan swore and pushed Antonio hard on his chest.Mateo and Marco stepped in to protect Antonio.“Stop it, Ivan. Allow them to pay last respect to the dead” Sir Edward said. He's present at the funeral. He flew straight to Italy because of the funeral.Ivan had no choice but to step aside for Antonio and Gemma to pass. They walked to Margaret's corpse holding flowers