Chapter 9

ERICA

With each step I took into the dimly lit room, my heart raced like a runaway train. The club was alive with flashing lights, loud music, and the scent of alcohol and sweat. The heavy bass vibrated through my chest, but it couldn’t drown out the anxiety roaring inside me. I felt naked, though I wasn’t fully bare—just barely covered in thin straps of lace that left very little to the imagination.

My legs felt like jelly as I made my way to the center of the room, trying to ignore the way the men's eyes followed me, drinking in every inch of my exposed skin. I hated how I felt so vulnerable, so out of place. But I didn’t have a choice. Not when he had my life—and my sister’s—tied up in his hands.

Swallowing my nerves, I took my place on the stage, gripping the pole as if it were the only thing keeping me standing. The music shifted into a sultry rhythm, and I forced myself to move. My hips swayed, my hands running over my body.

A shiver ran down my spine as I spun around the pole, trying to block out the sleazy whispers I could barely hear over the music. My body felt stiff, mechanical, but I had to make it through the night. I just had to survive this humiliation.

Then I felt it.

A hand. Rough, bold, and intrusive, gripping my thigh as I spun close to the edge of the stage.

I froze, my breath catching in my throat. My eyes shot down to the man sitting in the front row, a smirk plastered across his face as his fingers dug into my skin.

"Come on, sweetheart, give us a little more," he drawled, his voice thick with alcohol. His friends around him laughed, their leering gazes making my skin crawl.

I jerked back, pulling my leg from his grip. “Don’t touch me,” I snapped, my voice shaking. But the fear simmering inside me quickly turned to rage. How dare he?

“Oh, she’s got a temper, huh?” He smirked, leaning back in his chair, completely unfazed. “You should be grateful I’m even looking at you.”

His hand reached for me again, but this time, I reacted without thinking as anger surged through me, mixing with the fear and disgust I’d been trying to suppress all night.

I slapped him hard.

The sound of my palm colliding with his cheek echoed over the music, and the room seemed to freeze. The man’s head whipped to the side, shock widening his eyes as he touched his reddening face.

"You bitch!" he hissed, standing so abruptly that his drink toppled over, spilling onto the floor. His friends stood too, faces twisted with a mixture of amusement and anger.

"I told you, don't touch me," I snapped, my voice trembling despite the anger fueling me.

The man’s nostrils flared as he stepped closer, his breath hot and reeking of whiskey. “You’re gonna regret that. Do you know who I am?”

“I don’t care who you are,” I shot back, standing my ground. My heart was hammering in my chest, but I refused to show fear. “You don’t get to put your hands on me.”

He let out a low, dangerous chuckle. “Oh, I’ll put my hands wherever I damn well please.” His hand reached for me again, but I dodged it, causing him to stumble forward. His friends laughed again, though it was clear they were enjoying the chaos.

Before anything else could happen, the manager appeared, pushing through the small crowd that had gathered. “What the hell is going on here?” he demanded, eyes wide with fury.

The man I slapped pointed a finger in my face. “This slut hit me. In front of everyone!”

“She slapped him, Ray,” one of his friends chimed in, shaking his head in disbelief. “Just like that. No provocation. We were having a good time, and then she does this?”

The manager turned to me, his face red with anger. “You did what?”

“He groped me!” I shouted, my voice cracking under the weight of the moment. “I told him not to touch me, but he wouldn’t stop. I am a stripper yes but not a prostitute!”

Ray’s face twisted into a sneer. “I don’t care what he did! You don’t lay a hand on the clients, especially not on this one! These men are some of our best customers!”

“And we won’t be coming back after this,” the man I slapped growled. He straightened his jacket, giving me a look of pure disgust. “Not to a club that lets their girls act like this. We’ll take our business somewhere else.”

His friend nodded, crossing his arms. “Yeah, this place isn’t worth it if this is the kind of treatment we get. We’ll make sure everyone knows what happened.”

The manager’s face paled. He rushed over to them, his voice suddenly pleading. “Wait, wait, let’s not make any rash decisions here. We can work this out, gentlemen. She’s new, doesn’t know the rules yet. I’ll deal with her, I promise.”

But they were already walking toward the exit, their decision made. “You’ll never be hearing from us,”the man called over his shoulder as they stormed out.

Ray turned to me, fury written all over his face. “Do you have any idea what you’ve just done?” he barked. “You’ve just cost us two of our biggest clients! Raffael’s going to hear about this, and when he does, I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes.”

Before I could respond, a familiar voice cut through the tension.

“What the hell happened here?”

Clarissa.

Of course she would be here!

My stomach dropped as she sauntered in, her eyes locking onto the scene before her. Dressed in a tight, designer outfit that screamed luxury, she looked every bit the part of Raffael’s fiancée—and the last person I wanted to see right now.

Ray wasted no time, eager to shift the blame. “Clarissa, you won’t believe this. She—” He pointed at me like I was a piece of dirt. “She slapped one of our best clients! Now we’ve lost them both. They said they’re never coming back.”

Clarissa’s eyes narrowed as they slid over to me. Her lips curled into a sneer. “You did what?” she hissed, her gaze now fixed on me. “You just cost us two of our biggest clients?

Are you out of your mind? Just when I thought I could pay this club a little visit and see how you’d perform on your first night, you made a more terrible performance than I had even imagined!”

“He touched me,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “He grabbed me, and I defended myself.”

Clarissa let out a cold, bitter laugh. “You think that justifies losing thousands of dollars for this club? You think Raffael’s going to care that some drunk guy touched you? You should have let it go. You’re nothing but a dancer here, Erica. Know your place.”

I felt my stomach churn, but I couldn’t back down. Not this time. “I won’t let anyone treat me like a prostitute,” I snapped. “I don’t care how much money they have.”

“Oh, you’re going to care,” Clarissa said, stepping closer to me. “Because when I tell Raffael what you’ve done, you’ll be lucky if he doesn’t throw you out on the street. Or worse.”

My heart skipped a beat. Clarissa saw the fear flash in my eyes, and her smirk grew wider.

“You’re pathetic,” she said, her voice dripping with disdain. “A little slut playing tough. You think you can stand up to men like that? To me?”

“I’m not afraid of you,” I spat, though the tremor in my voice betrayed me.

“Oh, you should be.” Clarissa’s eyes flashed with cold fury. Then, without warning, she slapped me across the face, the sting of it reverberating through my skull.

I gasped, stumbling back, my cheek burning from the impact. The room fell into a dead silence. I could feel every pair of eyes on me, but I couldn’t move. I couldn’t speak.

“You think you can embarrass me in front of everyone?” Clarissa snarled. “Embarrass Raffael? You’re nothing, Erica. Nothing.”

She stepped back, smoothing her dress like she hadn’t just slapped me in front of a room full of people. “I’ll make sure Raffael knows exactly what kind of trouble you’ve caused,” she said, her voice laced with venom. “You’re done here.”

With that, she turned on her heel and stalked out of the room, leaving me standing there, humiliated and furious. The manager shot me one last disgusted look before hurrying after her, leaving me alone in the center of the club.

My cheek still stung from the slap, but the pain wasn’t the worst part. It was the helplessness. The humiliation.

I stood there, fists clenched at my sides, my mind racing.

That man touched me without my permission and if I had let him continue, there was no telling what him and his friend would have done to me.

I did what I could to protect myself.

I did the right thing—- I repeated the words in my head like a mantra, suppressing the urge I had to crumble into tears.

But deep down, I was mortified. I was scared of Raffael and what he’d do to me when he found out what had transpired here tonight.