CHAPTER 1

**Arriving in the City**

"Come on, Lara, let's go inside," Janet said.

Lara responded, "No, Janet, you didn't tell me we were going to a hotel."

Janet frowned as she stood at the gate of her madam's brothel. She had traveled to her village to bring Lara, wanting to help her escape poverty.

Janet replied, "Lara, I can't keep standing out here with you. Fine, if you don't want to go inside, you can stay here alone. I have a lot of work to do, and my madam has been calling me since morning."

Lara frowned. She was a light-skinned beauty, very attractive, and she wasn't foolish enough not to realize where Janet had brought her.

She knew that Janet's parents were poor and still in the village. But with the lifestyle and beautiful dresses Janet wore, she couldn't help but admire it, as she mostly wore rags.

Lara replied, "I need to go back home to the village. I can't go in there with you."

Madam Alora stepped out and saw Janet standing by the gate. She remembered that Janet had asked permission to travel to her village to bring her best friend to the city. Janet had even promised her that her best friend was beautiful and super attractive.

It was 6:30 pm, and soon most of her eligible customers, who usually patronized them, would be arriving at her brothel. She only had four internal ladies working: Janet, Sophia, Edith, and Mimi. She didn't accept much older ladies, as they proved too stubborn for her to handle and also wanted to know her secrets. Besides, she mostly had young men coming to her brothel to patronize her ladies.

Madam Alora asked, "What's going on there, Janet?"

Janet replied, "Good evening, ma. It's my friend I spoke to you about. She doesn't want to come inside and has been standing outside by the gate since we arrived."

Madam Alora sighed. "Hmph. Alright. You go inside; I'm coming."

Madam Alora walked out, dressed in a short black gown that barely reached her knees, revealing her dark thighs. She wore red slippers and walked majestically toward the gate. Her eyes widened as she saw the beautiful girl standing outside, next to her gate, with her tattered traveling bag.

Lara greeted, "Good evening, ma."

Madam Alora replied, "Yes, welcome. Why are you standing out here by the gate? Come inside."

Lara replied, "No, ma. Isn't this a hotel?"

Madam Alora frowned, forced a fake smile, and replied, "No, my dear. What makes you think it's a hotel? Have you ever been to one before?"

Lara said, "No, ma, but..."

Lara peeped inside the gate and saw some ladies dressed in revealing clothes. She gulped, shook her head again, and said, "Please, ma, help me call Janet. I need to go back home to the village. I can't go in there."

Lara began to cry, and Madam Alora's eyes narrowed.

Madam Alora had been getting calls from high-profile, rich men requesting beautiful young ladies to warm their beds. Seeing the cute, fair-skinned girl standing outside by her gate, without any makeup, she shook her head and spoke, "Do you have your transport fare to go back home to the village?"

Lara slowly sniffed as she stared up at Madam Alora's face.

Lara replied, "No, ma."

Madam Alora said, "Then you will have to work for it. Are you coming inside or not? And mind you, this isn't a hotel. I actually gave Janet money to travel to your village and bring you here, as she said you were bothering her to come with her to the city. And now you just got here and want to go back to your village again! How ungrateful of you to come here to my home and insult me first, without even saying thank you, ma."

Lara held her traveling bag and apologized, "I am sorry, ma."

Madam Alora replied, "Keep your sorry to yourself and come inside now! Before I ask my guards to lock the gate."

Lara stood speechless for a moment, not knowing what to do. She finally pushed the gate open and walked in. She could hear the faint sound of music coming from the beautiful mansion in front of her as she tagged along behind Madam Alora, who walked majestically toward the house. They walked into the beautiful living room.

Madam Alora called, "Janet!"

Janet replied, "Yes, Madam."

Madam Alora said, "Show your friend to her room and prepare her."

Lara refused, "No..."

Madam Alora asked, "What do you mean by no?! Aren't you going back to the village again? Look, I don't have time to waste on you. You better move with Janet quickly, or I will call my guards to throw you out this minute."

Lara gulped and stared at the rest of the young ladies standing in the beautiful living room, which was decorated with golden chandeliers, golden seats, and golden curtains. The living room was painted off-white. Janet spoke to her, "Come on, Lara, let's go."

Lara hesitated and finally followed Janet, knowing the beautiful woman wasn't joking about throwing her out.

They walked into a room painted pink, and Janet kindly collected Lara's tattered traveling bag from her hand and spoke to her, "Lara, I know you're still finding it hard to believe this is what I do here in the city, but it's not prostitution."

Lara responded, "Liar! You're lying to me. You should have told me before now. I told you I don't want to sleep with any man for money. I don't want to lose my virginity until I'm married."

Janet said, "Hmph. I'm sorry, Lara, but what's the point of you keeping it? You, your sister, brother, and mother can barely feed. Your father is old, and your mother knew this before she ran to him and married him. Knowing he already had a family, did she think about her virginity or about any of you that she brought into this world?"

Lara yelled, "Shut up! And don't you dare insult my mother!"

Janet responded, "I'm not, Lara. I'm only being honest with you. Look, I'm using the latest iPhone, I have a car here, and do you think I have all that by keeping my virginity?"

Lara replied, "Shut up, Janet! That's you, not me. If you had told me before that it's prostitution, I wouldn't have followed you here. Now your madam said I have to work for my transportation fare to go back to the village. How will I work for it? If it's with my V-J, I cannot sleep with a man for money, so it's best you borrow me the money and let me go back to the village tonight."

Janet burst out laughing and replied, "No, Lara, you're not going anywhere. I wish I could borrow you my money and give it to you for free, but any money I get from going out, my madam takes 70% and gives me only 30%. And it's not even enough for me to take care of myself, let alone give to you."

Lara frowned, "You should have told me before, why, Janet?"

Lara began to sob.

Janet apologized, "I'm sorry, Lara. Let's hurry up and bathe before it's 8 pm, so we can eat and have some time to prepare before we leave."

Lara replied, "Leave me alone. I'm not eating or preparing to go anywhere with you. You wicked fellow."

Janet smiled and walked past Lara to take her bath in her bathroom. The room was hers, and since Lara was new, her madam hadn't given Lara a room of her own in the executive mansion.

Lara continued to sob. A few minutes later, Janet stepped out, tying a white towel around her chest, with water dripping down from her body.

Janet said, "It's your turn now, go in and bathe."

Lara replied, "No, you leave me alone. I'm not going anywhere with you."

Janet yelled, "What has come over you, Lara?! If you don't hurry, be ready to leave, as my madam has a bit of a hot temper."

Lara sniffed, and not having any other choice, she walked toward the bathroom door and stood by the door.

Lara asked, "Where's the towel I will use?"

Janet responded, "There are still about five neat towels in there. I hardly use them. Although we have dry-cleaners that wash our clothes, so I'm sure they're still neat."

Lara stomped her feet to the ground and angrily walked into the bathroom to bathe.

The bathroom was beautiful, compared to the local outside bathroom they used in her village. They were truly very poor since her mother had married an already married man with grown-up kids.

Lara had step-siblings, but they weren't close. Her mother was very fair, almost white, making her fair also, but her younger sister, Esther, was dark like their father, while her younger brother, Amos, was yellow like her.

Lara knew they could barely feed in the village, as her mother later sold fruits in the village square. Her aged father didn't care about them anymore and only used her mother to satisfy his sèxual urges, even as it resulted in them.

Lara knew that Janet was right, but she vowed not to sleep with any man until she got married.