PROLOGUE

    

   ELLEN KNIGHT

   I stepped out of the bathroom and stood, hands akimbo in front of Lily, waiting for her to commend my outfit. It was my favorite, and I had a bond with the dress. But the scowl that crumpled her face made me want to cry.

   "What is this?" she asked, pointing at me.

    "A dress," I said, rolling my eyes. I have tested out my whole wardrobe, yet Lily didn't think any dresses I own were good enough for going out.

    "I know it's a dress, but I don't remember saying we were going to an orphanage to meet with children. We are going to a club, Elle. C-L-U-B," she spelled.

   At this point, I was already exhausted and frustrated when the night had not even started. Lily was my best friend, but she exhausted me so much. She was the perky one; she loved living life, going to parties, and doing all the fun stuff while I was the bookworm and the workaholic. I didn't have the time to have fun because I had to work and go to school at the same time to help my asthmatic mother out. My dad died in my first year in college, and my mother never really got over him. Six months later, she was diagnosed with chronic asthma. She had to stop working hard to pay our bills. I didn't want to drop out of college, so I started working to make ends meet.

     "Don't you have something better?" Lily asked.

 I sighed and fell on the bed beside her. "I am so exhausted right now that I don't even feel like leaving the house."

   Lily tugged my hand. "No way. I told the girls you are coming, so you are not going AWOL on me."

   "Well, I don't even have a proper outfit to fit in tonight."

   "I thought of that already; that's why I came with extra."

    "What?" I turned to face her. "You came with an extra outfit and let me go through all that trouble?"

    "I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt. I didn't want it to seem like you have no better outfits." She rummaged through her bag. 

    "Well, how did that go?" I sat up.

    "To be honest, you have good outfits for church services and maybe charity programs, but for nights like this, you have nothing. Check this out." She tossed me a red dress. I held it out in front of me, examining it. It looked small to me. "Is this going to fit at all?"

   "That's why you must test it out; hurry up, Elle, we have other things to do. I am yet to make you up."

   I dashed into the bathroom to try the dress out. I wanted to see the look on Lily's face when I stepped out, so I decided to get dressed in the bathroom and come out for her to scrutinize me. The dress hugged my body perfectly as I wore it. It showed every curve of mine, but I found it too revealing. My cleavages were glaring so much, and it stopped way above my knees. The whole of my back was practically open. I went out of the bathroom, and Lily gasped as she saw me.

    I shook my head frantically. "There is no way in the world I"m wearing this out of this room."

   "Grandma Elle, please..." she scoffed and rolled her eyes. "This is perfect. Come and sit down. Let me doll you up. You must hook a rich guy tonight, and this beauty won't go to waste."

    "I feel this is too revealing."

    "You look stunning, babe. Now, let's get to work."

   An hour later, we were in Debbie's car. Debbie, Donna, and Shirley were Lily's friends. They were nice girls despite their popularity in college. We were not close, and I don't live like them, but they never disregarded or belittled me in any way. They admired my strength and were very supportive of me.

    "Oh, my God, Elle, is that you?!" Donna exclaimed when I got into the car.

 I managed a smile. I was a little shy with the dress since I wasn't used to wearing this kind of dress, I felt really uncomfortable, but I reminded myself that it was only going to be for this night. Debbie played music and turned up the volume, and the other girls sang along on top of their voices while I sat and enjoyed. Soon, we arrived at the club, and Debbie parked the car in the parking lot. We got out of the car, and Lily hooked her arm in mine. When I turned to look at her, her face widened in a smile, and I chuckled, feeling a little at ease with her gesture.

    She must have seen how nervous I was. She always has a way of reading me. Sometimes I liked it, but sometimes, it was also a pain in the butt. We went into the club. Lily clung to me while the other girls went their separate ways. I had never been to a nightclub before, so I was amazed by the setting. It was a magnificent place with luxurious furniture, disco lights, blinking red and blue, and rotating about the club, giving it a dark and sensual aura. The disc jockey was very hyperactive, mixing recorded music; a few people danced while the others just sat around talking over drinks or smooching.

   I dragged my eyes away from couples who were so hot that they forgot to get rooms. In high school, I have been to one or two parties like this, and that was as far as I can remember this kind of thing. But here were adults, men and women, rich and classy. The caliber of people here was way above me.

   "What will you drink?" Lily asked in my ear, dragging me away from my thoughts. Her voice was a little high because she wanted me to hear her above the blaring music. We were in front of the bar counter now.

  I don't take alcohol, I can't remember the last time I took one, and I probably don't know the names. I smiled at her and replied that I would order later. Maybe I would look at what others were ordering and do mine. Lily was taken away after a while, and I was left alone. I looked around the place; everyone was having fun.

    "A bottle of Vin Santo, please," a waitress said to the bartender. The bartender, an oddly attractive young man, took out the bottle from the wine store behind him and handed it to the waitress on a tray. She thanked him and went away.

   For some strange reason, I liked the name of the wine, and I placed an order for a bottle, hoping my friends would come back anytime soon and join me. The bartender took out the wine, and without asking, he unscrewed the cap and poured it into a glass for me. I smiled when he handed me the glass and pushed the bottle toward me.

   "Thank you," I said and sipped from my glass. The wine tasted really good. "How much is this?" I asked after a few more sips.

    "Thirty-seven dollars and ninety-nine cents."

My eyes flared open, and an alarm went off in my head. I stared at the bottle like it was something that had fallen from Jupiter. "Pa...pardon?"

   "Thirty-seven dollars and ninety-nine cents," he repeated.

   "Oh," I breathed. What have I been thinking? I looked around for any of my friends, but they were all enjoying themselves with different men. I didn't have cash with me, and I had planned to spend only $5 tonight, at the highest $10. That was all I could let go from my account on frivolities.

    "Put that on my tab," a deep voice said behind me, and the face behind the voice came to stand beside me the next moment.

  I didn't know what made me nervous, his voice, the wine, or the fact that I was stupid enough to order wine without checking the price first. I turned my head to look at him. The first thing that struck me was the deep chocolate brown of his eyes that stared back at me with such intensity that I felt I was beginning to melt. I didn't know how long I stared at him, but my embarrassment perked when the corners of his lips twitched up in a wicked smirk. I swallowed, blinked twice, and looked away from him.

   "You must have an expensive taste," he said, his eyes still scrutinizing me, his hands leisurely stuffed into his pockets. He wore a black button-down shirt with rolled-up sleeves and a pair of black chinos.

 Now, what was I supposed to say to that? I looked at him again and smiled at him. "And you must be a kind gentleman to pay such an amount for a stranger."

   He dazzled me with a grin. I couldn't believe this fine specimen standing before me was real. He looked like a picture from a magazine cover. This man was the embodiment of attraction; everything about him was so perfect, from his dark tousled hair, which was shaved on either side to the deep tan of his skin, his dark, almost bristling eyebrows, high cheekbones, sharp jaw, straight nose, and his full, luscious lips, which made me wonder what they would feel like on mine. I didn't know if I had ever seen a man as handsome as he was. I have never had time for men. It was only about work, calculations, and school.

   He lowered himself onto the barstool beside me and gestured to the bartender, who nodded, and within seconds, he was back with another wine. I didn't care to read the name, but the bottle was different from mine.

   "You seem to be a regular here, seeing that the bartender already knows your usual."

  He smiled. "I am not. My family is known around here; they know my taste the few times I have been here."

   "Is that Italian accent I hear?" I cocked an eyebrow.

He chuckled and nodded. "Yes. I was born and raised in Italy and only moved here about five years ago."

   "Wow." I sipped my drink. "I have always wanted to go to Italy."

    "I can take you there if you want." He smirked.

I noticed his eyes running over my body, it excited me as much as it discomforted me, but I carried on trying to take my mind off what he might feel like in bed. I would never let a stranger take me to bed again, not after it landed me with a psycho ex-boyfriend. 

    "So... did you already have a family here before you moved?" I asked.

  "Well...yes, even before I was born. Our businesses are run in different parts of the world, so I was sent here to take over this fraction."

   "Interesting," I nodded, even as what he said quirked something in me.

    "I don't just want to talk about business tonight."

    "Right," I said and raised the glass to my lips.

    "So, what about you? What do you do?" he asked, catching me off-guard.

    "Oh, I am a hardworking student."

     "Hardworking student," he repeated and chuckled. I couldn't help but chuckle. 

  As handsome as he was, it was evident that there was so much more to his refined manners and charming smiles. Beneath that exterior, I felt something more intense, something he was avoiding, but I reminded myself that it was just for tonight, nothing more. Before we knew it, we had downed three glasses, and while he was perfectly fine, I started to feel giddy. We laughed and talked about many things I probably won't remember tomorrow, and the more we spoke, the more I ogled at him. Before I knew what was going on, we were kissing, and then we were in a room, tearing away each other's clothes while devouring each other hungrily. 

    He gave me the utmost pleasure of my life that night, pleasure in a different kind of way that got me rethinking if I wanted him in my life forever. I slept off after five rounds of sweet sex that night, but the bed was empty on his end when I woke up the following day. A bundle of money lay there and nothing more. Tears stung my eyes as the realization hit me. He had taken me for a whore.