Not Worth My Time

WENDY'S POV

I was in front of the magnificent Brilliant Hotel, which made me feel so small in comparison to it. The night was chilly, but I could feel the sweat trickling down my back. My family’s future was at stake on this particular night, a night that I should never have been involved in. It was Grace who agreed to be here, not me. But when she backed out, my mother had no other option but to turn to me. With our family in a deep financial mess, she did not blink an eye to push me into this.

I inhaled deeply to ease the growing ball of apprehension that was forming in the middle of my chest. This I had to do. I had no choice. If I didn’t, we could lose everything. However, the idea of spending the night with a man I had never met, not in some clinical surrogacy process but spent the night with him as his grandfather had ordered us in exchange of money.

Lucy’s words rang in my head, I remembered what she told me earlier on. ‘He likes women who are innocent, untouchable, and submissive,’ she had said with a cruel grin. I looked at the white dress she had chosen for me, it was plain, conservative, not at all like me.

I entered the hotel lobby with trembling hands, the luxurious interior and the sparkling chandeliers did not help me to calm down. I went to the reception and the clerk only looked at me for a second before he slid a key card across the counter. Room 1602. My heart raced as I headed to the elevator and I could feel the numbers on the panel increasing too fast.

It was just a business relationship I kept reminding myself over and over. Do it for the family. Just one night.

The doors opened and I stepped into the opulent hallway; my legs felt like lead as I made my way towards the suite. I was left standing there for a few seconds before I wrapped the door gently with my knuckles. Maybe if I knock softly no one will open the door and I can just leave. But before I could get out of range, the door opened.

There he was, Michael Carter.

He was much taller than I thought he would be, he was wearing a black suit that hugged his body perfectly, he had a lean frame but one could tell he worked out. He looked dangerous, there was an aura of evil around him that I felt I wanted to avoid. His eyes were black, almost too black, and he looked me up and down with what I could only assume was disgust.

“Well,” he began, no longer bothering with formalities, his voice deep and threatening, “how much are they paying you for this?”

The question was asked and it was like someone slapped me. I flinched, surprised by the sudden change in his attitude and the coldness in his voice. It is not that I didn’t expect to be treated kindly, but this. .. this was something else. I attempted to speak but the words seemed to be stuck somewhere in my throat. “It’s... it’s not about the money—”

He interrupted me with a laugh, moving closer to me which made me feel like I could hardly breathe. “Don’t you dare insult me? You are here for the money, aren’t you? Did they offer you 500,000 or one million?”

The shame rose up to my neck, my face was red. I didn't even want to be here in the first place but now that I am standing in front of him and being judged like this, it was the worst feeling. He was turning me into just a mere object that was useful to him as much as a mere object that he could use and dump.

“I never knew the amount,” I said quietly, almost inaudibly. “I’m not doing this for me. ”

He scowled and his lips curled into a snarl. “Of course you aren’t. ” He turned his back to me, walking toward the window, staring out into the city lights as if I wasn’t worth looking at anymore. “You can go, you want to go, I will give you double money if you will go right now. ”

The offer was still on the table and it was an opportunity to get away. I could pack my bags right now and leave this hotel and never have to see any of them again. But then I thought of my family, of the burden my parents have to bear because of the money they owe. If I don’t do this we will lose everything. And for what? A moment of dignity?

“I... I can’t,” I said, barely able to speak.

He looked at me again, his eyes cold and unresponsive. “Fine,” he replied coldly. “But don’t think for a second that this means anything to me. You are just here to take what you want and I am here to let you take it.”

I shuddered at his words and my stomach felt like it had fallen to my feet. I understood that this was a business arrangement, but to hear him say it, so calmly and clinically, made me feel worse. I felt like running away, like turning into the floor and never again having to look at him.

Michael approached me again and I felt the urge to move away as he got closer to me. “Take off the dress,” he said, his tone husky, threatening.

I froze. My heart raced in my chest, my breath hitched in my chest. I can’t do this, my mind shouted, but my legs refused to listen to my mind.

He again laughed at me seeing that I was hesitating to take the offer, although I wanted to grab the opportunity. “What? You agreed to this, didn’t you? Now act like it. ”

His words stung, cutting deeper than I thought possible. But I wasn’t here for myself. I was here for my family. And no matter how degrading this felt, I had to push through.

With shaking hands, I reached for the zipper at the back of my dress, my fingers trembling as I fumbled with it. As I slipped the dress off my shoulders, I could feel his eyes on me, cold and judgmental. I kept my gaze fixed on the floor, unable to look at him, my cheeks burning with shame.

But just as I prepared myself for what was to come, Michael surprised me. He grabbed a sheet from the bed, threw it over me, and without warning, shoved me toward the door. I stumbled, barely catching myself before I fell, my heart racing in my chest.

“Get out,” he spat, his voice dripping with contempt. “You’re not worth my time.”

Before I could even process what was happening, the door slammed shut behind me, leaving me standing in the hallway, wrapped in nothing but a sheet and my own humiliation.

My phone buzzed beside me, thrown out of the room along with me. I sank to the floor, staring at the cold, unfeeling hotel walls around me. I had never felt more alone, more worthless, in my entire life.