Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 108768 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 544(@200wpm)___ 435(@250wpm)___ 363(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108768 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 544(@200wpm)___ 435(@250wpm)___ 363(@300wpm)
Always I wondered in my head. . .
Was he right?
But bills needed to get paid and my sisters had to eat and I was determined to give them better days. They could go to college. I would do double shifts half-naked in those heels to make it happen.
Their future success served as my motivation.
So nightly, I navigated a floor littered with leering eyes and outstretched hands. There was Carl, the club’s manager, who never missed an opportunity to demean me. Yet, I’d always bite back my retorts, reminding myself of the bigger picture.
And every glance felt intrusive.
Every comment, evidence that in the club, I was nothing more than an object to gawk at.
An ass to grab and smack.
The weight of those stares, those touches, was almost unbearable, but I carried it, like a dancer on a tightrope, never showing the world how close I was to falling.
To say I would be exhausted at the end of that job would be too tame a word. My feet always throbbed with pain due to being imprisoned in six-inch heels that felt more like medieval torture devices than footwear.
I’d often stare at my sore, aching feet at the end of the night, wondering how my life had come to this.
Had it been Mom’s cancer?
Dad’s neglect?
Or did I make too many bad decisions?
Then there was the stank of stale beer and cigarette smoke clinging to my clothes, hair, and skin.
Some nights, I thought the stank would never wash away.
Some nights. . .I knew with all certainty that I was trapped in that life forever.
And now. . .
Four men in matching blue uniforms carried me up the winding mountain path as if I were Cleopatra herself.
ME!
The same girl who just last week was dodging groping hands and jeering comments.
Now, I was perched on a blue cushioned chair attached to gold poles, my weight balanced carefully in these men’s arms. My gown and earrings cost well beyond an average person’s monthly salary.
And if any of those guys from that club was here and made the slightest move to touch me inappropriately, Lei would slice off their hands.
How did I get here?
The weight of my impoverished past felt distant, as if I’d shed a skin that was no longer needed.
Perhaps I had.
Maybe this was my divine metamorphosis.
I gazed up at the sparkling stars twinkling in the sky and yearned for an answer to make sense of this impossibility.
The night air ran fragrant with nature’s perfume, a stark departure from the acrid smells of the strip club.
Instead of neon lights, I was bathed in the soft glow of lanterns. Their golden beams danced on my skin and made it shimmer.
Wow.
The men carrying me moved with a synchronized grace. Their strong hands were steady, their postures respectful.
Duck kept their pace on my left.
Lei’s other man, Hu walked on my right.
The rhythmic shuffle of feet echoed in the stillness of the night, interrupted only by the occasional rustle of leaves as we all moved up the mountain path.
My pulse quickened, not just from the sudden elevation, but from the surreal shift my life had taken.
I breathed in deeply.
Cool mountain air filled my lungs. It was a mixture of pine, moist earth, and a faint sweet scent I couldn’t quite place.
I returned my attention to all of those glowing lanterns that peppered the path ahead and above. Their gentle light created a dreamlike ambiance, transforming the mountain into a stairway of stars.
How did they make everything so beautiful, so fast?
I couldn’t help but question if this was actually a dream.
And if it were real, what price would I have to pay for such a drastic change in fortune?
Even more. . .did I deserve this?
Who was I. . .to be carried this way?
To be ravished?
To be spoiled?
And. . .did I really belong here?
I chose not to answer those questions. To do so would possibly make me sad.
Instead, I decided that although this was a life apart from the one I knew I was more than ready to embrace it.
I want to feel like this all the time. I want to. . .be worthy. And feel worthy. And for my sisters to have this same experience.
I trembled.
All I had to do was get some sense of control in these next days and figure out how to navigate this new world of dangerous men.
How the hell will I do that?
Slowly, I turned my head and gazed over my shoulder.
Walking next to Chen, Lei watched me.
The heat from Lei’s gaze penetrated deep, and for a split second, my entire existence, my heart, my soul revolved solely around him.
It wasn’t just the intensity of his eyes but also the sheer power radiating from his stance.
Tonight, he was the embodiment of ancient royalty, reimagined for a modern age. Those intertwining gold dragons on his robe hinted at a legacy of power and prestige, and though I tried to deny it, he looked nothing short of majestic.