Chapter 9 Chapter 9
The room went silent after his words.
Strip. Dance.
The words reverberate in my ears like a sentence being passed.
Every fiber of my being screamed at me to refuse, stand up, and walk away with whatever dignity I had left. But that would not pay the medical bills.
I swallowed down the emotions burning in my throat and slowly got to my feet.
His eyes followed all my movements as if I were his prey. Slowly, he leaned back, spread his arms, and rested them against the couch, watching me follow his order like a king.
My knees wobbled as I took a small, hesitant step back and removed the coat completely.
I was now standing in front of him in the small red dress that I wore to the stripper club.
A small triumphant smirk formed on his lips.
I hated that smirk.
He simply tapped on his phone and started the music before cocking his head at me.
I closed my eyes and swallowed the last of my pride. I zoned out and moved my feet to the music. I tried to forget his presence, but his eyes pierced my soul.
My trembling fingers reached behind me for the zipper. I slowly pulled it down before letting the dress slide down my body. It felt like I was shedding my skin bare to him.
His eyes darkened as they moved down my frame, but that didn’t stop me. I kept a smile on my face while maintaining eye contact with him, pretending this didn’t break something inside me.
Suddenly, he stood up, and my body froze. He tapped the stack of cash against his palm as he walked toward me.
“Continue,” he ordered.
And I followed his command like a puppet. He circled me like a predator before stopping in front of me.
He lifted the stack, and my hand instantly reached for it. Just as I was about to touch it, he pulled it away.
My eyes snapped at him. Holding my gaze, he threw the notes into the air, and they rained down on me like a mockery, touching my bare skin.
Heat burned behind my eyes, but I didn’t let the tears fall.
He motioned toward the notes with his eyes.
Understanding dawned, I sank to my knees and began collecting the notes with trembling fingers, reminding myself why I was here.
"This is what disrespecting costs."
I inhaled a sharp breath and squeezed my eyes shut.
How can I expect him to forget the little insult I dared to give?
“And this...” he said coldly, “this is exactly where you belong.”
Each word hit harder than his hands ever could.
I bit my inner cheeks and pressed my lips tightly to stop any sound coming out of my mouth. Of course, I am just a stripper, and this is how I have offered myself to him. This is the job for which I am getting paid.
To fulfill the duty of a mother, I turned myself numb and deaf to his words. I collected all the money and stuffed it in my coat before standing up.
Straightening my spine, I met his gaze. For a moment, he looked taken aback by my indifference, but he soon covered it with a façade.
Without another word, he turned away and returned with a white gown in his hands. He held it towards me,
"Wear this," he ordered in a very calm voice.
My eyebrows squinted in confusion as I looked up at him in disbelief. I actually wanted something to cover myself, but this was completely out of place.
“What—”
“Wear. It.”
This time, there was no softness in his voice. No matter how weird his demand was, I knew I had to follow it. My fingers trembled as I took the gown from him and put it on.
Surprisingly, the gown fit me as if it were made for me.
He planned every single thing!
Not entertaining my thoughts, I looked up at him to get this done as soon as possible, but what I saw made me stumble back a little.
His eyes were no longer on my face; they were moving down my body inch by inch, memorizing it as if he had been starving for years.
A soft smile played on his lips, and this time it wasn't a mocking smirk. A small fraction of it was genuine.
“I imagined this,” he said quietly, “A thousand times.”
My chest tightened, and my breath caught in my throat.
“I imagined you as my bride, walking to me adorned in a wedding gown," he chuckled softly.
"I imagined pulling you towards me gently..."
A gasp of pain and surprise passed my lips when he fisted my hair and pulled me towards himself harshly. My hands reached for his as my scalp burned, but it only made him tighten his grip.
His eyes slowly moved down to my lips, "...and kiss you softly to announce you as mine," he continued through gritted teeth.
His eyes snapped to mine, turning dark and dangerous.
“But you... you ruined every single one of them.”
Before I could react, his fingers curled into the gown to pull it away from my body. The sound of fabric tearing filled the room.
I gasped aloud, and the shock of it froze me in my spot as the gown I had worn just a few seconds ago now lay on the floor, ripped and tattered.
“Now,” he said coldly, letting the remaining fabric fall away, “nothing is going to be the way I dreamed anymore.”
My heart sank in my chest. He was deeply hurt. But what about me? What about the unsaid pain that I buried inside me the day I ran away?
Abruptly, he grabbed my arm, turned me around, and pushed me towards the bed. I stumbled forward, and the mattress hit my knees before I fell onto it.
"Lie on your back," he ordered in an authoritative voice.
Slowly, I turned around and crawled back. A shiver ran down my body when I found him taking slow and dangerous steps towards me. His eyes were bloodshot red with anger, pain, and revenge.
My throat suddenly turned dry. Somehow, his current demeanor scared me more than his anger ever could.
"Hands above your head," came a sharp command.
His eyes flicked down to my lips for a second when I licked my dry lips. One of his eyebrows shot up, waiting for me to follow his order.
Slowly, I lifted my hands with my heartbeat roaring in my ears.
Instead of his touch, I felt a metal around my wrist. My breath caught in my throat when I looked up.
Handcuffs?
"Lucie..."
"Shh..." He cut me off, "And it's sir for you!"
I looked up into his eyes, and there wasn't an ounce of mercy in them.
"Open your legs."
My body froze, and my back stiffened. Silence stretched between us for more than a minute as if he was giving me time to believe that he had actually turned cruel and heartless.
"I don't like to repeat myself."
His jaw tightened.
“You’re here because you chose to be. If you want to leave, the door is right th..."
Before he could finish, my legs started moving on their own. My daughter's life is more than my pride.
One side of his lips curled up into a smirk. A cruel smirk.
"Wider"
I pushed my thighs apart more.
"Good girl," he chuckled.
His eyes moved over my body, and a satisfying smirk curled on his lips.
He hasn't touched my skin directly yet. What is he planning?
I was confused until he leaned forward and ordered in his cold and merciless voice,
"Beg me"