Chapter 1 A deal with the devil
Linda's POV
Tears flowed down my cheeks as I stepped out of St. Mary's Hospital. I couldn't stop them despite the stares from people passing by. Where the hell was I supposed to get five hundred thousand dollars?
The salary Mum earned working for the Jenkins was barely sustaining us. The little money we'd saved was used to pay off my school bills last semester.
But I couldn't watch my mom die. I'd do anything to save her.
The Jenkins, maybe they could help. I hated the thought even as it formed. My pride screamed against it, that stubborn pride Mom always said would be my downfall. "Linda, baby, sometimes you have to bend before you break," she'd tell me. But bending had never been my strong suit, not even when Nikki made my life hell ever since we were kids, not even when Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins pretended to be saints in front of Mom while treating me like dirt behind her back.
Still, what choice did I have? I'd swallow every ounce of dignity if it meant saving her.
I stepped into the Jenkins mansion. I had been in this house all my life, but it seemed like I was a newcomer.
"What took you so long, maid? Did you stop by your sugar daddy's house, little slut?" Nikki yelled at me.
I bit my tongue hard. The metallic taste of blood mixed with my anger. If only I had a sugar daddy, my mom would've been out of that hospital. But I'd spent the last three years rejecting every guy who showed interest, determined to prove I wasn't like the stereotypes Nikki loved to throw at me.
"Nikki, my mom's dying," I said, letting my tears flow freely. I hated crying in front of her, hated giving her the satisfaction.
"She should have died."
That word pierced my heart, but I was used to her rash statements. I fell to my knees, my pride crumbling like ash.
"Nikki, please. My mom needs surgery and we don't have any money. Help me talk to your parents, please. I'll do anything, I can't let my mom die."
"Don't touch me!" She stepped back, then paused. A slow smile crept across her face, the kind that made my stomach turn. "Well, talking about having a surgery, I can handle the bills."
I felt a surge of relief mixed with dread. Nikki never did anything without getting something in return.
"Thank you so much. I'll do anything."
"Anything?"
My heart sank. I knew it wasn't just anything.
"Yes." The word tasted like poison.
"Very well then. You're going to be me tonight."
"I don't understand."
"Oh! I forgot you were dumb. You're going to give up your virginity tonight to Charles Kane, the richest bachelor in Maple City."
My blood ran cold. "What! Nikki, you know there's no way he'd be interested in me. I'm not good enough... I can't... I promised to keep my..." Tears flowed down harder. It was the one thing I'd held onto, the one choice that was still mine in a life where I controlled so little.
The sound of her laughter echoed in my ears.
"Of course he won't be interested in a lowly bitch like you. That's why you're going as me. We've been mistaken for twins our whole lives, same height, same build, same face shape. Put us in identical clothes and makeup in a dark hotel room with a drunk man? He won't know the difference," Nikki said.
"But... why can't you do it yourself?" I asked, looking confused.
Nikki's expression shifted, something almost vulnerable flickering across her face before hardening again. "Because Charles Kane only sleeps with virgins, And I..." She waved her hand dismissively. "Let's just say I'm not qualified. But I need this, Linda. Charles is my ticket out of being just another rich girl. With him, I become a Kane. I become Powerful.
My parents have already arranged for me to meet him, but there's this one little... obstacle."
So that was it. Ambition and Power. Nikki wanted to climb higher, and my virginity was just another rung on her ladder.
"All you have to do is go in there, sleep with him, and when he passes out,he always drinks heavily before these encounters,you slip out. I'll slip in. He'll wake up next to me, assume I was there all along, and we both get what we need. He gets his virgin fantasy, I get my future, and you..." She smiled coldly. "You get your mother's life. Fair trade, don't you think?"
Fair? Nothing about this was fair. But what choice did I have?
Later That Night
I wondered how Nikki felt comfortable in the short red gown that barely covered her breasts. I was also dressed in the same clothes, but I felt naked and couldn't stop shivering.
"For fuck's sake, stop all that shivering, Linda! You have to be a good girl tonight, or else your mom ends up in the cemetery."
Tears filled my eyes as I remembered Mom.
I remembered how she held my hands earlier today and said, "Don't worry, baby girl. God will help us." But God wasn't helping tonight. The Devil was.
I straightened up and looked up at the Empire Hotel, determined to be at my best.
"That's my girl. Now all you have to do is go in there. Once he falls asleep, you slip out." Nikki said smugly
"Nikki..I.." I stuttered
"Can you just shut the fuck up and head towards suit 3407!" She yelled
My phone buzzed in my clutch and a message came from the hospital.
" Your mother has been moved to critical care. Surgery cannot be delayed past midnight."
I looked at the hotel doors, then back at the street, then at the time. it was 11:42 PM.
I took a deep breath and without looking back, I walked in.
The elevator doors slid open, and my heart stopped.
Standing in the lobby, suit jacket slung over one arm and eyes sharp as a blade, was a man I didn't recognize but who clearly recognized me. He tilted his head, a slow smile forming on his lips.
"You must be Nikki Jenkins," he said. "Mr. Kane has been waiting for long now and he doesn't entertain lateness" The man said
I nodded, hiding my quivering hands as I quickened my pace.