CHAPTER 1
“STRIP. I want you to strip and be my s*x slave,” the man said to Emilia, his eyes lingering on her body. Desire was etched in his blue eyes.
She bit her lower lip, fighting back tears. She hated this situation. But it was the only way to save her family. If she didn't do it, the man in front of her would have her father, Henry, imprisoned for his enormous debt. And she couldn't let that happen. It would break her and her mother.
Henry, Emilia's father, was an employee at Patterson Construction Company. When her mother, Marie, was rushed to the hospital for a heart condition, they were buried under debt from medical bills. The man in front of her now was the CEO of the company, Tyron Patterson, who her father owed money to. He was pressuring Henry to repay the 100,000 dollars debt. If he didn't do it by the deadline, he would send Henry to prison. Emilia couldn't let that happen.
But they couldn't afford it. They were poor, and they didn't have that kind of money. Especially since Henry had resigned to care for Marie, and Emilia was just a simple student, only able to study because of a scholarship. She also worked at a coffee shop in her free time to contribute to her family.
This was the only solution she could think of to keep Henry out of jail. She offered herself to Tyron as p*****t for their debt. She didn't think about herself. Her family was all that mattered.
But she didn't expect it to be this difficult, especially now that she was facing Tyron in the four corners of his office. He sat in his swivel chair, holding a glass of wine in his right hand.
“You don't want to?” she heard his deep baritone voice ask when he didn't get a reaction from her.
Emilia flinched. “Mr. P-Patterson, i-is there really no other way for us to pay our debt to you?” she said in a low voice. She was hoping there was another option. She didn’t want to trade her body, to be honest.
The corner of Tyron's lips lifted, and he glanced at his watch. “You came here on your own. You offered yourself to me. Don’t tell me you’re backing out?”
Emilia was speechless. She didn't know what to say. Tears streamed down her face.
"Seven days..."
Emilia looked up at Tyron.
"Seven days is all the time I gave Henry to pay the one hundred thousand dollars. And if he doesn't give me that money by then, I will make your family's life miserable and I will have him thrown in jail," Tyron said coldly, making Emilia clench her fists. This man was heartless! Was he really willing to ruin people's lives for one hundred thousand dollars?
Emilia fumed with anger. But she couldn't show it to the man in front of her. She needed him. She was in debt. She had to beg.
"Can you give me that money within a week?"
Emilia avoided Tyron's gaze. Even if she worked her whole life, she wouldn't be able to pay it. Tears streamed down her face again.
“Then I guess no. You can leave. I’m a busy man.”
"Mr. Patterson!" Emilia turned to Tyron. She walked towards him and knelt before him. "P-please, I beg you. Don't do this to our family. I-I'll do anything you want. Just don't put Henry in jail..." Tears flowed freely down Emilia's face. She was desperate. Even if it meant sacrificing herself, she wouldn't let her family be hurt.
"Then be my s*x slave. Spread your legs for me. And when I'm tired of your body, your family's debt is paid..." Tyron said coldly. He set down his glass of wine on the table and used his right hand to stroke her cheek.
Emilia flinched. Just the touch of Tyron made her disgusted with herself. But she had no choice. She needed him.
"W-when you're tired? H-how long will that be?" she asked in a weak voice.
Tyron shrugged. His hand moved from her cheek to her neck. She could see the lust in his blue eyes.
"I don't know. As long as I enjoy you, I won't get tired..." Tyron's voice was almost hoarse. He picked up his glass of wine again. Emilia flinched again when he poured it onto her neck and then leaned towards her, licking the spot where the wine had touched.
She closed her eyes. She bit her lower lip. She was shuddering. It wasn't the first time someone had kissed her. Emilia had been in a relationship before. But it felt different when you didn't want what was happening to you.
It was so unfair to her. But she couldn't do anything about it. The world was unfair. Only the rich had power and justice.
"Hmm. It’s good that Henry’s daughter is beautiful and sexy. Your body is worth the 100 thousand dollars," he whispered, his lips close to her ear. "After all, I can make that much money in a snap.”
Emilia clenched her fists. She wanted to hurt this man. He was so heartless. He wasn't even giving her any consideration.
"Then why are you forcing us to pay it immediately? We'll pay it little by little," she said, forcefully but with tears in her voice.
Tyron sat up straight. “Honey, I’m a businessman. If I see an opportunity to take advantage of something, I’ll grab it. Just like your body. You're sexy and hot. You can warm my bed every night.”
“You’re an i***t!” she whispered, her eyes blazing. He was so rude. Emilia couldn’t believe that the CEO of Patterson Construction Company could be so vulgar and arrogant.
She knew Tyron heard her, but he didn’t react. He rose from his swivel chair, finished his drink in one gulp, and turned his back on her. He faced the glass window, which overlooked the skyscrapers, his hands shoved into the pockets of his slacks.
“I’ll see you tonight. 8pm sharp. Someone will pick you up. Don’t be late…” He said before walking out of the office.
Once Tyron left, Emilia’s tears flowed freely. For her family, she would do anything.
She just hoped this deal with Tyron would be over soon, so her family could be free again.
That day, Emilia went to the university with puffy eyes. She was studying architecture. She had a scholarship, so she couldn't let her studies fall behind. Her parents couldn't afford to pay for her education anymore. After class, she worked at a coffee shop to pay for her education and support her family.
Thankfully, her friend, Bubbles, was absent that day. If she was there, Bubbles would surely pester her with questions about her swollen eyes.
Despite her conversation with Tyron, Emilia focused on her classes that day. Even though tears would occasionally fall, she thought about her parents. Maybe if they had been able to pay their rent and Marie hadn't been hospitalized, their lives wouldn’t be like this.
But she didn't blame Marie. In fact, she loved her family dearly. She loved Henry and Marie, and she didn't want to lose them. So, even though this was difficult, she was willing to sacrifice herself.
She didn't know how long Tyron would want her body, how long before he got tired of her. But she believed that all of this would eventually end. Her family would be free from their debt to Tyron Patterson.
After class, Emilia went straight to the cafe where she worked. It was right across from the university, so she didn’t need to take a bus to get there.
As soon as she arrived, she started working. Her coworkers greeted her, and she just nodded and smiled back. She didn’t want them to notice her swollen eyes and ask what was wrong. She was already tired of everything happening to her family, and she didn’t want to talk about it if she could help it.
She went to the counter and started serving customers. Emilia finished her shift without any mistakes. It was past six in the evening, and she was headed home.
She was waiting for a bus when someone called out to her.
"Emilia..."
She sighed. "What do you want, Brandon?" Brandon was her ex-boyfriend. They had broken up just a week ago. They had been together for a year, and the week before, she had caught him kissing another girl.
She didn’t know why he cheated on her. Maybe he was tired of her, or maybe it was because he hadn’t gotten what he wanted from her yet. She had loved Brandon, but she didn’t know why she couldn’t give herself to him. But Emilia had done the right thing. It was right that she didn't give herself to Brandon, because her virginity was going to be used to pay off a debt. She smiled bitterly in her head. f**k this life.
“Let’s talk…”
"We don't have anything to talk about," she said, turning her back to him. She didn’t look back until she got on the bus.
It was past seven when she arrived at her house. Emilia sighed before knocking on the door. Being home made her feel the weight of her family’s problems.
"Daughter." Henry opened the door with a smile.
"Dad," she said, returning a big smile. She didn't show him how much she was struggling. “How's Marie?” she asked, glancing slightly towards her parents’ room.
"She's resting. She wanted to wait for you to eat dinner with you. But she needs to get some early rest.”
She nodded. “We can have dinner together next time. This weekend," she said, forcing a smile.
“Did you eat dinner?” Henry asked.
“Yeah," she said, even though it wasn’t true. The truth was she had no appetite. "How are things here? Did any of Mr. Patterson’s men bother you?" she asked, trying to sound normal.
Henry shook his head. “No, Emilia. I’m actually wondering why they haven’t. He only gave me a week to come up with the money," he said. Fear and sadness were etched on Henry’s face. Emilia noticed tears forming in his eyes.
“I-If I get arrested, you take care of your mom. D-Don’t leave her alone. Just tell her I have to work far away, that’s why I’m not here,” he said, wiping his tears.
Marie didn’t know about their situation. She didn't know that Henry was in danger of being imprisoned because of his debt to Tyron Patterson.
She stood up and walked over to Henry. She hugged him tightly. She didn’t want to see her dad hurting. She was hurting too. She knew she had to do this. She couldn’t back down.
“Dad, don’t worry. I’m figuring things out so Mr. Patterson won’t put you in jail,” she said, forcing her voice to stay strong.
“W-What do you mean? Daughter, did you go to Tyron? He’s a dangerous man. Let me go to jail. I don’t want you to be hurt,” Henry said worriedly.
She sighed and forced a smile. “I won’t get hurt. The truth is, I went to his office this morning. And we’re going to meet tonight to t-talk about the job he’s offering me, so we can pay off our debt to him,” she said, looking away. She wasn’t lying about meeting him. But she knew it wasn’t about a job. She had to tell Henry this, so he could at least feel a little at ease.
Before she could get a response from Henry, they heard a car honking outside the house. They both turned towards the window.
"I-It looks like my ride is here," she said, hugging Henry. She needed to gather her courage from him.
Because Emilia knew whatever happened tonight between her and Tyron could ruin her life.