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Song: What Do Girls Really Want? - Lord Paper ft. Various Artists.

*Unedited* (Because I ate pizza and spring rolls today)

I had to make him keep thinking that he had broken me or whatever he was talking about. What kind of breaking did he mean though? Break my will? My neck? Heck, break me as in take my virginity? Kofi was one of the weirdest persons I'd ever met. If there was anything his stunt had caused, it had strengthened my hate for him. I needed to leave this place and bring an end to him and Justus' father. Most of all, I needed to get my family out of that toxic village. After that, I had no idea which direction my life will take, honestly.

It was Friday, a day before the auction. Kofi decided that I should talk with the prostitutes in order to learn something from them. Apparently, he'd sent word out that a virgin was going to be auctioned on Saturday and the information was received enthusiastically. Come Saturday night, I'd have lost my virginity to a stranger.

The thought didn't bother me as much as before, surprisingly. I wasn't the kind to decide that love was a waste of time just because Michael had broken my heart, but I guess knowing that the love of my life wasn't going to be the one to claim me made it much easier to give it away. I was sure I wouldn't ever love someone like the way I love Michael, and if I did really love anyone else after him, he would accept me as I am if he was worth my time.

Unsurprisingly, I'd chosen to spend time with Barbie, since she'd been the only one who was nice to me. I briefly considered Ginger, seeing that I might be rented by the woman who had her the last time, but I changed my mind. The thought was foolish even.

But Barbie had been in the bathroom for a while now. When I got to her room, her eyes were dull, almost lifeless. It was completely different from how vibrant they'd been when we first met. They'd brightened up a little when she saw me, and I felt joy knowing that I'd caused someone else's joy, which was uncharacteristic for me.

Perhaps I'd finally began to mature.

She told me to come in and she let me sit on her bed. After, she excused herself to the bathroom and she'd been there since. I'd began to feel worried after a while but I decided to give her some space.

But she was inside for too long. I felt foolish for waiting that long. What if she was hurting herself? Kofi told me that the prostitutes were actually broken, miserable people. I was sure that her demons had come back to haunt her, which explained her sudden bleakness.

"Barbs?" I called in a timid voice. I was baffled as to why my voice came out like that, but then I realised that I was just scared. Scared as in worried.

I walked up to the bathroom door and knocked. "Are you in there?"

Silence. Then, "Y-yeah, I'm fine. Just give me a minute okay?"

"You've had a lot of minutes Barbs. Let me in or I'll break down the door."

I heard her giggle. "Please, you can't."

"You want to try me?" I asked with a smile on my face.

She sighed. "I'm coming."

There was more silence for more than a minute before she finally opened the door. "Hey," she smiled, albeit sadly.

"Hey. Are you okay?" I asked.

"I'm fine," she murmured. When she went to sit down, I noticed that she was limping.

"Did you hurt yourself?" I asked.

"What?"

"Look, you're limping," I said, then realised how stupid that sounded. "I mean, if you're limping, you must be feeling some kind of pain, so you don't need to look to know that you're limping." I tried to stop myself from rambling. "See, my point is, you're limping so something happened. What is it?" I asked.

She eyed me curiously. "Your cheeks look more hollow than usual. You've lost some weight."

I rolled my eyes, knowing that she was lying. By now, almost everyone had heard about what happened, but no one had the gull to approach me about it. I guess this was her subtle way of doing so. "It's barely been a week Barbs. I couldn't have lost any weight."

"Yes, you could. You must not know anything about weight loss."

I laughed. "If you could lose weight by not eating for six days, all the insecure girls in the world would've done it by now."

"Oh, you clueless little thing," she laughed also. "why are you here though? I thought you hated me."

"I don't okay? That day we met, I was just -" No. This was not the time to make excuses for myself. "-look, I'm sorry for being such a bitch. I'm just really used to being that way, it's hard not to. Everyone's been coming for me since I was born, I get sceptical when someone is being too nice." I wasn't too sure that was the truth because I never felt like Nathan or Christian were out to get me. Maybe I just had a natural dislike for girls.

"I'm used to it. Most people don't like me because of my looks, you know? I don't know if they're jealous - I doubt that though - but they always compare me to that stupid, imaginary, unrealistic bullshit standard-of-beauty doll bitch and declare that I'm an airhead. It's really annoying."

"Are you?"

"What?"

"An airhead."

She frowned. "I wish I wasn't."

"I'm sorry if I offended you." I replied. I did the same thing. I compared her to the Barbie doll.

She did look very much like a Barbie though. Beautiful tan skin, straight blonde hair, big ocean blue eyes, small dainty nose, plump pink lips, tall lean figure with slight curves. She was a living Barbie doll. Or better yet, the Barbie doll was a splendid artificial version of her.

"No, it's okay," she smiled. "I'm curious, why are you here though?"

"Oh, right. Kofi asked me to come and talk to one of you. Just between us, I think he was trying to get rid of me."

"Kofi?" She asked, baffled.

I remembered that not everyone was on first name basis with Kofi like me. He was known as 'The Big Boss' or just 'The Boss'. "The boss. I guess that's what you guys call him."

"Hey, is it true that you're in a relationship with him?"

I found myself recoiling at the thought. Like I'd ever be with some psychopath with no feelings. "No, no, of course not."

"Really? Word around is that -"

"Yes, really. I don't like him and he sure doesn't like me either."

She nodded, "I mean, I suspected the trouble in paradise when they told me what happened last Saturday."

I didn't reply. The memory of those six days - two of which I was unconscious - had scarred me for life. I felt it, I knew it. Yet, it'd scarred me for the better. "That man, you should fear him. He's the devil himself."

"I don't know him much, but he seems normal," she shrugged.

"Trust me, he's anything but." I rolled my eyes.

"He asked you to do what here?" She queried.

"What?"

"The boss, or Kofi or whatever you call him."

"Sex tips? I think that was it."

Barbie shrank away. "I don't think I'm the one you should be talking to."

I laughed. "You're a prostitute."

She glared at me. It was the first glare I'd received from her but it wasn't menacing. Just sexy, like the rest of her. "I haven't been getting the best sex lately."

I rolled my eyes. "Of course, you haven't. That idiot who rented you probably doesn't even last longer than three minutes."

"Wait. You know the man who rented me?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

"Where from?"

"He owned a lot of land back at my village. He amassed his wealth from exploiting the poor farmers... and apparently from this business too."

She didn't say anything. She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and hugged herself.

"You've been acting weird lately."

At that, she looked up at me and smiled slightly. "I've been acting weird lately? When was the last time you saw me?"

I giggled. "Yeah, I get your point, but you weren't like this when we first met."

"Like what?" She wanted to know.

"So dull."

Her smile faded and she looked down at her slim thighs.

I must've said something wrong.

"I-I'm sorry. I... I don't want to ask what's bothering you because I don't think people really like that, but then I don't know what to do okay? I mean, I barely know you, but I don't like to see anyone like this." I said. "Most people." I added as an afterthought.

"Not everyone is the same, you know? Some people find comfort in talking. Others just want someone to hold them. Most people just like to be alone."

"So? What kind of person are you? You want a hug?" I spread my arms wide.

She looked at me and laughed. "Who would have ever thought?" She hugged me anyway.

Her face rested on my collarbone; I felt her lips stretch into a smile. She wrapped her arms around my lower back, whilst I patted her head rhythmically. I hoped she wouldn't mind me touching her hair.

Her heartbeat was steady against my own... chest and her arms tightened. I began to feel suffocated and was just about to pull back when I felt her tremble.

"Barbie?"

"Don't call me that," she murmured.

"Barbara. Are you crying?"

"No. I'm not," she replied.

She trembled again and I felt a wetness on my neck. I pushed her back slightly so that I could look in her eyes. She shut them tightly but the tears slipped down her cheeks anyway.

"Barbara."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"I didn't ask you to," I shrugged.

She opened her eyes and glared at me again.

I just laughed. "I think you want to talk about whatever it is."

She pulled away from me and went to stand in the middle of the room, with her back to me. "I don't know if I should."

"A problem shared is a problem halved."

"I've never believed that," she said. "a problem shared is just that. A problem shared. You're probably endangering whomever you're telling."

"Is this something dangerous?"

She shrugged. "I don't really know. I guess it depends."

"Okay now you're scaring me. Tell me."

She turned to me and wiped her eyes. She stared longer than I was comfortable with. Then, she shook her head. "It's no use anyway."

"Come on!" I jumped up. "Tell me!"

She glared. Three glares in one day, I'm on fire. "You don't have to shout, and no. I'm fine." She said, squeezing her eyes shut.

"No, you're not." I took her arm, forcing her to look at me.

"Elorm," she shook her head again.

I was going to show this woman exactly how stubborn I could be. "No. No. No. You can't tell me to let it go. If you don't want people to find out about something, you don't begin the story and stop midway. It drives people crazy."

She laughed, but it sounded painful. "I just don't know what you can do about it."

"It doesn't matter what I can do about it! What matters is that you have someone to talk to. Come on."

She looked at me for a long time again, then she turned her back to me. I was about to let out a frustrated groan when she suddenly swiftly pulled her shirt off.

"Ba-" I was cut short as I stared at her back.

Scars.

Not old ones too. They were fresh, vicious whip marks. She turned to face me and I stared at her hard stomach, horrified. It was covered with fresh, horrible bruises, like she'd been punched multiple times. When I looked at her face, I noticed the things I'd so easily missed earlier. Her lip was busted, the upper lid of her eye was swollen, her face was littered with tiny, small scars.

"Wh-" my breath got caught in my throat.

Barbie quickly donned her shirt. "I shouldn't have shown you that." She rushed into the bathroom.

I sat back on the bed, dazed. My stomach was churning with disgust, I couldn't even begin to comprehend what I'd just seen. I'd known that Mr. Mark was a horrible person, but I didn't know he was a woman beater.

A horrible thought came to mind.

I gripped the sheets tightly, feeling my blood turn into ice. A sense of dread settled over me, settling in the pit of my stomach. "D-did he..." I stopped.

She opened the door and stood there. "You shouldn't go into this world, Elorm. It's dangerous. You'll never know who you'll be rented to and what they're involved in."

"He raped you."

She continued to stare at me. "You shouldn't lose your virginity to a stranger. The first time should be special."

"He beat you up and then he raped you."

"Mine wasn't. And I regret it to this very day. He was a jerk. He was twenty-one and seven years older than me."

"Like father, like son."

She stiffened. "What do you mean?" She now seemed to listen to what I was saying.

"His son. He -"

"Did he succeed?"

"No, no, he didn't. He drugged me but luckily, I ran into my ex-fiancé and he ruined my mood. I ended up wanting to go home and he had no choice but to take me. The drug kicked in when I got home."

She came and sat beside me, her limp, more prominent than ever. "I'm sorry."

"You're sorry? I was almost raped. You were."

She shrugged. "I don't think it was rape. I didn't exactly say no. I don't think I could've said no anyway."

"Of course, you could've said no. No is no. Anyone who forces you to do what you don't want to do has violated your rights."

"I'm telling you, I didn't even say no. Everything was great at first. He gave me something to drink. Then he made me dress up in a costume, one of a succubus." She sniffed.

I shook my head, disgusted. "You wore it?"

"It wasn't the first time someone had made me dress up. I didn't think there was anything wrong at first. Then, he brought out a whip. Again, it wasn't the first time so I was fine with it. Excited even."

She paused as she shut her eyes and balled her fists.

I took in a deep breath to calm my racing heart.

"It happened so fast. The whip wasn't like the normal whips. This one must've been what they whipped Jesus with."

I would've laughed if the circumstances were different.

"I was bleeding by the time he was done. I begged him to stop, but then everything only became worse. He wore something metallic on his fingers. It was like a string of metal rings and it made his punches sting like hell."

"Stop."

She didn't stop. "He hit me everywhere. I was putty when he was done. He said that was how he liked his women to be. Weak and defenceless."

"Just like his son," I scoffed. "what a tainted bloodline."

"My whole body was in pain. He was the roughest person I'd ever been with. It was like another round of beating. He forced himself in, everywhere, and I was helpless to do anything." She squeezed her eyes shut.

I took in another deep breath. "Please stop."

She nodded. She must've understood. As she spoke, it was hard for me not to imagine myself in her place. The thought of that happening to her was horrible enough, but hearing what she'd gone through made me wonder what would've happened to me if Michael hadn't annoyed me that day.

"You're lucky, you know. The Big Guy up there," she looked at the ceiling. "He must be looking out for you."

I followed her gaze and looked at the ceiling. "I don't know." I felt selfish for not agreeing with her, but just because I wasn't raped didn't mean that my life was perfect. God must've only been looking out for me sometimes. He wasn't looking when I'd spent four days of my life, homeless, hot, and cold.

"So, what are you going to do, now that you know?" She laughed.

"When you got back, didn't anyone notice your condition?"

She shook her head. "The boss is too busy being obsessed with you to know anything that goes on around here."

"What do you mean?"

She rolled her eyes. "Some stupid hierarchy, began not surprisingly, by Ginger. Plus, relationships. But he's busy leaving you out in the cold at night instead of knowing what his employees are up to."

"He did say relationships aren't encouraged." I said, ignoring her other comments.

"Yes."

I rubbed my forehead. "Why are we even talking about him? What did you do when you got back?"

"There was this male prostitute. He helped me." She pursed her lips. "Everything still hurts, but it's better now. Now, I'm only left with the scars and this stupid limp."

"I'm so sorry," I told her. I scooted close to her and wrapped my arms around her waist, resting my head at the crook of her neck.

"There's nothing you could've done. Please don't apologise."

I nodded, pulling away. "There's nothing I could've done, but there's something I can do now." I stood up from the bed and began to make my way to the door.

"Where are you going?" She asked, hurrying after me.

"Kofi needs to know what the clients are doing to his employees." I said firmly.

"Are you crazy? The boss is heartless. He won't care." She grabbed my elbow and turned me around. Her eyes were wide with fear; her breathing was troubled.

"Yes, he will. Not for you per say, but you're his employee and you need to be in proper condition for other more sensible clients."

"Elorm, please. I don't want him to know my face. I don't want him to know anything about me." She begged. She grabbed me and brought me closer to her so that we were face to face. "He's dangerous. If I ever change my mind about this place, I don't want him to come after me. Please Elorm."

I stared back at her. I understood her. If Kofi didn't know my face or my name, it would've been easier for me to escape. But he did, before I even arrived here, and that was Wolfgang's fault. I couldn't snatch that chance from her like the way it had been snatched from me. "Fine."

"Thank you so much," she grabbed me and hugged me fiercely. "thank you so much."

"Don't thank me. This wasn't the right thing to do."

She pulled back and forced me to go and sit with her back on the bed. "What do you mean? I'm fine, can't you see? A couple of days more and the limp will be gone."

"What did you do on the auction on Thursday? Who were you rented out to?"

She sighed. "When we were getting fitted, my stylist saw the bruises and scars and decided that I wasn't fit to work that night. Fortunately, she didn't tell Kofi anything much, she simply told him that I was unwell and couldn't work that night. She didn't even mention my name."

I nodded. "This isn't the right thing to do."

"Why do you keep saying that?"

I shook my head. "I shouldn't tell you this."

She glared at me again. "Don't do that to me."

I sighed. I looked at her again and shook my head. "Mr. Mark seems to be infatuated with you. He came to look for you."

She gasped softly, visibly trembling.

"Where do you people go the mornings after you're rented?" I asked.

She took a deep breath, even though it didn't help because her voice was quavering. "Spa treatments. Or breakfast. Sometimes the bus just comes back here when all the prostitutes have been picked up, which is rare."

"I thought all of you just got here. We came on the same van." I was referring to how everyone seemed to know how everything was ran. Everyone but me.

She shook her head. "You naïve little thing. There are other branches, all over the continent. All over the world. We just decided to be relocated."

I gasped. "All over the world?"

"Yes," she nodded. "though it's not illegal in some countries. Especially countries in the Americas and Europe."

I didn't say anything. I had never realised how big this whole thing was. The thought of it made me feel afraid.

"What were you saying? About that man?"

I turned to her, shaken out of my reverie. "That was it. He just wanted to see you, but Kofi kicked him out."

She nodded.

I felt fierce determination shoot through me. My blood felt hot and alive in my veins, my senses were heightened, my anger, renewed and fuelled. "I need to go."

"I thought you were going to spend the day with me," she said, her eyes begging me to stay. She suddenly didn't look like the sexiest woman I'd seen. She looked like a lost, broken little girl.

"I want to, believe me, but there's something I need to do."

She stared suspiciously. "You're not going to tell the big boss, are you?"

"No," I lied. "I'll be back as soon as possible." I lied again.

"Okay," she squeezed my hand. "thank you for listening."

I smiled. "When I get back, I need you to tell me why you even decided to work as a prostitute, okay?"

Her smile faded. "I don't know."

I nodded. "Tell me whenever you're ready."

"I won't ever be ready," I heard her say as I bolted out of the room.

I rushed to Kofi's room as my heart thumped wildly in my chest. Mr. Mark needed to be brought down. I wouldn't sit back and watch a woman be abused like that. What if he killed her? I burst into his room. He was laying on his bed, his shirt was off and his head was buried in a book.

I stopped. He looked up at me. He looked glorious. The sunlight kissed his skin, giving it a healthy glow. His silky curls were balanced on either side of his face. His muscular chest was put on full display, along with his marvellous biceps; which were flexed from holding the book above his body.

"Can you stop staring? It's rude."

He fell. He figuratively fell in my eyes. This is why looks don't matter when someone gets to know you properly. He looked handsome for a while, but after he opened his mouth, he was uglier than the true from of the devil.

"Do you know some of your customers have been injuring your employees?" I spat.

He turned back to his book. "What they do in bed is none of my business."

"He raped her!"

"You can't rape someone who is willing. If she didn't want it, she wouldn't have spread her legs for him."

I bristled with anger. "He beat her up."

He stayed quiet for a while, then said, "Kinky."

"Kinky? Is that all you have to say?"

"Yes."

I scoffed. "I can't believe you."

"Okay. I don't care."

"She's bruised. She has freaking whip marks on her back!"

He suddenly focused his attention on me. "That's not good."

"You think?"

"The other customers like their skin perfect."

I gasped. "That's what you're thinking about? What about the traumatised woman?"

He deadpanned. "I couldn't care less what happened to that girl. She knew what she was getting herself into when she came to work at a whorehouse."

At that, I laughed. "I'm surprised I'm surprised. I shouldn't be. Not really. You were - both scientifically and spiritually - not created to feel. I don't know what exactly made you like this but it is irreversible and despicable."

He gritted his teeth. "You should try to keep your mouth shut. You already know what I'm capable of."

"I'm not afraid of you. I never will be. Do your worst."

An amused grin graced his lips. "Are you daring me?"

"It was Mr. Mark. Don't let him rent any of the prostitutes ever again. Ban him or something."

"You want me to do my worst?"

I felt the fear creep up my spine, snaking its way until it settled at the base of my neck. "It's bad for business if the prostitutes are scarred. You said it yourself."

He threw his head back and laughed. Truly laughed, till small droplets of moisture were teetering at the corner of his eyelids. He made it to his feet and began to get closer to me. I stepped back until my back was aflush with the wall. I jumped when I felt the coolness against my clothed back. He came closer, making me shake with fear. My throat tightened with the overwhelming urge to cry, even though he hadn't done anything to me. Yet.

He rose his arms and pressed his palms to the wall, on either side of my head. He had me cornered. "You're not afraid of me?" He asked.

I swallowed. My hands were shaking, so I put them between my body and the wall so that he wouldn't notice. "No."

He smiled. "I believe you."

I couldn't decide whether he was mocking me or not.

He lowered his head, making his pointed nose skim my neck.

I gasped, jumping with shock. He raised his head and looked back at me. My deep breaths were obvious. My chest was visibly expanding and contracting because I was so scared. "What are you doing?"

He ignored me. He leaned even closer. My gaze strayed to his lips. They were so plump and inviting. I looked back at him, mentally berating myself for thinking such stupid thoughts. He was gazing into my eyes. He leaned closer making me automatically close my eyes. His nose touched mine. I turned to putty against the wall.

He breathed through his mouth. His breath was hot and minty as it fanned across my face, making me grow hot all over. He tilted his head and planted a kiss on my cheekbone, a little beneath my eye. I bit back an embarrassing noise. His lips felt like a cold fire against my skin.

Suddenly, he stepped back.

It was like an unceremonious slap back to reality. My eyes widened in embarrassment as all the blood rushed into my cheeks. I gasped, berating myself for being so foolish. What is wrong with me?

He was still looking at me, but he looked confused. "What is wrong with you?" He echoed my thoughts.

"Me?" I asked, in a desperate attempt to pick up a few pieces of my lost dignity. "What's wrong with you? What the heck was that?"

"An experiment." He went back to sit on his bed.

"An- are you okay? Is everything alright up there?"

He glared at me. "I should be asking you that. Ever since you got here, I've done nothing but treat you like trash. Yet you're lusting after me."

I opened my mouth to speak, but ended up blabbering like a fish.

"You can't even deny it."

I closed my mouth and took a deep breath to calm myself. I focused my steely gaze on him. "I'm only dumbfounded because of what you just said. It's so stupid that my brain was unable to comprehend it for a while. Such mentality is what used to run through the cavemen's minds. I am not lusting after you. You caught me off guard. I was just practicing self-preservation, which is why I didn't push you off."

"Every time you slept next to me in bed, you grabbed hold of me. You didn't want to let go even though I tried to pry you off. You only relaxed when I snuggled you, which is how I was finally able to escape your clutches."

Embarrassment. Such a horrible feeling. "I was delirious. I must've been hallucinating. I must've imagined someone who I was close to, who had the ability to empathise."

He rolled his eyes. "Well, you're not sleeping on my bed tonight. Also, I won't allow Mr. Mark to rent any prostitutes. For a while. Have you gotten all the tips you need?"

I pressed my hands to my hot cheeks. "Yes. I have."

"Good. Now just go somewhere, I don't want to see your face. Come back only when you're coming to sleep."

* * *

Hello! It's just a few minutes to Friday, for once it isn't one am :) Liked the small steamy scene? Or you hate anything that has to do with Kofi and Elorm? I hope you enjoyed this and are intrigued to come back for more :) Michael drama coming up next week! (Or Sunday if I'm feeling up to it) He's finally going to leave! Or is he? ;)

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