Maxwell Barlow's POV
I look at the beautiful girl sleeping next to me, assuring me that last night was real and not a dream. I am still in a daze. I didn’t know if I wanted to kill or kiss Charles for last night. Who am I kidding? I should call Charles and thank him for doing what I would not have done. He saw right through me. I had felt an instant connection to Raya when she had walked into the spotlight. But I had convinced myself that my ex was the one and was not ready to move on even though it had been a few months since our breakup. Charles had tried to set me up with girls multiple times. Arranged double dates with friends of his girlfriend, tried to set me up with his friends, he had been my wingman and had tried to chat up many girls to try to get me to date again. I had never shown any interest. He had even taken me to brothels as a final resort and when I had not caught the bait h
Raya'S POV I find a pink corset dress in the wardrobe which fits me perfectly. I tie my hair into a high ponytail and walk into the hallway to find Mr. Barlow. He is standing by the stairs in an aqua blue suit. His light brown hair combed back. He smiles wide when he spots me and lets out a low whistle. I walk up to him and turn on the spot to give him a good view of myself in this dress. “You look gorgeous mon Cherie,” he says and kisses my cheek. I put my hand in his elbow and walk out of the door with him. It is 3 PM and the sunlight feels good. I look up at the early spring sun and soak up the warmth. It is a beautiful day to be out.&n
Raya's POV I can see all the women in the store looking at Mr. Barlow longingly. I couldn’t blame them; he was just so handsome that nobody would be able to take their eyes off of him. My heart was doing cartwheels knowing that such a desirable man was mine. I had made love to him and would continue to do so. The women here must hate me. I know I would if I were in their place. A middle-aged lady walks up to me and asks me if she could help me with anything. “Yes, please. I am looking for some panties and bras for myself” I tell her with a smile. “This way,” she says and doesn’t bother to return my smile. I walk behind her feeling a little uncomfortable. She pulls out a few high-waisted panties in beige and a few beige-colored sports bras and hands them to me. “This should do,” she remarks. This was not at all what I had in mind. I wanted sexy lingerie with lace and matching panties so that Mr. Barlow would
MAXWELL’s POV My blood was boiling looking at this woman’s face. I could not comprehend how and why people like her got into the service industry. Maybe she was here just for the money but it gave her no fucking right to be rude to a customer. And she had dared to be so rude to my baby girl that there were tears in her eyes. The one girl who I wanted to make happy, the girl I was falling in love with. I was ready to rip Irma’s face apart if that was what it took to make Raya feel better. Raya didn’t know anything about me. She only knew that I was rich but she had no idea that I was a part of the Mafia. I didn’t want to scare her, maybe a part of me was afraid of losing her. Jerry hurried over with Irma’s details. She was dating the owner of a café across from the street. She had acc
Dylan’s POV I was going to drink until I pass out today. I am a free man. Finally! No more loans to clear, no more living in fear of the loan sharks knocking on my door. I ordered another glass of whiskey neat. I was already down a couple of pegs. The wife said she would prepare a lavish dinner for me but I told her not to wait for me. It was like shooting two birds with one stone. I was glad that Jack who had come to make us homeless that fated night had seen the potential in Raya. That girl always had been a pain in the ass. She was good for nothing and couldn’t even do a simple chore properly. I should be so thankful to Jack for taking her away from my hands. I was never going to get her back. It seemed like Judy didn’t care about what happened to her too. It’s not like Raya came out of her womb anyway. Her ex-husband already had a kid when he married Judy and had asked J
Raya’s POV A yacht! I was going to stay on board a yacht tonight. I couldn’t believe it. Mr. Barlow was really trying to make each and every moment special for me. Today was as good as any day could be. He made me feel like the happiest girl in the world when he had taken me to the carnival. Tasting new dishes while walking along the carnival, adventure rides and the beautiful sunset was just the cherry on top. Barring the bitter experience at the lingerie store, today was just perfect. I bet even Mr. Barlow was feeling very happy. He was smiling ear to ear today and there was no place I ever wanted to be but in his arms. I was ready to spend my whole life with him. Just when I thought the day couldn’t get any better he had brought me here on his beast of a bike. I was out of words. I stood there with my mouth and eyes wide open. &
Raya’s POV I felt the sun rays hitting my face and I just wanted to bury my face in the pillows and go back to sleep. I was having a beautiful dream of making love to Mr. Barlow after the beautiful dinner we had on the yacht. I opened my eyes with a start as soon as my thoughts went back to our dinner and our unfinished conversation. I noticed that I was wearing the same dress as yesterday but my shoes had been removed. I could not see Mr. Barlow beside me on the bed. Where was he? There were so many things I wanted to talk to him about and so many things I wanted to ask him. I walked out of the room without bothering to put on my heels. One of the crew members approaches me “Good morning ma’am. What can I get for you?” &n
Raya's POV Dylan held me by my elbow and dragged me inside the house so hard that I stumbled and fell bruising my knees. What was wrong with Dylan? Why was he being so rude to me? I was aware that he didn’t share the bond between a father and a daughter but he had never been abusive towards me or physically hurt me this way before. “Dylan, please you are hurting me” I sobbed. “Get to your room and stay there. I want you to freshen up and look like a million bucks. Understood?” he barked ordered ignoring my pleas. “No. I have to get back to the port. Mr. Thomas would be waiting for me there. He won’t know where I am” I said standing up and dusting my clothes. “You are not going anywhere, sweetheart. Dylan is not letting his golden goose getaway. You are going to stay here and lay golden eggs for him whenever there is a need” Michael sniggered and Dylan joined in as if they were sharing some private joke that I was not privy to.
Raya’s POV Mr. Rossi shuts the door behind him and I hear the door click from outside. Dylan must have locked it again. I am frozen to the bed with fear. I can’t believe I am stuck in this nightmare. I feel like I am going to puke. I want to scratch my whole body and scream as loudly as I can to get out of this nightmare. I just can’t imagine anyone else touching my body except Mr. Barlow. How selfish was Dylan to be selling me off to a man like Mr. Rossi? Even though I didn’t agree to be sold off last time I somehow conceded in the end because it was that or my family would be homeless. Now I was wondering if that was even worth it, Did I break my vow for these people? For Dylan? Where was my mom who had played the victim and got me to agree to sell my virginity? I didn’t see her or Gary anywhere. Was she aware that her husband was selling off her daughter to be a prostitut