Chapter 11

Gwen's POV

I stood at the entrance of the club and watched the car drive away. I did a quick recap of my whole life from when I met Amanda to the situation I find myself in now, and wondered where I made a mistake. I am married to a strange man with no idea what that means. I saw him at the club last night, but he acted like he was seeing me for the first time. But then again, it feels like no one noticed him at the club last night but me.

"Hey girl, where did you vanish to last night?" Amanda called out from behind me.

I turned around, surprised to see her at the club this hour of the morning.

"My brother was looking for you. Apparently, you, my good friend, made quite an impression on him," she said and fist bumped me. "He is not one to be easily impressed by a woman, but he couldn't stop talking about you. He wanted to see you, but you vanished," she went on excitedly, and I just stood there staring at her in silence.

"What is wrong? Are you alright?" Amanda asked, suddenly noticing my silence.

"I am fine," I replied, not sure if I can tell her I got married.

I was glad, Ethan took the marriage certificate away, and I had no ring on my finger.

"Wow, where did you get these clothes?" Amanda asked, suddenly admiring the dress I was wearing. "Wow, this dress is a designer dress. It's very expensive, where did you get it?" she asked after going round me and returning to stand in front of me.

"Wait, you vanished from the club last night," Amanda said, raising her eyebrow. "And you are here this morning in a designer dress. Did Madam Green sell you out to a man last night?" she asked, and I lowered my gaze, suddenly overcome by emotion.

"No, no. Why will she do that, knowing you are a minor?" Amanda asked, surprised. "No, I need to remind her of your age," she said.

"Amanda, she knows my true age," I informed her, and Amanda frowned.

"How?" she asked me, and I shrugged my shoulders.

"I don't know. She was holding a paper in her hand, and she read out my details. She knew I was in an orphanage, and I turned 18 four months ago," I informed Amanda.

"I am so sorry, Gwen. I asked you to lie about your age because I never wanted this life for you. I am in it, and it comes with its challenges. It's never worth the money paid to me. I have treated STIs twice. I just hope I don't catch AIDS. I want to get out of it, but it's too late for me," Amanda explained.

"I brought you in, because Madam Green," Amanda said and trailed off.

Her eyes were filled with tears. I drew closer, suddenly concerned. Her tears rolled down her cheeks, and I could tell she was in so much pain.

"I messed with a client. The client paid a huge sum of money to me. But he wanted to take me from the back. That I couldn't. He forced me, and I ended up hitting his head with the bedside lamp. He is rich, so he threatened Madam Green, and she gave the money he paid back to him. Madam Green was unhappy with me. I promised her I would help her find new girls to work in the club. From that day, I went on the street and started looking for homeless people. I bring them to the club and offer them jobs. It's been a whole year. I noticed you twice sleeping on the train, so I started monitoring you, and that day, you came to rescue me. I knew I had to take you to Madam Green, but for rescuing me, I decided to protect you," Amanda said, in tears.

"Now, you are in the very thing I wanted to protect you from," she ended her statement. "I am so sorry," she said.

"Look, my brother Frank is rich. He likes you, so I can talk to him. He will pay Madam Green off and buy you your freedom," Amanda said, wiping her tears with the back of her hand.

I felt sad for her, and her concern for me moved me. It made me smile. I read the honesty in her eyes. I drew closer and hugged her.

"Gwen, I will get you out of this. It's my fault. I shouldn't have brought you here in the first place," Amanda said while hugging me.

"Thank you, Amanda," I withdrew from the hug and said to her while holding her by the shoulder.

I wanted to tell her about my marriage to the strange man, Ethan Grey, but I desisted from it. I also didn't want to become her brother's woman.

"I appreciate the offer, but I don't want to be indebted to your brother. Again, I don't feel the same way about him. I don't want to give him the wrong impression. The day is still young, we will figure something out in the course of the week," I said.

"Gwen, this kind of life is terrible, and I don't want you to be in it. It's my fault you have already lost your virginity to a stranger. I know Madam Green, she won't stop. She will sell you to another client tonight. If you go out on the street, she will hunt you down and make life unbearable for you. That is how I lost my best friend, Anita," Amanda said, and tears trickled down her face.

"Everyone said she committed suicide due to depression, but I know, Madam Green has a hand in her death," I heard Amanda say, and I raised an eyebrow.

"Please, accept this offer, let my brother buy you out. I know Madam Green. You are still young in business. She will only charge the number of nights' stay and the food she brought to you. Electricity bill and water bill. It will not be something my brother can't handle. My brother can help you get a decent job," Amanda said, looking very worried.

At first, I was all moved by her concern, but hearing this latter part of her submission, I wondered why she was still working in the club, if her brother could buy me out and get me a decent job. It also brought me to the question, why was she here this morning?

"I am calling my brother now," Amanda said and pulled her phone out of her pocket.

I watched Amanda sniffle, wipe her tears and clear her throat before dialling a number on her phone. I stood there with so many questions running through my head, so I did nothing to stop her from placing the call to her brother.

"Hi, Frank. How are you?" I heard her say, and I just stood there staring at her, managed a smile. "I am going to go straight to the point. I need your help," she said. "You remember, my friend Gwen, the dancer," she said. "Yeah, Madam G is selling her. Please help me buy her out. She is less than a month old in the business. I made her lie about her age, but I guess she found out and sold her out. Please, if you don't buy her out now, she will be destroyed, like me," I heard Amanda say, and I wondered what she meant by her statement.

Amanda seemed like she was living a good life, well, aside from sleeping with people, she appeared to be happy. So, what does she mean by her life is destroyed? I thought of staring at her.

"You are the best. Who knows, if you play your cards well, she may become your wife," I heard Amanda say, and I wanted to tell her no, but I couldn't.

"Thank you, brother," she said and brought the phone down from her ears.

"He is going to buy you out," Amanda said, smiling.

She walked up to me and hugged me.

"My brother will be here at 4 p.m. to see Madam Green, we will sort everything out," Amanda said and hugged me. "I will see you at 4 p.m.," she added and left.

I walked back into the club with so many questions running through my mind. Who is Ethan Grey, and why did he choose to marry me? And even though Amanda seemed honestly concerned, I felt something wasn't right.

I entered the club, and it was a mess. I wondered if the cleaner quit the moment I was given the job. The place was dirty. I walked through the space and opened the back door. I entered the corridor and made it to my room. Inside my room, I took off the dress I was wearing and slipped into my usual clothes. I returned to the club and cleaned up the place. It took me a couple of hours before I was done. I returned to my room and lay on my bed, lost in my thoughts.

I just wondered what my life will be like for the next couple of days. Ethan Grey said he will come for me tonight. What does he want with me? I thought.