Change can be beautiful, but it can also leave you with scars at the same time. Life has shown me that eventually the beautiful will show you its destructive side.
This change left me with a choice. To get through with the promise I made to myself or run away and start a new life somewhere.
So I made my choice. Maybe it wasn't the best choice I could have made on the spot, but I wouldn't turn it all around, not when I'm so near it.
In the end, I stayed and started my plan from absolutely nothing to almost everything. Almost.
I had what most of everyone wanted. Being secured for life. But that didn't satisfy my urges for revenge, not one bit. They think just because I have money and power; I grew up with a silver spoon in my mouth. They couldn't be more wrong.
Thinking that I had it easy was something I had to listen to every day.
We all wear scars, but not all of them have a similar story behind them. With time and strength, I made sure that the scars weren't what controlled me. And after a while, I succeeded.
Some might say my life started turning into a routine. Maybe. Maybe not.
"You're doing it again," a voice taunted her, bring in her back to the present.
"And what is that?" I glanced at her.
"The thing you do. When you get into your thoughts and all that shit. You're doing it again," my friend, Robyn, said with a smirk.
"Robyn?" I got a hum from her, acknowledging she heard me. "Fuck off."
"You wish," I heard a scoff from her. "even if I did, who would you have left? No one. You need me, bitch, you're just too afraid to admit it." Robyn said, with a smirk on her red-painted lips.
"I think you forgot that I have a cat that I would rather choose if there was an idiot robbing us."
"I'm sorry that you can't see what a devil your cat is," she faked sadness in her voice.
"A monster would be more suitable," a low mumble came from her mouth until she glared at me. "Did you just say you would choose that rascal over me?! Your only amiga?!" [Translation: friend]
"I mean she doesn't talk my ear off all day,"
"Yeah, but at least I can flush my own shit," she crossed her arms in front of her chest.
I just shook my head, ignoring what she said.
"So, where did you disappear last night?" I picked up my coffee to hide my smirk.
The question brought a smirk to Robyn's lips. "I don't know what you mean", she answered back, playing me as if I didn't see her sneak out of the club yesterday.
"Don't play me, Robyn Jade." I gave her a fake disapproving look. "The guy you were fawning over last night was still on the dancing floor when you sneaked off to hell knows where."
"Maybe I got bored with him?"
Lies.
"Please, I know you better than anyone," I scoffed at her. "I could probably guess which panties you are wearing now."
Robyn leaned forward, propping her elbows on the table and putting her chin on her knuckles. "Yeah? Which ones am I wearing right now? If you guess maybe I'll let you take them off later, hm? How does that sound?" she teased me, searching my eyes for uncertainty, thinking I wouldn't guess.
I also leaned closer to her so our faces were a few inches apart, "Knowing you, you wash your laundry every Friday, and you start with the black clothes and then the other ones, you probably get the gist," I say looking at her eyes, "And knowing that almost every Saturday and Sunday when I come home and see only your red thongs on the floor..." Pausing for the effect, I continue, "I would say you are wearing one of your Edward Cullen panties, am I right?"
Her jaw almost touched the table we were leaning on, but it closed after a few seconds. She straightened her back and fell back into her chair with crossed arms. "Damn you, Estella. Damn. You."
"I mean, you once said seeing Edward Cullen could even make a pensioner with no teeth smile."
After I finished, she narrowed her eyes and looked into mine. We held eye contact until we burst into a fit of laughter.
"Ok, ok. Let's not get carried away," I said, after letting out a small chuckle. "We still have a business to take care of."
"Speaking of business, where the fuck is that little pecker?" she spoke impatiently, looking around the café's outside patio.
"Probably too busy admiring his ego in the mirror..." as I finished my last word I saw from the corner of my eye a man with an Armani suit taking long strides towards the café.
"Speak of the devil and he shall appear," I said, not looking away from him.
Robyn turned in her chair to face his way.
He stood out with his expensive black suit in the summer. And let's not forget the two obnoxious bodyguards in black, too.
"Does he know that it's 80 degrees in Fahrenheit outside in New York? Dude probably has sweat dripping down his balls," Robyn joked while looking at him over the rim of her sunglasses.
"I bet you wouldn't mind."
Not paying any attention to what I said, she continued speaking her thoughts, "did he have to look this good? Maybe I can take him behind the café and have my way with him... and then I give him back to you?" Robyn said, biting her lip and looking at him from head to toe.
"Business is business, Robyn. You know why we have to do this."
"It wouldn't hurt you to have a little fun from time to time," she mumbled under her breath. I'll just pretend I didn't hear her to leave that discussion alone. "From the way you live, it would be safe to say you probably have it tighter than a nun,"
"Just because I don't leave my underwear hanging around the living room doesn't mean I don't have fun," I said to her with a smirk.
"Does anyone remind you that you're a bitch?" she asked with a glare on her face, but I could see that smile she tried to hide, "but also right."
"Daily," a scoff left my mouth at her comment, "ok, let's stop. We don't have a lot of time. What do we know about this guy?", I questioned her.
"Mark St. James. 32 years old. Owns chains of clubs and strip clubs. Comes from old money. Last but not least, we cannot forget the restraining order he has from his ex-girlfriend that daddy dearest tried hard to bury." Robyn listed things about him that didn't matter right now but weren't unnecessary.
"What does he usually go for? I need more."
"Mm, if my source is correct and seeing from the photos, he usually goes for the blond ones. Young. And some nice pair of tits and tight ass. Basically, what every man wants. Why can't they appreciate any girl with a darker hair color? ¡Que imbécil!" [Translation: what a moron!]
Typical.
"Do I even want to know who this 'source' is?" I grimaced.
"Oh, remember that one guy I told you about who could do that thing with his tongu-"
I raised an eyebrow at her.
"Right," she dragged the word with a sheepish smile, "not relevant."
"Back to the topic at hand. Do I seriously need this wig? Seriously, can't the guy like brunettes?" I thought out loud, annoyance seeping through my words.
"Not this time, Stella. In every photo, he has a blond girl hanging in his arms. His muscled, veiny arms." She whispered the last sentence.
"Focus. And do I have to remind you what he does behind his day-to-day job?"
"Doesn't mean I can't appreciate his looks. Only if he lost his over-the-top macho attitude." A quiet mumble came from her mouth.
"Robyn," I warned her so she could continue, "We don't have entirety."
"You certainly won't if you keep on frowning that much. You'll find a new best friend-wrinkles-and no anti-age cream will help you."
"Will you. Shut up. For. Once. And continue?" I glared at her.
"Fine, you old, cranky woman," she dismissed me. "By the way, do you even get any? You know, the big O? The way you said you have fun from time to time didn't seem like you actually did. Y'know, I actually have this one guy's number, maybe he coul—"
Closing my eyes, mumbling, I said under my nose, "Goddess, please give me strength to not detach that woman's head from her shoulders in this godly hour. I ask that you look over me and protect me from all temptations of violence." After a pause, I looked at her and yelled, "I'll kick you out on the streets if you don't shut up!"
Ignoring the annoyed stares we got from people around us, she continued, "you'll definitely be screaming with him. I hope he'll be able to clean those cobwebs you are collecting there. I'll send you his number," she looked up at my face and gulped when she saw the glare I was giving her, "or not. You'd probably scare him off with that I'll-scare-everyone-off-and-be-happy glare."
"Can we continue before he leaves because you couldn't stop talking?" I massaged my temples with my fingers.
"Anyway, he likes girls who are easy to pick up, little to no challenge. I guess it would hurt him to have any hassle. Likes his girls in short dresses and hair down. That's probably it." She finished with a big sigh, as if she did a hard job.
"So what you're trying to say, I have to be easy?", I deadpanned.
"Bingo was his nameo", she made a 'ding, ding' sound and made the finger gun hand gesture.
While we were talking, I could feel his gaze on me. It was burning holes through my shirt. Knowing what he does didn't make me feel the good type of butterflies, not that I believed them, but the blood-running cold butterflies. The ones you get when you have a bad gut feeling, warning you something unpleasant is going to happen. That aura he carries around is dangerous and alarming.
But who said I wasn't as bad as him?
I can't say I'm better than him, but I don't take part in child trafficking, or any kind of trafficking.
For what he does, he should've been more careful of who he talks to. Should've kept his big yap closed. But that doesn't mean if he didn't utter a word, he wouldn't meet his death. He should've known that eventually, with his big mouth, his sin would catch up to him.
When I turned my head to search for him, I couldn't see him, but I could still feel his eyes on me, so I slowly swept my eyes over the patio until my eyes connected with his.
His eyes swept from my face to what I was wearing, to my cleavage.
Men.
Masking my disgust, I show him a small smile as a greeting and look back at Robyn, but not before I look back at him behind my hair.
Robyn looks behind my shoulder and whispers, "He just said something to his bodyguards and..." she drags the last word, "he's coming this way."
He approaches our table. "Hello, ladies!"
He takes my hand that was placed on a table in his hand and places a small kiss on my knuckles.
If he wasn't important, I would've cut his hand and shoved them up so far his ass he would taste the dirt behind his nails.
As if sensing what I was thinking, Robyn kicked my leg under the table and that earned her a glare from me. Choosing to ignore it, she warned me with her eyes to be nice.
After he let go of my hand, he introduces himself, "I'm Mark. Can I?" he mentioned to the empty chair.
"N—", I started to say, but Robyn kicked me in my shin this time.
Bitch. That hurt.
Taking it into her hands, Robyn said, "Well, if you really must, cowboy," while biting her lip.
Cowboy? Is this girl for real?
Smirking at her, he sat down, spreading his legs, and faced her. "Is your friend always so quiet?", he whispered, but loud enough for me to hear.
Robyn shifted her eyes at me for a moment and looked back at him and leaned on her forearms, "Sorry about her, she isn't always so quiet. But, poor girl, her boyfriend cheated on her. In their bedroom. Found out yesterday. Worst of all, it was her younger sister. Probably saw her cooch too. My girl probably has nightmares."
"Shout it to everyone. Why don't you, Jade?" I said with an eye roll, using her middle name.
Ignoring me, she continued, "Being the good friend that I am, I'm trying to convince her to go clubbing with me tonight, but the sourpuss here won't agree," she finished with a big pout his way.
Mark chuckled and shook his head at her. "Maybe I could help you, hm?"
"What do you mean, Mark?" Robyn questioned him, like she didn't understand.
"I own a few nightclubs around New York and one of them is opening tonight, so what I mean is, if you'd like, I could get you both a VIP pass tonight?" he suggested with a flirtatious smirk my way.
Knowing that I still need to act my part, I lowered my face to hide my smile, but not before making sure he saw me blush.
Thank god for the 80 degrees today and the liquid blush I used.
Seeing my blush, he saw an opening to lean forward and whisper in my ear, "I really hope to see you tonight. Might make my night if you come, hmm? What do you say, baby girl?" he takes my earlobe between his teeth and he bites it gently.
Baby girl? What is he? Wannabe Massimo Torricelli?
Gag. God, how much cologne did this guy pour on himself? The whole damn bottle?
It took everything in me to let out a fake, quiet moan that he surely heard because my mouth was next to his ear.
After I kill him, I'm making an appointment at the nunnery.
"Maybe. Maybe not. I guess you'll have to see," I lowered my voice to a seductive whisper, "and, baby, if I decide to come to your nightclub in five-inch heels and don't see a boner in your pants you can find someone else by the end of the night, hmm? What do you say, Mark?" I ended with a slow lick of my tongue behind his ear.
I better get a large sum of money after killing him. If not, I'm burning my tongue off. But I guess the burning taste of his cologne on my tongue could be the start.
Smirking, I slowly backed away from him to see his reaction. And, baby, was it worth it. He let out a shaky breath and brought his hand to his breast pocket to take out a business card.
He slowly pulled it out and brought it to my lips. He gently ran it over my lower lip. He looked lost in his thoughts.
Taking the opportunity, I parted my lips a bit and bit the edge of the card to pull it out of his hands with my teeth. It brought him back to the present and my lips held a small victory smirk.
I brought up my hand and took the card between my two fingers. The action brought his eyes to my lips and slowly up into my eyes.
"We'll see if we decide to come, pretty boy," I tauntingly spoke to him, "and my drink is whiskey on the rocks, so it better be in your hands if I come..."
Come to die of disgust, I mean.
Knowing he had lost to me, he let out a quiet chuckle and stood up from the chair.
He nodded his head and said, "Ladies."
Robyn being Robyn yelled, "Bye, cowboy!" and waved at him like a maniac.
This girl has no shame, I'm telling you.
She slid her eyes to me, and her smile turned into a smirk. "Ready to get out of your granny panties?" she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. "I swear, I have seen no thongs in your underwear drawer and we need to change that! Mission granny panties turned into sexy, little thongs have started."
"What do you know? Maybe I just hide them, knowing that you like to steal my clothes." I shrugged one shoulder.
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Getting out of the shower, I wrap a towel around my body.
While securing the towel under my armpit, I stepped in front of a mirror that was misted with condensation that I wiped off with my palm.
I took the vanilla body lotion that was placed on the bathroom counter and lathered it on my body.
Letting the lotion absorb in my skin, I opened the drawer underneath the sink and grabbed the hair straightener and hair dryer. I placed them both on the countertop.
Before plugging in the hair dryer in the outlet, I massaged hair oil on the ends of my hair and then dried my hair.
When I was done with the hair dryer, I plugged in the hair straightener and let it warm up. While it was warming up, I went to my closet and put on my black, lacy thong and matching strapless bra.
Walking back to the bathroom, and picking up the straightener, I started to straighten my hair. I put my hair into a low bun and put on the same sandy blond hair wig that is waist length.
I looked at myself in the mirror from all angles to check if everything looked good, and it did.
Walking back to the bedroom, I found two dresses being placed on my bed by Robyn. The first one was a mid-thigh navy blue shimmery but see-through dress. It had a v-neck that would expose my cleavage. And the second was a black off-the-shoulder minidress with see-through puffed-up sleeves. Deciding on the latter one, I picked it up and put it on.
Seeing on the floor, next to my bed, black stilettos, I sit down on the edge of the bed and put on my heels.
I turn to Robyn, who had on black leather pants and a black corset with shimmers on the top.
"Yeah," she dragged the word, "blond is not you, so please never dye it. You are a hot mama with dark brown hair."
Playfully rolling my eyes at her, I grabbed my purse and asked her, "Are you ready?"
Still looking in the mirror for the millionth time, she distractingly answered, "It's better to arrive late than to arrive ugly. Have I taught you nothing? Take notes, Stella."
Walking past her, I smack her ass and say, "You better hurry. If not, I'll leave without you."
Walking down the hall, I hear her yell, "You wouldn't dare! You need me tonight."
And I'll never admit it.
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Walking inside the club, you can smell sweat, marijuana, and too much perfume.
Robyn walks ahead of me, through the crowd of sweaty people, to the stairs that lead to the VIP floor.
Walking to the bodyguard who stands at the bottom of the stairs, we stop right in front of him.
"Name?" he asks with no expression on his face.
"Jade, we are with St. James," she batted her lashes at him.
The bodyguard silently checked us from head to toe and unlatches the red rope barrier to let us through and up the stairs.
Robyn being Robyn, kisses him on the jaw while walking past, "Thank you, handsome," and sends a wink at him over her shoulder.
Walking past him, I follow Robyn up the stairs and to the bar, where Robyn just took a seat on the bar stool.
"How do you know he isn't married and has kids waiting at home for him?" I roll my eyes.
"He didn't have a ring, plus I was just appreciating his good looks and if he didn't like the kiss, then he wouldn't have touched my ass while walking past," she distractingly muttered.
Sitting down next to her, I lean over the counter. I raise my hand to signal the bartender over, who was wiping glasses with the towel that was placed over his shoulder.
Seeing me, he grins and walks over to us. "What can I get you?"
"Two shots of Tequila."
"Tequila?" he asked with a shocked face. "C'mon, give me more of a challenge, princess."
Out of nowhere, Mark came up and said, "I think you should give the lady what she asked for, boy. And change it to three whiskeys on the rocks."
"Sorry, boss. I'll get right to it," the young bartender apologized.
Mark turned his head my way and placed his hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry. I'll make sure you don't see him tonight anymore."
I think I'll start the torture by breaking one of his hands, if not both.
"It's okay. Let the poor kid work without a fear of you breathing down his neck," I said with a smirk on my face.
He let out a low chuckle and slowly rubbed my shoulder. "You look good in this dress," he trailed his finger over the strap, "but I think I'll prefer it being on the floor by the end of the night."
While he continued to brush his fingers from my neck to my collarbone, I saw from the corner of my eyes Robyn slipping the powder of Temazepam into his drink.
She let it dissolve and tapped her wrist, letting me know that I have around 30 minutes until it starts to take the effect.
"I think I'll leave you both to it. And I found myself a man for tonight," Robyn smirked at us and walked towards the dance floor.
Another sleepless night with a guy for her, another night to pick her thong off the floor for me.
Great.
I watched her leave and walk up to the guy who was in his mid-20s with dark blond hair.
I heard Mark let out a chuckle that brought me back to give him a questioning look. "What?"
He didn't answer and took both glasses of whiskey from the counter and held out one for me.
I took the glass out of his and made sure to brush my fingers against his. He was still watching me while I brought the glass up to my lips to take a sip.
"You're gonna have a lot of catching up to do if you don't start drinking now." I gave him a teasing smile.
He brings the glass up to his lips just to drink it all in one go.
Not complaining. The faster this is over, the better.
He raises his eyebrow at me and nods at my glass. "You're the one who is falling behind right now."
I was finishing the last sip of my whiskey when the bartender put down two more glasses of whiskey.
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It's been around 15 minutes since the drug entered his system and his eyes start to look kind of drowsy.
Putting my hand on his biceps to stop his talk about his wealth, I whisper in his ear, "Why don't we take this somewhere else?"
While leaning back, I catch him giving me a loopy grin. "Definitely," he looks around and mentions one of his guards over, "the key?"
The guard directs his eyes at me for a second before looking back at his boss and reaches for the inner pocket of his jacket to take out what I presume is a room key.
"Now go away."
He looked hesitant to leave, looking at Mark and me, but he nodded his head and turned and left to his previous spot.
Mark stood up and offered me his hand while wiggling his eyebrows. "Shall we?"
Disgusting. Vomit worthy, for sure. And this grown-up thinks he looks charming while doing that.
Placing my hand on his, I follow him to a different staircase.
We reach the staircase, and while walking up the stairs, he was leaning against me, so I wrapped my hand around his waist to help him.
This was not in the job description. Fucking Robyn.
When we get to the top, he points his finger to the hallway to the left. "The last door to the right," he slurred his words and chuckled drunkenly after.
He stumbled along the hallway. When I reached the right door, I pinned him against the wall so he didn't fall over his own feet. "Mm, you are so sexy."
Ignoring his comment, I smiled, "In which pocket did you put the key, cowboy?"
"Rawr, me likey the nickname."
Rolling my eyes, I searched his jacket pockets, then his pants pockets. When I put my hand in his back pocket, he slurred, "It's in the left front pocket, kitten."
Reaching in his left front pocket, I found it was empty. "Liar," I stated.
"I know, I just wanted you to touch me for longer," he winked.
I put my hand in his other pocket and took out the keycard. "You wasted all this time for me to touch you through your pants while we could've been in the room with your pants on the ground."
He groaned while I swiped the key card that unlocked the door. Opening the door, I led him to the bed, where he fell on his back.
Letting out a deep breath, I put my hands on my hips while debating whether or not to end this quickly.
Not noticing that while I was debating with myself, he already took off his pants and jacket.
Choosing the quicker way so I can get back home to my wine, I place my knee on the mattress between his legs and lean on one of my hands. He bites his lip while looking at my exposed cleavage.
A take hold of his shirt's collar and bring him up to my eye level. He just looks into my eyes and brings his lips to my jaw and leaves sloppy and wet kisses down my neck and places his hands on my waist, squeezing it.
I'm using bleach instead of shower gel tonight.
I slowly unbutton his dress shirt and push it down his shoulders.
Seeing that he is still distracted with his messy kisses, I reach with my other hand for the small dagger that was attached to my thigh holster and bring it to his neck, barely grazing it.
He abruptly stops his assault on my neck and leans back to look at what's in my hands. "What the f—"
"Shh, Mark-y boy, we're gonna have some real fun," I let out a sinister chuckle.
"What is the meaning of this?!" he dazedly stammers.
"What do you mean?" I question him, "Doesn't this beautifully sharp dagger explain anything?" I'm greeted by silence, "I didn't know you were this dense."
He tries to disarm me but the drug in his system slows him down. That makes me know his next move and react quicker.
"Tsk, tsk," I move the dagger down his neck to his chest, barely scratching his skin, and stop at his covered dick.
"Please. Please, just not Jimmy. I'll give you money," he begs, "Is that what you want?"
"I don't need your money, you stupid boy." I rolled my eyes.
His eyes start dropping from being drugged. I tap his cheek with a little force, "What?! What do you want from me?"
"Justice," I shrug, "for the girls you took away from their homes."
His eyes danced around the room not settling in one place, "I-I don't know what you're t-talking about," stuttering words left his mouth.
"Y'know, one sign of lying is the flickering of your eyes. Not making eye contact. Your tendency to blink your eyes when being deceptive."
I put a little more pressure with the sharp end of the dagger against his dick. I felt him shake and try to escape me while trying to scoot back.
"Fine. Fine. I did it," he rushed out, "but it wasn't me alone. There were others."
"I don't need your confession, moron," I paused for a second, "And they're dead already. No need to worry your little brain."
His face paled. I could hear a loud gulp throughout the room.
"You're a monster!" he yelled out of fear.
"Anyway, less talking, more killing, yeah?"