As she held it in her hands, she stared at it like it would shapeshift into something else.

He eyed her intently as he took another sip, signaling another of his men towards her.

The man walked up to her, with a pen in hand, so she would sign away her dignity. Her pride.

“Everyone has a price, Angel. I’m giving you the privilege to name yours.” He said, a smirk still evident on his face.

She scoffed in disbelief as she looked up from the blank cheque in her hands, facing the asshole before her.

Her price?? Was she a commodity to be bought?? To be owned??

And it was at that point all restraint she had been holding back, broke loose.

“Mr. Cole, I don’t know the type of cheap girls you are accustomed to, but I assure you, I am not one of them,” She started, her anger rising with every word, “I would rather starve to death than demean myself in such a way.” She spat, her eyes wide in fury.

“How dare you raise your voice at our boss?? Do you not value your life?” One of his men spoke from beside him, but that did nothing to shake Alexa.

“Well if your boss valued himself, he would not embarrass himself in such a way!” She sneered, finally turning to face him, her eyes immediately locking with his.

He said nothing but his gaze did not falter. And that made her more furious.

Without tearing her eyes from his, blazing with defiance, she held the blank cheque in her hands and ripped it apart slowly.

“Try this with one of your cheap whores, maybe it’ll work for them.” She snapped, and immediately stormed out of the club, not looking back.

And as she retreated, his men wanted to go after her to drag her back.

“No.” He commanded, stopping the men in their tracks.

He chuckled lightly as he took another sip of his whiskey.

He was a stranger to this feeling, what was it called?… yes, rejection. He had never been on that side of the coin, until now.

And that only made him want her more. And when Mr. Cole wanted something, he would get it. By all means.

Alexa was unaware of this, as she rained down curses on him as she marched to her rundown apartment.

What was wrong with rich men?? What gave them the audacity to believe that they were entitled to everything they laid their eyes upon??

She had met a lot of shitty men in this life, hell, her father was one of them. But she had never seen anyone as arrogant and egotistical and handsome as Mr. Cole.

That’s what made her more annoyed. That he was blessed with such a beautiful face, one she couldn’t deny even if she tried.

“That fucking asshole! Who the fuck does he think he is??” She muttered as she climbed the stairs to her apartment, “So he thinks a blank cheque is enough to make me sell my body?? Just because he’s rich and stupidly handsome, doesn’t mean I’ll just fall to his feet like a-“ she paused once she got to her door.

It was ajar. Again. That idiot left her door open, again.

She threw the door open, “Why is it so hard for you to lock a fucking door? Are you that-“ she paused as soon as she saw him, leaning against the sink in the kitchen.

He didn’t look up at her. Instead, he continued to eat the sandwich he had found in her fridge.

She knew better than to run.

The moment she tried, nothing would stop him from using the gun that sat comfortably in his right pocket.

As he ate the sandwich slowly, time passed just as slow. Every second that passed was as excruciating as it was uncertain.

Alexa stood by the door, her feet rooted to the ground in fear. She thought she had escaped him… how did he find her??

“Did you really think you could hide from me?” He finally spoke, his voice as menacing as the deep scar across his left eye. Or the gun in his pocket.

Alexa’s eyes kept glancing at it, as she swallowed, “I wasn’t hiding, th-the mortgage was due so I l-left.” She replied, her heart pounding in fear.

“Hm,” He hummed, finally looking at her as he walked towards her. Every step was slow, intended to make her afraid.

She had every reason to be afraid. This man was a killer after all, so he had boasted.

As he got closer, she retreated till her back hit the wall.

There was no escaping him.

She should have known.

He closed the gap between them, he was so close, she could feel his breath, doused with beer and cigarettes, on her face.

“Haven’t I been merciful enough? Hm?” He said, his thumb grazing her cheeks as she flinched.

“I promise I’ll pay, I just need more time, please I-“ Her pleas were brought to a halt when he grabbed her neck violently.

She began to struggle beneath his grip, her hands desperately trying to claw their way out, all to no avail.

“If you ever run away again, I will find you, and I will kill you.” He threatened, and finally let go of her.

A huge gasp escaped her lips as she finally regained her breath, tears falling from her eyes as she began to cough.

“You have three months to pay what you owe. And if i don’t get my money by then…” He leaned in to her ear, “I’ll get my payment in other ways.” He whispered sinisterly then licked her ear, causing chills of disgust to crawl up her spine.

He gave a wide cruel smile, showing off his yellow crooked teeth, before waltzing out of her apartment, shutting the door gently behind him.

Once she could no longer hear his footsteps, she rushed to the door and locked it with fidgeting hands, collapsing to the cold floor.

She could not stop the tears from flowing, or her body from trembling.

For years, she had tried so hard to run from her past, but it always had a way of catching up to her… and now? It was about to consume her.

Three months.

All she had was three months.

Where was she going to get fifty thousand dollars in three months??