All the meek and ethereal Rose knows is a life of survival of the fittest at the brothel she's been sold to by her father. But all that changes when she's roped into the dysfunctional Williams family. An industrialist family in a subtle battle for the successor of the CEO title of their conglomerate. Recruited by Darius to spy on his brother Damian, who marries her to play his brother, three things she knows for certain, one, she caught between the devil and the deep blue sea, two, the Williams have one too many skeletons in their closet, and three, she might just be in love. Will Rose discover the Williams circle of relatives' secrets and techniques earlier than they devour her? Can love honestly blossom in the midst of betrayal and deceit? What will Rose pick whilst loyalty, love, and survival are all on the line? Can she navigate the treacherous waters of the Williams circle of relatives and emerge unscathed?
Chapter 1 Shadows And Secrets
My slender little legs walked towards a particular room, and I opened the door barefoot before going in.
"Rose," the man sitting elegantly and poised, called my name like a sin, not meant to be said out loud but instead meant to be spoken as a whisper.
My little lips parted as my eyelashes fluttered.
"You sent for me; how do I serve you?" I said, speaking just as I was taught, like a good little prostitute.
The man stared at me from my tiny legs up to my beautiful porcelain white hands and then my breathtaking face, which could make any man wish to have me. That is why I became exclusive in the first place. After all, the owner of the business knew where to find his highest gain.
I put on a silver-colored nightgown, which glimmered lightly as I walked in a straight line slowly toward the man like a good little lamb. This is where rule one comes in.
'Be submissive'
"Your skin is so pale; if you bleed, you'd look like a piece of art." Immediately after these words were said by the man in a suit in front of me, I had to stop my feet from moving further.
"What do you ask?" I asked, bowing slightly to show I would listen attentively to how he wished for me to serve him.
"I ask for you to come closer and assist me with something, love." I raised my head, waiting to hear his perverted words that'd follow, but instead, he spoke some words I didn't quite understand.
"You are perfect enough to walk beside him without triggering his fight or flight mode."
"I apologize, but I do not seem to understand your wishes," I spoke with my tiny hands, slightly wrapping around my clothes tightly, obviously showing I was nervous.
"You are so innocent and pure; no one would have known you were just a mere prostitute who works in a brothel."
I didn't reply, but I bowed my head deeply while waiting for the man to continue.
He raised his hand, which was adorned with a beautiful and expensive-looking Rolex watch, which seemed like it was enough to buy me my freedom for a week, which is quite expensive.
"What I mean is that tomorrow, at the same time as I'm busy talking to you, a man and some others will have a meeting. I need you to be present in the room, and I'll pay for your time. Act naturally, and eavesdrop on their conversation."
I nodded.
"You would have been perfect for his brother if you weren't a prostitute." It could be seen that the man's mouth wasn't clean. He stared at my eyes, which looked as clear as glass, and my skin, which was nothing short of fine porcelain.
Rose, as my name says, said, If I were given one, it would look so sharp against my skin; it would make me look like a fairytale that slipped into the world.
"Stay in the room for a while before you leave, just so if we are suspected by him, it would look like we were having an affair after all."
I dared not look at the customers in the eyes, so I could only bow without a word while staring at his shining shoes. He picked up a glass containing a drink I knew nothing about; his hand moved lightly while spinning the contents of the cup.
My eyes stayed glued on anything but his face, and my pure black hair, which was a little below my waist, swayed a little while I looked mesmerized at the beautiful colored drink in the glass.
The man whose face I hadn't seen raised the glass cup towards his already slightly parted lips and took a sip as if tasting the drink before drowning the little content of the glass down his throat.
The fink liquid was gone quickly, and I didn't realize I had been so attracted; my head wasn't down anymore but up, now staring into the man's aged eyes.
His face wasn't so wrinkled but held some wrinkles of age; his orbs were dark, and he stared back at me.
"All the girls in the brothel do not know how to read or write, and most don't understand the words people say because you were all trained to be dumb so you could be used easily and also not be able to spill the secrets of the brothel. I had to go to great lengths to finally find out that the golden girl of the brothel, whose skin looked as white as snow yet as clear as glass, whose eyes looked like staring into the transparent ocean and her hair like a wavy waterfall, who looked so little she could be crushed easily if not treated gently, could read perfectly and speak fluent English."
I had nothing to reply to. We weren't meant to give replies to people, so I looked down quickly, removing my eyes from the man who adjusted his tie and then stood up like an unshakable tree.
"Which means you are the perfect one for this job; your other sisters are just too dumb, and they might not understand the terms used, but I know you will." The man gave me a smile, which I wasn't looking at, only listening to his voice.
"Hm, that will be all for today. Ah, I almost forgot. Have this?" He pulled out a wrinkled rose from the side of his pocket and placed it in my hand. "Remember your rule number five: have no emotional strings attached to any customer; otherwise, you'll be punished severely."
He turned around and reached for the door.
"How do I know the person you asked me to drop in?" I finally spoke coherent words when I walked into the room, except for the sexual words we were asked to say to every customer.
"You know him when you see him." The man disappeared from my sight after he shut the door. I looked at the wrinkled rose and walked towards the bin to throw away the little flower, only to feel a prick.
"Ouch," I moaned, lightly letting go of the rose before looking down at my pretty hands, which had a drop of blood slipping out of the picked spot.
There was a knock on the door, and I raised my head quickly to look in the direction of the closed door. Hasn't the man gone yet? I wondered before walking toward the door and pulling it open.
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