I gritted my teeth hard trying to swallow down his words and remain silent.

"Whatever it is, that's the truth."

Every time he opened his mouth, I only got more furious.

I felt blood rush to my face with suppressed rage. I just let it burn and burst, "well Mr. Abhimanyu Raghavan, you're no saint either. You've fucked hundreds of women yourself."

At full tilt, I pulled my panty over and snapped my bra back on. I had to leave this place, right this minute. I couldn't tolerate breathing the same air as he did.

He perched up, getting his arrogant ass up from the bed, "well, at least I don't work at a brothel."

Every word stung, fuelling the fire in me, "that's the only difference between you and me," I bit back, throwing the dress Reena shopped for me over my body.

"Only if it were that simple," he derided. What was that supposed to mean?

"You don't have any idea about my life, so, shut up. Or should I have to tell you where to stick those judgements of yours?"

"Yeah, you fuck men day in and day out. I sure as hell have no idea." I scoffed.

Every violated phrase, every unmindful word, every cruel opinion, was as though he was reflecting the society for me.

"Just because you paid the money doesn't mean you get to talk anything you want. You paid me only for the sex. Although you have all the money and fame, you have zero consideration for a human. Get your head out of your ass. For god sake, get a fucking life."

"Presumably you have a better life than I do, get ahead with yours." He outstretched his hand towards the door indicating me to leave.

"I might not have a better life than yours. But I am a better person than you are."

"Close the door on your way out."

I stomped in the direction of the door, but before I could turn the knob, I stopped and looked at him in the eyes, "there is one thing where a woman sheds her clothes for a man and the other where a man accidentally walks into a naked woman. The only difference is that she does the former willfully." Without waiting for him to react, I stormed off the room to elevator and pressed the button.

I know I've been seen this way by most. But he's not doing some charity either. He's been sleeping with as many women. Every time he taunted me, it hit me hard. The pain, the realisation when I let his words in, I felt like I owned up to the shame of working as a prostitute. He just presumed that if he threw the money, he could do whatever he wanted. Initially, he really seemed different from the other clients. He was no different. Only worse. At least the other clients kept their opinions to themselves and didn't fling them so cold-heartedly at me.

When I made it to the ground floor, I dashed to the foyer and spotted Reena's car waiting for me. Throwing myself into the car, I instructed the driver, "we can leave."

By the time I arrived at Reena's place I had a splitting headache. A procession of traffic lights, cars bumper to bumper, the decibels at which they kept honking, exhaust fumes belching out, making it to the brothel through a standstill traffic jam, I was close to done. I was a furious fireball. I just wanted to get some sleep. I stretched my legs to my room.

"Mehr?" I heard Reena.

"Yes, ma'am?" I turned on my heel to face her. She was plonked on her easy chair and seemed like she diverted all her attention from her phone to me.

"You're earlier than I expected."

"I was done with my work."

"Did it make any difference?" She raised her eyebrows in anticipation.

"What difference?" I was perplexed.

"You slept with the same client the second time. Did it make a difference?" She explained.

"Oh, that. No, it didn't make any difference whatsoever. But this cannot go on Ma'am."

"But Mehr, we made so much money."

"No Ma'am. I cannot sleep with a client more than once."

"It didn't make any difference to you. I don't see what the problem is."

"It's complicated. I assure you I'll make the same amount of money without sleeping with the same client."

"But it's an insane amount of money, Mehr. You can leave this brothel soon. Otherwise, you'll have to sleep with a lot more men."

"That's exactly why even I agreed. But not anymore." Not at the cost of my little dignity that remained.

A defeated sigh escaped her lips, "alright, up to you."

"Thank you for understanding."

"Now go get some rest," she said.

"Do I not have a client today?" That kind of a situation was highly unlikely.

"You do. But this time, it's different," she said.

"What do you mean by different?"

"You don't have to sleep with this client."

"So what am I supposed to do?" I was bewildered.

"You have to be his escort tonight."

"From when did you start providing escort services?"

"I've been doing this for long. I usually let other girls do this because the money is not that great. But this time the client specifically asked for you, and it was a lot of money. I couldn't refuse."

My usual calm was suddenly replaced with this unsettling feeling in the pit of my stomach. The idea of it sounded odd. Why would someone just want an escort but not sleep with the woman for so much money?

"What are you thinking about?" Reena scrunched her brows in an attempt to read what's on my mind.

"No, it's doesn't feel right."

"And fucking them does?"

"No," I laughed. "That's not what I meant. Something's fishy. Why would someone offer so much money just for an escort?"

"I don't know. Apparently, there's this cocktail party tonight. He just wanted a trophy girlfriend. What's so fishy about that? All rich men do it all the time. There's nothing much to think about."

"But why did he offer so much money?"

"Mehr, these rich men, they don't want to stay committed to a single woman. They want to sow their wild oats. But for these parties, they need a woman in their arms to show off. So they come to us for an escort. That's it."

"I understand all that. But-"

"Mehr, you think a lot. Just get some rest. When your dress for the night arrives, I'll have it sent over to your room."

"Okay," I yielded.

"The client's driver will take you to the venue. My car will get you back. So don't delay," she warned.

"At what time?" I asked.

"Anytime between 8 to 8.30 tonight."

"I'll get there on time," I assured her while my mind was still brooding over it.

I dropped down on my bed letting it dip as I shifted to face the window. Reena was right. I should stop overthinking. Being an escort is any day better than letting a man fuck me. All I have to do is be a pretend girlfriend. How hard can that get! No biggie. Should be a cakewalk.

My eyes opened like two flashlight beams when I heard the sound of a huge drill. It should be some construction work in the next building. I stepped out of the bed and pushed curtains wider, the sun had set and the birds had gone back into their nests. It was time for me to get dressed.

When I came back into the room after a shower, my eyes fell on the greenish-blue dress deposited for me on the bed. The fabric was finer than what Reena could afford. Probably the client sent it over.

I fervently picked the dress up from the bed. It was soft satiny fabric, long, touching the floor, something that would clinch my waist perfectly with a little lose flares below it. I wore a strapless bra that would go with the perfectly tailored off-shoulder dress.

I slipped into the dress and let it slide over my body. The creamy texture of the silk dress slipped onto my skin, peppering my body with soft, sensual kisses. Like a lover, it seduced the senses and conveyed with utmost skill- the art of pleasing. The cut at the neck was more plunging than how I would like it to be. Although, it maintained the right balance between sexy and beautiful. I teamed it with the six-inch greenish blue pumps that were also sent over. I stood at five' ten, I was not that tall, but these heels made me as tall as I could get. I let my hair fall in loose curls just over my shoulders. Giving a few finishing touches to my makeup I was good to go.

Closing the door shut behind me, I wended my way to the portico. A puff of wind swept through my curls pushing it away. I identified the Mercedes waiting for me. I could see the power of the car. These rich men, money was all that they needed. Flashes of memory from today morning whirled back into my head. He had the arrogance to talk all that just because he had the money.

Mehr, he's over. Just get on with it. I tried easing my nerves down. I took a deep breath and walked to the car.

The chauffeur held the car door open for me.

"Thank you," I smiled and scooted over in the plush leather seat of the car. He closed the door after me and took the driver's seat. At eighty miles per hour, the engine was only idling. One touch from the unsmiling chauffeur and the Mercedes would leap forward. This was a car that sneered at speed limits. I wasn't aware of the world outside, the changing gears, or the pattern of traffic lights.

The car zoomed into the venue past a crowd that shared only one brain, to ambush the eloquently dressed couples stepping out of their limos for pictures, conformation of gossips and news. Flashes from the camera beamed every second as the couples posed with infectious smiles at the paparazzi. What was this event all about? Who were these people? Before I could discern the kind of party I was at, the car whooshed past and came to a halt in front of the emergency exit of the hotel.

As though the valet was informed of my arrival, he led me out the car and along a dimly lit hallway. The hallways lead me into an outer room. The floor was tiled in fine marble, which made every step of mine echo. A chandelier made rainbow colours dance across the room. I took my seat on the embroidered silk sofas that surrounded a large flat-screen television. The twin doors led into a hall from where waiters and other staff members poured in and out.

"Ma'am, I have informed Sir of your arrival. He should be here any minute," as the valet filled me in, his phone went off.

"Excuse me, Ma'am, I'll have to take this," he stepped a few feet away.

I started chewing the insides of my cheeks. It's been quite sometime now. The client should be here. Where the hell was this man?

I heard the rich and proud voice from behind me, "Are you ready to be my escort tonight?"

I turned my head, meeting the same pair of black eyes. He appeared before me, in all his grandeur. A tailored black suit with a charming red tie. His chiselled jaw lifted with a cocky smile. His soft, feather-like black hair brushed away from his brow. Every word he had said this morning reeled back into my head.

It was the same conceited son of a bitch.

"Abhimanyu Raghavan?

Heya! So Mehr has to put up with Abhimanyu for another night.  Do you think she will, or is she going to walk out? How is this night going to go by? Keep guessing. 

I would love to know what guys think. Do let me know. The NEXT CHAPTER will be updated on FRIDAY.  Please don't forget to leave your votes and comments. 

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