RESISTING THE DON

I slammed down to fathom what Ajay told me before he left. Ejay is going to crown me the queen of the club? Why would he do that? Did he want to make me his before he crowns me, or what is the meaning of what he did to me earlier? All I asked was for him to allow me to entertain his fucked-up clients. I did not want to be made some stupid queen of anything. I don't want the girls to see me as more special than them. What are you up to, Ejay?

"What are you thinking about?" Nora's voice startled me from my thoughts. I look at her, noticing she is holding a red ball gown and a make-up kit, together with a pair of shoes.

"Are those for me?" I ask.

"Yes. The boss ordered me to get you ready in thirty minutes." She responds.

"Okay, but I can dress myself." I say to her. The last thing I want is to add more burden to these girls. To make them feel inferior to me. I don't want that. I stretch my hands to take the dress from her, but she refuses.

"Gia, I understand you. But the boss ordered me to do this. If he walks in here and finds you doing the work he ordered me to do, I will be dead. So, please, let me." She sounds so exhausted.

"I will tell him I am the one who asked you to let me prepare myself. So please sit down. I will ask for your help where I need it, please." She reluctantly nods her head and sits where I was seated as I take the things from her. "By the way, Nora, have you had any queens in this club before?" I ask after putting the dress on, turning my back on her, so she can zip it for me, which she does.

"Queen? What queen?" She asks, as though she is hearing the word queen for the first time. So she doesn't know?

"Don't you know why Ejay asked you to get me ready?"

"No. Well, we only follow orders here without questioning. We are practically nobodies here." That hurts me.

"I asked Ajay before you came in, and he told me that Ejay was going to crown me the queen of the club tonight. I thought you had an idea how that works." I say, and she frowns.

"That is so new. I don't know anything about it. And there has never been something like a queen in the Wells club, as far as I know." She says this while still bathed in befuddlement.

I have a bad feeling about this whole crowning shit! What is Ejay trying to do? I know he is planning something. He does not do things just for the sake of it. And I am certain that I am not that important for him to merit that title out of the blue. That beast is up to something.

Anyways, I put on a slight make-up and finished with my shoes, still trying to mull over this game that Ejay is playing with me. "Let me do your hair." Nora says that when I untie the bun, I let her. I sit on the chair and allow her to fix my hair, as the conversation I had with Mayleen this morning surges through my mind.

That oddball came to ask me to stop playing with Ejay; actually, she warned me. She told me that Ejay does things only for his own interests and that I should not even once deceive myself into thinking that I have made my way into his heart. She spoke to me with so much courage, but of course also with so much hatred and mockery, which made me think she was just being a jealous bitch like always. But thinking of it now, I think she knows something that I don't know. Maybe Ejay has given her even a slight clue about his plans. If he has, how will I find out? That crazy Mayleen will not tell me anything, even if I beg her on my knees. She hates me only because Ejay chose me as his favorite. The way he protects me angers her to the core. I need to know what she knows. I need to be aware of what Ejay has in store for me. But how will I do that?

"Gia!" Nora squeals at me, tapping me on the cheek as if she were waking me up.

"Aah, yes, Nora? Sorry, my mind was somewhere else."

"Of course it was. You didn't even hear what I said." She says.

"Sorry. What did you say?"

"I said I would go and let the boss know that you were ready. And please, cheer up. The situation around you is not any closer to being bad than it is for us." She says this and gives me a reassuring smile, and I think she is right.

I should stop whining because, according to them, nothing is happening to me. And I should be wise enough to look for ways to remain under Ejay's protection as long as I am here, instead of being a weakling. Ejay might have tried to have his way with me, but he did not succeed. As long as I can manage to convince him that I want to be his and that I can love him, then I will be safe.

"Can I ask you for a favor, please?" I ask her before she walks out.

"Yes? What is it?" She asks, banking her curiosity on me.

"Mayleen warned me about something this morning. It's quite a long story. The thing is, she won't tell me anything if I ask her directly. I know you are close to her. Can you try and find out what she knows about me without causing any alarm?"

"What exactly do you want to know?" She asks with mounted curiosity.

"Anything. Anything at all."

"Okay. I will see if I can get anything from her."

"Thank you so much, Nora." She nods her head and walks out. She has such a good heart. If only she did not end up here, her kindness would be helping souls out there. But she had to fall into the hands of these monsters. Did they kidnap all these girls, or how did everyone end up here?

"You would be looking like a real goddess if only you could change that grumpy look on your face." That's the monster's voice, and I stand up from the chair.

"Thank you, if that was a complement." I say, faking a smile.

"Mmh... welcome. It's time. Let's go?"

"Where to?" I ask as I tuck my hand around his.

"It's a surprise." He answers plainly, and we start walking to the stage, where everybody is quietly seated. It's almost past midnight, so I guess they are all tired by now.

Upon seeing us, they all stand, placing their glasses on the tables, clapping and cheering like teenagers, and I smile as a sign of gratitude. Holding a microphone in his hands, Ejay began. "Take your seats, gentleman." They all sit, and he continues as they attentively listen. "I apologize for keeping you up this late. Today is a special day here in the Wells club, because for the first time since I started operating this club, I have found the real queen of music. I sat down and thought, Why not give her a title?" The crowd nodded their heads in unison, shouting a big yes. "Without further adieu, I now introduce you to the new queen of entertainment, Sweet Melody." He bows to me, and it's now that I realize I was the one he referred to as the sweet melody.

What's that?

My new name?

It's noisy with the cheers of people clapping and shouting with excitement that could have melted my heart if the situation were different. All in all, I have to fake the excitement. I curve my lips up to the most beautiful smile I can fake, stretching my hands straight on both sides, and bow to the crowd. The applause continues, and the noises are becoming too earsplitting.

I then turn to Ejay, who is smiling at me like the idiot that he truly is. Besides him stands Mayleen, with her usual murderous look on me, holding something like a tray covered with a black cloth. The theme of this club perfectly fits the people here. Black, like their hearts. Dark, like their souls and secrets that are buried here.

Before I could say a word to Ejay, he took off the cloth from the tray, revealing a golden crown with the name SWEET MELODY and the letters blinking red. I don't believe this. A real crown? For me? I must have really appeased the kind devil to deserve this!

You are up to something, Ejay! I am not so dumb to fall for this, but alright. Crown me or dethrone me; I give no fuck!

Ejay takes the crown in his hand and places it gently on my head, and after he finishes, he stands a step away to look at me. I lift my hands up to my head, feeling the crown. I don't know your intentions, Ejay, but you have bequeathed me more power.

I whisper a thank you to him, and I ask him for the mic. "May I, please?" I ask him.

"Sure." He hands me the mic, and I take it with one hand and take his hand with the other, which caught him by surprise. I look at the people who are still cheering, clicking their glasses, and silence falls the moment I start to speak.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I have no words to describe what I am feeling right now. I have a thousand things to say, but I will summarize them with just two words. Thank you. Thank you for seeing me fit to wear this crown on my head. I promise you that it will serve it's purpose. I will not disappoint you. Thank you." I blow them a kiss, and they murmur an ooh, then I speak again.

And comes the mockery!

"To Ejay," I look at him, "I am extremely grateful. Thank you so much." I crush my lips on his, kissing him like I really enjoy doing it, and he holds me steady by the wait, like he was so hungry for the kiss. We kiss, and kiss, and kiss, until he pulls away. "Was that wrong?" I ask, putting on a very convincing apologetic face.

"Not at all. It was surprising." He says this, scanning my eyes with his scary ones.

That's what I want, you sick bastard! I will confuse you until I bring you down without your knowledge.

I wrap my hands around his neck and kiss him again. A kiss he welcomes like he was dying for it. I ignore the shouts of people watching, and I kiss the jerk like the bitch he wants me to be. I will do anything for my mission. I am willing to be used this way if it will be helpful on my part. I will give you all you want, you dog. But there is one thing I will not lose to you, and that is my dignity—my pride.

If ever I lose that to you, Ejay, I will accept that I have lost this battle and the reason to fight.