Hooker(3)

On weekends, I attended one of the finest finishing schools money could buy. She said I wasn’t refined enough for a lady. Newsflash, I ain’t no lady. Well, I wasn’t at the time. I was an eleven-year-old girl who, due to her past, was tough and street smart. Over the next few years though, that’s exactly what I became. A lady.

Once I hit fourteen, I was given my own personal trainer to help me stay in shape. M’s words, not mine. There was nothing wrong with my body. I was tall and slim with curves in all the right places. Despite all my misfortunes, I was lucky enough to be blessed with the most amazing genetics.

As I grew older, M enforced strict rules. She forbade me to have a boyfriend. Like, threatened to go ninja on my arse if I even went near a boy. I honestly thought she was looking out for me, so I did exactly as she requested. I was only a child after all, so I didn’t really care, or know any better. Boys weren’t high on my agenda at the time.

I was about sixteen when M confessed why she’d handpicked me from the orphanage. ‘You’re exquisite, my dear. You have the face and body of a goddess. Those eyes, breathtaking. The moment I saw you I knew you were the one. My men are going to be clawing to get their hands on you.’

I had no idea what she meant by her ‘men’. Unfortunately, I’d find out soon enough.

I’m not going to lie, I was confused and hurt to think she’d chosen me solely on my looks. Appearance was everything to her, so it shouldn’t have surprised me. I was continually scolded if I hadn’t dressed to her high standards, or acted accordingly.

As long as I played by her rules, I had everything handed to me on a silver platter, the finest designer clothes and vacations all over the world, but my new home lacked love and affection just like the others. Looking back now, I suppose you can’t miss something you’ve never really known. Sure, M treated me well, but there were times she made me feel more like an object than an actual human being.

It wasn’t until my eighteenth birthday that I discovered the real reason M had been putting so much time, effort and money into making me so refined, so perfect. As it turns out, she wasn’t as generous as I thought. She was grooming me. With all my experience, I should’ve known nothing in life comes for free, and the day had come when I’d have to pay M back. Every single cent she’d invested in me, and more.

It was also the day I found out the first M in MM didn’t stand for Miss at all, but Madam. Madam Melody. Monster Melody would be better suited. Madam Melody owned the most exclusive, high-class escort agency in the country. I became her protégé. Her new meal ticket.

‘I’ve put a lot of time and money into you, my dear,’ were her exact words. ‘It’s now time for you to repay that debt. You will be coming to work for me.’ The tone in which she spoke told me this wasn’t up for negotiation. ‘With your exquisite beauty, that body, and your sweet persona, Jade, you’re going to make me a lot of money. Make us both a lot of money.’

A week after my birthday, her long awaited plan came to fruition. I was set up in my own luxurious apartment, and began the training that would ultimately make me her number one girl.

Six months later, I was ready to embark on my new life as a high-class escort—a hooker, for lack of a better word. She made me sign a contract, binding me to her for the next seven years; one year of service for every year I’d lived with her. Initially I was devastated. After reading the contract, I felt sick. Physically sick. It hurt to think all the nice things she’d done for me weren’t because she cared. It was obvious I was just a commodity for her sick and twisted plan. This was why I’d been forbidden to associate with the opposite sex. She needed to guarantee my virtue would remain intact. That way she could sell me off to the highest bidder like a piece of meat.

My contract stated fifty percent of all my earnings were to go to M. Repayment for all she’d outlaid getting me ready for this role. She was my carer, my guardian. There shouldn’t have been any need for repayment. I felt trapped. I had no money and nowhere else to go. Sure, I’d had a good education and would eventually find employment, but if I fled, I’d be forced to live on the streets. She had manipulated me into thinking I owed her, and that what she was doing was for the best.

The only positive thing I could see in this situation was the kind of money on offer, as it would give me the opportunity to set myself up for life. A chance to start fresh, once M released me. To live my life the way I’ve always wanted to live it. A chance to be free from all the horrors of my past.