Chapter 2
Choice
Atlanta, 11 weeks earlier
Cate felt very peaceful as she stared at the ceiling. The bed was more than comfortable and the sheets were soft as silk. She had never been in a hotel suite before and she would have never thought that her evening would end like this. The evening that should have been one of the worst ones in her life.
"Hey?" a man lying beside her said after a long silence. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah," she replied. "I'm fine."
"Are you sure? Did I…hurt you?"
She rolled on her side in order to face him.
"I'm fine," she repeated. "Really. You didn't force me into anything, I wanted this."
He also rolled on his side.
"You should have told me," he stated tensely.
She smiled; he was so different than any man she had met before.
"Would you have done this if I would have told you?"
"No," he replied after a moment of silence.
"There you have it."
He frowned.
"Cate…"
"No need to worry, I don't expect anything from you," she assured. "And I don't regret anything."
"You still should have told me. I know that I hurt you and I would have been much gentler if you would have just said something."
"It didn't matter. Everyone has a first time and I wanted it to be with you."
"Why?" he asked. "You barely know me."
"Exactly," she replied. "Right now I see you as the most perfect man in the world; I haven't seen your flaws. I'll only remember how much I enjoyed spending this evening with you. You were kind and polite, a true gentleman."
He was quiet for a moment before replying.
"I'm glad you feel that way. I also enjoyed this evening and I think you're a very beautiful and delightful woman."
"You know you already got me in your bed, you don't have to flatter me anymore."
His eyes widened.
"No, no, I didn't…"
"I was just teasing you, Elijah," she giggled and reached out to kiss his cheek. "You're cute when you're uncomfortable."
He smiled.
"Thank you. I think."
"You're welcome."
She stretched her arms and leaned her head on his chest. The penetration had hurt and she did feel sore, but she really didn't regret anything. What had happened had been her choice. Not Simon's, not anyone else's, hers. When she had arrived at the hotel, she had only meant to drink enough to numb herself before she would have to sleep with a man who was old enough to be her father.
That man had offered a lot of money for her virginity and Simon had kept pressuring her until she had reluctantly agreed. Unfortunately her brother knew how to make her do what he wanted. Once again he had tried to force her to clean up his mess. He had managed to convince her that she would be a horrible, selfish person if she wouldn't help him. Everything that would happen to him would be her fault. Nothing was ever his own fault.
He had messed with the wrong people and now he needed a lot of money to get himself out of the mess he had created. As always, Cate would have helped him, no matter what it would cost to her. She had been at the hotel bar when she had met Elijah. There had been something about him that had made her feel safe with him.
He hadn't tried to seduce her or manipulate her; he had been polite and respectful. After they had talked for a while, she had made her decision. Her body belonged to her and she wasn't going to sell it. She had the right to give it to whoever she wanted. It was her choice. Simon was her brother, but he was also a grown man, he needed clean up his own messes.
Right now she felt nothing but peaceful. After Elijah was asleep, she got up as carefully as she could, she didn't want to wake him up. Quietly she got dressed and looked at him for a moment. This was how she wanted to remember him. The most perfect man in the world.
"Thank you," she whispered and tiptoed to the door.
She had just reached the elevator when she felt her phone vibrating in her bag and picked it up.
"Hello, Simon," she said calmly.
"Where the fuck are you?" her brother snapped. "Roark called, his friend waited for you for almost two hours!"
"I changed my mind. I didn't want to do it."
"You… Have you lost your mind?! Get your fucking ass there right now; maybe I can still fix this…"
"No."
"What?"
"No. My body isn't for sale."
"Catie… You know why you must do this. Roark is going to hurt us both if he doesn't get his money."
"I don't owe him anything."
"He won't care. You're my sister, so he's going to make us both pay. Please, Catie, please, do this for us."
"I can't."
"Are you deaf, you don't have a choice…"
"No, I meant that I can't sell my virginity because I'm not a virgin anymore."
"What? What the fuck are you talking about?"
"I just had sex with someone. I'm not a virgin."
A long silence followed her words.
"You… You stupid little whore! Do you have any idea what you've done?!"
"It was my choice…"
"Your choice?! Well, I hope you liked it because you're going to spend a lot of time on your back when Roark catches you. He's going to sell you until every penny is paid."
"What about you then?" Cate asked. Her voice was unnaturally calm. "What is he going to do to you?"
Simon let out a mocking laughter.
"Nothing. You see, I made a deal with him. I gave you to him in exchange for my debt. All you had to do was spread your fucking legs for his friend and the debt would have been paid. Now… Well, you just made this a lot harder for yourself."
"Goodbye, Simon," Cate heard herself saying before hanging up. She was completely numb. She needed to leave town right now. Leave her whole life behind.
