That night I had a dream. There was a bedroom unknown to me, and in the middle of the room, there was a King-sized bed where a man was laying and a boy with pale skin and beige hair was bouncing up and down his member, issuing soft moans of pleasure. At one side of the bed, another man was sitting, cross-legged on a small sofa, his head resting on his palm. When the man laying on the bed released inside of the boy, the other man got up and I could see that it was Sadiq. When the boy turned to one side, I could tell it was no other than me. Sadiq kissed me in the lips.

"Be free, Vanya"

He whispered against my lips, making me close my eyes in bliss and then I woke up, a little startled and blinded by the morning sunlight entering through the windows. I could make out a figure seating on the side of my bed, looking down at me. I rubbed my eyes sleepily and realised that it was Ayşe. I sat up straight and yawned.

"Good morning, Menekşe. Did you sleep well?"

She asked and I nodded, looking around for my watch to see what time it was. It must have been late because otherwise, Ayşe would have been in her bedroom or downstairs having breakfast. She nodded too and looked down at her lap and then back at me.

"Did you enjoy the party last night?"

I was frozen in my spot and could only look at her in disbelief at what she had just asked. She looked at me knowingly, waiting for an answer as she rested her hands over her lap. How could she possibly had known about my escapade the previous night?

"Last night, when I was about to go to sleep after having tossed and turned in the bed for several hours, I heard sobbing coming from downstairs and looked down to see you, in your dance outfit and coat, crying on Heracles' shoulder"

I felt blush tinting my cheeks from the tip of my ears and down my neck. I began to fidget with my fingers and crossed my legs under the blanket. I was sure she was going to ask me to leave the house, as I was disrespecting her brother's memory, a fact for which I had punished myself mentally the previous night, on my way to the house. I was about to defend myself, but realised that I had nothing to say back. She got up from the bed and looked out the window, with her arms crossed behind her back. She spoke, without looking at me.

"I take it you understand that you cannot remain in this house. I have already arranged for you to move out to the Meydanı Hotel in Taksim Square tomorrow morning. I have only paid for one night, and then you will have to fend for yourself"

She said sternly, before leaving my room, closing the door softly behind her. I had seen it coming, but it didn't make it less shocking. Nevertheless, I got up from bed and took a bath. While I was at it, I realised that I had grown accustomed to the high life and now that I had been abandoned to my own fate, I didn't know what to do, where to begin.

And then it hit me that I could take advantage of what had seduced Sadiq and the General: mi body charms and my dance and also remembered that Angus Kirkland, the military attaché to the British Embassy, had invited me to dinner that night and so had Mr. Alexopolous, the Cypriot entrepreneur. I could take advantage of that pretty much.

After having regained the confidence in myself, I got out of the bathtub and left for a stroll in the city. I had counted what Gupta bey had given me the night before and I now had one thousand gold liras that I could spent however I wanted, so I went to the souq and then to the Grand Bazaar to buy some pretty dance outfits, every one of them purple with gold or silver arabesques. My favourites were a transparent pair of purple pants with a hip belt with coins attached to the waistband that covered the part where my underwear would have been visible, light purple sleeves that covered from my shoulder to my wrists and a pair of bright purple pants opened at the sides, which allowed a good view of my long, smooth legs. What I loved the most was a pair of golden cape-like wings that I had bought for only twenty liras at the Grand Bazaar. I had even tried them in the middle of the crowd. I was beyond happy, and had finally stopped caring about my precarious economic situation. I had spent only fifty liras, and saved the rest for whenever I needed it, which would be pretty soon.

That night, I put on my only suit and asked the coachman to take me to Angus Kirkland's house for dinner. When I arrived, I saw that the house was huge and even had a fountain in the front, flowery garden. It was a beautiful sight. I was received by two servants who told me that it was the Ambassador's Residence, rather than Angus' own house.

"There you are"

I looked up to see Angus Kirkland, dressed in an impeccable suit, descending the stairs gracefully with a smirk on his face. The servants excused themselves and left just when Angus reached me. He put his hand under my chin as he caressed my smooth face.

"You look even more beautiful than last night, if that's even possible"

I blushed, trying to look as appealing as I could for this wealthy man. After all, everything I needed from him was money and I would have done anything to get it, but of course, he wouldn't know that. As we made our way to the dining room, after he had told me his brother wouldn't disturb us, I kept apologising mentally to Sadiq for what I was doing. He held the chair out for me and I sat down, thanking him with a smile. He sat down too and the servants brought in the food in a second.

"I hope you like champagne"

He said as the servants poured some in our glasses. I looked at it, mesmerized at the way the bubbles popped beneath the carved crystal. He held out the glass with a smile on his face.

"To us"

We toasted and we carried on eating in comfortable silence, though I could clearly see Angus stealing a few glances at me from time to time. We chatted about the weather, the food, life in Istanbul and lots of other unimportant things until dessert came. We were having chocolate cake and when a very little drop of the chocolate frosting landed on the side of my mouth, Angus had no better idea than to remove it with his tongue, after which we kissed passionately, not minding the table in between us. When we parted, I decided to tell him what I was there for.

"I have a problem, Angus... can I call you "Angus"?"

I said, with a serious expression on my face, and he chuckled, putting his hand over mine and caressing it softly with his thumb.

"You can call me anything you'd like"

"Well, Angus, you see... I'm in a very tight economic situation and..."

"Say no more, darling. I can give you some money, how much do you need?"

I was surprised at how well that had turned out and how easy it had been, but I was internally debating how much money I had to ask him. I didn't want to abuse his trust, but I didn't want to be short on money either, so I decided a reasonable amount.

"A thousand liras"

"They are yours... but understand that my favour comes with a price"

He said lustfully as his hand, which had been resting over mine, slid down to caress my thigh under the table. I understood, and in no time, I was in his bed, moaning his name over and over until he released inside of me. His member was big, like Sadiq's, and that fact made me remember my beloved and how much damage I was doing to his memory, but this time I didn't cry because I didn't feel guilty like the first time. It felt more natural.

I was afraid I would grow accustomed to that, too.