Chapter 5 Choices

Daisy continued to look at Nina unbelievingly. "Who the hell would give you five hundred thousand for one night? Are you lying to me?"

"I'm not! If I were lying, where else would I get money to pay for Leon's operation? They wouldn't operate him now if I didn't have any money to pay for it." Nina clenched her hands. It was Bobby Teng, the famous media personality, who took her away last night. Even if she wanted to, she knew she couldn't tell Daisy about it. She thought of the powerful man who ordered the hit on Daisy. It was all the more reason she couldn't tell her about Bobby. She couldn't put the man who gave her an extra seven hundred thousand into a bad position.

"Then why couldn't you tell me who he is?" Nina kept silent for a long time. She knew Daisy was growing suspicious of her behavior but she couldn't do anything. Alas, Daisy didn't have any other way of knowing more.

Daisy tilted her head and stared at Nina before she shook her head. "Forget it. If you don't want to talk about it, then I wouldn't force you. You stood him up last night and I was beaten up. If you want to live a peaceful life with your brother after this, you'd have to solve the problem. They only let me live because I promised them I will find you before 8 o'clock tonight. I have to take you to him and apologize. Please, you've already fooled me once. Don't hurt me a second time tonight. Don't make things difficult for all of us in the future. Just go and see him with me. Apologize. If he wants your company tonight, just humor him. Anyway, you're not a virgin anymore. Think of it as paying off your debt. We can't afford to piss off such a powerful person. Do you understand?"

Nina could only nod helplessly at Daisy's instructions.

She had promised to meet with him last night and she stood him up. It was her fault Daisy was beaten up like this. She had to make things better by apologizing. Or else, she wouldn't be able to live a peaceful life with Leon in the future.

It was a simple rule: apologize if you did something wrong. Face the consequences of your action. Nina understood all these rules.

"Don't worry. I'll go with you," Nina answered softly. In her heart though, she thought she was lucky that Bobby gave her a lot of extra money. Even if she was beaten up or raped tonight, it wouldn't be too much of a loss. Her first time was already gone and she didn't need to raise any more money for her brother's medical fees.

That afternoon, Leon was finally wheeled out of the operating room after long hours of operation. It was all a success, which made Nina breathe a sigh of relief.

When Leon woke up from being sedated, Nina told him all about their beautiful plans for the future. When the wall clock struck seven ten, Daisy coughed to get her attention.

Nina had no choice but to tell Leon that Daisy had something to deal with at home, so she had to send her home. She asked Leon if he could manage to be alone for a few hours.

Leon was a sensible and understanding child. He agreed and told her he would rest while he waited for his sister to come back.

Nina helped Daisy out of the ward and asked one of the nurses to take care of Leon. Afterwards, she and Daisy got into a taxi and left.

"MOO Club," Daisy told the taxi driver. Somehow, Nina felt nervous. After a short trip, the car finally rolled into a stop in front of a high-end club. There was a familiar car on the parking lot.

It made her think, 'Would he be here?'

"What are you thinking about? And why are you staring at that car? Have you seen that car before?" Daisy noticed Nina was preoccupied with the sight of a luxury sports car parked outside the club. Nina's staring was wasting their time so she forcefully dragged her out of the parking lot.

"Daisy, slow down. Your ribs are still tender." Nina could see how Daisy was struggling to keep a strong facade. Sweat formed on her forehead as she pretended her body wasn't sore. It only made Nina feel sorry for her. Daisy spared her a look and said, "Remember, no matter what, you have to accept his deal or else we will never live a peaceful life!"

Nina nodded and jogged to keep up with Daisy's pace. They entered the club doors and she turned to look at the familiar car one last time. It was hard to tell whether she was hoping he was there or not.

"I want to see Mr. Tang. I have an appointment with him," Daisy said to one of the waiters. The waiter quickly led them into the elevator and pressed the button to the third floor.

"Mr. Tang is in Room 2. This way, please." He guided them to the correct door before he bowed and left. As they entered, they noticed there were many people gathered inside the room. Men and women wore flashy clothes that looked very sophisticated and sexy. Behind the crowd was a door marked 302 in colorful lights.

"Let's go," Daisy said as she made her way through the crowd. Nina followed her lead until a commotion made her stop. A man suddenly smashed a wine bottle on a table. Pieces of glass and wine flew in all directions.

"Daisy, have you found the fearless woman?" the man asked. He was still holding the broken bottle in his hand.

Daisy fixed the expression on her face to a more amiable one. "Ameer! Yes, I found her. I was just on my way to see Mr. Tang and apologize to him. The car she was on last night had an accident and she woke up just this morning. It was all a misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding?" Ameer repeated incredulously. He pushed people away and walked towards Nina. Daisy subconsciously placed herself in front of Nina, as if that were enough to shield her friend from Ameer.

"Daisy, you've enjoyed a lot of benefits from Mr. Tang. You didn't only break a promise yesterday, you even had the audacity to lie today," Ameer whispered in a deceptively calm tone. He forcefully pushed Daisy out of the way. She cried out in pain as she fell down. Nina wanted to crouch down and help Daisy but her arm was grabbed by Ameer. He stared at her.

She had never been in such a scene before so she was a little afraid. But Daisy's words from earlier made her stand her ground. She had to do this in order for them to live a peaceful life in the future.

"You really are beautiful. But do you think you can anger Mr. Tang just because you have a pretty face?"

"No, I don't. I really had a car accident last night."

Bang! A bottle of wine found its way on Nina's head. Ameer stood in a daze as someone behind Nina shouted, "Why weren't you injured from a car accident? Let's get some pain into your body to make it believable!"

Nina felt pain explode behind her head. She knew it must be an alcohol bottle because of the strong liquor smell. She was deathly afraid. She wanted to cry for help but she saw Daisy shook her head vehemently from the floor. So she sucked her tears up and held everything back.

A crowd had gathered now, watching and waiting for Nina to break. Before she could do anything, the door of the Room 302 opened. A woman in a skimpy bikini walked out with a whip on her hand.

"It seems like you are not stupid after all. You knew you had to come here to apologize," the woman said as she twisted her whip in her hand. She reached out to push Ameer out of the way and glared at the man behind Nina. She aggressively pulled Nina's collar towards her. "Tell me, what happened after the car accident?"

"I… I was taken away by a man."

"It seems that you've changed your man. Who was it?" The woman's bright red lips intimidated Nina. She was so afraid but she also knew she couldn't tell them about Bobby.

"I… I didn't know him."

The woman blinked at her and said, "Mr. Tang said that since you had a car accident and you didn't mean to stand him up, he wouldn't ruin your face. But you've already made him unhappy. He will only be satisfied if you are punished. You have two choices."

Nina tried to endure the pain blooming at the back of her head as she looked at the woman. "What are my choices?"

"First, you have to take your clothes off here. You'll be whipped twenty times. Kneel like a dog and go around the room. Second, you need to lie on this table and let the winner among this group of men have his way with you." The woman chuckled, clearly amused by the violence and shame the choices brought. "It's your choice."