Maya clamped her hands together, gritting her teeth, as the head chef carefully inserted a spoonful of the French onion soup she had made into his mouth. Her face broke out in sweat as her nerves pulsated. Her eyes twinkle, hoping that her puppy eyes will influence his remarks.

The head chef popped another spoonful of soup into his mouth. His face contorted into a frown.

He squinted his eyes at Maya, making her heart thud against her chest.

"Hmm, do you want to steal my job?" He asked.

Maya frowned with confusion.

The confusion on her face was relieved when the head chef added. "This is the best French onion soup I have tasted in a long time. Well done, Maya."

Maya's face lights up with a wide smile. As a junior chef, gaining approval from the king of the kitchen, Antonio Mendez is comparable to winning a football trophy. His approval means Maya is on her way to becoming one of the lead chefs at this five-star restaurant within the shortest amount of time. That has always been her dream. Also, she hopes to own her five-star restaurant in the future. A girl can only dream.

"I have to keep an eye on you, girl, or I might lose my job." The head chef jokes before leaving to supervise another junior chef.

Maya burst out laughing. "And my shift is over," She exclaims, but her excitement is cut short when she recalls she has another shift at an exclusive gentlemen's club where she works as a waitress. And her shift Is about to start.

Maya grunted, having two jobs was not as easy as she had imagined.

She is forced to work at her stepfather's gentlemen's club due to a contract she signed when she was 18 years old.

After Maya graduated from high school her stepfather, Fredrick Hathaway, proposed a deal she couldn't refuse.

He promised to fund Maya's three-year culinary education at one of Paris' most expensive culinary schools. In exchange, she would work for him at his gentlemen's club to repay every dollar he spent on her culinary education.

Maya immediately agreed and signed the contract he had drafted without reading through it properly.

After she signed the contract. Her stepfather laughed in her face and told her he changed the terms of the deal. She has been tricked! She just signed a contract, agreeing to work for him at his gentlemen's club for the rest of her life, until the day she dies or he dies

Her stepfather fulfilled his part of the deceitful deal, thanks to him she is now a professional chef, trained in one of the best culinary schools in the world.

Now it's her turn to fulfill her part of the deal. She is working at the gentlemen's club till the day she leaves this earth.

The worst part Is that, the money her stepfather used to pay her tuition fees came from the fortune her late mother left behind.

This is her late mother's money. So, technically, she has the right to use the money, but her stepfather, Fredrick Hathaway, believes otherwise.

Maya's mother died before she could include her in her will. She left all her wealth to her half-siblings, leaving Maya with nothing. And that's fine. She will work hard to make her own money.

Many people have it worse. She not going to feel sorry for herself. She has to get back to reality.

"Dan, could you please dish out the soup? I am late for my shift at my other job." She darted the request at another junior chef

"I have got you covered." Dan winks at her. Maya smiled awkwardly at him, hoping she had not given him the wrong impression. Dan has been hitting on her since the first day she started working at the restaurant, which makes her feel uncomfortable around him.

"See you tomorrow, Beautiful," he beams at her.

Maya quickly exited the kitchen before he could notice the grimace on her face.

She went to the staff room and quickly changed from her chef's white coat uniform to her waitress uniform, hurled her bag over her shoulder, and bolted out of the changing room.

Maya's phone buzzed from her bag as she was maneuvering her way out of the restaurant. As she was retrieving her phone from her bag, she collided with a food cart and fell flat on her butt. The cart overturned, spilling a bowl of hot soup all over her.

"I am so sorry, Maya," the waitress who was wheeling the cart apologized.

"Are you okay?" The waitress' face was filled with panic

The irony of the situation is that; it was the French onion soup Maya had just made.

She just burst out laughing hysterically. The universe despises her.

"Are you okay? The waitress asked with concern.

"I am fine," Maya replied.

Maya upheaved herself back on her feet. She staggered slightly, her mind jumbled up until she remembered where she was going.

"Sorry for ruining your order." She briskly bolted out of the restaurant and headed for her destination.

• ••

Maya did not realize how crappy she looks until she arrived at Venus City Gentlemen's Club, exclusively for wealthy men.

The soup has stained her shirt. There was a little bit of smear on her face. She looks terrible.

Maya strutted through the back door , leading her straight to the staff room.

"Whoa, Maya. What the hell? "You look like shit." Laura, another waitress at the gentlemen's club, exclaimed when she spotted Maya.

Maya was startled, she clutched her heart." Laura, you freaked me out!" She glared at her.

"You look awful!" Laura shuddered with disgust.

"Did your stepfather, I mean Mr. Hathaway, see you like this?"

Maya shakes her head. He would have killed her right at the spot if he had seen her disheveled appearance. He will chastise her, claiming that Maya is deliberately attempting to tarnish the image of his gentlemen's club.

"Lucky you. Anyway, Natalia is a freaky mad dog at the moment. She has been covering up for you for nearly an hour. If she sees you, she will probably cut your throat," Laura rants.

Maya's throat gulped and she reached out to touch it. Natalia is her friend, and she is the scariest person she has ever known. If she says she is going to kill Maya, it is more than just a threat. She will do it without hesitation.

"Do you have a spare uniform?" Maya asked Laura, hoping she had one in her locker.

Laura looks at her phone as she says, "Yep, it is in my locker."

"Thank you; you are a lifesaver!"

"I have to go, Maya. I have a date," Laura says this while blushing.

Maya glanced at her outfit. She looks great.

"Good luck with that." Maya smiles at her

"See you tomorrow." Laura chirped back and walked away.

Maya quickly changed into Laura's waitress uniform. It fit her all right, but it was so short, reaching her mid-thighs, and the worst of it all was that the shirt was too small. Her boobs are popping out.

She tried buttoning up the shirt but two buttons popped out, making it worse.

"I give up," she grunts.

Maya ran to the bathroom. She quickly washed her face to get rid of the soup stains and undid her bun, letting her long dark raven hair cascade down her shoulders. She combed her fingers through her hair to make it appear more presentable.

She returned to the staff room. As she was about to go do her job as a waitress, the door flung open, revealing the red hair of her friend, Natalia; fury was brewing on her face.

"Where the hell have you been, Maya?" She fumes. " And you were not answering my calls! " Natalia yelled at her.

Oops, the call earlier at the restaurant was from Natalia. And Maya forgot to call her back. No wonder she is mad at her.

Maya breathed deeply. "Sorry, we had a busy day at the restaurant today. That's why I'm late."

Natalia glared at her, rage boiling in her eyes.

Maya's throat gulped. Natalia is scary.

"I'm sorry Natalia, let me make it up to you. I want to take over your orders." She suggested

Natalia rolled her eyes and said. "My last order is at one of the VVIP rooms. And you know how those dirty old men treat waitresses. I can handle them because I'm tough. But I know you can't handle their harassment."

"I can, trust me, Natalia . I'm tougher than you think, " Maya insisted.

"Thanks. The order is from the third vvip room," Natalia tells her.

"Okay,"

Maya scurried out of the room into the elevator to take her to the last floor.

Nervous jitters hit her when a man in his early fifties walked into the elevator. He was very attractive for his age, with silver fox hair and sharp, handsome features that could make any young woman want to date him without checking his net worth.

Maya's face fell, drained from any expression, frozen like she had seen a ghost. Disney cartoons and every animation movie she watched when she was a kid made her believe evil villains were ugly and vile-looking creatures, but that was a lie. Because the attractive middle-aged man who just walked in is her stepfather, Fredrick Hathaway. The evil villain of her life who has tormented her ever since she was born into this miserable world.

Maya's head tilts lower, her eyes staring at her heels.

"Who do we have here?" Her stepfather, Fredrick Hathaway's scornful deep voice made her tremble. Fright engulfed her whole being. Her eyes were ready to spill out tears from her tear duct.

"S-Sir." Maya billows out like a wounded animal.

"Girl, look at me when I`m speaking to you." Her Stepfather grabbed her jaw, forcing her to look at him with her blue eyes that were harrowing in fear.

Maya began to cough. He was gripping her jaw tightly. She is scared he might leave a bruise she can't hide with concealer.

His eyes rake over Maya`s body like she is a strange object he has stumbled upon. "I see you have finally decided to flaunt the voluptuous body God gave you." He smirked viciously.

Maya was reeled with disgust as her stomach churned. Her stepfather has been nagging her about showing more skin to entice the perverted men who visit the gentlemen's club. He is happy now. Her boobs are on display and that is showing skin just like he has always wanted.

"This waitress uniform is not mine," Maya protested.

"Well, I like it. From now on I want you to dress this way. If you don't, you know what I'm capable of doing to you." Fredrick Hathaway, her stepfather sharply said. His eyes went dark. His voice is filled with threats Maya won't take lightly.

Maya nods. She wouldn't dare protest unless she wanted to face the hell her stepfather could give her for doing so. The last time she disobeyed his orders she nearly lost her life.

He let go of Maya's jaw; he wasn't gentle. Maya stumbles and hits her head on the elevator's wall. Luckily for her, the impact wasn't harmful as she was just a few paces away from the wall.

But a dizzy spell washed over her. The usual dizziness she has been experiencing ever since she fell down the stairs two years ago.

The fall caused her to suffer from a severe brain trauma that could have ended her life. But thanks to a life-saving surgery she underwent, she escaped death. However, she wasn't left unscathed. She has been experiencing dizziness, headaches, and migraines since then. And she could occasionally pass out

Maya clutched her head. The dizziness has turned into a throbbing headache. She feels like her head is splitting in half. She needs her painkillers to relieve her from this intense pain, but she vowed not to rely on them too much. She doesn't want to get addicted to them. The last thing she needs is to become a drug addict, adding to the dilemmas she is currently facing in her life.

"That fall did a number on you, huh?" Her stepfather mocks her. "If you don't dress like this.'' He waves a finger at Maya's cleavage. "Guess what will happen?" He thrusts his hands in the air like he is pushing something or someone. Maya gasped out loud. Her whole body shook. Her eyes went wide open, ensnared with fright.

Her stepfather was the one who pushed her down the stairs because she disobeyed him. He wanted to kill her because she refused to cook for his friends on the same day she had an Important interview.

He will try to kill her again if she makes a misstep. He hates her. She is the evidence of his wife's betrayal, the bastard child his wife died bringing to this world. Maya's mere existence reminds him of the pain of losing his wife.

Maya wanted to go to the police and report him for attempted murder, but her father is one of the most dangerous, powerful men who run the city. He has the police in his pocket. She might end up dead whilst writing her statement at the police station.

Fredrick Hathaway sneered at her and said "Don't forget you are yet to fully pay me back the money I spent on your medical bills." He reminded her.

"Yes sir. "Maya nods rapidly. All the money she has made working as a junior chef for the past three months was in her stepfather's pocket to pay off the money he spent on her brain trauma surgery and recovery, even though he was the one who put her on the surgical table in the first place.

"See you at home," The elevator came to a halt. Fredrick Hathaway exits, striding toward his office. Maya followed suit and dashed out to take the orders. Fear thumped in her heart.

Yes, she lives with her Stepfather and her half-siblings. She wanted to leave and find her own place to live in but her Stepfather won't allow her to. She is trapped, living with people who loathe her existence and wish she was dead.