Disclaimer: Hi, there. *clears throat* This chapter contains both verbal and sexual assault, including vulgar language. If its not something you're OK reading I suggest you skip it. Now that that's out of the way, let's dive in!

"I cannot believe you beat me to it," Lily was saying as she applied a touch of red lipstick on her lips, gently rubbing them together, a dreamy look on her face. "I've always wanted to be engaged to a powerful white man."

From where she sat, Shanya put an unwitting hand on her temple, leaned her head gently against the velvet sofa, and rested both legs on the wooden table while waiting for her friend to finish dressing up. She had woken up with a migraine the size of a tennis court and it seemed to be getting worse.

Narrating last night's events to Lily had been a chore. In fact, she was almost certain it had skyrocketed her throbbing temple. It now beat five times faster than it did when she'd woken up. To her credit, Lily's transition from doubt to utter disbelief hadn't been a long one. But she'd led that with a tirade of questions Shanya didn't have the strength for and her squeal of delight had left Shanya wishing she'd shut her damn mouth.

Lily finally turned from the oval mirror on the wall, her perfectly manicured hands on her hips as she faced Shanya. Even in her waitress uniform, Lily was an exquisite beauty. Long black braids decorated with silver and gold beads fell across her face in waterfalls, her pert nose—which Shanya believed was her best feature—rested comfortably on her oval face, and her sensory red lips complimented her black complexion.

Shanya almost smiled.

The first time she'd met Lily the day she'd come to get the stupid waitressing job, it had taken long to like her and longer to like her enough to live with her. She hadn't wanted any friends seeing as the ones she'd had turned out to be a huge disappointment and a colossal waste of time. But since knowing Lily, she'd rarely thought of Nala or her betrayal.

Lily had befriended her immediately, told her what to expect from who and the nitty gritties of the Diner. Without Lily, she'd have been fine on her own, yes. But she would've been miserable. So despite their personalities, they complimented each other in many ways and it wasn't very hard for them to save enough to get a place of their own. A decision Shanya was now regretting.

Eyes the color of midnight skies found hers. "I know I asked this before, but how exactly did he propose to you again?"

Shanya rolled her eyes into her skull. I need an aspirin.

Ignoring her friend, she rose from her seat, the movement alone sending daggers to her temple as she walked over to the medicine cabinet in the bathroom. She didn't dare look in the mirror as she already had a vague suspicion of how awful she looked—like she'd been fighting a bull.

But she felt happy—well, happy was too strong a word. She felt...accomplished. She was finally getting the life she wanted, finally going to be truly independent. And she didn't even have to whore her way to get it... sort of. This "scandalous encounter with the god among men" as Lily had put it was her lifeline. And despite the immorality of their situation, she will bloody well hold on to it.

The statement stirred a memory in her mind. It was her dad, with his easy smile, big brown eyes, and chiseled features. He was staring up at her as he laid on the hospital bed, sleep in his weary eyes. "If it's worth it baby, hold unto it," he'd said.

They'd been talking all night long about her dreams of becoming a surgeon, what she planned to do with him when he finally got discharged, and how she felt not having him around in the house. He'd shared stories with her, some of which she did not remember or had any particular interest in but she loved hearing him talk so she listened to every word. He was such a strong man, she'd let herself forget he wasn't invincible.

Blinking the memory away, Shanya opened the cabinet protruding from the wall and slowly scanned its particulars. The familiar white bottled box containing the aspirin was nowhere in sight.

She cursed. When she returned to the bedroom, Lily was sitting crossed legged on the sofa, waiting, her right hand holding up her chin as she dramatically tapped her manicured left hand on the wooden table.

Oh, she had asked her a question. For the gazillionth time. Shanya could barely remember what the question had been. Neither did she care. "How did you manage to skip the part where I said I got kidnapped?"

Lily did not cease her ridiculous countenance but ran her lash filled eyes over Shanya's body as if seeing her for the first time. "You do look terrible."

"Thanks. Any aspirin?"

"Yes." She reached for her white purse resting on her lap and removed her pills. Taking two out, she handed them over to Shanya then disappeared into the kitchen just a few feet away from their room.

Shanya was suddenly acutely aware of how small their apartment was. Not exactly shabby or tight, but small all the same. She'd always known, of course, but after staying for a while, one forgets—or rather, gets used to it. But this apartment, it was basically her entire room in her last home. Except... way less fancier.

The white curtains although washed several times had turned a dull brown. There were light decorations, but they were not the right colors and were poorly placed. The grey tiles marinating the floors in their living room and walls in their bathroom were sorely lacking in both ingenuity and elegance. The whole place reeked of insufficiency. She ignored the feeling of inadequacy that welled up inside her and pursed her lips. This is all going to change. All of it.

Five seconds later, Lily was back with a glass of water. "Drink up."

Shanya mumbled 'thank you' and popped the pills in her mouth before swallowing the water. She sat on the edge of Lily's bed because it was closer and set the glass on her night stand, looking up to find Lily giving her that same look she'd had when she'd come out of the bathroom. The picture of impatience.

Shanya sighed. "Out with it."

"What was the reason?" Lily blurted out, practically brimming with curiosity.

It took all of three heartbeats for Shanya to realize what she was referring to. "Some kind of forbidden love conflict. His family wouldn't approve of his girlfriend and—"

"He has a girlfriend?" Lily screamed so suddenly that Shanya had to massage her throbbing temple. "This just keeps getting better and better," Lily went on, completely oblivious to Shanya's plight. She settled more comfortably against the sofa as if trying to fully digest the new information. "First of all, Shanya, you whore. I cannot believe you agreed to sabotage his relationship with his girlfriend. And I thought I was the loose one."

"You are," Shanya pointed out through gritted teeth. And her brother thought she was trouble. If he spent one minute with Lily, he'd curse the day he was born. The mere thought of unleashing Lily on her brother brought a nasty smile on her face. Compared to Lily, she was a freaking ray of sunshine.

Lily laughed at the statement and waved it away lazily with her right hand. "So it's like a Romeo and Juliet situation."

Shanya nodded, rising up from the bed and heading towards the door, prompting Lily to follow after her. If they dallied any longer, they'd miss the bus and then they'd surely be fired. She supposed it wouldn't matter soon enough.

"He seems to think this is the best way for them to go on with their clandestine affairs."

Lily giggled behind her, then fumbled in her purse for the house keys to lock the disparaging brown door. "Anybody with half a brain will know that it's obviously not the best way. But who cares? We're rich!"

* * * *

An hour later, Shanya's head felt like a thousand horses were running around in it. She'd mixed four table's orders already and had Dan howling at her for five minutes straight. A part of her was grateful it wasn't Christian who'd done the howling. She hadn't even bothered to understand what Dan had said but she had a distinct feeling it ran along the lines of 'mess up again and you'll be out of here in 3 seconds flat.'

She felt nauseous. Dan must have noticed it because he had asked her if she needed a five minutes break. She'd stupidly said no. Now her instincts told her she was about to ruin the beautiful polished black and blue tiles of the Diner with her vomit.

She apologized to the cute couple for mixing their order and headed straight for the restroom. Hand braced on the white marble toilet bowl, Shanya hurled her guts out again and again, her face contorting in pain.

Weakly, she looked at her reflection in the squared mirror just above the sink and saw that her eyes had turned a disturbing shade of red. Those same eyes travelled back to the mess she'd made and the mere glance at the disgusting gooey substance made her hurl her guts out again. The next time she vomited, it was because of the stench.

Shanya was suddenly grateful her hair was up in a bun as she rubbed her temples. The aspirin should've kicked in by now but if anything, she felt worse. And judging by the exercise she'd just gone through, she was worse. Nauseated. Weak. What was taking so damn long? And since when did migraines cause excessive vomiting? It must've been something she ate.

She flushed the toilet, got up slowly from her position on the floor and walked to the sink, washing out the residue in her mouth before splashing some water on her face. Again, she stared at her reflection in the mirror. She looked awful.

After a minute or two, she ran her hands through her apron pocket and retrieved her makeup pallet, gently dabbing at her face. It didn't entirely eliminate the ghastly look of sickness but it at least brought a bit of color to her eyes— which suddenly widened as a thought struck her. What did those three assholes really give her when they drugged her?

Shanya didn't think she was breathing as her mind ran amok with what might have been done to her while she was unconscious and whether or not the drug she had been given had been mixed with anything she was allergic to. But she wasn't allergic to much, not that she knew of anyway. And she hadn't seen or felt anything wrong with her when she'd taken a shower this morning. In fact, despite the migraine, she was in perfect health. It must be something else.

She heard the distinct 'click' of the restroom door and decided it was time to head out, sickness or no. She'd hate to have someone hear or witness her retching. As she stepped out into the long corridor of the bathroom, she was greeted by a smug Christian who had his back against the door, legs crossed at his ankles and a perverse smile on his lips.

Shanya almost cursed out loud. She'd never been able to stomach the sight of him ever since Lily warned her about his atrocious ritual of sleeping with newbies. Poor Naomi, the longest term waitress here, had been the first to suffer his advances.

When Shanya asked why no one had reported him, Lily had said she and Nancy, a Mexican girl who'd started working around the same time Lily did, had tried to do so when they were harassed but Dan had practically begged them not to, offering to raise their salaries instead.

Nancy had refused and was fired without pay, so the remaining girls for fear of losing their jobs just agreed to let Dan bribe them and Christian was let off with a simple warning. Shanya suspected there was some family connection somewhere. Christian was probably his nephew or stepson. Likely the stepson, they were more prone to feelings of entitlement and invincibility.

Looking closely at Christian, Shanya realized the broad smile on his face wasn't just any smile but one of triumph. Glee, even. The sniveling entitled pig. He'd been trying to get her alone for some time now. She supposed she'd just given him the opportunity on a silver platter.

Taking in a deep breath visible to only her, she looked him square in the face.

"This is the ladies room, Christian."

He shrugged and took a slow step forward, and then another. As if biding his time, savoring his new conquest. "Was that you I heard retching in there?" His voice would have been appealing if it wasn't coming from... well, him. He took another step and a few wayward strands of his golden brown hair fell across his face with a grace that Shanya had only seen in movies. Handsome, yes. But very deadly.

"Are you lost?" she asked, knowing damn well he wasn't. But she decided that her usual demure of calm and reasonableness was how she needed to approach this. Play dumb. Be the picture of indifference. Then get the hell out.

He took two steps towards her. "On the contrary, I'm right where I need to be." His smile didn't quite reach his eyes as he looked her over in the way he always did since she started working here. Like he was undressing every inch of her with his eyes.

Shanya tried not to squirm under his sparmy gaze and made a show of brushing out her uniform and adjusting her bun.

"I just needed a minute to freshen up. I'm all ready to serve tables now." She made to move past him but he stepped in her way, his stunning blue eyes pinning her to the spot. Discomfort rose to the apex of her throat.

"So you knocked up?" He asked with unnerving calmness.

Her brows furrowed and she instinctively put her fisted hands behind her back. "Excuse me?"

"Pre-ggo," he drawled. "You were in there throwing up like a wet nurse."

When she didn't deen to give him a reply, he ran a hand down her exposed arm, slowly, coaxingly. "I can give you something that will help... for a price."

The poor fool. "No, thanks." Shanya shied away from his touch but it was the wrong move as the movement had her shoulder gracing the wall so that all he needed to do was push her other shoulder back and she'd be all but pinned against the wall—which was exactly what he did.

His blue eyes turned predatory, lustful. His hot breath fanned her exposed neck as he trailed a finger up and down the slight bump of her right breast. Shanya stiffened.

"I know you want this just as much as me." He brought his right hand up her skirt and squeezed her thighs. She cringed and swatted his hands away, pushing against him.

"Christian," her voice was surprisingly low. "Don't touch me."

But the rejection only seemed to fuel his lust as he pressed into her, his engorged member standing erect, brushing up against her thighs. "Do you see what you do to me?" he exclaimed joyfully, the glee in his eyes unexplainable. She had never seen any emotion in them besides lust and contempt.

He turned her face to the side and licked her entire left cheek with the length of his tongue. Shanya fought the urge to vomit for the fourth time. The mere humiliation of his brazen action caused her anger to spike up ten notches.

"Get your hands off me!" She trashed about, kicking and throwing her arms at whatever it could come in contact with. But it felt like she was punching air.

He grinned broadly, slow and deep, the sight redoubling her insides. "I like that. Scream. Fight me. It will make this so much more enjoyable."

She pushed against him with all her might but with her depleted strength and the fact that he had a good 15 pounds on her, it was like fighting a mountain.

"Relax, darlin', relax." He brought his mouth so close to hers that they were sharing the same breath. She could still feel his engorging manhood pressing up against her thighs. "This will be pleasurable for both of us, trust me."

With that, he slammed his mouth against hers, the kiss a tidal wave of brute lust and a sense of overrippened angst. As if it was his sole mission on earth to kiss the shit out of her. But this wasn't a kiss. It was an assault. His tongue broached its way greedily into her mouth, reveling in the wetness and warmth it provided.

She was so shocked that she simply stood there, letting him continue with his assault. His hands groped her bum and he moaned.

"You have the nicest ass," he whispered into her mouth as if this was consensual. As if they were lovers frolicking around in secret, enjoying each other's bodies in the intimate embrace of a starry night. He took her tongue into his mouth and sucked on it, the way a baby sucked on a feeding bottle. His lust for her blazing in every stroke of his tongue. Yet somehow, underneath the obvious pleasure he derived from it, there was a sense of need. Not the pleasurable kind. The kind that made her feel like he had to do this but he didn't mind because it fulfilled what he'd wanted all along.

Christian released her tongue then, running his tongue across his lips. He lifted a hand and wiped the wet corners of her mouth, smiling as he did so.

"Don't move," he ordered. Shanya barely registered what he'd said as she was still in a state of shock. He reached for his flyer and unzipped it, revealing dark blue cotton boxers. In one elegant move, Christian freed his penis, protruding and ready in its stance. Confident in its goal to seek release inside her.

In that instant, something within her clicked into place. She felt an indescribable and delicious feeling of rage build up in her gut. All thoughts, action and speech stilled, her mind dissolving into silence.

Then her nausea grew worse and this time, she didn't try to stop the turmoil that sort release inside her. She vomited all over him, the watery bile splattered and dripped every where, including his penis. He yelped and leapt back.

"You bitch!"

She slapped him. Hard and fast. The ricocheting sound echoed in the bathroom and she had never heard anything sweeter. She didn't even balk as the stench of vomit hung in the air. Damn the consequences. Damn being calm and reasonable. Damn playing dumb. Damn giving a fig about this job. Never had she been this violated in her entire life.

"How dare you?" Shanya seethed as tears of rage and disgust flowed freely from her eyes.

But Christian was more concerned about wiping the disgusting vomit off of his penis than he was about her raging distress. He frantically brushed at it with his palms then proceeded to unbutton his shirt.

The sound of a creaking door echoed around them and he froze. Shanya on the other hand never left his gaze, her body trembling with fury and repulsion.

"If you ever touch me like that again I will cut off your dick and feed it to you."

Christian blinked, twice. Then looked towards the door where Lily stood, eyes widened in alarm and hostility. The brute rage that washed across his face was the most unnerving thing Shanya had ever seen.

He looked as if he was debating whether or not to pounce on her, but knew just like she did that even if he did, he couldn't stop her and Lily at the same time. Lily was far enough away from his reach that he wouldn't be able to get to her in time before she called the others. A gang up will not look good for him.

Seconds passed. Finally, he cleared his throat and secreted his soiled penis within his boxers. Then walked away with her vomit, right past Lily, and out the door without another look back.

Lily rushed to where Shanya stood against the wall asking her if she was okay, if she needed anything. Shanya was shaking. What had happened, what had almost happened... she shuddered. That piece of shit.

When she shook her head in reply to Lily's questions, Lily proceeded to rain curses down on Christian, most of which were so crude Shanya had to wonder about her childhood. A thought suddenly crossed her mind.

"Lily, this morning... " Her voice didn't sound like hers. It was weak and beaten, barely managing through the syllables. "Are you sure you gave me aspirin?"

Lily stopped babbling long enough to scoff. "Of course. Aspirin's always in the white box with the—" Her eyes widened and she immediately turned crimson. As crimson as a black girl could get. It was enough to wipe out the events of the past few minutes.

Shanya grew alarmed and withdrew herself from the wall, pinning her friend with a deathly glare. "What is it."

Lily was suddenly looking anywhere but at Shanya, her hands clasping and unclasping, and there was a look of pure guilt in her eyes. "The pills I gave you, they were not in a white box, were they?"

"Lily..." Shanya warned, losing her patience.

Her face turned sheepish as she raised a hand to her head. "I uh.. I think I gave you contraceptive pills."

I'm going to kill her.

A/n: I don't think cheering is appropriate here, so let's just vote.