For Better, For Worse: The Serpent's Contract Wife

Chapter 130: Becoming Scarlet [1]

[Music: Bad By Royal Deluxe]

"What’s in the flash drive?"

Shane obviously wasn’t gonna tell me that, but I was just trying my chances with him.

He smiled, lips stretching wide. Pushing to his feet, he came close, and all muscles in my body tensed.

The heavy scent of whatever cologne he wore made my stomach twist in repulsion. I caught the lipstick smear on his lips, and my disgust only grew.

"Curious, aren’t you? Not to worry, all questions will be answered in due time. Remember what I said about trust?"

"Lemme guess, secure the flash drive, and I gain your trust?"

"Precisely."

"Whatever’s inside that flash drive must be worth a while," I said.

"It is, and I’m glad you know that, because...."

I gasped when he abruptly seized my neck. My nails dug into his skin, hoping he would let up, but he didn’t.

This man stared me dead in the eye like he wanted to break my fucking neck right at this moment, and my panic skyrocketed.

"I’d hate for you to make the news tomorrow. Mrs. Salvero, wife of Zayden Salvero, found headless in an abandoned building."

A cold shiver shot up my spine.

"Bringing down the Serpent works perfectly for your revenge. If anything, our partnership is beautiful. But... a quick end wouldn’t be so great, right?"

He released me, and the abrupt action caused me to stumble backwards until I found my balance. My hand shot up to my neck to check if it was still intact.

"Candy will tell you what to do."

He left the room.

I did my best not to breathe too quickly, still in shock about what just happened a few seconds ago.

H-He could have killed me.

"Let’s go."

I glanced at Candy.

"I hope you’re a good dancer. It’d be a waste if you aren’t."

~☆~

The music got louder as Candy led me backstage. The stage lights flashed through occasionally.

"The rest of it is up to you," Candy said. "And remember, at least act the part. You won’t be convincing otherwise. Make them drool."

Geez, thanks for the advice.

"The moment you set your eyes on your target, lure him to the vip room I showed you. There will be a drink there, make sure he takes it."

"A drink?"

"Just something to knock him enough to get what you need. The moment you do, come back to Shane. Understand?"

"Whatever..." I muttered under my breath, rubbing my neck. The lingering sensation of his hand still puts me on edge.

I thought he needed me alive, but I thought wrong. He could easily get rid of me if he wanted.

"Good luck. You’re gonna need it."

Candy left, and I darted my eyes toward the other ladies walking onto the stage with a confidence worth thousands.

I’m gonna be walking out onto that stage dressed up like this, but that was the least of my worries. If I don’t pull this off, Shane is gonna fucking decapitate me.

I closed my eyes, trying my best to steel my nerves and get this done as soon as possible.

I walked onto the stage, and the minute I did, I heard a few whistles. My eyes darted around the large room, all seats filled.

It wasn’t even night yet, and this place was packed. I do admit the girls here were pretty, and they knew how to charm. All I had to do was follow their every move until I found my target.

I don’t even know what I was supposed to do for God sake. How does this work?

At first, I just stood there watching the others get to work like they were some seductress. It got awkward just spacing out like that, so I reached for a pole.

This was already giving me a head rush because I was torn between trying to maintain some semblance of appeal and wishing this could all end.

I did my best to copy whatever the others were doing, and as the minutes passed, I got the hang of it.

I was obviously not gonna thrust my boobs at a guy’s face like that girl did, or wiggle my ass. Definitely not.

I stuck with simple movements, letting the music guide me. Just me and my pole, swaying my hips and making sure I faced the crowd, not the other way around.

This outfit was revealing enough, and I was already in a tight position as it is. The least I could do was try my best to keep my body and sanity.

I was overshadowed by most of the talented girls who went out of their way to please the crowd, and I was thankful they were, or so I thought.

Whatever I was doing caught lookers, and before I knew it, half of them were focused on me.

Fucking great.

I eased my position, and suddenly, standing there and doing nothing was way worse. I threw a look over my shoulder, debating if I should leave right now, but that would probably get me killed.

I clenched the pole tightly, a thump resonating in my ears. I shouldn’t panic because right now I wasn’t anyone. I was just Scarlet. That’s right. I was Scarlet.

Scarlet was an amateur, just swinging her pole and doing her best not to be noticed. I resumed my dance, still on my mission of searching for a reason to get off this stage.

I shot my leg into the air before I went down lower, crawling to the edge of the stage, certainly not to appeal to them but to get the fucking lights off my face.

But they don’t think that way. Because of my actions to evade, they thought I was luring them in some way. Dollar bills were dropped until I was practically swimming in them.

I discerned the tension from the other girls because it appeared I was taking their spotlight.

Where the fuck is this Cooper?

I grimaced when a man looked at me, licking his lips hungrily.

Ew!

I went back up before he had any intentions of touching me. Then I see him.