PROLOGUE

I am already asleep when I suddenly heard a loud alarm coming from the hallway outside my unit. Out of curiosity, I immediately stood up and went out to check why they would give an alarm at two o’clock in the midnight only to see my neighbors running out of their units carrying their equipments.

“Hey! What’s happening?” I asked one of them.

“There are units that are currently on fire!” He answered panicking his way towards the fire exit after.

Upon seeing my other neighbors running fast, I immediately went back to my room and filled my suitcase with my clothes. At this point in time, my clothes and papers are the most important thing for me to secure so I moved as fast as I can to pack them all. After securing my clothes, I grabbed my gadgets and wallet before leaving my unit to save myself.

I can’t help but to feel devastated of what happened right now. This unit and the equipments inside are the only property that I have and losing it this way is really frustrating.

Once I got out of the building, I can’t help but to stare blankly at our building and there I saw the grayish black smoke coming from the upper part of the building where my unit is located. Looking at it right now is crushing my heart into pieces.

My first instinct was to call my manager and tell her about what happened but thinking that she already helped me a lot, asking for another favor may already be too much so I hesitated and thought of another plan. I have no other option now aside from my best friend so I picked up my phone and dialed her number. I sighed in relief when she answered fast even though I called in late.

“Why are you calling at two o’clock in the midnight?” She annoyingly asked and hearing her voice made me start sobbing. “Hey! What happened?” She asked with a sound of guilt in her voice.

“I’m sorry if I called at this time but this is really urgent. Our building is on fire right now and I have no place to stay tonight. You know how bad my current financial status is and I can’t rent out another unit for me to stay so please, I really need your help,” I explained while crying.

I am so hopeless. This is the same familiar feeling when my father asked me to move out of our house because he found out that I am gay. I was dumbfounded. I don’t know where I would begin and I have no idea how to pick myself up after that situation but my manager helped me to survive that phase. Now that I am in an almost same situation with no home to stay to and with the money that is just enough for me to eat decent meals every day, I don’t know how I would pick myself up again.

“Wait! I’ll go at your place now,” she answered and I felt her urgency because she dropped the call right after saying that.

I waited for her outside the convenience store because that’s what she texted me. Good thing that she lives near me so she didn’t take that long to reach my location. She arrived wearing her pajamas and I really appreciated her effort in ensuring that I will have someone right now.

“Are you okay?” She asked as soon as she approached me. She then hugged me which made me tear up again.

“I’m trying to,” I answered.

I tried my best to calm myself because I’ve been through something like this before and I survived so there is a possibility that I’ll also survive this one but thinking how everything that I worked hard for just vanished in an instant is really crashing me.

“Where do you plan to stay? Have you talked to Ma’am Keana about this?” She asked.

“Honestly, I don’t have a place to stay and I don’t want to talk to Ma’am Keana about this yet because I’m too shy to ask for another favor,” I admitted to her. “Can I stay in your place?” I asked her.

“I want to but I can’t,” she answered which made me feel down.

What do I do now?

“The only money I have with me is enough for my food and the money that I will earn next month is supposed to be used for paying the other half of my loan for that condo. I don’t know what to do anymore, Ky,” I told her.

“Well, my brother lives near and I have a bedroom in his house. If you want, you can live there for the meantime,” she then said which lightened up my mood.

“I’ll take whatever’s available, Ky,” I told her without any hesitation.

We went to her brother’s place and basing on her story, he lives here alone and their house is actually too big for someone who’s living alone.

Kyra has a key so we went inside without knocking and without the owner knowing. Instead of him being surprised, I was the one in shock upon entering because we heard some loud moans coming from a woman.

Kyra looked like she’s used to that already because instead of being shocked, I was surprised to see her with her bitch face mode activated. I am not so used to this sight because she’s such a bubbly person and seeing her like this makes me wonder as to why she reacted that way.

She rushed her way upstairs and since I don’t know this place, I followed her and I was, again, shocked when she opened the door of the bedroom where the moans came from.

“Hey, bitch! Get out or I’ll drag your hell out of this house now!” She said with authority and I saw the woman put on her pants fast without answering back. She hasn’t put her shirt on yet but she already ran out of the room and avoided to look at Kyra.

I was surprised to see that version of her but also, I can’t help but wonder as to why she acted that way. After all, her brother’s older than her for her to act authoritative over his decisions.

“What now, Kyra?” Her brother asked coldly.

I saw Kyra raised one of her eyebrows before answering.

“I’m with my best friend and he will live here until his condo is fixed,” she explained – still, with authority in her voice.

He smirked after hearing that. I really can’t understand these siblings.

“In one condition,” he answered back.

“What?” Kyra asked in disbelief. “I also own this -,” she tried to answer back but I cut her off.

“Anything,” I said confidently.

I have no other option left and I’ll do whatever it takes for me to have somewhere to live on.

“Be my slave.”