YOURS TO CONTROL

--- ELOISE GREEN I had to come up with a plan. I said it mostly to myself as I set the last pail on the cracked concrete floor, where rain leaked steadily through the roof. I dreaded the rain. It wasn’t just water—it was memory, weight, and the creeping fear that one day the whole roof would collapse and bury us alive. I didn’t want to die like that. I promised Mum I’d make something of myself—and of Audrey. I swore I’d give us a better life. I can’t keep dancing on a pole forever. “You don’t make a lot as a stripper. And I can’t get a promotion at work,” Audrey muttered. She worked at a small law firm. Assistant. Invisible. She’d begged for a chance, but her boss wouldn’t trust her with even a single case. “But you could choose to make more if you finally—” “Please, Audrey.” My voice cut sharp. “I’m not sleeping with old, disgusting men for a few bucks.” Selling my body was off the table. “Don’t act like I’m not trying. I am. The world is just against me,” I whispered, my voice breaking more to myself than to her. “The Don is so… last grade. Why not try the bigger clubs? The hotter ones. Maybe… Passion?” The name hit me like a knife. Passion. The name carried shadows, whispered with awe and dread. The underworld’s jewel. A club pulsing with red lights, velvet ropes, and secrets people buried with blood. It wasn’t just a strip club—it was the strip club. The stage where even devils bowed. Walking in there would be like signing away my soul. “I can’t,” I said flatly. “I will not.” Passion was for killers, mafia lords, men who carved empires out of dirt and corpses. Legal businessmen didn’t exist there. It was a den of predators. Trading my life for money was not an option. “Eloise…” Audrey stood from the sagging leather seater, her voice soft but edged with desperation. The apartment around us was falling apart—walls stained with watermarks, paint peeling in long strips, the air heavy with damp. The only decent thing in the room was the smart TV, Audrey’s employee-of-the-year prize. I stared at it, tempted to sell. What good was a TV when the roof above us groaned like it might give way any night? “Eloise,” she tried again, her hand finding mine. “You’re doing great. Mum and Dad would be proud of you.” I wanted to believe her. I wanted to be the strong big sister. The one she could look up to. But all I felt was small—standing in a place that reminded me daily of our failures. Why did I even pay rent here? I studied Audrey—her red hair tumbling in messy waves, her warm brown eyes holding too much hope, her long legs caught in the prison of a pencil skirt. She looked like she belonged to another world. I pulled my hand away and turned to the crooked photo of our parents. Mum—I respected. Dad—I hated. The only voice that ever mattered to me was hers. And if she was watching from heaven, I imagined her shaking her head in disappointment. “I doubt that,” Audrey whispered behind me. “It’s fine,” I said, shutting the conversation down. “I should get going. You should too.” I grabbed my bag and slipped out, careful not to slam the door. One wrong push and the hinges would scatter like bones. A failing roof, I could endure. A house without a door? That was a line I couldn’t cross. It was 1 p.m. I still had time before heading to the club. --- ELOISE GREEN The bed creaked as Williams thrust into me. His grunts were louder than the rhythm itself, his sweat dripping, his face twisted in effort. I forced a smile, masking the boredom clawing at me. He called it “making love.” I loved him, I did. But this part of us… this wasn’t love. “I’m going to c*m,” he gasped. “Me too,” I lied. Williams had been my first love, my college sweetheart, the first man I’d ever given myself to. But s*x with him was mechanical, predictable. Every time the same: a few kisses, he got on top, and then it was over. By the third time, I’d realized this was forever his routine. That was when the faking began. When his seed filled the condom, I whispered thank God in my head. “That was the best s*x ever,” he said, smiling. “It gets better every time,” I lied again, kissing his forehead. I slipped away into the bathroom, filling the tub with steaming water and his body wash. As I peeled off my clothes and sank in, the water wrapped around me like a secret escape. At least it ended quickly. I hated these moments. Hated s*x with him. It felt like a chore I couldn’t always refuse. Twenty minutes later, I emerged to find him asleep already. I shook my head. If it exhausted him so much, why didn’t he just stop? I pulled open my drawer and lifted the single expensive thing I owned: black lingerie. More rope than fabric, it clung to me like a second skin the moment I slid it on. In it, I didn’t feel like Eloise the failure. I felt like Eloise the fire. Dancing was the only time I truly felt alive. I draped my green coat over myself, slipped into my red five-inch heels, grabbed my phone, and left. Tonight better be worth it. The taxi pulled up, and I climbed in. “Don Club,” I told the driver. But when the car stopped, I blinked at the glowing sign outside. “Passion Den,” he said simply. “I said Don,” I snapped. “No, miss. You clearly said Passion Den.” How could I have? Maybe Audrey’s words were still echoing in my head. Passion Den wasn’t just a club. It was a beast in neon. A cage where criminals laughed, mafias fed, and women disappeared. It wasn’t for me. The last thing I needed was to get tangled in their shadows. And yet… When the driver asked if I wanted him to turn back, I shook my head. My heart thudded wildly. I felt in my chest, this is one of those wild moments shit, s**t, s**t I should probably just ask the driver to take my to Don instead, what help would I be to Audrey if I'm trafficked as a s*x toy or worse killed because I looked a certain way This is a bad idea, I tell myself as I tried to convince my head this was a bad idea it's only for one night, I'll check it out and never return I paid him and stepped into the night. There it was: the massive red neon letters pulsing like a heartbeat against the dark sky. PASSION DEN. The bouncers out front turned to me, eyes sharp, measuring, then looked away. The air was thick with smoke, music pounding faintly through the walls like a beast’s growl. I swallowed hard. Well… here goes nothing. --- Author’s Note Hi babies 💕 Thank you so much to everyone enjoying this story! If you feel like it isn’t for you, that’s perfectly fine—you can bow out. But for those staying… I heart you ❤️ This is going to be a slow burn, and I promise, it will be worth every page. I don’t have fixed update dates, so I apologize in advance for delays. This is an edited version hope you like it --