Princess Treatment

Prologue

It was the evening, and the window to her bedroom was open. Living in a twelve-storey building, she was on the eighth floor, and from that open window the soft hum of the city bled through - cars streaming down Bertha Street and faint sounds of laughter from students who were either returning to their respective residences and homes or were going to the nearby nightclub. On the other hand, she was in the light of being someone who lived a simpler life, sitting cross-legged on her bed, half-dressed in oversized sleepwear and surrounded by open textbooks and highlighter pens, her mind was further away from consumer behavior theories.

She used to love nights like these - they were very quiet, studious, wrapped in the safety of her South Point Braamfontein student apartment. Her parents had worked hard to secure stability for her, keep her future paved in gold. She was a girl from a good family. A girl with prospects.

However tonight, even the warmth and comfort of her favorite hoodie couldn't shake off the gnawing at the back of her mind.

There was a time when her life made sense. When she could picture and chart her dreams with the clean precision of a business model canvas. A First-year Marketing student. Internship at a reputable firm. Family vacations to Knysna. A boyfriend who texted good morning and good night. She had a future she could explain to her aunts without shame or spin.

That was before he came into the picture.

Mr. Jared Mungai wasn't just a man - he was a force of nature. Wealth so loud it could silence entire rooms. A presence that turned Sandton skyscrapers into his kingdom. A devil dressed in the finest yet simplest tailored suits, masked by his own myth.

She didn't fall for him at first, but she yes to his offer.

That was before she eve understood the language it was written in.

MUSE, he said. That was what he called it. A word that sounded so poetic but felt more like a leash. He made it sound so sacred, as if it was a gift.

And it felt like one in the beginning. Private dinners in glass-walled suites, a whole new wardrobe coming with courier with no return address and how could she forget the vacations disguised as just "inspiration trips".

She yes, not because of the luxury - but because, for the first time in her life, someone looked at her and saw potential beyond her GPA. Beyond the degree that she was about to have soon. Beyond the girl who always played it safe.

But one thing about potential is that it could be a dangerous thing when handled by the wrong hands.

Azania closed her textbook slowly, her fingers brushing over the edge of he a polaroid photo tucked inside - one of her and her younger sister on the beach in Ballito. Before everything. Before syndicates, Seychelles and the abuse masked as art of the Muse. Before Jared. Before she learned how expensive yes could be.

Her eyes' gazed at the ceiling.

Some girls get flowers. Others get fairytales.

She got Princess Treatment - and didn't realize until too late that the crown came with chains.