FORBIDDEN VELVET VOWS

Unwanted Feelings

Lyra's point of view

“You stupid b***h!” I muttered through gritted teeth, grabbing a handful of Tina’s hair and yanking hard.

“Ouch!” she screamed as she instantly lost her balance and fell to the ground with a loud thud.

Maria quickly held onto my shoulders, trying to restrain me. “Lyra, stop!”

But I was already too far gone. I lunged forward and climbed on top of Tina, smacking her face with my open palm — once, twice, three times.

“Goodness, Lyra!” Sasha yelled in panic. “You’re going to kill her!”

Tina yelled from the floor, still trying to fight back, “She’s jealous of my face, that’s why she’s trying to bruise it!”

“Your plastic f*****g face!” I yelled as I kept hitting her, grabbing her head and slamming it against the floor.

Screams erupted all around us. The other girls were shouting, some trying to pull me off while others just stood there in shock. Chairs scraped against the floor. Bottles rattled on the shelves.

“Lyra, get off her!” Maria screamed, pulling harder on my shoulders.

Tina managed to slap me back weakly, her nails scratching my arm. “You crazy w***e! Just because you couldn’t handle his c**k—”

I lost it even more. I grabbed her by the hair again and banged her head against the floor harder. “Shut your dirty mouth!”

Chaos exploded. Girls were yelling, trying to separate us. Someone knocked over a tray of glasses, and they shattered loudly on the floor. The noise was deafening.

“Stop it! Both of you!” Sasha screamed.

That was when Madam Rosette’s sharp voice cut through the chaos like a whip.

“THAT’S ENOUGH, GIRLS!”

I immediately bolted upward, panting heavily, my chest rising and falling rapidly. My hands were shaking. Tina lay on the floor for a second before Sasha helped her stand up. Tina kept cursing under her breath, adjusting her torn clothes, her hair sweaty and messy, a red mark already forming on her cheek.

“What the hell is going on here?!” Madam Rosette yelled, her voice echoing through the lounge.

I could not respond. What would I say? That I lost control over a customer? That would be stupid. So Maria spoke first, trying to smooth things over.

“Nothing, Madam Rosette. The girls are just—”

“Shut the f**k up, Maria! I wasn’t speaking to you, am I?” Rosette snapped.

We all froze. She seemed rather upset than usual today. Her face was a bit bruised — probably her sick boyfriend beat her up again. I was not trying to get on her bad side.

“Listen up, girls,” she continued, her voice cold and authoritative. “You cannot turn my bar into a boxing ring. If you have issues, then deal with it outside your workplace. Understood?”

“Yes, Madam Rosette,” we all responded in unison.

“Now, instead of being p*****s, you girls better get things done. Tonight’s show — I want you all to bring your best. No excuses.”

We nodded quickly. We were all about to leave when Madam Rosette suddenly held onto my wrist, stopping me.

The other girls quickly scattered.

She pulled me aside, her grip firm but not painful. Her eyes scanned my face for a moment before she spoke in a low, serious tone.

“Lyra… I’ve seen girls like you come and go. You’re good at what you do, but you’re letting emotions control you. That rich boy is clearly under your skin. If you can’t handle it, then stay away from him completely. Don’t let him ruin your money or your reputation here. Understand?”

I nodded silently, still breathing hard.

She released my wrist and gave me one last look.

“Good. Now fix your face and get back to work. And Lyra… next time you fight in my club, I’ll be the one dragging you out by your hair.”

forced a fake smile and got moving as I cursed under my breath.

“f*****g bastard…”

I retreated to my room and flung myself onto the bed, face down. The frustration was too much.

“Arrrgh!” I screamed. The sound tore out of me before I could stop it. My voice echoed in the small Red Chamber.

The door creaked open a few seconds later.

“I swear to God, Maria, I am never looking at that bastard ever again!” I yelled, holding onto my forehead with both hands, still lying face down on the bed.

“Babe, calm down,” Maria said softly as she stepped inside and closed the door behind her. “Look at you… you’re shaking.”

“Calm?” I sat up instantly, breathing heavily. “How the hell am I supposed to be calm, Maria? Damian f****d Tina! We haven’t even f****d yet, and that b***h got to taste him first!”

Maria sighed and sat on the edge of the bed beside me. “Relax, babe. You rejected the guy, remember? Or should I refresh your memory?”

That made me pause. I sat there breathing heavily, staring at the floor.

“You yourself said you don’t want anything to do with him,” she continued gently. “Besides, he can f**k whoever he wants… just like you do. You f**k who you wanna f**k. It’s not the same thing?”

“It’s not the same thing, Maria,” I whispered, my voice cracking. “This is my job, for f**k’s sake…”

“Cut the crap, Lyra.” Maria’s tone sharpened. “You and I both know you’re not f*****g those men just for business. You do it because you love the pleasure. That’s why you get so wet. That’s why they keep coming back for you.”

I sighed heavily, my chest tightening painfully. “It’s not my fault I have a high libido, Maria…”

“Exactly, Lyra. So don’t play the jealous girlfriend role now. That’s pure hypocrisy.”

I slammed my back onto the bed, hands still pressed against my forehead. The ceiling blurred as tears of frustration stung my eyes.

Maria stayed quiet for a moment, then spoke again, softer this time.

“There’s only one solution to this, Lyra… Accept the guy.”

I turned my head to look at her, eyes wide. “What?”

“You heard me,” she said, shrugging. “Stop fighting it. Damian is clearly obsessed with you. He’s rich, hot, and willing to go against his entire family for you. Most girls here would kill for that kind of obsession. Why are you running from it?”

“Because I don’t want to be owned,” I snapped. “I don’t want to wake up one day and realize I gave up my freedom for a man. I like my life. I like being able to f**k whoever I want without guilt.”

Maria raised an eyebrow. “Yet here you are, losing your s**t because he f****d Tina. Sounds like you already care more than you’re willing to admit.”

I didn’t have an answer for that.

The room fell silent except for the distant bass from the club downstairs before I finally spoke again.

“He is doing this to get even, Maria. I know it,” I said bitterly, my voice shaking with anger and something deeper I didn’t want to name. “He’s just trying to hurt me because I rejected him. That’s all this is.”

Maria stared at me for a long second, then let out a heavy sigh.

“Get over yourself, Lyra,” she said sharply, her tone cutting through the room like a knife. “You’re extremely beautiful, yes. But the world doesn’t stop spinning just because you don’t want it to.”

Her words hit me harder than I expected. I opened my mouth to argue, but she was already standing up.

With that, she rolled her eyes dramatically and headed toward the door. “I’m done arguing with you tonight. Fix your head, babe. Before you lose something good.”

The door clicked shut behind her.

The second she was gone, the silence in The Red Chamber felt suffocating.

“Arrrgh!” I screamed even harder, the sound ripping out of my throat raw and painful. I grabbed the pillow and slammed it against the bed repeatedly, my fists pounding into it as tears burned in my eyes.

I hated this. I hated feeling like this.

Then all of a sudden, I was holding onto my chest.

My heart was pounding so hard it hurt. A sharp, heavy ache spread through my ribs, making it difficult to breathe. I pressed my palm harder against my chest, trying to calm the wild beating, but it only got worse.

“Why does it hurt so bad?” I whispered to the empty room, my voice cracking.

Tears slipped down my cheeks before I could stop them. I curled up on the bed, hugging my knees to my chest as the pain in my heart refused to go away.

Why am I like this?

I had spent years building walls, enjoying my freedom, f*****g whoever I wanted without catching feelings. But the moment Damian looked at me like I was his entire world… the moment I heard he had been with Tina… everything inside me started crumbling.

I hated how much it hurt.

I hated that a part of me — a stupid, weak part — actually cared that he had touched someone else.

I hated that his proposal kept echoing in my head.

“f**k you, Damian,” I whispered through the tears.