Dear Alpha, You Stole My Life

Chapter 1

~ Juliet's POV ~

"No f*****g way, Julie! There’s no way I’m letting you do this to yourself!" Naomi’s voice cut through the air—sharp, furious, and trembling. She wasn’t just yelling, she was breaking.

"I've made my decision, Naomi," I said softly but firmly. "I’m going through with it. It’s the only way."

"There has to be another way to save your mom," she pleaded, her voice cracking as tears gathered in her eyes.

"And what other way, Naomi?" My voice shook as I wiped the tears spilling uncontrollably down my cheeks. "Tell me what other way I can save her life. She has always been good to me. I may be adopted, but she never made me feel like I was anything less than her real daughter. I can’t just watch her die when I know I can do something... anything to save her."

"Yes, she’s been good to you, and yes, you want to save her, but do you really think she’d be happy with the kind of sacrifice you’re about to make?" Naomi’s voice trembled as she stepped closer, placing her hand on my shoulder. "Please, Julie. Think this through. There has to be something else we can do."

I shrugged her hand off and turned away from her, pacing around the room. My heart was pounding, my thoughts a whirlwind of panic and pain.

"I have thought it through. My mind is made up."

"Can you hear yourself? You want to sell your virginity for money! Snap out of that thought, Julie! We will find another way. I won't let you sell your dignity for money," Naomi stated.

"This isn’t about dignity, Naomi!" I shouted. "This is about saving the one person who means the world to me. Every second I waste, her chances of survival slip further away. If selling my body is the only way to get the money she needs, then so be it. It's not like I'd tell her when she wakes up."

Naomi came closer again, her eyes pleading. "I know you’re desperate… but don’t let desperation make you lose yourself. You once said you wanted to give your virginity to someone you love. Are you really going to throw that dream away and give it to a stranger who doesn’t even deserve to look at you?"

Her words hit me, but the ache in my chest overpowered any lingering doubt. She was trying to save me from myself, but I was too far gone. Just like she said, I was in a desperate situation, and people do despicable things when they're desperate and right now, I was among those people.

"I'm sorry, Naomi, but your advice won't work on me. Saving my mom is my priority, and I'm going to do anything to save her, even if it means selling my soul to the devil," I said.

"Julie...."

"Don't, Naomi," I cut her short. "There's nothing you'd say that'll make me change my mind. I already made my decision, and I'm going to push through with it," I said, and with that, I left our dorm.

Naomi tried to call me back, but I was already gone. I wasn't ready to listen to her. Listening to her was pointless, especially when I already made my decision to sell my body for money.

I took a cab straight to the hospital. My heart clenched as I walked into my mother’s ward and saw her lying unconscious on the hospital bed. She looked so small, so fragile... so unlike the strong, vibrant woman who raised me.

Tears welled in my eyes as I approached her. I sniffed back my tears, but the sadness in my chest overshadowed me, such that I couldn't stop crying even when I wanted to.

"Mom," I whispered, taking her cold, limp hand in mine. These were the hands that used to style my hair, cook my favorite meals, and wipe my tears when I was sick or sad. These were the hands that gave me warmth, love, and everything I never knew I needed, but now it felt so cold and weak.

"You’ll be back on your feet soon. I promise," I said, forcing a smile through my tears. "It doesn't matter what I did to get the money, what matters is that we'll be together again... right?"

I kissed her forehead gently, my tears slipping into her pale skin.

"I love you, Mom. I’ll do anything to save you. That’s the only way I can repay you for the life you gave me."

My heart ached as I thought back to the day she adopted me. I had been just a broken girl in a run-down orphanage in New York, still haunted by the memory of watching my real parents get murdered right in front of me. I wasn’t a happy child... until Susannah walked into my life. She saw something in me no one else had, and she gave me a home, a family, and a reason to smile again.

Though the trauma of watching my parents get killed in front of me still traumatized me in my quiet moments, I've always been grateful to her for raising me like her own.

The door creaked open behind me, and I turned as the doctor entered.

"Doctor," I said.

"Have you been able to come up with the money for her surgery?" he asked, his tone cold and clinical.

I chewed on my lower lip sadly.

"The more you delay, the worse her chances get," he said sternly. "A condition like this is not something to play around with."

"I know that, doctor. I... I'm going to get the money tonight, so you can start the surgery immediately."

"I hope you'd be fast about it, Juliet. You've wasted a lot of time," the doctor said.

His lack of empathy stung, but I didn’t argue. I just nodded and turned back to my mom. I glanced at her one last time before leaving the hospital for Nightvile Clubhouse.

It's a clubhouse where I worked as a waitress. I had pleaded with my boss Andrew to lend me money for my mom's treatment, but he bluntly refused and insisted I spent the night with one of the lousy influential men who come to the clubhouse to get themselves wasted in alcohol and pick a random hussy to have s*x with.

I had refused his offer, but when I had no other way to pay for my mom's surgery, I gave in to his demand.

"Hey, Juliet," Andrew said when I stepped inside his office. "Are you ready to get laid tonight?" he asked, grinning.

I nodded my head. What choice do I have? I already made up my mind to do this.

"Good girl. Sometimes, you gotta use what you have to get what you want," he sneered. "I spoke to one of my VIP clients. He’s offering the full sixty grand, as long as you give it to him however and whatever styles he wants."

A chill ran down my spine. The idea of giving myself to a man I didn’t love, or even know, felt like a blade slicing through my soul, but there's no turning back.

Andrew tossed a photo on the desk, and I picked it up, my eyes staring at the man in the picture who's old enough to be my father. My stomach turned.

"I showed him a picture of you earlier, and he's super excited to be here tonight. Make sure you do a good job, or you might not get paid. Got that?" Andrew said.

I blinked back tears and nodded, swallowing the bile rising in my throat.

"Go fix yourself up in the dressing room," he added. "You need to look sexy for him. The more seductive you are, the more money you’ll get."

"Yes… boss," I whispered.

I walked into the dressing room. The strippers looked at me, surprised. They were adjusting their lingerie, applying makeup, and preparing for tonight's stripping.

I've always silently judged them, calling them sinful and disgraceful for stripping in front of men. But tonight, I was no different from them.

Tonight, I was one of them.

But it doesn't matter.

Saving my mom's life was all that mattered to me.