Everlasting Love

Anna An was busy fixing her make up in the lounge when Mandy, the woman in charge of the girls, walked up to her. "Hurry up," she demanded. "Jack Huang's here again."

Her forehead wrinkled in unwillingness as Anna An dabbed the powder across her neck. "He's probably here to convince me to cooperate with him."

Jack Huang was the boss of the PA Construction Company. He had good relations with Haley from this club. In fact, he'd often convince her to help him set up a trap for other businessmen. First, he'd ask her to get that person drunk. Once they were clouded over with alcohol, he would coax them to sign his contract. Anna An always hated such actions.

"Exactly!"

Mandy hurriedly dragged Anna An out of the room. "You have such a good reputation in the HY Club! Not only are you a heavy drinker, but you're a good convincer. Since Haley screwed it up last time, Jack chose to ask you to help him next. He's asking you to drink with him. I know you don't like him, so I told you first. Go! I'll deal with him."

"Anna, stop!"

Before they could walk out of the corridor, Jeff Xu, stopped them. He was the manager working in the HY Club. "Where are you going? Didn't Jack ask you to accompany him? Did you tell her, Mandy? Are you helping her to sneak out? Do you even want to continue working in the HY Club? If you don't want to stay, then it's fine by me!"

"Manager Xu, I..." Mandy stuttered out.

"Manager Xu, I'm not feeling well today. I asked Mandy to let me go before she could tell me. This has nothing to do with her."

"What do you think you're doing here?"

Jeff Xu forced Anna An into a corner. "You're a lady of the HY Club. Even if you don't feel comfortable, you'll accompany the guest if he asks you to! Aren't you aware of the rules? I don't give it a shit if you're sick or whatever. Serve him now!"

When she didn't move, Jeff Xu clenched her jaw. His eyes flashed dangerously under the lights. "Don't forget that you owe our HY Club a loan of nearly a million dollars. Do you need me to remind you of the person lying in the hospital bed? Do you really think you have any other choice?"

"But–"

He whispered something in her ear. Upon hearing what he had said, Anna An's face paled. "You can't do this," she protested.

"It's up to you."

"I..."

Anna An's eyes glistened in hatred. Her heart was already beating so fast as she stared at the man in front of her. She gave up in the end.

Now, she was at Jack Huang's mercy.

"Fine. Whatever."

Taking a deep breath, Anna An plastered a large smile on her face as she gracefully entered the private room. "Mr. Huang, you're here," she exclaimed. "I've been looking forward to seeing you."

Jack Huang was around forty-year-old. He greedily took in Anna's figure before winking at her. "Let me introduce you to a friend of mine–Vincent Lu. He's my distinguished guest, so you have to serve him well. Disappoint him, and I'll skin you alive."

Anna glanced at the man he was referring to, her eyes widening in surprise. She definitely wasn't expecting such a type. The man had aristocratic features with high cheek bones and a tall nose. There was something regal about his stature that could intimidate anyone. He was unique from all the men she had served.

"What's wrong? Are you enchanted by Mr. Vincent already? What do you think you should do next?"

Jack Huang touched Anna's shoulder in warning, and the latter nodded. A smile slipped her lips as she showed Vincent Lu a glass of wine. "Mr. Vincent," she slurred, "I was behaving inappropriately just now. How about I'll punish myself by having a glass of wine?"

Vincent Lu didn't say a word. He coldly stared at her, which she found rather interesting. After all, she was one of the most beautiful women in the bar. How could he not be attracted to her?

She raised her glass and took a sip. Without another word, Anna quickly picked up another glass towards him. "Mr. Vincent, how about taking a drink? The wine tastes so good. Would you like a taste?"

He shot her a look, and she almost trembled at the sight. It was clear that he didn't like her to come closer, but if she couldn't complete the task, then what would become of her?

After pondering for a while, Anna plucked up the courage to bring to the glass towards Vincent's lips. At her action, his face darkened. Without another word, he grabbed Anna's neck, holding her up. He looked like a predator eyeing his prey. "You're nothing but a bitch! You think you're qualified to let me drink your wine?"

She sputtered out in shock as he held her up. Vincent Lu quickly grabbed a bottle from the table before forcing Anna to gulp it all down. "You wanted to drink, didn't you? Drink! Drink it all up!"

The pungent liquid passed through her throat as she continued to choke. Anna continued to struggle beneath him, her eyes turning glassy in an instant. However, Vincent Lu didn't even care. It was not until he poured all of the five bottles Jack Huang ordered did he finally fling her away. Anna's waist fell against the corner of the glass tea table. She paled as her whole body trembled.

Before anyone knew what was happening, Anna vomited all over the carpet.

Her body convulsed.

She wanted to stop herself, but it felt as if her impulse was out of her control.

Anna didn't know how long she vomited, but she could already see small traces of blood across her vomit. Her stomach cramped painfully as she winced. Finally, she was able to calm herself down.

A small smile threaded across her lips as she stared up at the pair. She was about to relieve the situation when Jack's fist fell on her face. "Slut! I asked you to drink, not to disgust us! Bitch– just fuck off! Get out of here right now!"

Anna scrambled up as her arm wrapped around her stomach, trying to mitigate the pain she was feeling. She wiped the blood from the corner of her lips as she turned around, about to leave. However, Vincent Lu called out her name, which would change her life forever.

The tension was growing in the room. Anna couldn't stop herself from shaking in fear of what he was planning. The silence lasted for around a minute before Vincent pointed at her. "She stays," he stated.

Although his actions were casual, everybody took him seriously. There was just something about his gaze that looked as if he was hiding a dead body. After ordering another bottle of wine, he patted the seat beside him.

No one expected such a change. Even Jack was dumbfounded. In the future, when Anna asked him why he let her stay, he explained that the situation she was in was all too familiar to his childhood. Although she had suffered so much, she still plastered a smile on her face to get the job done.

"Mr. Vincent, I'm so sorry. I didn't know that Anna would react like this," Jack pleaded, winking at her.

"Hurry up girl! Apologize to him."

Her gastric spasms were still continually torturing her weak body, but Anna quickly smiled at the two men. She picked up a glass and smiled at Vincent obsequiously. However, just as she was about to drink it all up, Vincent held her arm, shooting Jack a glare. Jack got him almost immediately and bowed his head. "Sorry. I'm being too inconsiderate. Anna is not feeling well, so I'll take three glasses of wine in apology."

The two of them began to talk about business, and it felt as if Anna didn't even exist in the room. While they talked, she continued to pour wine for Vincent to drink. This was the most relaxing job that she had ever experienced in the HY Club.

Of course, it would be better if her stomach didn't hurt so much.

After around three rounds of drinking, Vincent was already a bit tipsy. Jack pushed Anna into his arms. "Mr. Vincent, since you like Anna so much, she'll accompany you throughout the night. I'm sure you'll be satisfied."

Before Anna could refuse, Vincent already had his arms slung around her shoulder. Anna turned to Jack, her eyes widening. However, before she could say anything, Jack handed a bank card to her. "That's fifty thousand. After this, there's another fifty thousand for you."

She frowned. What was happening? Were they playing 'good cop and bad cop' right now?

"Think about the person in the hospital," he warned.

At this point, she felt powerless. Anna could read the threat between his words, which made her assist the drunk man all the way to the hotel. Originally, she thought of leaving once he slept. However, after Vincent entered the room, he turned around to take off her clothes. "Mr. Vincent, No! Please don't!"

she gasped out, struggling under his hold. However, the more she refused, the more furious he became. He held her tightly in his arms, preventing her from moving around. She tried to push him away from her but he quickly grasped her throat. "Don't be an actress," he snarled. "If you don't sell your body, then why are you working in the HY Club? What are you there for? Huh?"

Anna was unable to defend herself from his strong hold. Although she had been in the HY Club for four years, she had never slept with anyone. She told the person in charge that she would do her best in encouraging the guests to buy more alcohol, but she would never resort to selling her body. Given that she had sold tons of wine, she was never forced to sell herself.

"Is it the money you want?"

With a hint of mockery, Vincent grasped her chin with his slender fingers. She clenched her jaw. In his eyes, she was no different from the women who were playing hard to get. He forced her to look at him. "Do you think I can't afford you, girl?"

He smirked. Without another word, he grabbed a stack of bills from his pocket, flinging them at her. "Are these enough? I have more!"

Anna gritted her teeth. It might be true that she needed money, but she wasn't going to resort to doing this!

However, being under such a powerful man, she couldn't resist even if she wanted to.

After a few hours of pounding into her, Vincent finally fell asleep. Anna crept into the bathroom and soaked her whole body in the bathtub. She didn't leave till she scrubbed her entire body dark red. Once she got a hold of her sadness, she slowly walked out of the bathroom. Her heart ached at the sight of the man on the bed.

Her phone continued to buzz. Scrunching her face in annoyance, she quickly texted back, saying how things didn't go so well and that she wanted to leave the room. However, as she opened the door, she saw Jack's horrendous face waiting for her.

"Anna, you're brilliant. I'll make sure you're well-paid in the future."

She stared at him coldly. "Get out of here or I'll tell him the truth."

Jack quickly took out a document from his briefcase and walked towards Vincent. He picked up the man's index finger, pressed it on the stamp pad, and then on the document. Afterwards, he walked up to her and handed her another bank card. "Here's the other fifty thousand."

When Anna returned to her rental house, it was almost dawn. Mandy opened the door, eyes widening when she saw the hickeys decorated across Anna's neck. "You, you..."

Anna smiled and nodded, pretending that she didn't care. "We knew this would happen, didn't we?"

Even if she cried for harassment, no one would believe her, especially since she worked at a bar for a living.

"Anna..." Mandy hesitated.

She furrowed her eyebrows. "What do you want to say?"

Anna shrugged, feeling indifferent to the world. Besides, what was the worst that could happen?

"The man that Jack arranged for you is Vincent Lu. He's the most influential man in the L City, a golden bachelor! You could've made a fortune for sleeping with him. But...you trapped him. He doesn't like being set up..."

Mandy trailed off, avoiding her gaze.

Anna was silent for a long time. No wonder he was different from all the other men that she'd met inside the club. It turned out that he was the most powerful man in the L City!

She collapsed onto her chair, falling into depression.

Her eyelids kept twitching. Anna had been restless the entire day. When she was about to take a rest in the lounge of the HY Club, Mandy quickly rushed in. "Anna!" she gasped out. "Vincent's here."

Before Anna could respond, Vincent stepped into the lounge. His strong aura spread across the room as he glared at everyone. "Get out of here!" he barked out as he looked at Anna.

They knew of Vincent and that he wasn't the man to be trifled with. Not wanting to get into trouble with such a powerful man, they all ran away. Mandy, however, held Anna's hand firmly. "As long as I'm here, he won't hurt you," she said seriously.

She stared at her friend warily, not wanting her to get involved with this matter. Anna pulled her hand from her hold, shaking her head. "I'll be fine. Besides, this is the HY Club. Even if he wants to hurt me, he wouldn't do that here. Wait outside. I'll call you if anything happens, okay?"

She knew for a fact that she shouldn't hide from this any longer.

Mandy hesitated at first, but after hearing the firmness in her friend's voice, she turned to leave.

"Did you and Jack set me up?"

Vincent approached her step by step like a predator eyeing his prey. He looked down at her, raising her chin towards him.

Anna wanted to shake her head and deny her doing, but what he said was all true.

Taking a deep breath, she slowly nodded, as if accepting her fate. Unexpectedly, Vincent chuckled, shaking his head. "You just admitted to setting me up, and now you're so calm, aren't you? How fucking dare you!" he roared.

Anna avoided his gaze. Who said she was calm? If he knew what she was feeling right now, he might send her to the hospital in fear that she might die of heart attack!

"Good, very good."

A smile carved into his thin lips as his fingers slid down her high cheekbones. "You've helped Jack once," he said snidely. "Now, it's time you listen to me."

Anna was stunned, but she listened slowly to the words he was about to say.

After a long time, she finally walked out of the lounge. At the sight of her, Mandy immediately rushed up towards her, holding her arms. "Well? How are you? Did Vincent do anything? Anna, even if we're poor, we shouldn't let other people bully us this way! How dare Vincent for taking his anger out on you? If he did anything, you can tell me, okay? I'll fight him to the end of the world even if I have to risk my life!" she spat out.

Anna smiled, holding her hands comfortingly. "There's no need to worry, Mandy. I'm fine. Go ahead and work. I'll be right here."

Once she convinced Mandy to leave, she quickly dialed Jack's number. "Mr. Huang," she whispered, craning her head to make sure that nobody heard her. "Vincent's a bastard. He found me and almost beat me to death! Didn't you say you want to replace him? I'll help you now. I will ruin that bastard!"

After waiting for half an hour in a private room, Jack finally showed up. Anna quickly lied on his arms fawningly. "Mr. Huang," she slurred. "Vincent's a bastard. He–He beat me and even kicked me! He said that it was just the beginning, but Mr. Huang, I held on for you! Please, please protect me. I want to live a happy life with you."

With such a beauty in his arms, Jack laughed. He patted her on the shoulder. "Don't worry, love. Since I was the one who put you in this mess, I'll be responsible for you. Just wait and see, Vincent would be long gone after I'm done with him."

Anna furrowed her eyebrows. "What do you mean, Mr. Huang?"

"You're trying to get the information from me?" There was something in his voice that made her stop.

Unexpectedly, Anna decided to go down a different route. She sniffled, refusing to look at him in the eye. "Mr. Huang, how could you?"

She wiped her tears, looking rather pitiful. "I've just said that I wanted to be your woman, and now you're doubting me? Everyone knows that Vincent's not a good person. If you oppose him, you might hurt yourself. I just wanted to advise and help you. But now, you suspect me like this..."

Anna broke down into sobs. "Besides, you have my loved one under your control, haven't you? Do you think I'll go against you? Mr. Huang, if you don't believe me, I might as well just leave!"

Before she could stand up, Jack pulled her closer into his arms. "Look at you," he soothed. "I believe you now. Don't be angry."

She was right. Even if she had the courage, she still wouldn't go against him. "Do you still want to know how I'd deal with the man? Pour me a drink."

Anna immediately softened her features as she poured a bottle of wine into his glass. Once he was satisfied, he started to talk, "I've hated that man for a long time, so I already sent my staff secretly to work in his company. The contract was just the tip of the iceberg. I've already asked my men to do their best in stealing the Lu Group's secrets. Once I get all that, it would be easy to knock him down."

Hearing that, Anna blinked. "But Mr. Huang, isn't that illegal? Will you be–"

"Don't be so afraid, my love."

He snorted. "The Song Group went down the same way. As long as I take over the Lu Group, Vincent won't be able to stop me. He'd be putty in my hands."

Only by defeating Vincent would he have an infinitely strong standing in the L City.

However, when he thought of the fact that Anna slept with Vincent that night, he still felt as if a thousand ants were biting his heart. Jack held her soft body in his arms and greedily inhaled her scent. "Anna, I've said so much. Shouldn't you start pleasing me now? Don't you know how much I missed you?"