It doesn’t hurt to dream, unless you know your dreams will never come true. Since childhood, Louise Woods has wanted to become a dancer. The day she arrives at Le Papillon – a private cabaret club where men come to enjoy the beauty of women dancing, her life completely changes. Louise lives in the club and the rules of living and working there cannot be ignored or broken. Either you do your best to please the clients, or you are out. No flirting, no secret affairs, just dancing. During her first public show, Louise meets a stranger who pays for the privilege to have her privately dance for him. He won't let her see his face, he won't even introduce himself, but he will make an offer that she won’t be able to refuse. He won’t make any hollow promises, but he will make her believe she is special… “I hate following the rules,” he’ll say, “but I do love breaking them.” Will she dare to risk losing everything she has, just to make the darkest of the stranger’s fantasies come true? Once the decision is made, there will be no way back…
Genre: FICTION / Contemporary WomenMy first day of freedom…
It was probably the first day in my entire life when I didn’t rush to leave Paradise. I was standing on the porch of the place I had been hating for as long as I could remember, but somehow, today it didn’t seem nearly as scary or awful anymore. I looked back at the windows of the building that looked older than any other place in the city, and smiled. I was finally free; nothing and nobody could make me stay there any longer.
Two years ago, when it was time for Tess to leave, I cried my eyes out. I didn’t want to let her go. I couldn’t imagine living without the only person whose presence had always been the only ray of light in the endless tunnel of my dark and hopeless life.
“Everything’s going to be fine,” she said back then, giving me a goodbye hug. “I’ll be coming to visit you every day, I swear.” Thank God, at that very moment neither of us knew her words were never supposed to come true. Not that she didn’t try to keep her promise, she just wasn’t allowed to come back at all, ever, for any reason. At first, I thought she forgot about me, then I thought she was too busy with her new, independent life and didn’t have the time to stop by Paradise to see me. Then I found out the children who grew up there didn’t have a right to see their friends, in or outside the orphanage. Maybe Marlena thought they could help us run away, or something. Unfortunately, I didn’t know the answer to that question.
Today, was the first day in years I hoped I would finally get a chance to find my friend. Even though we hadn’t seen each other for so long, I still felt like Tess had always been there for me. Before leaving, she left a small package for me. She said I could open it whenever I needed her help. And so I did.
| Language | Status |
|---|---|
|
Russian
|
Already translated.
|
|
Spanish
|
Already translated.
|
