Using her body to get what she wanted had become second nature to Jennifer.
The words hung in the air, and the crowd of onlookers shifted. A few men’s faces twisted with greedy desire, inching closer, clearly eager to take advantage. Thankfully, others in the crowd acted quickly, pulling them back before they could make a move.
One man, clearly frustrated, shook off his companion’s grip. “What are you stopping me for? This is a great deal!”
The man was worried if he moved slowly, someone would be the one to offer Jennifer a piece of clothing first. He knew that chances like this didn’t come around often.
His friend snapped at him, “Wake up, man! This woman’s easy, but she might have a disease or something!”
The others who had been inching closer to her hesitated, unsure now.
That made sense. Nothing came cheap.
Jennifer was young, beautiful, and bold–why else would a man strip her and toss her out the front door like that? There had to be something wrong with her.
Even the man who had been about to take off his jacket froze in his tracks.
Ruth seized the moment and yelled loudly, “Look here, everyone! This shameless mistress still won’t stop trying to seduce men. She’s probably got something contagious and is trying to spread it as revenge!”
The men who had been eyeing her quickly backed off, the allure fading into uncertainty.
“I’m not, I didn’t-” Jennifer’s voice was shaky as she tried to defend herself, but the words were drowned out by the louder voices of Ruth and the other old women who had joined in the fray.
Once the crowd had gotten their fill of the spectacle and started to disperse, there was still no movement from the villa behind her.
Jennifer’s heart sank as she stared back. The only thing she could see was the tightly shut curtains in the living room and the servants in the yard who, though pretending to work, were clearly sneaking glances at her.
“What are you staring at?” Jennifer spat, but the mocking words of the crowd had drained her of strength.
Unable to face them, she turned her anger onto the servants and shouted, “What right do you have to laugh at me? At least I’ve lived my life on my own terms and made money you’ll never see in your whole miserable existence!”
The servants, who had been curious at first, quickly retreated, making sure not to get involved with her. They returned to the house and shut the door behind them, leaving her out in the cold.
Left alone outside, Jennifer felt like the entire world had turned its back on her.
A gust of cold wind swept through, and she huddled in on herself, hugging her arms, trying to ward off the chill. She walked toward the wall that could offer some shelter, hoping to make it back home or to the police station. But as she passed a narrow alley, she came face–to–face with a filthy stray dog.
The dog, on high alert, immediately stood up, its tail raised and barking fiercely at her, “Woof!”
Jennifer was frightened and furious. She grabbed a stone and threw it at the dog. “How dare you! You’re just a dog! Do you think you can pick on me?!”
The dog, now more certain that she posed a threat, bared its teeth and lunged at her. If it caught her, Jennifer would be in for a brutal mauling.
Chapter 17
