"I-it's o-okay," Rachel whispered, her voice breaking apart as the words left her mouth.
Tears streamed freely down her cheeks, warm and relentless, blurring her vision.
Her hands trembled so badly she had to curl her fingers into tight fists to stop them from shaking.
Even standing upright felt like a battle, her knees weak beneath her weight.
Still, she forced herself to stay there—forced her body to remain where it was—because she knew what that money could do. It could buy food. It could keep the lights on.
It could give her and her mother a few more days without hunger gnawing at their stomachs.
But knowing that didn't make it easier.
If she accepted this, she would be stepping into something dark—something she knew was wrong.
Something that would trap her in a cycle she might never escape.
Even though she wasn't a virgin, even though life had already taken things from her unfairly, she wasn't reckless enough to choose this kind of existence willingly.
