Chapter 16

The following weekend, Dilan was camming with her friend Nadia. The two liked clubbing together, sharing boyfriends, and having lesbian sex online together. Angela did not like Nadia and discouraged Dilan from seeing her after having to bail her out of prison for robbing a jewellery store and figuring Nadia as the likely mastermind.

The pair started getting generous tips, much more generous than usual, to indulge in various sixty nine positions, licking each others’ assholes and feet, and spitting on each other. The two laughed and could not believe at the credit balance they were building up. They had a large online audience but the only one paying for it was “Jagmyride” and a few messages made it clear that it was Pembroke as he mentioned the red underwear to her and wished he could see her again with Nadia.

Nadia did not mind online camming but did not like sex with older men, or any random men. Despite her wild and rebellious nature, prostitution did not come easily to her. The two wrapped up their session. Nadia wanted to go out clubbing with the rest of their friends, and Dilan joined her after messaging Angela about Pembroke or “Michael.” Dilan made a point to never go behind Angela/Maria’s back and told Angela that he was pestering her to see her again and wanted Angela to arrange it and get her fair cut.

Angela wondered what to do. What kind of revenge did she want on Pembroke? He had changed utterly the trajectory of her life. If not for him, she might be married now to Peter the surgeon in a leafy mansion outside London, or working for the United Nations around the world. Or been a humble teacher somewhere? Or a politician, or powerful corporate figure? Maybe she would have hated it; maybe she would have been hit by lightning somewhere. She would not have her daughter, Yasmin. On the other hand her father might have lived longer without the stress of what this man had done to her. It was true she was now happy and content and still had her life ahead of her at thirty six, but she had not been given the choice. This man and others like him and decided who would see her naked, years now. Angela Candelema was owned by them. Maria Yildiz was a life lived in the shadow of what Angela could have been.

Her old self would have been understanding of this man but years of dealing with the aftermath of what had happened, of being fired, and of dealing with men in her current line of work, had made her much, much less idealistic. She wanted to punish him, for her sake.