Sixth Excerpt from Fiction Novel: Ellory
Ellen Effy Su. August 11, 2025.
“Vivian, you have a talent. The way you move is breathtaking,” Julian smirked as he pulled Vivian’s body closer to him.
Inside this glamorous club, people fiend for a tangible item to hold, grab, boast about, and unleash their innermost desires of greed; the number one unholiest value to imbue. This place was built for sinners, not saints. Young, unhappy girls and women sought refuge in the black pit of unending sorrow. The adults who had grown from delinquent teenagers ran here to escape the despicable acts they had committed in the real world.
Nothing easy to have is worth having. Nothing good happens in the red light district after midnight. Didn’t Vivian know that?
Julian was about to lure a fresh doe-eyed girl into his world of lust, excessive monetary gains, extortion, and vindictive cruelty.
“Vivian, I know a place where we can talk. I want to know your story. The kitchen downstairs is quiet. Trust me,” Julian reached for Vivian’s left hand and smiled convincingly.
Vivian wanted to numb her feelings. Her parents died suddenly in an aircraft crash three months ago, and she was running out of money. It turns out grief overpowers ambition once the individual feels helpless. She lost the plot…of her life. Vivian’s father worked as a car dealer, and her mother was a dentist. Two ordinary humans came together and created someone extraordinary.
Vivian was the pinnacle of a golden child. She excelled academically, socially, and the people around her instilled extreme filial piety in her. Vivian was a talented ballet dancer. Her fluid movement was irreplicable. Vivian had upper-crust friends, like most middle-class adolescents. In the beginning, she kept up with them. Vivian dressed well, had the latest iPhone, went to dance class with privileged children, and enjoyed going to school.
High school celebrated the start of romantic pursuits for some adolescents. For Vivian, it was painful seeing her father struggle to make money. It psychologically and chemically altered Vivian to see her father be reduced and drained by the deprecating effects of life. Dating was the last thing on Vivian’s mind. Vivian’s mother was affected because she lived with a jealous husband. Vivian’s father never let it go that his wife made more money due to pure luck she went to university. He thought she had it easier. Some people blame others for their misfortune. Some realize pain is temporary by looking at the bigger picture.
Vivian’s parents fell out of love when Vivian turned fourteen. They did not divorce. They persisted for years. They died together. Isn’t that romantic? Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise to end the feuding.
Vivian would do anything to have her parents alive. Death is permanent, unnerving, stilling, unchangeable, and there are no takebacks. No amount of bargaining or bartering could bring the dead back to life. Vivian lit her life up into burning flames. Drawn to sparkle, she followed the tabloid footsteps to club after club. Withdrawn from university, she leaped into the unknown territory she secretly dreamed of being a part of. Consumed with the desire to forget, she drank copiously. Vivian was no longer known as a dancer or stellar student.
Here in this rank underground space of posers, big pretenders, posses, friend groups tied together by fear of loneliness, and buffoons who made their embarrassing profits off of formerly timid women rejected by society in some way, Vivian was a white swan.
Vivian hated being pitied by others. She couldn’t stand it. She would rather swallow her pride than admit she had an unfixable problem.
Julian liked Vivian genuinely at first sight. He was Vivian’s second intimate partner. Vivian had one boyfriend in her first year of university, but it ended as quickly as it began. Young love either lasts or dissipates.
Her first love called her a “vapid social-climbing attention whore,” while Julian sweetly caressed her long, silky squid-ink color hair and said, “You are smarter than people give you credit for. I see you for who you are. Lost and found by me.”
Vivian confused Julian’s temporary lust with passion. She should have seen it coming. Julian pined for nobody. He wanted Vivian to do his bidding, bend to his will, and pleasure him like a perfect Marionette doll. He victimized Vivian in an excruciating, drawn-out method: give and take, repeatedly, hot and cold, ever-shifting.
“So, where are you staying? You can live with me if you want. Your parents aren’t around to control you anymore. Be my angel. I’ll make you happy,” Julian’s expert fingers pulled Vivian’s hair up into a ponytail. He closed his right fist around her hair tightly, waiting for her to answer “Yes” like the obedient girl she was. Vivian was not Julian’s first, and she would not be his last.
Sex matters to some people. It has emotional value to some. It is a bodily function to some. And to Julian, it did not mean anything except that he desired to feel pleasure, at any cost necessary.
Two weeks of heaven before hell. Daytime is for working, not lounging in bed.
A man lacking in ambition seeks pleasure to fulfill the gaping hole in his heart. Intimacy should be reserved for those who love you because it is treasured by those who care about you.
Vivian learned her lessons too late. “Destruction is easier than creating,” someone wise said.
“That’s all it took? You’re so naive and stupid. You think you’re going to be the one who changes me from a brutalist into a romantic? You have no money, no friends who can rescue you, no family, and no cushy job waiting for you. I own you. You’re mine to sell,” Julian spat at Vivian.
“I love you. I don’t care what you do. You could hurt me a million times, and I would still run to you. I know you care about me. You wouldn’t be able to be this mad unless you felt something special,” Vivian sounded pathetic. Her voice was shaking. She was on her knees begging a pimp to love her. How asinine could she get?
“You sound as pathetic as you are. Get up. Stand up. Stop crying. You’re getting my tie wet with your tears and snot. I do not love you. I saw a pure angelic girl yearning to receive attention, and I fed you to see if I could win. I scored. I’m over it. I had you. You’re just not enough for me,” Julian averted his eyes from Vivian’s pleading ones[[=
“I don’t know why you changed. I want to stay with you. I want to stay here. I don’t have a home anymore. You’re my home. Please, Julian,” Vivian whispered with mascara-ridden tears streaming down her porcelain hollow cheeks.
She hadn’t eaten well in a month. Her fragile, thin frame revealed her monetary issues. She starved herself to stop buying food. What good were metallic bondage dresses if they couldn’t feed her? The truth is, she drained the last of her parents’ savings. She sold their apartment, but her dad’s older sister insisted on receiving half of the profit. The aunt said, “I have fewer years to live. I deserve to have this.”
“You can stay here, in my home. You’re an employee of mine. You pick which clients you want to do. I won’t force you. That cheapens your value. I’m not a monster. I like you. You’re mine, whenever I want. You’re what I will market as a lone swan. Only the highest cash-paying bidders get to look at you. They’ll pay to look at you, watch you dance, and exceptional VIP clients will get to touch and play with you,” Julian stared at Vivian, prompting her to respond.
“Why would I agree to that? I am not a hooker,” Vivian defiantly looked up at his gleeful face. She noticed how everyone moved out of their way. Julian was not an ordinary pimp. People were afraid of Julian. He used money in the scariest way: to intimidate.
“You know why. You want me. You can’t resist, you have darkness inside you. This is the life I can give you. Glamour to the outside world, slave to those who know how the real world works. I’ll give you momentary comforts: bags, shoes, clothes, jewelry, food, a bed to sleep in, showers, and occasional affection. You will give me ownership of yourself,” Julian drew out his words to provide maximum lasting effect.
“I don’t want to live like you. You are not the person I thought you were. You may be a great man, but you will never be a good person,” Vivian’s eyes displayed pain and a pang of regret for trusting a stranger to be her hero.
“And yet, you are still standing here, holding my hand, hoping I’ll keep you as my little pet. You know this is what you need. You’re already broken. I want to transform you into a jewel again. You will become a diamond every man wants to touch,” Julian continued his proposal.
“I want you to be my boyfriend and a normal person. You said you cared about me. You told me you loved me. I thought you meant it. I haven’t opened myself up to anyone since my parents died. Why are you being so vicious to me? All I ever did was love you,” Vivian did not understand. Her words came out incoherent, blubbing with low self-esteem, and fell on deaf ears.
“I am not normal. I am Julian Velasquez. I’m a proud businessman. I sell idiot girls who follow me around like the daft, unlovable creatures they are. You are now one of those silly little girls who believe Cinderella fairytales are real. I’ll let you sleep in my bed sometimes. That’s the closest I can be to you. You should leave now, if you can’t accept my terms,” Julian rebuked.
“I’ll change your mind. You will love me, Julian. I know you are afraid of feeling anything at all. You can’t hide from me,” Vivian stubbornly said.
“Then sign the NDA, and sit on the bed. Keep your legs closed. There’s nothing left to the imagination anymore. I want you to shower, put on some makeup, and step into a glittery dress. We’re going out for dinner. I’m going to use you as a decoy to attract more clients. I’m telling everyone you’re my girlfriend. They won’t touch you. You’ll sit there quietly, remain mysterious, and you will say nothing,” Julian instructed.
“Will you tell me how you became this broken? I’ll sign it after you talk to me,” Vivian hotly replied.
“I was prepared to marry my girlfriend when we were nineteen. She met an older, wealthy man who swept her off her feet. She adored how smart he was, worshipped his ideas, and she married him on her twentieth birthday. Their wedding was spectacular. I learned how much I despise materialistic girls. I needed to forget my real life by wasting away here. It’s only in this dung crap where I am shiny. I feel powerful every day. I don’t care if it is a disgusting sentiment to have. I will never fall in love.”
Julian rolled his eyes before standing up from the armchair in his bedroom. He discreetly wiped his wet eyes away with a purple silk handkerchief from Vivian’s view.
“I’ll sign for a year. I have a new clause to add. No more than four clients in total to penetrate. No oral. They cannot touch me. They can watch me dance. Swear to me. I want to have children someday, and I cannot have casual sex. I have intimacy issues despite being with you. You met me at the lowest moment of my life. I don’t do this kind of thing,” Vivian expressed her viewpoint.
“Fine. I get to have you anytime. You’re going to be my favorite pauper,” Julian huffed.
He called in a lawyer to legally change the NDA and contract. Notarized.
Vivian was supposed to find her true calling after a year of surviving in this hellish atmosphere.
It’s hard to leave once the feet are sinking into quicksand.