When tragedy strikes, Y/N is forced to quit school and find a new way to make ends meet for her and her little sister.
That's how she finds herself onstage at The Diamond, the upscale Gentleman's Club owned by the powerful Mikaelson Family.
With on...
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Trembling fingers wrapped around the doorknob of the quiet, unoccupied suite. The door opened slowly, her bare feet padding across the plush, rose colored carpet.
Y/N held her breath as she made her way over to the vanity table, caked in a layer of dust so thick it looked like a coat of paint. Her mother would be furious at the current state of her belongings, but Y/N couldn't bring herself to go in there any more than absolutely necessary.
She opened the lid of the antique jewelry box, once shiny gold and jewel encrusted. Now, the dull finish represented a once magical life, forever tarnished by one life-changing decision.
She plucked the last jewel from the box - a pearl ring that she had always imagined herself wearing when she was a mother herself. The rose gold band twisted elegantly around itself, the oversized pearl in the center smooth and lustrous.
It was no more valuable than any of the others, except sentimentally. Her mother would wear the elegant bauble when her parents had one of their many galas or fundraisers to attend.
Now, someone else - likely a customer at the pawn shop in a nearby town - would make memories of their own with the unique piece. The thought formed a lump at the back of her throat, but she swallowed it down, just like she'd been doing since the accident two years prior.
She quietly crept back out of the suite, closing the door on the past once again.
As she was tiptoeing past Sofia's room, the old wooden floor creaked loudly, and she grimaced. Her little sister was often awakened by far less. She quickly slipped the pearl ring in the pocket of her pink silk robe.
"Sissy?"
Y/N opened the door softly, peeking her head around to where Sofia would see her.
"Go back to sleep, Fifi. It's just me, sweetheart."
"Will you sit with me until I fall asleep, Y/N?"
Y/N smiled tightly, moving over the slide into the bed her sister would be soon outgrowing. She rubbed Sofia's back tenderly until she heard her breathing even out, probably dreaming of a brighter tomorrow for them both.
_______________
Her eyes skimmed over the body of the letter, a hiss escaping her lips when she read over the words she'd known were coming for quite some time.
"Miss Y/L/N, We regret to inform you that you are no longer a student in good standing at NOLA University.
Payment for your current tuition bill of 12,487.23 is due immediately..."
She crumpled up the paper in her fist as she squeezed her eyes shut, forcing herself not to cry at the bookstore in front of the customers.
"Y/N? Everything okay?" Vincent Griffith, the owner of the bookstore she managed, rushed over to her side when he saw the frustrated look on her face.
