The one that got away

Three months ago

Alexandra was in trouble. She was sitting on a hard metal chair with her hands cuffed behind her and she had a large red ball gag in her mouth. She didn't know exactly where she was, not that she had any hopes of escaping. They had caught her while she walking down the street, in broad daylight. There were lots of witnesses, but in this town nobody crossed Vince, well nobody except Alexandra.

She knew she had been playing more and more dangerously for years now. Maybe searching for a new thrill, or maybe just getting complacent with the risks. She had been traveling around the world as the companion of wealthy men. At first it was just that. She was their paid companion, and once the job was done they parted ways. Then one time as she was leaving she saw his Rolex just sitting there. He had 14 of them, would he really notice? Would he even care? So she took it. At first she was scared something bad would happen, but nothing ever did. She even saw him at a party later that year and he treated her like an old friend.

She had made it quite the habit to rob her clients. She tried to make sure it was something they wouldn't miss. Something small. Something the pawn shops and fences would love.

This time she had made a mistake though. Her current 'boyfriend' was Teo Moreno. She has heard rumors about his father, but dismissed them as mere gossip. Teo was really a sweet boy, and luckily for her quite naive. They had a good run, traveling the Italian countryside, skiing in Switzerland, that wild night in Munich, but she was ready to move on. Poor Teo didn't know his father was paying her, and she felt he was falling in love. That wasn't good for business and so she went looking for her prize. She'd found a ring in one of his drawers. It was beautiful. A woman's ring, much too small for him. It was well made, and has several small diamonds. It wouldn't be worth that much, but she decided to take it anyway.

She took it to a local pawn shop. He'd stared at it for far too long for her comfort. Finally he'd asked where she got it. She was shocked he would ask, and certainly wouldn't tell. He ended up giving her €3000, which made her happy enough.

She didn't know it, but the second she left the shop the owner had rung up Teo's father Vince. He recognized that ring. All the locals did. The ring had belonged to Teo's mother, her engagement ring. Given to her by the most dangerous mobster this side of the Atlantic.

She had only made it a kilometer from the shop when the van pulled up beside her and dragged her inside. Now she sat waiting as the fear kept building and building.

When the door to the room opened, it wasn't Teo, or his father that entered. It was a woman.

"Hello Alexandra. You seem to be in a bit of a pickle." The woman walked up to her and stroked the side of her face. Alexandra could only glare back. This woman didn't seem to fit with the mobsters crew, with her platinum bob and black skin. Not to mention her odd sailors uniform. "I think maybe we could help each other out." The woman reached behind Alexandra's head and undid the buckle on the gag and pulled the gag from her mouth. "That's better, now we can have a proper chat. My name is Isla, and I've come to get you a choice."

"You are with Teo's family? It was just a small little ring, I'll buy it back, I'll give it back just let me go." Alexandra pleaded. Her nerves got the better of her and she started to cry.

"Oh don't worry my dear, I am not with them. But you seem to have misunderstood what you took. That was his late mother's ring, and Teo really is the sentimental type. For that family it's priceless. And besides he's already gotten it back, never even knew it was missing. His father just wants you punished. I am only here to give you a way out. I am going to be hosting a show, one like nothing you have never heard of before. And I want you as a contestant. Sign up and I'll make Teo and his family forget you ever existed."

Alexandra just stared at her. She can't be serious, she thought. A reality tv host finding her in this dingy warehouse to rescue her from a mobster so she can be on a tv show? She must be hallucinating from the stress.

"Ok, I get it. This isn't real. I'm having some kind of mental break. Ok Alexandra snap out of it. You've got to keep your wits now."

The woman laughed. "Oh I am quite real, I assure you." She reached out and grabbed a nipple through Alexandra's dress and twisted.

"Ow, you bitch that really hurt." Alexandra yelled out.

"Yes, sorry about that. Do you believe I'm real now though?"

"Ok fine. But it still doesn't make any sense. Why would some tv host even know where to find me? Why me at all? And really, who wouldn't choose going on tv vs being killed?"

Isla smiled at Alexandra. "Ah well this show isn't for tv, or for any audience on the planet. It is something so much more, transformative, than your reality tv. And I was you to make an informed decision, so let me assure you Vince and Teo are not going to kill you. Right now Vince wants to humiliate you. I'm not sure exactly what he will do, but he definitely wants you alive. As for my show, let me just ask…do you remember Eric Stuart?

Present day

That's how she found herself in Miami, staring up at this giant ship. She was still pretty sure she had made the right decision. She had read every word of that contract and it sure was a doozy. At least that's one thing she recalled from law school was to never sign anything without reading it. These transformations, challenges, binding herself to Eric for eternity, it was a lot to take in. However she still has a role in deciding how it all goes down. If she had stayed in Italy, she can only imagine the horrors that Vince would have come up with. The real deciding factor though, was that wish. If she can win, she could rewrite her whole life, it was worth it just for that chance. Magic still seemed a bit far-fetched, but Isla had taken her out of that warehouse, right past Vince. She'd even spoken to him as they left, and Vince had looked right at Alexandra with no recognition in his eyes, if that wasn't magic she didn't know what else it could be.

She had brought no luggage. Isla had assured her it was necessary. She didn't wait for the odd woman standing by the gangway and headed inside on her own.

Entering the great hall she saw Eric and Isla on stage, and a few other people in chairs in front of the stage. She didn't recognize any of them, but assumed they were her competition.

"Welcome to Harem Hotel Cruise edition Alexandra. I am your host Captain Isla. Please have a seat and introduce yourself to our audience."

Alexandra did as she was told. She looked up at Eric, he was older now of course, but he hadn't really changed. She wondered if he hated her, or if he still harbored feeling after all these years.

"My name is Alexandra Fontana. I am 34 years old. I was friends with Eric in law school, until I dropped out and left the country. Eric, I'm sorry for how I left, I hope you can forgive me." She hoped she sounded sincere. Last thing she needed was to come off as fake and upset the audience.

Eric didn't know what to say. It had been so long she he'd seen her, she looked the same as she did all those years ago.

They had been friends in law school. Best friends. They were just roommates at first, but their friendship grew fast. By second year they were inseparable. During their final year Eric felt like they could be more than friends. He was afraid to risk their friendship but eventually his heart won out and he'd told her how he felt. She'd said nothing at first, but then had ran forward and kissed him. Their kiss seemed to last forever but then she pulled away. He saw a tear running down her face and she had told him she couldn't do this and she'd left. She didn't come home that night, and when he got back from classes the next day she was gone. No note, no text. She was just gone. He never saw or heard from her again.

Until now. She was always the one that got away, or rather ran away. He spent a long time thinking about what went wrong, how stupid he was for messing up their friendship, and what he would say to her if he saw her again.

He couldn't find any words now though. Not any of the apologies, or the angry rants he had thought of. Just silence. Finally Isla coughed beside him, clearly prompting him to say something.

"Alex, wow. You look amazing." It was true, she was beautiful and clearly dressed to impress. He figured she must have read the rules the way she came in, and to be wearing heels and a dress that left very little to the imagination. It barely went past her bum and had cutouts on either side exposing her waist, and a v so deep it reached her belly button.

Alexandra blushed, she did feel a little silly wearing this dress. She had figured she would be competing against other women all gunning for his attention so she wanted to remind him how sexy she could look. Glancing other at the others seated beside her, she was a little confused. The first girl was certainly beautiful, but wore a pretty, but simple sundress. The second girl was short and plain. The third was probably old enough to be Eric's mother. The fourth could be his father. And the girl beside her was a little young, but looked like her biggest competition. Certainly dressed to show off her body that's for sure.

"Well I think that certainly signals reconciliation is possible. You do look fetching my dear." Isla smiled, and for once it seemed genuine. "Just a few more left. Eric tell me, is there anyone missing from your current Harem? Who else would you like to see here?"

Eric was stunned. She wasn't serious was she? He didn't want anyone else to be subjected to this game. He decided not to answer.

"Oh no, I'm afraid I do need an answer from you. The audience demands it. Go ahead, tell the truth." Isla waved her hand at him and he felt the same pressure as before, forcing himself to speak.

"Valerie. I could see Valerie here. She was flirting with me constantly, and even though I turned her down because I am loyal to Stephanie, I did make me feel good to be desired, and she is an attractive woman." Eric felt gross saying that. He looked over at Stephanie to see if she was mad, but she was smiling back, she looked excited to hear him say that.

"Valerie, of course. Well I would hate to disappoint the master. Let's see if I managed to convince her to sign up for our little cruise."