Trafficked: The Terrifying True Story of a British Girl Forced into the Sex Trade Read Online Free PDF Page A

…’
    And then I was walking up the stairs with Natasha, stepping into the cool night air and feeling as though I was about to burst into tears. What if he’s the man of my dreams , I thought. And I’ve just turned my back on him, walked away and let him go? What if I never see him again? I started to feel as though I was going to have a panic attack, which was only averted by Natasha reminding me that, as he worked in the club, he would in all probability be there almost every night of every week.
    When we returned the following Thursday, he saw us as soon as we walked down the stairs and by the time we’d reached the bar, he’d already poured two drinks. He handed them to us and said, ‘You’ve come back!’ and for a moment he looked directly into my eyes before turning to Natasha and smiling. But she just waved her hand, laughed and said, ‘Oh, don’t mind me. I’ll just stand here and enjoy my cocktail!’
    As soon as he spoke to me, my heart started to crash against my ribcage and my mind went completely blank. I tried to think of something to say, but all I eventually came up with was ‘Hi’. Luckily, though, I said it at exactly the same moment as someone further down the bar caught his eye and, with an apologetic shrug, he moved away, while I turned to Natasha and cried, ‘Oh my God! I can’t even talk to him. What shall I do? I don’t know what to say.’
    â€˜You’ll be fine,’ she told me, grinning as she lifted my hot, damp hand off her arm. ‘Just take a deep breath and smile.’
    And to my surprise it really was as easy as that. When he’d served the customer, he came back, and with our heads almost touching across the bar, we began to talk as though we’d known each other all our lives. Although his English was good, he spoke with an accent and when I asked him where he was from, he told me to guess.
    â€˜Albania,’ I answered immediately and he almost dropped the glass he was holding.
    â€˜How can you possibly know that?’ he asked. ‘No one has ever guessed it before.’
    From that moment, we became a couple. We went on our first date two days later and it was as though we had always been a part of each other’s lives – me, the over-cautious ice queen who rarely spoke to men and didn’t trust them when she did, and Erion, the kindest, gentlest, most beautiful man I’d ever seen. It sounds corny, I know, but it was as though he was the missing piece of a jigsaw I’d been searching for. John had filled the empty gap for a while, but had never really fitted the space like Erion did.
    And it seemed that Erion felt the same. On our first night out together, he told me, ‘I never notice anyone who comes into the club, but from the moment you walked in, all I could see in my mind were your eyes, just looking at me. I kept thinking, What if she never comes back? What if I never see her again? I couldn’t bear the thought that Imight have missed the opportunity to get to know the person I was meant to spend the rest of my life with.’
    â€˜I felt that too!’ I told him. ‘I felt as though I had to know who you were and that if I didn’t find out, there would always be something missing from my life.’
    Erion is still the only man I’ve ever truly loved, and I believe he’s the only man who’s ever loved me. One of the greatest regrets of my life will always be that I didn’t fight with all my strength and determination not to lose him.

Chapter 3
    After my first date with Erion, I couldn’t wait to tell Kastriot all about him.
    â€˜I’ve met someone,’ I blurted out when he next phoned me. ‘I’ve been dying to tell you. And you’ll never believe where he’s from. Go on, guess.’
    Kas sounded cool as he said, ‘I don’t know. Where is he from?’ But I was too caught up in my own happiness and