"examining his cuticles" ?

really, this is the second person since the other snappish hair-guy who seems to care about their nails, lol. I'm scared that Ezekiel will get jealous and kill Roger. also... I picture Pitbull as Ezekiel... ergh...

I wonder if he's Jonathan, but jeeze, Ezekiel. what a dislikable man.

I am a bit confused-where exactly is this story going? what is the plot? maybe I'm dense, but what's going on?

I wonder if she'll eventually wean herself off drugs or if she'll help her and her sister get a better life.. or if her good friend will die.

Perfect. This story is absolutely perfect the way it is.

Thank you for posting!

Excellent story!

You've managed to avoid the cliche of this sort of story (i.e. Pretty Woman). I disagree with some of your other reviewers- I'm glad that Melissa didn't transform Ezekiel into a "different kind of man". This story isn't a romance, but it's still a well-told story about a woman's coming-of-age.

I thought the scenes you included were powerful, and you helped us connect to all the different characters throughout the story (Roger, Ace, even briefly Noah.) Grammar and spelling were all clean... I can't think of any recurring mistakes or problems.

And I can't believe there was an ending that did not involve Ezekiel or Melissa's (particularly Melissa's) death. I was so worried, but I love the ending. It was spectacular.

Awesome work. I read this story in a day and loved it!

loved the story

I can't actually describe to you HOW MUCH I LOVED READING THIS.

I read it over about two or three days, I think. What I liked was that it explored pretty dark themes without being overwhelmingly angsty.

Oh, I would've liked Ezekiel to eventually have fallen for Melissa, but I'm glad you ended it the way you did, actually. Him going all sappy would totally be out-of-character for a drug lord. Usually ambiguous endings annoy the shit out of me, but in the case of this story, it actually worked really well! I really, really liked the ending, though I would've liked to see him say something to her one last time before driving away.

Hmm, what else? I loved the characters. They were VERY well-written.

I don't know what to say. Just that this is hands-down one of the best stories I've ever seen. Amazing job!

I loved this story, I can't say that enough! I started it a couple of years ago and then forgot about it (shame on me!) but I'm so glad it's complete and I had a chance to read it in its' entirity! This was a really well-thought out story (if it wasn't, could've fooled me) and I really, really loved all the characters! Thank you so much writing this! :)

hey! you wrote that you like ambiguous endings. i like them too! xD sometimes they leave me feeling a bit incomplete cos there's no absolute ending, but i generally appreciate them because they make me think about the story. i continue to live the story even after reading it. im glad that you left a hint on who she might pursue a relationship with in future. personally, i like ace for her. roger, not so much. maybe cos roger's never been into her like that and seems more like an older brother figure, whereas ace is this cute, fun guy who's a terrible flirt. he's down-to-earth and nothing like ezekiel. even roger is a bit close to ezekiel simply because he's killed before. there's been no mention of ace killing anyone. so i prefer him :) and im very glad that melanie has been a good fighter!

i have to admit, at first i was imagining that she was being paranoid and ezekiel would be pleased to have a child. i thought that even though he did not love melanie, maybe he'd be pleased to have an heir, hmm? ezekiel is quite a nasty bloke, seriously. :P cursing her... he's such a bastard. grrr.

oh, back to me being proud of melanie. (i feel so dumb. she's not even real!) i really like how you wrote her fighting her depression so she wouldnt let the people around her down. im so glad she has so much support from so many friends. it makes a potentially depressing ending uplifting. you've ended very nicely with a sense of new beginnings and the shedding of her old life as a prostitute.

i also like how you alluded to her changing psyche under ezekiel's control. her desire to please him. she was becoming a vassal. sorta like those dominant-submissive types. all cos it was the only way for her to accept her position with him. i guess why i like it is cos it showed the CHANGE in her behaviour. she wasn't one to work to please a man previously, so it shows that ezekiel's control was quite powerful. and she was really becoming the slave.

anyway, i love the ending! go, ace! xD

this is absolutely fascinating. it's not the usual kind of romance i read, but it's darkly captivating. it's intriguing. yeah.

wow. this was NOT expected. i so did not expect noah to die straightaway and leave her stranded

Ahhhhhh no drunktrucker you left me hangin :( good story though ... I really did want her to end up with ezekial like maybe he could chane or sumthin but I think you should write a sequel like seriously ..

I hope that he saw her.

I hope that he's thinking he's right, but deep inside, he knows that he's wrong.

I hope he wanted so badly to run and kiss her.

I hope he regrets everything.

I hope he dies...

I hope he still loves her... :(

~I absolutely loved this story. Congrats on making such an amazing world with such amazing characters.

-Ally

well... this is cool :)

this will be your 399th review, and there's one more chapter... so... I'll be the 400th :D

Again, another great chapter :)

Poor Melissa. It's not her fault. Birth control doesn't always work. Sometimes women get pregnant, even if they're on it.

Also, since it's a boy... what if it looks like Ezekiel... what if she always looks at him and sees Ezekiel... whoa... that's intense...

-Ally

I actually started crying during this chapter! Like, real tears!

Congrats :)

Editing: I cannot afford no slip-ups, no 'accidents'

(that's a double negative...)

I hate Ezekiel! But... I still love him :P

-Ally :)