Filed to story: Sweetheart Do You Still Love Me
She’s so easygoing. Elspeth knew she was kind, and now she was worried about Yelena. “You silly girl.”
“It’s alright. If it weren’t for him, I would have been sold to some old git.” Yelena was a grateful person.
Since she insisted, Elspeth said nothing more and agreed to the plan. Just in case anything were to happen to Yelena, Elspeth, and Callum stayed around. Fortunately, Federick’s place was a big one, and there was enough space to house two more people.
In order for the plan to go smoothly, Elspeth and Callum spread the news on a bigger scale. The whole of Damoria knew Yelena was kidnapped in just a day. People thought it was fake at first. They thought it was just a marketing ploy, but when Yelena didn’t come out to clear the rumors, they panicked.
Only then did they realize the rumor was true, and Yelena’s fans quickly rallied and came up with a plan to save their idol. Someone actually found out where she was taken, thanks to Elspeth’s leak.
Since she was taken to a remote village in the mountains, going there without a plan was risky. Everyone agreed to have the female fans stay while the guys went to save Yelena. Noticing the splash they made online, Elspeth wanted to laugh. There were actually people out there who would come to Yelena’s rescue, and there were a lot of them. In just three days, twenty thousand people had rallied.
News of this came back to the village. Now, more and more people knew that the beautiful woman they kidnapped was a celebrity, and her fans were coming over to destroy them. The villagers then started gossiping about how Yelena was an omen.
Almost everyone in the village came to Federick’s house. The first thing Federick saw when he woke up was a big bunch of people outside his house. They were disgruntled villagers, and they seemed indignant. “Who’s that woman you bought, Mr. Seanzy? She’s bringing danger to the village.”
“I say we kill her. I don’t want those idiots saying we kidnapped their idol.”
“We’re all just villagers. If they come after us, what should we do?”
“Kill her!”
“Kill her!”
The villagers demanded that Yelena be killed, but Federick didn’t answer them. Instead, he looked at the villagers. “Who told you she’s a celebrity?”
“Mary and her family did,” one villager answered. He seemed like an honest guy.
“How did they know?”
The villager blushed and muttered, “They go to the city every day and kidnap girls for us to marry. Of course, they know.”
“So, they’re the ones who did the kidnapping. The only ones?”
Oblivious to the fact Federick was trying to wheedle some information out of them, the villagers nodded. “Yes.”
Federick chuckled. “Do you think what you’re doing is right?”
The villagers said nothing. A long while later, one of them mustered up the courage to answer, “We know it’s not right. It’s illegal, but we’re dirt poor and can’t afford a wife. What’s more, we’re uncultured and uneducated. Nobody’s going to marry us.”
All the people here were close-minded. Preserving their bloodline was the most important thing for them, hence they prioritized boys. This misogynistic thinking caused them to lose a lot of girls, eventually leaving nothing but men in the village. If they wanted children, they must buy a woman from the human traffickers and make some with them.
The women they bought were never obedient, however. They would try to escape, but every time they did, they would be abused. These men thought abuse would make the women listen to them.
A burly man in the corner dug his ear impatiently. “What’s my buying a wife got to do with this? We didn’t know that Yelena Sullivan had a lot of admirers, and now a lot of people are coming to rescue her. Shouldn’t we get rid of her right away?”
There were only a few hundred families in the village, totaling up to a few thousand people. Yelena’s fans amounted to a few times more. If they were to invade the village, these people would be done for. The thought of a big army coming over to destroy them filled the villagers with fear.
“I’m telling you this for one reason. Yelena’s fans are enough to trample you guys. What if you kidnap those who are more powerful and famous than she is?”
One of the villagers muttered, “Well, we can just keep it a secret from everyone.”
“And how can you guarantee no one will notice? Someone noticed this time.”
Federick was about to lecture him, but the man in the corner-Buck Teeser-dusted his clothes off and stood up. Federick knew this man. He was arrogant and short-tempered, and he was one of the biggest thugs around. He dropped out of school in fourth grade and went around doing petty crimes. Even so, none would stand up to him, all because he was a brute. He sneered. “This is all your fault, you know.”
“What do you mean?” Federick narrowed his eyes.
Buck cleared his throat and turned around. “People, think about it. Nothing of this sort has happened so far, but this time, they found out. Why do you think that happened?”
“Why? The villagers were stupid and ignorant. They were easily led to the wrong conclusion.
“Someone ratted us out, and it might just be this officer here.” He turned around to point at Federick. “There’s a reason he picked Yelena. He knows her. She’s the spy he planted among us!”
A spy? The villagers realized what he was talking about. “So, you’re saying he knows who Yelena is? It wasn’t a coincidence she got taken here. He wants to take us all out.”
“Yes. And if I’m right, he must have been the one who told the public Yelena is here.” He turned around and looked at Federick coldly. “Want to explain how she got to this village and how the public found out?”
Noticing the anger rising in the villagers, Federick quickly said, “This has nothing to do with me. I wasn’t the one who spread the news.”
“As if we would believe that. Prove that you’re not the one who spread it.”
He wants me to prove a negative? What is he, an idiot? Federick knew Buck didn’t like him very much, but now he had no idea how to prove his innocence.
The villagers took his silence as an admission of guilt, and they screamed murder.
“Mr. Seanzy, we’ve shown you nothing but respect, and this is how you treat us?”
“Disappointing. You’re the same as those women. You’re an accomplice!”
“Tie him up! Punish him!”
“Punish him!”
Federick might be a calm person, but even he frowned at this scene. “You’re trying to stage a rebellion?”
Buck burst into laughter. “A rebellion? No, we’re just getting rid of outsiders.”
The villagers had no idea what that meant. All they knew was that this man had been lying to them for a long time, and he must be punished. The people in the front row were ready to attack.
“Stop resisting, Mr. Seanzy. You can’t run.” Buck whistled and shot the house a leer. “I heard Yelena is a beauty. Why don’t you give her to us? We can show her a good time.”
The man beside him raised his hand. “I’ve seen her. She’s as beautiful as a goddess. Very petite and fair.”
None of them had ever slept with a woman that beautiful. Noticing the lust in the villagers’ eyes, Federick knew things would go bad. Suddenly, someone opened the door and pulled him back into the house.
It happened in a split second. Federick was gone before the villagers could do anything, and they shouted.
“Where did he go? Did he run away?”
“Someone pulled him back into the house. I bet Yelena’s inside.”
Buck was now the leader of these people. He played around with the grass in his hand, imagining all the lewd things he would do to Yelena. Oh, I’ll have a taste of her, I swear. “Calm down. He won’t be escaping easily. We should figure out how to force him to come out.”
Someone shouted, “It’s a wooden house! I say we burn it down!”
That woman is still inside. Buck frowned. “That’s going to constitute arson and murder. What if his boss starts investigating?”
Another villager said, “I say we smash this whole place down with some shovels.”
Buck nodded and patted his shoulder. “Good idea. Get the tools. Make sure they’re hard enough.”
The villagers went back to gather their shovels and axes. The people here were united, and soon enough, they came back with weapons.
“Smash it down!” Buck ordered, and they started smashing the walls of the house.
Noticing what was happening outside, Elspeth and her team frowned.
“Are they mad? What are they doing? How stupid can someone get? This is criminal, don’t they know that?” Yelena shouted as she panicked. She had never seen something like this before. Before this, she never thought there would be people this foolish, idiotic, and ignorant.
“They don’t. Nobody has ever told them this is criminal.” Federick sighed in resignation. It had been six months since he came, and this was his first time seeing a real case of human trafficking. At first, these people would be on guard against him, but eventually, they opened up. When Federick knew about the intricacies of this case, he felt powerless to stop it.
This time, since Federick’s comrade was among the captured, he met up with Mary and bought three women.
Callum understood why he was in this position, and he said, “This isn’t something you can change by yourself.”
Loud bangs kept coming from the door. “What now?” Yelena thought it was scary. “They’re chopping down the door.” She had never seen something this abhorrent.
Elspeth patted her back to calm her down and turned to Callum. “How many are out there?”
“About twenty to thirty.”
