Filed to story: Sweetheart Do You Still Love Me
“No. Untie them and I’ll take them home.” Federick looked at the unconscious woman on the rightmost side and frowned. “Take this one on the rightmost side.”
The old woman beamed. “Of course, of course.”
Everything felt like a dream. Yelena was untied, and the girl beside her was released as well. “Thank you,” she muttered. The girl didn’t react too much, nor was there any gratitude in her eyes. She only got up and rolled her wrists around.
Finally relaxed, Yelena looked at the woman closely. Her hair was short, and although she wasn’t exactly gorgeous, she was beautiful in her own way. The air around her gave Yelena a familiar feeling, but she had no idea why.
“It’s alright. Come with me.” Federick was a man of few words. He said nothing more and turned around. Yelena and the girl followed him to his place quietly. It wasn’t a big place, but it was cleaner and a lot more spacious than other homes. Officer privileges, I think.
Yelena hadn’t lived in a house like this before, but she knew this man was more than met the eye. She followed him into the house. It wasn’t big, but there were a number of rooms inside. Federick turned around and looked at them coolly. “What’s your name?”
Yelena was quick to respond. “Yelena Sullivan.”
The girl beside her said, “Enna Anderson.” Enna didn’t seem afraid at all. In fact, she looked confident.
Federick nodded and pointed at the rooms beside him. “Pick any room you want. You’ll be staying here temporarily.”
Yelena knew he was a good man, but to go this far was surprising. Moved, she asked carefully, “What’s your name?”
“Don’t ask anything you’re not supposed to.” Federick turned to look at her coolly.
Yelena quickly hung her head low. She swore she saw a lot of emotions in his eyes-surprise, indifference, and a hint of disdain.
Federick had a lot of work to do as an officer. Once he settled the girls down, he left, leaving Yelena and the girls behind.
One of the girls was still unconscious, but Enna was staring at Yelena. Seeing Yelena stare at Federick as he went, she chuckled. “You can’t have fallen for him, can you?”
Yelena shook her head. “No. I just want to remember his name so I can thank him after I leave.”
Enna looked surprised. “You think you can still leave?”
Yelena couldn’t explain it, but she had a feeling she could leave this place soon. Perhaps it was because Federick felt reliable. “I think so. As long as we work for it.”
She’s so naive. Enna chuckled. “Of course, comrade. Of course.”
“You don’t feel scared at all. That girl there is scared out of her wits,” Yelena remarked.
Enna looked at her and smiled. “You’re not afraid at all either.”
I knew she’d say that. Yelena pulled her right sleeve up and revealed her palm. It was filled with fingernail marks.
Enna gave her a look of approval. “You’re great for not blacking out even after that.”
Yelena heaved a long sigh and took a seat.
Enna looked at her in silence, then she gasped. “Oh, my God! You’re Yelena Sullivan!”
Yelena looked at her in confusion. “I thought I told you.”
“No. I mean, you’re a celebrity, aren’t you?”
Yelena nodded. So what? Not like anyone in this backwater place knows me.
However, the girl before her looked even more delighted. “Great! I have a better plan now. One that can make sure we get rescued.”
Yelena thought she just had a stroke of inspiration, but then she realized something was wrong. “Wait, how do you know we’ll be rescued?”
Enna looked awkward for a moment. “Because…”
Yelena stared into her eyes and smiled. “I see. You’re a cop.”
The look on Enna’s face changed, and then she sighed, impressed. “How did you know? I thought I hid it well.”
Yelena shook her head. “No, you didn’t hide it well.”
Feeling defeated, Enna asked, “Care to enlighten me?”
“You’ve been calm since the start, so it’s obvious you’re different. I could chalk it up to your guts, but even when the officer picked you, you weren’t even delighted. Most women would be beside themselves. And then we came here, and you called me comrade. That’s something only a cop would do. Lastly, you said we’d be rescued, which means you have allies waiting out there.”
Oh, I feel much smarter now. Not the time to toot my own horn, though. Yelena looked a little grim. “Why did you come here anyway?” She was sure Enna sneaked into the group of her own volition.
Enna looked around, then closed the door and windows. “Fine, I’ll tell you. I’m part of a team, and we came here today to crack down on this joint.”
Yelena nodded, then realization struck her. “So that’s why the officer picked you. Because you’re a cop.”
She raised her voice a little too much, causing Enna to panic. “Pipe down!”
Oh right. We’re still in the village. Someone might hear us. “Can you tell me your plan, then?” The fact that Federick was helping them made her feel more confident about escaping.
“Not yet. The fact you saw through my disguise is already making my work hard.” Enna didn’t think Yelena would ruin her plan, but she wouldn’t tell anyone top-secret information.
Yelena understood that, so she said nothing.
A while later, Federick came in. When he noticed their smiles, he thought it was weird.
“She knows I’m a cop, comrade.”
Federick wasn’t surprised. “She has always been smart. That’s not surprising.”
Yelena thought that sounded eerie. “What do you mean? Do you know me?”
Federick gave Enna a look, and she went back to her room, leaving him and Yelena alone. “You don’t remember me?” He studied her expression, trying to see if she remembered him, but she showed no signs of it even after a while, much to his disappointment.
“Should I know you from somewhere? Tell me your name. Maybe that’ll jog my memory.” Yelena smiled awkwardly. “It’s been a while, so I don’t remember.”
Federick quickly composed himself. “I’m Federick Seanzy.”
Federick… That jogged Yelena’s memory. Back in middle school, there used to be a handsome top student everyone loved, and Federick was his name. He didn’t look as sharp as he was now. He only looked cute back then, but now he was handsome. They barely spoke to each other back then, so Yelena slowly forgot about him. “So, it’s you. You’re a village officer now, I see.”
Federick looked at her coolly. “Didn’t think you’d be a star.”
Yelena raised her head proudly. “I have the talent for it.”
Still as proud as ever. Federick chuckled. “How did you get kidnapped?” Good thing she ran into me, or she would have been in trouble.
“No idea. I was hanging around the lake with my friend and boyfriend. I went to the restroom after that, which was when someone knocked me out.”
Federick’s face fell. “You have a boyfriend.”
“Yeah. We’ve known each other for a long time now,” said Yelena, oblivious to the fact that Federick, who was standing behind her, was looking harsher by the second. “So, what’s your plan? I asked her, and she said you’d tell me.” Yelena turned around, hoping that Federick would tell her their plan.
Federick scoffed. “None of your business. Just know that we’ll bust you out of here.” He went back to his study after that, refusing to talk to her.
Yelena saw him off, feeling that he was acting weird. Why did he get mad all of a sudden? Weird. It’s just like how he was back in school.
…
Elspeth and Callum were driving deeper, and they noticed a lot of weird obstacles on their way.
Callum mulled over it. “Probably set up by the villagers to prevent anyone from going in or out.”
It was dark so they couldn’t make big strides. They could only drive slowly just in case the obstacles hurt their car.
As time passed, Elspeth got more and more worried. “She must’ve been taken into the village. If we don’t speed up, who knows what might happen?”
Callum looked solemn. “She might have been…”
“I trust her.” Elspeth took a deep breath to calm herself down. “She’ll protect herself.”
Callum said nothing. He was prepared for the worst-case scenario. About four hours later, they finally got out of the meandering mountain path and entered a village in the mountain depths. In case anyone saw their car, they parked it in the woods outside the village and covered it up. Dawn was breaking, and a few farmers were going to work with their tools in hand. Fortunately, the two of them were swift and easily maneuvered around these people.
