My boyfriend was a cop fighting human trafficking, but that’s why I became a target for the traffickers’ revenge. They tortured me until I miscarried, then sold me into the remote mountains. By the time I managed to escape, I was barely alive. Only to find out my boyfriend had fallen for the female reporter covering the investigation while on his way to rescue me. They became famous for the documentary they filmed about saving me. I heard it from her own mouth: he’d missed several chances to save me because he was busy caring for her when she was “sick.” When I finally broke down, she pushed me down the stairs. I opened my eyes again, back on the day I was kidnapped. This time, it’s your turn to be in the traffickers’ den. My limbs and mouth were bound tight with sticky, yellowish-brown tape. Butch ran a grimy hand over my cheek, a sick, satisfied grin stretching his face. “Your boyfriend cost us big time! Today, I’m gonna make him taste true misery!” “We just love girls like you – soft skin, tender flesh!” Last time, I was terrified. I screamed and struggled, fighting with everything I had. Butch just knocked me out cold, afraid of drawing attention. This time, I just stared him down, my gaze ice-cold, like it came straight from hell. Butch froze for a second, then shivered. “You bitch! What the hell are you looking at? Your eyes… they’re giving me the creeps!” Spike, the driver, seemed amused. He reached back and ripped the tape from my mouth. “Not scared? Not gonna scream?” I was scared. Scared of losing the baby in my belly again. Scared of dying. But these bastards? No. Not them. Butch hated my calm. He grabbed my throat, choking me, and shoved my face against the cracked-open car window. “I want you to see! See how desperate your boyfriend looks! Go on, look!” “He’s supposed to be so good at finding people, isn’t he?! I guarantee it! He’ll never find you in this lifetime!” A short distance away, Damian was frantically pacing, phone pressed to his ear, scanning for any sign of me. “Rory! Rory! Where are you?!” My heart gave a faint tremor. Today was the day I’d planned to tell him I was pregnant. But the moment I turned to buy a bubble tea, they’d drugged me, thrown me in the car. Butch saw my blank expression, and his imagined pleasure of revenge seemed to halve. Enraged, he squeezed my throat harder, pulling out his phone to record me. “Cry! Cry for me! Stop looking so damn blank!” “Damian, you big hero! Look who it is! You’re supposed to be so good at protecting women, aren’t you? But in the end, you can’t even protect your own! What kind of man does that make you, huh?!” He sent the video, then looked expectantly at Damian, who was just a block away. I subtly bit off a button from my shirt and held it in my mouth. A block away, Damian held his breath, tapped on the video, and his eyes immediately burned red. Butch savored Damian’s fear, slapping his thigh, laughing like a maniac. I just didn’t get it. How could Damian, who supposedly loved me so much, have fallen for someone else? A flicker of desperate hope, one I shouldn’t have, ignited within me. I subtly straightened, spitting the button out the window. I was a designer; the button had a unique pattern. Damian would recognize it instantly. My heart hammered. Risking a beating that could kill me, I screamed his name, my voice almost breaking. “Damian!” Butch violently clamped his hand over my mouth and nose, grabbing my head and slamming it against the car door. “Bitch!” Across the street, a familiar figure held up her phone, pointed right at Damian. “Mr. Damian! Hi! I’m Cassidy, a reporter. Could I get an exclusive interview with you?” Damian turned towards my direction, his brow furrowed in confusion. Cassidy pouted, looking all hurt. “Please, Mr. Damian! I’m just an intern! I just need to keep my job!” Damian impatiently pushed her away. “Stay away from me!” Cassidy crumpled to the ground, crying silently, a mix of hurt and stubbornness on her face. “My leg…” Spike slammed on the gas. I watched, my heart sinking, as Damian, true to his ‘gentlemanly’ nature, bent down and picked up Cassidy. Just like in my previous life, he missed chance after chance to rescue me, all because of her.
Butch sealed my mouth shut with tape again. He stomped on my body, for no apparent reason, then spat on my face. “Goddamn, I’ve never seen a woman like you! Did you crawl out of hell?! You’re acting like you’ve died once already! Do you even wanna live?!” I subtly curled my body, protecting the baby in my womb. Spike and Butch chatted casually. Discussing how much they’d sell the video of my rape for. They planned to send copies to the police and media, to completely humiliate Damian, the ‘anti-trafficking hero.’ Damian’s own mother had been trafficked. When they found her, she’d already given birth to seven children and been sold eight times. That’s why he’d teamed up with the police to fight human trafficking organizations. These traffickers hated his guts. But if they directly retaliated against Damian, it would spark public outrage, and they’d become the police’s top targets. So I became the sacrifice. Spike exited the highway, making several turns until we were deep in the mountains. I saw the familiar hills that had trapped me in my previous life, and tears welled up. Butch sneered. “Take a good look! This is the last time you’ll see the world in this lifetime! I hate your damn eyes! Old Man Jenkins just wants a woman to pop out babies, never said she couldn’t be blind! And digging out this girl’s eyes won’t stop him from getting laid!” They tossed me into a dusty shed. They stripped me of everything, waiting for the ‘client’ to arrive. In my previous life, I lost count of how many men assaulted me. All I heard, through a haze of pain, were Butch’s shouts, “Fifty bucks a pop! College student! Buy her outright for fifty thousand! Guaranteed to give you smart, beautiful kids!” I pressed against the wall, tearing my hands free with strength that almost dislocated my wrists. Shedding my restraints, I didn’t hesitate, scrambling out of the narrow window. This place… I knew it terrifyingly well. Because I’d escaped countless times before. I scaled the dirt wall, jumped into a sandpit to cover myself in grime, but then I heard an engine roar to life. I quickly hid. Cassidy, with her wide, innocent-looking-but-actually-dumb eyes, asked an old woman sitting by the village entrance, “Have you seen a woman? Average-looking, name’s Rory!” Damian quickly pulled her back, shaking his head disapprovingly. Sure enough, the old woman’s face darkened instantly. She slammed her cane against the ground. She yelled in a hoarse voice, “Outsiders! We don’t welcome outsiders here!” Men, women, and children from the village immediately rushed out, armed with farming tools. Damian saw the situation escalating. He didn’t even have time to close the door, just swerved the car around and sped off. I cursed under my breath. This screw-up meant the traffickers would move me immediately, drastically cutting down my escape time. I plunged into the thick woods without a backward glance. Night fell, and it grew cold. But I couldn’t risk a fire. Those traffickers were like bloodhounds; any anomaly, they’d sniff it out. I huddled in my clothes, bracing against the biting wind, perched in a tree. Suddenly, the crisp snap of a branch broke the night’s silence. My eyes snapped open. A hunched figure was cautiously peering around at the base of the tree. Adrenaline surged. I grabbed the iron bar I’d found and, without hesitation, leaped onto the figure, ready to strike. “No! Rory!” A dry hand clamped onto my wrist, where my skin was already tearing.
Damian was practically weeping with relief, holding me in a death grip. “Rory! I thought I’d lost you! Those bastards! I swear, I will make them pay for this!” “You’re so smart! I found the button you left, that’s how I quickly tracked down the car from the security footage!” Cassidy rubbed her sore shoulder, biting her lip in jealousy. Damian’s sudden affection threw me off. Had this second chance meant he hadn’t cheated? Hadn’t fallen for Cassidy this time? Or had he just not had the chance to abandon me yet? “Ow… my leg!” The instant Cassidy cried out, Damian let go of me, rushing to her side without a backward glance. The cold wind wrapped around me again, mocking my foolish hope. Cassidy practically lunged into Damian’s arms, “Mr. Damian, I don’t blame Rory! I’m a woman too! Who knows what terrible things she went through with those traffickers… I just got a little scrape because of her, but Rory, well, she lost her purity!” Damian’s hand, still on Cassidy’s swollen ankle, froze. His expression darkened. I gave a self-deprecating laugh, finding the whole scene utterly ironic. Damian had helped the police rescue many women and children. Almost every one carried psychological scars from violent assault. He always offered countless words of comfort, but deep down, I knew he minded it all. He minded the ‘damage.’ Or perhaps he only minded it if it happened to me? I touched my stomach, a cold sneer on my face. Cassidy wept weakly, “Mr. Damian, I’m so cold. Are we… are we not going to make it out of here?” Thanks to Cassidy’s idiotic move, Damian’s car tires were shredded by a spike strip, forcing them to go on foot. “My dream is to make a documentary, expose those traffickers’ vile deeds, protect more women and children… But I… I really don’t want to die here! Waaah!” “Don’t be scared! You’ll be fine! I brought you here, and I’ll make sure I get you back safe and sound!” Damian had rushed out, only wearing a thin T-shirt. He turned his gaze to me. “Rory, give your jacket to Cassidy.” I savored the nickname ‘Cassidy’ on his lips, a bitter taste. Here I was, just escaped from hell, and Damian offered no comfort, no hug. Instead, he wanted me to give my jacket to someone else. Zzzip— I zipped my jacket all the way up, hugging myself, my face a mask of refusal. Damian’s brows furrowed. “Rory, why are you being so cold? Cassidy wanted to come help rescue you! She’s just a kid, we have a duty to protect her!” Right, a ‘kid.’ I also had a duty to protect my child. “How much longer until the cops arrive?” My change of subject caught Damian off guard. “Our phones got left in the car, but they must know our movements!” I couldn’t help but laugh out loud, a bitter, sarcastic sound. In the middle of the night, Cassidy got a fever again, and Damian held her all night. Day broke. Damian and I went ahead to scout. On the way back, I reached out to brush a bug off his shoulder. He sharply recoiled, disgust blazing in his eyes. Realizing his reaction, his lips twitched uneasily. “Rory, I think you’re being too harsh on Cassidy. I hope you can apologize to her.” I scoffed, ignoring him completely. But the moment I saw Cassidy hiding behind a tree, I snapped. “Are you insane?!” I kicked her.
The small fire and the snacks Cassidy was holding were instantly crushed under my foot. “If you want us dead, just say so!” Cassidy burst into tears. Damian, furious, splashed the water he’d just collected all over me. He rushed to hug Cassidy, his eyes filled with tender concern. “Cassidy, are you okay?!” Cassidy’s body trembled as she sobbed pitifully, “I… I was just worried about you, Mr. Damian, after you stayed up all night… I just wanted to make you something warm to eat, and that was my last bit of jerky! I’m so sorry! I’m so stupid!” Damian understood her ‘good intentions,’ his eyes flashing with tenderness. He turned to me, scolding me sternly, “Rory, you just ruined our only food. We might be stuck here for days now!” Suddenly, faint barks echoed from deeper within the woods. Damian and I exchanged a worried glance. He hoisted Cassidy onto his back without hesitation. But the woods were more treacherous than we imagined. Even though I’d been here before, the danger still sent shivers down my spine. Cassidy clung sweetly to Damian’s back, wiping his sweat and glaring at me with a triumphant smirk. She sweetly demanded an exclusive interview with him once they were out, and Damian chuckled, indulging her as he agreed. As if he’d completely forgotten I was even there. “Actually, my leg was hurt because of Mr. Damian, but now that he’s rescued me, according to those old myths, shouldn’t I… offer myself to him?” Damian subconsciously glanced at me. Cassidy bit her lip in frustration, her words dripping with venom, “Rory, your stare is kinda scary. Just kidding! I just admire Mr. Damian, that’s all. Were you stopping him from interviews before because you were afraid someone would fall for him? Well, you can’t stop me!” “But I am a little curious, Rory, how do you know this terrain so well? Could it be that you…” Damian caught on, giving me a suspicious look. “Watch out!” Damian, still carrying Cassidy, frantically looked at me, his legs sinking deep, “Rory! It’s quicksand!” Cassidy shrieked in terror, struggling desperately to get out, which only made both her and Damian sink deeper. I slapped her hard across the face, “Shut up! Quiet!” I took a deep breath. I couldn’t just stand there and let them die. Grabbing a thick, dry branch, I pulled Damian out first. The moment Cassidy stepped onto solid ground, she shoved me violently into the quicksand, a twisted smile on her face as she shrieked, “Ah! Mr. Damian! Rory accidentally fell in!” Suddenly, birds scattered, and the roar of dirt bikes echoed through the hills. “They’re here!” “Mr. Damian! We need to run! We’re out of time if we don’t go now!” I sank deeper, my eyes burning red, “Damian! Help me!” Damian’s lips trembled, his brows knotted, cold sweat beaded on his forehead. He let out a heavy sigh, finally speaking, “Rory, they want you. I can’t risk Cassidy too; she doesn’t owe us anything!” “Wait for me, I’ll come back for you!” Cassidy hopped onto Damian’s back, a radiant smile on her face, “Rory is so resourceful, she’ll definitely escape again! She doesn’t need anyone to save her!” The despair wasn’t a sharp stab, but a dull ache that spread through my entire body, slowly flaying me of all flesh. In my previous life, after I escaped, I still couldn’t believe Damian had truly given up looking for me. I foolishly showed up at their wedding to confront them. Cassidy’s family beat me up and threw me out. “You’re probably riddled with AIDS and syphilis! What man would want you?! Leave our Damian alone! He’s been more than decent to you! Don’t you dare disrespect him! Know your place, you bitch!” I thought of the baby in my belly, gritting my teeth, my bloodied fingernails digging into the earth. But the traffickers arrived too quickly, cornering them right there in the quicksand. “Damian! Hand over your woman! If you want to leave, you’ll have to pay a ‘price,’ won’t you?!” Cassidy shrieked in terror, “Rory’s right here! She can’t run!” Butch just shook his head, smiling.
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