Chapter 01

⚠️Warning⚠️: This chapter contains attempted rape (ATTEMPTED only). If you're sensitive about this topic, I suggest readers consider it carefully before proceeding.

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THIRD PERSON's POV

"Where am I?" Oswin uttered, looking down at the wet cobblestone under his feet. He lifted his face and sniffed. "What's this stinky smell?"

Seeking the answer to his question, he exited the narrow path and moved onto the main street, where the air was a bit fresher but still held a pungent smell to his nose.

The night was late, for the moon was already high in the clear, dark sky, but a few passersby and night owlers were still roaming around the street. As the man traipsed along the pavement, he noticed everyone stopped and stared at him with eyes full of shock, confusion, and disbelief.

Don't look at me like that. I'm as confused as you, he thought to himself.

However, it was hard to blame those people. After all, no one expected an abnormally tall guy with long, waist-length blonde hair to roam around the city street. Not to mention the out-of-place ankle-length silver robe that was vivaciously fluttering behind him in rhythm with the gentle night breeze.

"I hate this place," he muttered under his breath before making a right turn onto a road with fewer streetlights and people.

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 "Okay, boss. I'm done now. Don't forget to come and lock the door," Elena, a lovely woman with long, silky black hair tied up into a high ponytail, shouted from the front door as she slung the bag over her shoulder. 

"Be there in a minute!" echoed a voice from the kitchen, followed by a man in his early forties a minute later. His dark hair starts to show a hint of gray due to years of hard work and stress. His oblong face was framed by a sharply defined jawline, his thin lips were set in a serious line, and his narrow eyes were deep set and slightly piercing. "I'm sorry to keep you this late again, Elena. I'll give you a bonus this month."

"Thank you so much, boss," the young woman replied cheerfully before turning towards the door. "I'm leaving now!" 

"Wait!" 

Elena halted and looked at her boss. "Yeah?" 

"It's late. I'll give you a lift home. Give me five minutes to lock up." 

"Nah, it's okay, boss." She waved her hand. "My house is nearby." 

"But—" 

"Don't worry. It's not the first time I walk home late."  

"Still, it isn't this late."  

"Well, if you won't let me go now and keep talking like this, it's going to get even later." She chuckled.  

"Fine," James sighed, slumping his shoulder in defeat at Elena's stubbornness.  

"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow." Elena started walking again and waved goodbye to her boss.   

"Be careful." 

"Always am," she said over her shoulder. "Good night, boss." 

"Good night." 

Closing the door, she stepped out into the silent street and began walking toward the direction of her house. 

"Wow. It really is late", she muttered, looking at her quiet surroundings and start questioning her decision about denying a lift home from her boss. "Nah, it's fine. I'll just hurry."  

She quickened her steps, hoping to get to her small yet comfortable apartment that wasn't far away. She wanted nothing more than to get behind the secured, locked door and call it a day. But before she could make it to the corner, she heard footsteps coming from behind, making her stop and turn around. 

But there was no one in sight. 

"Am I hearing things?" she murmured before shaking her head and resumed walking. 

However, the sound of footsteps resurfaced not long after, causing her to gulp nervously in fear. Instead of looking back a second time, she clutched the strap of her bag firmly and broke into a run. However, she couldn't even make it far when a group of well-built men appeared out of nowhere and surrounded her. 

"Well, well, well... what do we have here?" said a guy in blue mohawk hair. His sleeveless t-shirt exposed both his muscular biceps and a tiger tattoo.

"Look, Tim, we've got ourselves a high schooler. Must be tasty," said the smaller guy on the right, ogling at Elena while licking his lower pierced lip. 

"I-I'm n-not a h-high s-cho-oler," she stammered, her eyes remaining on the ground without daring to meet the gang's eyes. 

"All the better, then. We don't have to face harsh punishment later for having fun with an underage girl," smirked Tim as he, too, leered at the trembling Elena up and down as if to undress the poor woman with his eyes. "Well, that's if we get caught." 

Evil laughs reverberated throughout the night, escaping everyone's mouths except Elena, whose lips were quivering. Not long after the laughter died, she was pushed into the alley, falling on her butt with a loud thud. 

"Please, I don't have any money. You can check my bag." She crawled away from the approaching gangs and was about to hand them her bag when Tim's words cut her action off, freezing her on the spot for a split second. 

"We're not interested in money, pretty face. We just want to have some fun," Tim said, unbuckling the belt of his faded jeans while approaching Elena slowly. 

"P-please don't do this!" Elena kept crawling back, away from the lustful beast coming for her. Though her throat was dry, she still tried her best to breathe the word out. 

"Well, blame it on yourself. Who asked you to have such a pretty face that is so alluring?" 

Elena kept crawling back until her back touched something cold. She didn't even have to turn back to confirm that it was a wall. 

She was trapped. 

She watched as Tim dropped the belt to the ground and sniggered, advancing towards her. She pulled both knees up to her chest, hugging them tightly, and curled into a ball, hoping the action could help her become invisible from the lustful beasts. 

"N-no, p-please. D-don't d-do t-this. I-I b-beg y-you!" she begged relentlessly. Her body shook like a fledgling, but neither Tim nor his gang showed any mercy. The guys only had sinister smiles on their faces. 

Elena told herself to run or scream, but she was too terrified to do both. All she could do was helplessly watch the big hand reach towards her. 

"Come to me, sweetie." 

"Please, somebody help me," she murmured weakly, squeezing her eyes shut as the hand came closer. Her voice came out as a whisper that sounded too weak to hear, even to her own ears. 

Nevertheless, someone heard it. 

"What do you filthy creatures think you're doing?" 

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<To Be Continued>