In my daze, I followed Amy out to find Ann sprawling on the ground outside the cowshed. The cow dung soiled her shabby clothes. The poor young lady was rolling over the ground as her mother hit her with an iron rod. Since it rained yesterday, there were blackish water puddles of rainwater mixed with coal all over the ground. It seemed like Ann was injured; her already scruffy clothes were smeared with blood.
“You’re a burden to the family! It’s a waste of food to feed you. You should be grateful when we let you live until now. How dare you injure your brother! I’ll beat you to death! That will teach you a lesson!” The woman, who behaved meek and submissive yesterday, unhesitatingly struck her daughter with the iron rod.
Amy was pleading with me earnestly, and it was heartbreaking to see Ann whimpering in pain. I wanted to stop that woman, yet Boris halted me. He slightly shook his head at me, signaling me not to stir up trouble for myself.
Ann was in a terrible condition, yet Ronald, the man who was supposed to be here to stop his wife, was nowhere to be seen. I crouched down before Amy and asked, “Amy, tell me what happened? Where is your father?”
The latter was crying her heart out seeing her sister being beaten up. “Ann injured my brother. My dad just sent him to the hospital. My mom said she is going to kill Ann if anything happens to my brother. Ms. Stanhope, please save her!” she choked out.
At that moment, I was stumped, for it was not my place to meddle in the siblings’ conflict. Fortunately, that woman grew tired of beating Ann. Pointing at the young lady, she scolded, “If you weren’t worth some money. I would’ve beaten you to death. Don’t you ever try to run away from the village! If anyone dares help you escape, I will chop them with a cleaver. I have accepted the dowry from the Leeroy family, so you have no choice but to marry their son!”
Ann glared at her mother, her eyes full of hatred and hostility. “I won’t let you ruin my life! I’d rather die than marry that retard! And also, I never regret injuring your son because he deserves it! He has always bullied me. I won’t let you use the dowry for his university fees. He is nothing but a useless prick, and he will never succeed in life! I’ll wait and see you guys rot in this slum!”
“You little b*tch!” the woman cursed. “How dare you curse my son! Do you really think you could change your fate just because you’ve received an education? Dream on! You only deserve to be someone else’s maid. I know you’re very ambitious, but don’t you ever dream of abandoning us for the city! And you even dare to curse my son! Hmph! I will make sure you live a miserable life!”
I was at a loss seeing how the mother was swearing like a trooper at her daughter. Despite having blood ties, the two were at daggers drawn. That woman was treating her daughter like her enemy.
I thought every parent would love their children and wish for the best for them. Yet, this woman in front of me didn’t even deserve to be a mother.
Ann was badly beaten and left to die in the cowshed. After that, that woman pretended as if nothing untoward had happened as she bragged with the onlookers about how good she was in disciplining her daughter.
Her other children kept their heads down, their bodies shivering in fear. They were badly frightened to see their mother hitting their eldest sister with that iron rod. As for Amy, the little girl was sobbing, yet she dared not utter a single word.
After dismissing the crowd, that woman invited us, “My husband asked me to prepare food for you. You should join us for lunch. Today is that little bi*ch’s big day, and we will be inviting the village folks to the house. Why don’t you guys stay for dinner before leaving?”
I was still in a state of shock while Boris uttered a response, accepting the invitation. Seeing Amy holding my hand, the woman smiled broadly. “Ms. Stanhope, it looks like Amy gets along pretty well with you. That’s great!”
I forced a smile in response. At the same time, my heart was overwhelmed with mixed emotions.
I had no idea if that woman knew Amy was going to become my daughter’s organ donor. Does she know how painful it is to donate bone barrow? Has she ever thought of how helpless her daughter will feel on the operating table? Does she even care about what her daughter will be facing?
Or, perhaps she doesn’t care at all. All she cares about is the money she can get from “selling” her daughter.
The village had a poor signal. Thus, I didn’t receive a reply message from Anthony since last night. That afternoon, Brandon had a walk around the village while that woman was busy preparing lunch.
It was no longer raining. The woman asked her children to sweep the water off the small patch of the cement floor and carried the small table and chairs out of the house. Since the table couldn’t fit all of them, she asked the children to borrow a table from the neighbor. When everything was set, she started serving lunch.
Meanwhile, Amy was holding my hand, whispering in my ears, “Ms. Stanhope, Ann asked if you could bring her along with you?”
I was at a loss for words. After all, I was not a local. I couldn’t possibly take Ann away with me. Even if she sneaked out with me, I was afraid the villagers might find out about it before we even get to leave the village.
Amy was upset when she saw me furrowing my brows. Nevertheless, she sneaked out to find Ann. Although I knew the sisters would be disappointed, I still didn’t agree to their request.
After all, I was pregnant with a baby. I couldn’t afford to put myself and the baby in danger. If I stirred up any trouble, Boris alone might not be able to protect me.
Soon, Ronald was back in his motorbike. Riding the pillion was a tall teenager with tanned skin. His gaze was cold and… lecherous?
How could a teenager have such a nasty gaze? I must have seen it wrongly, or I’m just overthinking. I furrowed my brows and shook the thought off my mind.
Meanwhile, Ronald helped the teenager get off the motorbike. His wife rushed up to the teenager and carried him on her back as if she had done it a million times. “Oh, my baby boy, what did the doctor say about your injury? Are you alright?”
With his brows knotted, Ronald said unhappily, “Ann wanted to end our family line when she kicked our son hard in the nuts. Fortunately, the doctor said he will recover. Carry him into the house and take good care of him. I’ll go find Ann and teach that little b*ith a lesson!”
I was shocked to hear such nasty and humiliating words from a father.
That woman couldn’t agree more with her husband. “The Leeroy family will be here soon. If today was not her big day, you would’ve beaten that b*tch to death for what she did!” she said viciously.
Ronald opened the gate of the cowshed. He didn’t enter but berated his daughter at the entrance, “Ann Weeder, you almost ended our family line! He is your brother! How could you do that to him?”
Ann’s laughter, which carried with it a tinge of bitterness, was heard from inside the cowshed. “Why didn’t you ask me the reason for me doing that to him? He is your son, but am I not your daughter? Do I deserve to be treated like dirt? Ronald Weeder, you treat your son as if he’s the king, and we are his maids. You wouldn’t hesitate to exploit and sell your daughters for him. Karma will get you!”
Ronald paid no heed to his daughter’s words. He uttered harshly, “Don’t cause any more trouble! It’s your fate to marry that intellectually disabled son of the Leeroy family. Your life will only be meaningful after you get pregnant and give birth to a boy. You have no choice but to marry that man, or you can choose to die out there. There is no place for you anymore in this family.”
Is that what a father is supposed to say to his daughter? In the cowshed, Ann let out a bitter laugh that sounded sorrowful to me.
After scolding his daughter, Ronald went back into the house. He even smiled at us when he walked past us. At that moment, I felt awful.
Being frightened, the rest of the girls stood meekly by the side as Ronald entered the house. Then, they continued helping their mother in the kitchen. I could already tell their fate; these poor little girls would eventually end up like Ann.
I’m not a saint. Even if I could save Ann, I couldn’t possibly save the rest of the girls.
The few families in the village had all come to the house. There were two dishes—Shepherd’s pie and Caesar salad. Since there were not enough seats, the guests took turns eating at the table. After that, the women gather around and shot the breeze while taking care of their children.
Brandon was back soon. One of the villagers came up to him and asked, “Mr. Dumphy, do you still have other clients? I have five children, and all of them are very healthy.”
Brandon frowned slightly while he replied, “Not for now. Don’t worry. I will inform you guys when there is a need.”
These people have no scruples about selling their children for money! I could barely contain myself when Boris whispered to me, “Don’t think too much. Everyone has their own way of living. They might be forced, or they do it as a matter of course. This is none of our business. Remember, you need to take care of your safety.”
Hearing that, I pursed my lips and lowered my head.
After the meal, the bridal car—a dusty white van arrived to fetch the bride. In fact, if it wasn’t for the flower garland that was dangling from the rear-view mirror, no one would know it was a wedding car.
Soon after, Ronald dragged Ann out of the cowshed. Everyone was shocked by the bride’s slovenly and disheveled appearance.
Ann looked at me when she was being dragged into the house. She didn’t call for help nor make any resentful remarks. Yet, I felt unsettled under the young lady’s innocent gaze. At that instant, I was eaten up by guilt.
Gazing at me, Boris advised, “Ms. Stanhope, we’re only here for Amy. That’s none of our business. We shouldn’t interfere at all.”
Hearing that, I pursed my lips. If Anthony was here, perhaps I could do as I wished. Yet, even if I could save Ann, I couldn’t possibly save the other girls that might end up just like her. They could rely on no one but themselves to change their fate.
Soon, Ann came out of the house in a threadbare red suit and black pants. Her messy hair was now neatly combed, styled with a bunch of flowers.
Ronald and his wife helped her out of the house and handed her to the two men waiting to fetch the bride. Grabbing her arms, the two men brought her into the van.
The crowd all had bright smiles on their faces to express the joy of witnessing the wedding. No one seemed to have noticed Ann’s sorrow. Or rather, no one cared about it.
After the van drove off, only then did the woman let her other daughters have their food and instructed them to clean the house after the guests left. Then, she and Ronald started exchanging inexhaustible pleasantries with Brandon and me.
Before we left, Brandon handed Ronald an envelope with about twenty thousand cash inside. “Take this money first. If the operation is successful, Ms. Stanhope will thank you again.”
Holding the envelope, the two of them were elated as they thanked me profusely.
I was at a loss when suddenly, I felt warmth in my hand. I lowered my head to see Amy stuck her hand in mine. The little girl asked, “Ms. Stanhope, are we leaving now?”
My heart ached to hear that. How horrible this family must be when even a five-year-old kid would want to leave without any hesitation.
“We’re leaving immediately.” With that, I led Amy to where our car was being parked, leaving Brandon to communicate with Ronald and his wife.
The road was in poor condition, with the muddy and uneven road surface. When we reached the car, Boris opened the boot and took out the presents we bought on our way here. He handed one of them to Amy and the rest to the girls who followed us to the car.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
Leave a Reply