12
During those three years, I lived like a prostitute. Any soldier could come to my bed whenever they wanted, making my life a living hell.” Once, a deputy general tried to force himself on me, but Yana intervened and saved me.”
I later learned that the deputy general had a sexually transmitted disease. Yana sacrificed herself to protect me. It was a great act of kindness and I could never forget it. If I would, I would be too heartless.
Under Callum’s serious gaze, I smiled faintly and asked, “What if I don’t? What will possibly happen?“}
Callum frowned once again, gently stroking my hair. He cleared his throat and said, “Listen. If you agree, I will ask your father to marry you.”
Out of the blue, Callum told me that and it was hard for me to believe it. He said, “In the past three years, I have seen my heart. I cannot deny that I also have feelings for you. I could tell that I am also responsible to you, Vera.“}
Upon hearing that, it made me laugh as it was a hilarious joke.}]
if only he had told me that before, I might be on cloud nine now and surely couldn’t sleep at night. Unfortunately, I had felt a lot of heartache and had trust issues with men.
I continued to laugh until tears rolled down my cheeks.
“Callum, do you know what I’ve been through
past three years?” Out of the blue, I asked him, just for me to know that he knew.
Callum reached out to hold me, saying, “I know. Vice General Hilton mentioned that you endured much hardship and suffering in the army.”
Tears escaped from my eyes. I didn’t know why he only knew about the hardships, not the other things I struggled to face inside the army.” As soon as I carne back to my senses, I pushed Callum away and shook my head gently.
“You said you wanted to marry me. You said people like Yana are dirty and lack self–respect,” I began to discuss with him.§
For Calium to understand me better, I removed my clothes, revealing the scars, bruises and tattoos inflicted by Henry all over my body.>
I continued to say, “But I’m also like this. Look how much I suffered.”
Callum froze. I stared into his eyes and could tell he couldn’t believe what he saw.
However, it was crystal clear from his face that he wasn’t convinced even after showing him evidence.
“No, no! This can’t be true!” Callum exclaimed.)
Sadly, looking at him, I clarified, “Because of you, too, all this happened to my life. So, Callum, now that you see all my flaws, do you still want to marry me?“}
