Hi guys, compliments of the season. I would like to let you all know that this story will be private from on 22nd. My reason for doing that is because most of you don't appreciate my work. I get views on the chapters posted, but a few comments. Upvote, I'm not even gonna talk about that. So this story will be accessible to my readers that regularly comments and upvote. I will invite my most active readers to this story from 22nd, so if you wnat to have access to this story, kindly COMMENT and UPVOTE that's all for now. Enjoy reading.

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Aera was already awake. She sat on the bed and stared into a blank space. Her wounds were already healing, but she was hurting deep in her heart.

All the life she had waited for Camila to return to the forest so they could be together. She considered Camila like her mother, her father, her everything. Even though she doesn't know much about civilization, Aera was ready to learn a lot.

She wanted to be like her sister someday, and make her proud. She wanted to make her sister happy, but in the end, she was wrong about Camila all along. 

The very person she loved the most was willing to sell her off to a dirty man for money. Aera's face was soaked with tears and her eyes heavy. She was hurting so much that she failed to notice the people that just walked into the room.

She sat like someone without hope, lost to the wicked hands of depression. She slowly brought her knees to her chest and rested her head on them. The painful truth that she had no one to call a family or go back to broke her tender heart into a million pieces and she willingly let her tears fall nonstop.

Baekhyun said nothing but stared at Aera for a while before looking at his friend Jongdae. 

"Why is she like this?" Baekhyun asked, and his voice snapped Aera out of her sad depressing mood. She looked at everyone and she recognized Mark and Jongdae, but not Baekhyun.

"She has been like that ever since she woke up. I'm not sure what happened." Jongdae sighed and looked at Aera, but she pulled the blanket over her body and stared back at Baekhyun with big eyes. She was scared seeing three men she did not know of. 

"Please don't hurt me," Aera said as more tears streamed down her red eyes. "I don't want to be sold to Ki-Jung, please." She pleaded with fear evident in her eyes.

Baekhyun couldn't take his eyes away from Aera. Seeing her in such a state kind of made him sad. "Please leave." He said to Jongdae and Mark, and they left immediately.

Once the door was shut, Baekhyun looked at the scared crying girl, and he sighed. He approached her, but she drifted away from him.

"It's okay, I won't hurt and I definitely will not sell you to that scumbag," Baekhyun said and sat on the bed a bit away from her, but she looked him in the eyes with a questioning look and Baekhyun felt a bit confused.

"What's a scumbag?" She asked out of the blue and the mafia became more confused.

"What did you say?" He had to ask just to be sure he heard her question wrong. 

"What's a scumbag?" She repeated and Baekhyun's eyes doubled in size. He couldn't believe his ears because it's the first time someone is asking him such a question.

"You don't know what it is?" 

"No, I don't, that's why I'm asking." She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand but more tears streamed down. The mafia knew she was in pain, but he couldn't understand her.

"A scumbag means dirty." Baekhyun decided to keep the explanation simple till he knows more about her.

"What's your name and where are you from?" He tried to sound gentle and luckily it worked. 

"My name is Aera and I'm from the forest." She answered innocently. 

Shocked and amazed at the same time, Baekhyun chuckled. He began to think that Aera was actually sent by Ki-Jung to spy on him and used him just like before. If that was the case, then he wasn't going to let her off so easily.

"Are you messing with me right now?" His tone became deep, depicting the kind of man he is, and he soon regretted it when Aera drifted further away from him.

"I'm not messing with you. That's my name and I'm from the forest. My elder sister Camila told me that I was only two years old when we lost our parents in a shipwreck. We stayed together in the forest on an isolated island for five years, but she left with some people and promised to return. I grew up alone in the forest for many years, then Camila came back for me three months ago and she brought me to the city." Aera wrapped her hands around her body as she recalled the ugly incident that happened.

The mafia watched her steadily and he began to connect the dots. "Don't cry, Aera. What happened after coming to the city?" Baekhyun's tone was soft as he spoke and Aera continued.

"We were happy together. She taught me how to take care of myself as a girl and how to act like a human. She also introduced me to her friend named Ki-Jung, and she told me to be free around him. At first, I was okay with him talking to me, but I never liked him because he looked scary and the way he would always look at me made me more scared of him. One night he came around and he touched my s and it made me angry. I told my elder sister about it, but she smiled over it and told me that it's a good thing he's doing that. One day an elderly woman came to me when my sister wasn't home and she told me that my sister was into the human trafficking and drugs business. She explained everything to me and even gave me a disk to watch for more understanding, and after watching it, I became scared of my sister. I started watching her every move and a few days ago, I overheard her talking to Ki-Jung about selling me off to him to be his toy. I was hurt, sad, heartbroken, and very scared, so I ran out of the house when she left with Ki-Jung to complete the payment. I had no one to run to, nowhere to go, but I kept running because I don't want to end up as Ki-Jung's toy, that was when your car knocked me down. That was what doctor Jongdae told me." 

Aera bent over and rested her head on her knees and cried bitterly. "I loved my elder sister so much. She was my only family, I took her as my God, my life, but she didn't want me. She preferred to sell me to Ki-Jung." Aera was in tears, and her head began to hurt over again. She felt weak and dizzy, her blood pressure increased, and just like before, she passed out, but Baekhyun was fast enough to hold her in his arms.

He knew that she was stressed out, and he felt bad after hearing her pathetic story. He had been there, so he knows how the pain of being betrayed by the ones you love feels like. He was about to call Jongdae, but Mark made his way into the room and he looked worried.

"Boss there's there a problem?" 

Baekhyun looked at his right-hand man and sighed. "What is it?"

"Ki-Jung just uploaded her pictures on every channel and media as a missing relative, and he's ready to pay 10 million dollars to whosoever finds her and bring her to him. That man is despicable." Mark was disgusted and Baekhyun smirked.

"It seems he wants Aera for his dirty desires." The mafia chuckled. He looked at Aera in his arms for a while and then at Mark.

"Beginning from this moment, I will take Aera in and make sure that scumbag never lays a finger on this girl." He laid her properly on the bed and stood up.

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