The woman appeared no different from an ordinary person, except that her eyes were as clear and innocent as a baby’s.
Gradually… a gentle smile reflected in her eyes.
Her gaze gradually focused, her soft red lips slightly parted, and she weakly uttered two words.
“Howard.”
Her voice was so pleasant. When she called his name, Howard always felt himself special.
Although everyone called him that way.
“Yes, I am Howard, your husband.”
“In the future, I will be very good to you, buy you delicious food, beautiful clothes, so you don’t have to be afraid of me, okay?”
When they first got together, she would curl up behind the door every day, not speaking or making a fuss, refusing to eat.
This worried Howard so much that he even changed his irritable temper a lot just to make her feel comfortable enough to stay.
“Howard.”
Suddenly, the woman revealed a smile as bright as flowers, boldly extending a tender finger to lightly poke his cheek.
Her touch was gentle, her fingertips slightly cool but stirring Howard’s heart.
“Nora, you look so beautiful when you smile.”
“Beautiful, Howard, beautiful!”
She giggled, repeating Howard’s words, then clamored to go out and play.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Howard handed her the medicine, coaxing her, “As long as you obediently take the medicine, I’ll take you out to play.”
“Shall we go to the back mountain to pick flowers? Don’t you like watching little lambs?”
Although Nora’s mind was unclear, she knew that the dark liquid in front of her was not good.
It was very bitter.
She immediately pouted, looking somewhat unwilling.
“Shall I take you to see the little lambs?”
Tempted by the idea of seeing the lambs, she eventually agreed to take the medicine, but as soon as she took a sip, the bitterness made her cry.
“Waa… it’s awful, so bitter… Howard, can I not drink it?”
Howard almost softened at the sight of her watery eyes, but this medicine had to be taken!
She was in poor condition. If she didn’t take care of herself properly, she might not be able to have children in the future.
So, he specially asked the herbalist to prescribe this medicine, which was very good for women.
The only drawback was that it was too bitter because it contained a dose of yellow gentian.
“No, you have to drink it, or else we can’t go out to play.”
“Waa… it’s so bitter it could kill me.” She complained with a pout.
Seeing her like this, Howard couldn’t help but laugh.
“Then, let me drink it with you. Since we’re married, of course, we should endure bitterness together.”
With that, Howard supported the back of Nora’s head with one hand and lifted the medicine bowl with the other.
Closing his eyes, he took a big gulp, pressing his lips against hers, using his tongue to pry open her tightly closed teeth.
The fiery kiss diluted the bitterness in his mouth. After feeding her half of the bowl of medicine like this, even Howard couldn’t bear it anymore.
He looked at the remaining half-bowl, feeling troubled.
It was indeed too bitter. Next time, he might secretly add some sugar when brewing the medicine.
Just as he put down the medicine bowl, Nora started clamoring to go out and see the lambs.
“Alright, alright, I’ll take you now.”
Howard held her hand, about to walk out of the room, but suddenly caught sight of two figures under the eaves, almost forgetting about them.
He couldn’t let Nora see those two, otherwise, it might trigger her memories.
“Nora, wait for me in the room for two minutes. I’ll go to the warehouse to find a bamboo basket. When I come back, I’ll pick some green beans from the vegetable field.”
Nora obediently nodded and stood in place waiting for him.
On the other side, Howard carried the unconscious Alisha on his shoulders, holding the little girl with his other hand, and strode towards the cellar under the bamboo building.
The dark and damp cellar was square, with rough yellow mud on the surface, and the windows were made of pure iron.
Except for occasional rays of light from a small window high up on the wall, it was dim here from morning to night.
There were seven or eight women locked in the cellar.
They are either recent female college graduates, office workers, or married women… without exception, they were all trafficked here. They’ve been detained here for quite some time.
On the first day they arrived, there were some people causing a ruckus, but after Camren gave them a good scolding, they became much more obedient.
Then they met this young man named “Howard”. He’s good-looking, but not very talkative, with a somewhat cold demeanor, but he never beats or scolds them. Occasionally, when someone falls ill, he helps find medicine. He can be considered the only good person here. It’s just a pity that convincing him to release everyone is as difficult as reaching the sky.
As the heavy footsteps drew closer, after several days of silence, a ray of light finally penetrated the gloomy cellar. Then came the sound of metal clashing. The door opened. Everyone instinctively looked up, only to see Howard carrying one person on his back and leading another, slowly descending the stairs.
“Are these two also trafficked here?”
“That little girl looks only seven or eight years old. You have the heart to capture her?”
Howard said nothing, just found a corner and put the people down. As he turned to leave, one of the women suddenly grabbed his collar, her eyes red, and whispered to him:
“Howard, I think I have a slight fever. Could you help me find some fever-reducing medicine?”
When she said this, she didn’t really hold much hope. Apart from being slightly nicer to that idiot, it seemed that Howard wasn’t interested in the life or death of anyone else. Howard glanced at the woman, remained silent for two seconds, then nodded in agreement. The woman, grateful, sniffled.
“Thank you, Howard. You’re a good person.”
A good person? Howard’s hand, as he turned around, laughed mockingly at himself.
He had learned to steal and cheat since he was a child.
Ever since he killed his first person at the age of fifteen, his hands had been stained with blood.
He never even thought about turning back until he met Nora.
Looking at her innocent smile, he remembered the first snow in his memory. He was seven years old that year. Dad was still with him, and Mom hadn’t passed away.
The whole family sat around the fireplace, roasting fire while listening to Dad talk about how wonderful the outside world was.
He vividly remembered that it was the 29th of the twelfth lunar month. The penultimate day of the year, snowflakes were drifting outside the window, and the entire small mountain village was adorned in silver and white, as if all troubles didn’t exist.
Dad, to cheer her up, took him outside and built a snowman. All his happiness stayed in that moment, on the smiling snowman. Because when he woke up the next day, his world had completely changed.
On New Year’s Eve, Dad was going to leave them. Mom and Dad had a big fight. He, still young, hid behind the door, crying and watching, but too timid to come forward and stop him. That was the first regret of his life.