Natalie began to struggle, wrapping her legs tightly to make it difficult for Zino to pull down her panties
“Let me go, you…” She was about to curse, but Simon’s slap to her face silenced her, bringing tears to her eyes as she sobbed, feeling hopeless and wishing for someone to rescue her from these men.
“Your body looks so fresh and alluring,” Hero said, licking his lips in lust, eager for Zino to strip her naked so they could proceed.
Zino struggled to separate Natalie’s tangled legs, but then an idea struck him. He smirked and raised his fist, landing a mighty blow on Natalie’s knees.
“Ouch!” she screamed in pain as she felt the blood in her legs freezing and her legs slumping down weakly. “Let me go,” she whispered as she felt the cool breeze from the AC brushing her naked body.
Just as Zino was about to spread her legs and take off her panties, they suddenly heard footsteps approaching their direction and a voice as if the person was on a phone call.
Zino halted and looked around, locking eyes with his friends. “What do we do? I think I heard footsteps approaching this direction,” he said.
“I don’t want to go to jail for this,” Hero chimed in, hurriedly letting go of Natalie’s hand. “Let’s just leave her here and run away. I guess today isn’t our lucky day,” he added, standing up.
Natalie curled up tightly, feeling a sense of relief as she continued to sob quietly. Deep down, she was grateful for the miracle.
“We’re so close to achieving our goals. We can’t give up now. Just a quickie will suffice,” Zino insisted, envisioning how he would let Natalie go free after not getting what he wanted from her. The mere thought drove him mad, and he angrily punched the air before telling his friends to follow him as they all left Natalie alone.
Javier had been wandering, searching for the perfect spot to answer his father’s incessant phone calls. He didn’t want to be seen by anyone, so the only option for him, even though it was dark, was the restroom.
He headed towards the restroom, placing his cell phone to his ear. “Hello, father,” he muttered, rolling his eyes.
“Where are you? Come home immediately,” his father ordered over the phone.
“I’m not a child to obey all your orders. I’m at the club and I’ll be spending the night at Elvis’s house,” Javier retorted, sticking his free hand into his trouser pocket as he continued walking to the restroom, but suddenly halted.
“Tomorrow is your engagement, moron. I want you home right now…” his father continued, but Javier angrily pressed the end call button on his phone, ending the call.
He then turned around to head back to the club, but suddenly he heard a soft sob. He looked around, wondering where the sound was coming from. However, his eyes landed on the door that led to the restroom.
He slowly strode toward the door, his gaze wandering around as he stepped closer. He was puzzled because the closer he got, the louder the sobs became, and it sounded like a lady’s voice. Curiously, he turned the doorknob and barged in. He was stunned, with his jaw dropped and his feet glued to the floor, at what he saw.
There he saw a lady, her face obscured by her scattered hair as she stretched out to pick up her torn dress that was lying beside her. She was only clothed in her panties and bra. Javier began to slowly step closer to her.
Natalie looked up and pushed her hair out of her face to see who was in front of her. She saw a pair of shining black shoes and then looked up to see a man with long, straight legs and well-ironed trousers.
“Shit!” she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around herself and burying her head in her knees.
“Holy fuck!” Javier exclaimed, quickly turning away from her. “What the heck!” he whispered to himself, his eyes wide with confusion. “Who did this to her?” he asked, his brows furrowed.
Natalie wished the ground would open up and swallow her. “Why does it have to be him of all people? Why does he have to see me like this?” she thought, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I can’t face him like this!” she added.
After standing for approximately 20 minutes, Javier turned around slowly and saw her with her head buried in her knees. As he walked towards her, he felt a pang in his heart upon hearing her sob, which was unusual for him. He stood in front of her, slowly unbuttoned his white shirt, and crouched down to drape it over her shoulders, not minding that his bare chest was now exposed.
“What am I doing?!” Javier screamed at himself in his mind, feeling strange about gesturing towards Natalie. “I shouldn’t be doing this. But I can’t leave her like this either.” He felt sorry for her because she was already shivering.
Natalie looked up when she felt a light cotton over her shoulder and eyes first came in contact with Javier’s bare chest. She quickly looked away, feeling flustered. After a few seconds, she looked back at his face, and their eyes met.
Javier maintained a cold, emotionless expression as he urged her to wear his shirt. Natalie hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to accept it or not, as she glanced at her torn dress. However, she had no choice but to accept it.
She slowly raised her upper body, revealing her small, tender breast covered in a net design bra. She lowered her head in shame as she began to wear Javier’s shirt. Javier turned around to avoid embarrassing her.
Javier was curious about how she ended up in this situation and what brought her to the club. After a few minutes, he turned around and saw that his shirt reached a few inches past her buttocks. He stepped closer to her.
Natalie felt rooted to the ground, unable to resist the captivating scent of his cologne emanating from his shirt. She kept sniffing the collar, unaware of Javier standing in front of her. When she raised her head and made eye contact with him, she tried to step back, but Javier quickly grabbed her wrist.
“W-wha……” she attempted to protest.
“Not a word!” He snapped, and started pulling her along with him as they walked away from the restroom. Natalie’s gaze was fixed on Javier’s flawless skin as she followed him in silence without arguing.
Javier never wanted to attract any attention to himself or Natalie, so he led Natalie through the back gate of the club, and they came out in the car garage. He opened the car for her, and she entered, folding her fingers nervously.
Javier joined her and quickly dialed Elvis’ number on his phone. After a few minutes, Elvis ran out of the club and was shocked to see Javier’s upper body naked.
“Brooo!” He exclaimed.
Javier glanced at Natalie before averting his gaze back to Elvis. “Can you come inside and drive?” Javier fired, shooting him a glare.
Without a word, Elvis dashed to the driver’s seat, hopped into the car, and fastened his seatbelt. Suddenly, he turned around with a furrowed brow. “Where is Kate? You came with her to the club, right?” Elvis asked, then quickly pulled out his phone and called her.
Within minutes, Kate rushed out of the club and headed towards the garage as Elvis had directed. She spotted a red, shiny sports car and made her way towards it. She was instantly taken aback by the shirt Natalie was putting on, while Javier was standing shirtless. Kate glanced at both of them, swallowing her endless questions as she hopped into the car, joining Elvis in the front seat. Elvis drove away, heading to Natalie’s apartment.
After a few hours, Elvis parked his car in front of Natalie’s apartment. Kate was the first to get out of the car. She quickly unlocked Natalie’s door and gestured for the others to come in.
They all gathered in Natalie’s sitting area, taking seats except for Javier, who paced around, waiting for Natalie to speak about what happened to her.
“Who are the guys Shakira said you followed at the club?” Kate asked, standing up.
Natalie was silent for a few minutes before looking in Elvis’s direction, ignoring Kate’s question. “I saw the gang who burned down my shop at the club. I tried to follow them, but I didn’t know they had more bad intentions,” she said, gripping Javier’s shirt as she remembered what Zino and his friends almost did to her.
“Where is your dress?” Kate asked, pointing at Natalie’s body.
“They ripped everything off my body. I was almost raped,” Natalie said, tears rolling down her cheeks as she remembered how Hero had held her and pushed her to the floor. She then looked at Javier and said, “But I thank God they heard Javier’s footsteps, which made them stop and run away.” She smiled. “He saved me from being traumatized and destroyed if they had succeeded. Thank you,” she said sincerely.
Kate ran to her and pulled her into a tight hug, crying on her shoulder, “I hope those bastards didn’t hurt you anywhere.” Kate pulled away and began to turn Natalie around, trying to check if there were any bruises.
This prompted Natalie to chuckle softly, “I only sustained bruises on my right elbow from how hard they pushed me to the ground and my knees too.” She raised the sleeve of Javier’s shirt, exposing her elbow to Kate.
“What are you going to do now, to those bastards?” Kate asked.
“I will ensure that I send them to prison. People like them shouldn’t be allowed to roam the streets because they are a threat to everyone out there,” Natalie declared with utmost seriousness, showing her determination.
“Do you have any clue?” Elvis asked for the first time since they arrived at Natalie’s apartment, expressing his support for her. He believed that those thugs should be held accountable for their actions and put in jail.
Natalie nodded. “Alfred knows something about them. I will leave no stone unturned in exposing them,” she replied.
Javier, who had been pacing around the room, suddenly stopped as he sensed Natalie’s determination and passion. Strangely, he was afraid of her finding out that he was the mastermind behind the burning of her shop. Not that she could send him to prison, but he simply didn’t want her to know. That’s why he decided to meet with Zino before doing anything else. If it meant getting him and his friends out of the country, he would do it.
He turned to Elvis and said, “Can we talk outside?” as he began walking away, with Elvis following behind.
Once outside, Elvis noticed how calm Javier was and realized that something was wrong.
“Is there something you want to tell me?” Elvis asked.
Javier remained silent. He had never kept anything from Elvis, not even his most dangerous secrets. He felt troubled about not sharing this with Elvis, but he had to find a way. “I’m the mastermind behind the burning of Natalie’s shop,” he confessed, hanging his head.
“What?” Elvis exclaimed, quickly grabbing Javier’s hand and leading him away from Natalie’s doorstep so the women wouldn’t hear.