Trafficked -- Beaten -- Trapped
When eighteen-year-old Stacy Degray sets off to visit Felipe, a charming guy she met on the internet, she has no idea that she is being lured to his home country Malaguay to be auctioned off as a soldier's bride. All...
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Snorkeling and going to town with Tomás is my new routine; the rest of my time is spent mostly around the small hotel boutiques where I vent my frustrations by buying new clothes. Who would've known that shopping could be therapeutic? My mom would have a fit about my wasteful and vain attitude.
Bettina prefers to spend her days at the hotel with her husband cooing around her. After the first introduction, Ramon apparently is no longer required to attend Miguel's important meetings; a fact that causes a pang of envy to drill into my heart like a constant dull ache. I feel like a reject. The few times I see Miguel, his face is strained with tension. That scares me enough to tiptoe on eggshells around him. When he announces that we'll depart tomorrow, I'm relieved.
"Any special plans for your last day?" He graces me with a gaze that lasts longer than a second as he runs the brush through his unruly hair for the dozenth time without seeing much of a result.
"No, not really. Tomás said there's a special market in town we might go to."
"Oh, good. I hope he's been behaving himself."
"Yeah, he's been"—I crinkle my nose, trying to find the right word—"nice."
The brush stops midstroke. "Nice?"
"I mean, it's Tomás, so that doesn't mean much."
"Yes, I suppose you two never really got along. I'm sorry you got stuck with him. But I tell you what"—the smile doesn't hit his eyes—"let's have a nice dinner tonight. Don't be back too late."
The market turns out to be massive with stalls scattered not only in the center of town but along the narrow streets. After Tomás feeds me about twenty different kinds of local pastries and sweets, I'm close to a sugar coma and have a burning thirst. To top it off, my feet hurt from walking in my new sandals. A nasty blister is forming on the back of my heel.
"I need a break. Let's sit down somewhere and have a coffee."
"Sounds good."
As he guides me through a group of dickering merchants, my gaze falls on a stand with beautiful bracelets. I stop to take a closer look. Elaborate silver shapes surround different gemstones and end in a plain silver band that's adjustable on the bottom.
Tomás's fingers trace one of the shapes. "Those are star-sign bracelets. What sign are you?"
"Scorpio."
He whips his head around. "That's this month."
"Yeah, my birthday is actually tomorrow."
"Then you should definitely get it. Kind of like a present for yourself."
"You think?" The bracelet he picks up does look nice, and the way the sign is formed is very unique. "How much is it?"
"Don't worry about it. I'm an expert at bargaining."
