The next day we all met in the salon except Eva, she refused to leave her room. We were all still shocked at the sudden appearance of that woman, and wondered if she had anything to do with the disappearance of the girls. In addition, Nadia sent some secret search brigades. Every second was vital to recover them.
S- We followed the magic trail that emerged from the girls' houses to that side of the forest. When we found that woman the trail disappeared, but it didn't seem to come from her either.
As- Eva was never able to use magic. I doubt she has anything to do with it.
MC- Or that's what you think.
Everyone looked accusingly at Asra.
As- Oh, I seriously doubt it, honey, she...
N- (y/n)'s right, Asra. Make her come here, I don't care how much she dislikes it, this is my palace and she will follow my rules.
Nadia spoke firmly. Asra nodded at the order and apologized, he left the room, and a few moments later returned with Eva. She hugged his arm tightly. Upon entering the room, she hid behind his back, pretending to be afraid of us.
Ev- W... Why does everyone look at me like that, master? I don't want to be here!
As- Don't worry, nobody will harm you. We need your help in something very important.
Ev- Master really needs me?
Her eyes widened and a beaming smile of adoration appeared on her beautiful face. Asra sighed in surrender and nodded. Maybe he was trying to get her to cooperate as quickly as possible.
She was looking at him bewitched, as if she were looking at the most wonderful piece of art, of course Asra is, but I always thought that I would be the only person who would look at him that way... Hugging his arm, protecting me from fear.
I looked away from them, I couldn't bear what I was seeing. I got up and went to a window, poured myself some wine that was on a nearby table and drank it in one gulp.
Julian went behind me and lightly put a hand on my shoulder.
J- Is everything alright, dear?
I nodded nonchalantly, but inside I had a revolution of feelings that could overflow at any moment if I wasn't careful.
Julian turned to see Asra and back to me. He looked concerned and spoke to me in a low voice.
J- Look, (y/n), I know you're upset with Asra, we all are, but maybe he has a good reason for all this. I'm just asking you to be as strong as ever until this is over.
MC- Until it's all over... I'll only be here until we find those girls.
J- (y/n) Please think of all the burden it means for Nadia if you leave and something happens to you.
J- Don't worry, I'll take care of it. In the meantime, let's make that bitch talk once and for all.
Julian struggled to contain his laughter, nodded, and winked at me. We returned with the group, which still begs Eva to say something. I was about to speak but Julian was faster.
J- I think that's enough of games, Asra. She speaks or leaves, if she's not going to tell us anything, then she's useless to us.
A slight smile appeared on my face. Asra looked embarrassed and somewhat annoyed at Julian's words, and just as he was about to respond, Nadia spoke in a commanding voice.
N-I agree, if she is not going to help us then she will leave here. Or maybe I should lock her in a dungeon?
I was stunned by Nadia's words, she did not seem the same sweet and understanding woman as always, but this situation warranted it. Eva became even closer to Asra, crying.
Ev-Please, master, don't let them hurt me, don't let them lock me up. I don't want to go back to those horrible men! I will speak, I swear, but stay with me.
Asra was not moving but seemed to be having a hard time. It seemed like he was about to give up on the pressure of wanting to be with me but having to deal with Eva and everyone's disgust with him for hurting me.
On the other hand, I couldn't get close to him. I desperately wanted to rip him out of that woman's arms but I had to hold myself back. At that moment Asra looked me straight in the eye and I could feel that he would do something that I wouldn't want to see. My tears started to run down my face, Aisha silently led me out of the salon and into my room.
Meanwhile, when I left, Eva was still crying and begging Asra not to leave her alone, and without saying a single word he turned to her and kissed her. Julian tried to attack Asra but Nadia and Salim stopped him. Then he stormed out of the room. We all had a hard time understanding that Asra had to do all of this for Eva to cooperate.
And it worked. Eva calmed down and stopped crying, as if she had achieved what she wanted. Then she spoke "shyly" with the rest. She explained that she had been abducted by the group of traffickers, who forced her to take drugs, sexually abused her and made her take care of the younger girls.
Hearing this, Asra clenched his fists tightly trying to contain his fury. After all, he still had feelings for Eva. On the other hand, Nadia, Portia and Salim seemed unfazed by the story. It was certainly terrible, but they knew that Eva had no good intentions now that she had found her master again.
S- That means you know where those girls are, right?
Everyone looked at Salim with wide eyes.
As- What do you mean, dad?
S-If she was with the kidnappers, she knows exactly where those girls are. It has to get us there.
Ev- No! I won't return to that place!
Eva looked at everyone with contempt as she hid herself in Asra's arms.
S- Oh, you don't have to. You would be a great burden. Just tell us where they are and we will rescue them.
These words seemed to hurt Asra more than her.
Eva nodded and explained exactly where the settlement was. She told them how she escaped from there, detailed the places and where the girls were. With no time to waste, Muriel, Salim, Asra and Julian set out on the path where they were directed. They hatched an action plan along the way and somehow they managed to get in undetected.
They finally found the girls, they were dirty and bumpy, dehydrated and chained to a wall. One of them was unconscious. It was a heart-breaking scene. Asra and Salim tried to free them from the chains using magic but it didn't work. Muriel managed to break the chains without hurting them and then they fled.
Back at the palace, we were all overjoyed to see that they were alive. Asra ran to hug me but stopped when he saw Eva behind me. What happened? We already met the main goal! Why continue to please her? When I realized what was happening I felt defeated and went to my room again.
Nadia communicated to the girls' families and asked for their consent for Julian to examine them, they all agreed and Julian worked in the most professional manner. Fortunately, none of them had been sexually abused. He healed their wounds and they were able to return to their families.
Nadia decided to send a statement to the entire city, warning everyone of the danger and extreme security measures everywhere.
Two days later, Asra still did not appear in our room at night and during the day he hardly spoke to me. So I decided to go.
On the night of the third day, I took my things and left the palace. When I was walking towards the exit, I could feel someone watching me, I turned around and there was a window open, I could see a white silhouette there and I would swear it was Eva, but in a blink, it disappeared. I walked to my shop, I still didn't know if I would go any further but I just couldn't bear this situation with Asra.
Magnus was with me all the time. Faust stayed in the palace but she seemed very downcast. When we got home, everything was just as we left it, so quiet and cozy. I went upstairs and entered our room. On the bed was one of Asra's favorite scarves, I lay down on the bed and hugged it, absorbed Asra's scent in it and started crying. Magnus lay next to me, calming me down and I fell asleep.
A/N: Hi, everyone! I'm not fogeting about the humor in this story, I just wanna find the right moment to it 😁 so don't worry, you'll have it soon.
Besides, I hope you're enjoying this as much as I do. Please follow me so we can chat about everything you want.
Love ya!! 🖤