"You want to leave today? You'll have to run me over first! Have you all forgotten the Nightingale's pledge?" I shouted, holding onto the ambulance with all my strength.
The driver hesitated, and the two medics were about to get out to help me.
Just then, Roger stormed back from the main road with a group of men from the village.
Seeing me clinging desperately to the ambulance, he grabbed my hair and slapped me twice across the face.
"You filthy woman, daring to run away? We're engaged, you know."
Blood streamed down my face, and I was barely able to speak.
"Why? We don't even have a marriage license."
Roger smirked, revealing a sleazy grin. "Because you took my gift money for marriage. You're my woman now, and I'm not letting you go. You've already agreed to the engagement, and the whole village has seen it. If you leave, I'll lose face."
He hefted me onto his shoulder, and the villagers began to cheer.
"You can't have kids, no matter who you're with!"
My words made him pause, and the laughter grew louder.
Roger, enraged, spat out, "Don't spread rumors. I'm perfectly fine. I'll have ten or eight kids with you if I have to!"
"I'm a nurse. Just one look at you, and I can tell you're a product of inbreeding. You have no fertility—what's the difference between you and a eunuch?"
The villagers loved gossip, especially when someone like Roger, who seemed so well-off with his city job, had his dirty secrets exposed.
The mocking stares became more blatant, and some even laughed out loud.
"Roger, I always wondered why you paid so much in gift money for marriage for a city bride. Turns out, it's because you're useless!" someone shouted.
"And what about your sisters? No wonder your sister's marriage fell apart so quickly—turns out, she can't conceive either!"
Laughter roared, and Roger's face flushed with humiliation.
He yelled, "Don't go anywhere! I'll introduce you to a city girl instead—10 thousand gift money for marriage, I'll cover the rest!"
