“VIRGIN VILLAGE GIRL DRAGS BILLIONAIRE OUT OF DEATH—AND INTO A SCANDAL THAT SHATTERED THE CITY’S ELITE”
The river was angry that day, swollen and wild from a week of storms. Villagers clustered on the shore, shouting, “Don’t go in!” But Lena’s world shrank to the fight between her hands and the water. Inch by inch, she pulled. Her body screamed. Her palms bled. At last, two men rushed to her side, anchoring her waist as she dragged the stranger to shore. He collapsed, coughing up river water, suit destroyed, ring flashing on his finger—out of place in their poor world. “Don’t call anyone,” he gasped, then slipped into unconsciousness.
Lena sat outside the clinic, hands wrapped in cloth, blood still seeping from her palms. Inside, Nurse Denise worked to keep the stranger alive. The village buzzed with whispers—city man, trouble follows money, did you see that ring? Lena ignored them, heart pounding as she watched the clinic door. When Nurse Denise finally let her in, the man was awake. “You’re the girl,” he rasped. “You’re safe,” Lena replied, “but you need to rest.” The man’s eyes sharpened. “Did anyone call the police?” “No,” Lena said. “You asked me not to.” Relief flickered across his face. “Good. Please keep it that way.” He called himself Julian. Just Julian.
Julian couldn’t stay in the clinic. Lena took him home. Her grandmother protested, but relented. That night, Lena watched Julian sleep, his breathing shallow, questions swirling in her mind. “Why were you in the river?” she asked. “Running from a life that doesn’t forgive mistakes,” he answered. Lena didn’t understand, but she felt the weight of his words.
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