All the men's eyes were fixed on her. Clearly, they were just as surprised by the woman who had suddenly appeared at sea. Sienna Johnson sat on the deck, bewildered, completely unsure of what to do next.
After a brief moment of collective surprise, the men aboard the ship began to stir. Sienna heard them whispering, but they were speaking in a language she didn't understand.
After a while, a tall man stepped forward. He was shirtless and barefoot, wearing only a pair of long pants. Surrounded by a group of men, he approached Sienna.
The first thing that captivated Sienna was his eyes. The man's gaze was sharp and icy. Just being stared at by such eyes made Sienna feel as if her blood ran cold.
The man stood before her, his narrow, icy eyes looking down at her with an air of arrogant superiority. After a moment, he squatted down before her, and an oppressive aura emanated from him, making Sienna want to flee.
Sienna was unwilling to admit it, but this man scared her.
Seeing Sienna lower her head, the man reached out, grabbed her chin, and roughly forced her head up. Their eyes met, and Sienna flinched.
"'Orientan? Raelnian? Or Kandaran?' he asked in English.
Sienna's mind reeled. Instinctively, her body's self-preservation kicked in, and she replied in English, her voice soft and fragile, "Raelnian. My name is Mai."
"You're very beautiful." He moved closer. The ice in his gaze thawed slightly, yet Sienna still shivered involuntarily. She was perplexed by her own fear. What exactly was she afraid of? She hadn't felt this terrified even when facing Sabrina Johnson and Frederick Stewart, who both wanted to kill her.
"I was traveling with my fiancé when I accidentally fell into the sea. Could you please take me back to shore? If I get back to shore, I will reward you handsomely." Sienna clung to a faint sliver of hope, wishing this man possessed a shred of conscience.
The man suddenly laughed. Only then did Sienna truly notice his features. Compared to the other coarse men on the ship, his handsome appearance was even more striking. "You have a man?"
Sienna didn't understand why he asked that, but she answered honestly, "Yes. We are getting married next month." If she could ever get back, her top priority would be to break off her engagement with Frederick.
"Please, save me!"
Sienna knew how to soften a man's heart, even though she usually disdained such tactics. But now, with circumstances beyond her control, she had to submit. If this man demanded she kneel, Sienna thought, she would.
Nothing is more important than staying alive.
Only when one is alive, can there be hope, right?!
The man leaned in closer. Sienna instinctively recoiled, her head hitting the hull of the ship. Because he still gripped her chin, her range of movement was limited. His lips roughly crushed hers, leaving Sienna stunned.
"Congratulations, I've taken a liking to you!" The man released her lips and spoke with arrogant confidence.
Congratulations? What did she have to be happy about?
If it were any other time, she would've slapped a man who dared to take liberties with her.
Tears welled in Sienna's eyes, making her look utterly pitiful. Her voice, choked with sadness, pleaded, "I'm already engaged. We're getting married next month. Please, let me go. Once I'm back on shore, I swear I'll reward you handsomely... very handsomely. I'll pay any amount you ask."
The man turned and called over a sturdy, dark-skinned man, giving him some instructions in a language Sienna didn't understand. A short while later, the sturdy man returned with a casket. He opened it, revealing it was full of jewels. Among them was an emerald necklace composed of eighteen small emeralds. Sienna recalled that the Johnson family's heirloom emerald wasn't even as large as the smallest one in this necklace, yet it was considered priceless. One could only imagine the value of the jewels in this casket.
"Do you like them? They're all yours," he said magnanimously, noticing Sienna staring motionlessly at the casket of jewels.
Sienna snapped back to her senses and shook her head. "No, I don't want them."
The smile vanished from the man's face, his gaze turning even colder than before. Sienna trembled slightly.
"You really love your fiancé?" His voice was low, sounding as if he were merely making casual conversation.
Sienna replied, "Yes, we love each other very much. I won't marry anyone but him!" So, please, just send me back to shore, she silently begged.
"What's your fiancé's name? Where does he live?"
"Just take me back to shore, and I'll find my fiancé myself." Sienna thought he had agreed to her request.
"If I can't have something I desire, then no one else can. Kill your fiancé, and then you'll stay by my side obediently!"
So that was why he asked about her fiancé.
If not for the fear of exposing her identity, Sienna would have gladly offered up Frederick, letting this man do her dirty work.
Sienna drew her knees up, hugging her legs defensively. "...And if I refuse?" she asked cautiously.
The man drew closer and whispered cruelly in her ear, "Then I'll throw you back into the sea."
"..."
"I don't know how you fell into the sea, but let me tell you, there are sharks in these waters. And apart from my ship, no other vessel will enter this area!"
"Where is this?"
"Amwaka!"
Of course, she knew they were in Amwaka. What she wanted to know was her specific location. "Why don't any other ships enter this area?"
"Because these waters belong to me!"
It didn't surprise Sienna that this man owned a ship, but his claim of territorial rights over these waters was astonishing.
"Who are you?"
"You still haven't answered my question. Are you willing to be my woman? Only my woman is entitled to know my name!"
Sienna lowered her gaze. "After you've had your fun with me, will you let me go?" she asked.
The man stared at her in surprise, a look Sienna couldn't decipher.
What surprised him?
A shallow man, who wanted to sleep with her solely because she was beautiful, surely wouldn't be sincere. He presumably just wanted to indulge in her beauty for a while, and once the novelty wore off, he'd dump her.
"I agree to your terms. But you must promise me that after you've had your fill, you'll let me go. I have an ailing father at home, and a younger brother with intellectual disabilities... They... I'm so worried about them..." Her voice grew softer and sadder with each word, until tears finally streamed down her face.
Sienna was truly heartbroken.