From Soldier to Savior

Chapter 1

"Your dress is ugly! Filthy beggars like you should wear torn clothes, rip your dress up yourself!"

At Carter Family Villas in Riverside City, a group of well-dressed boys surrounded a skinny, ragged girl.

One of the chubby boys sneered and grabbed the girl's dress, "Rip it off! Or I'll do it!”

The girl, with eyes red from fear, desperately clutched her dress, shaking her head.

The chubby boy pulled harder as the others laughed, holding her down while he tore her dress to smithereens.

"Stupid! We told you to tear it, and you didn't listen. We'll do it ourselves!"

"Yeah, rip her dress up!" The boys shouted, their faces filled with malice.

"Mommy, help me! Mommy, help me!" The girl cried, but her mommy didn't come. Instead, there was the muffled sobbing of a woman nearby. Tied to a stone pillar by the fountain, a woman struggled, her mouth gagged with a dirty cloth.

The woman fought desperately, but the ropes were too tight. Water from the fountain splashed onto her, making it hard for her even to open her eyes.

The chubby boy glanced disdainfully at the woman, "Are you waiting for your mommy to save you? Stop daydreaming! She's already tied up. Tear your dress, and we'll release your mommy!”

Hearing this, the girl looked at her mommy, trembling and pleading. "Please! Release my mommy!”

One of the boys hesitated, "Maybe we should just let her mommy go. Won't she drown like this?”

"Hmph! There's not enough water in the fountain to drown her. Don't worry about it! Don't you want to see how pathetic she'll look in her torn-up dress?" The chubby boy laughed, pulling harder on the girl's dress.

With this, the hesitant boy's face lit up; he clapped his hands and urged the chubby boy on, "Pull her dress off!”

Realizing she couldn't win against the boys, the girl stopped struggling. She closed her eyes, accepting her fate as they continued to tear her dress apart.

***

Meanwhile, Winston Drake, the youngest five-star general in Merican Country, decided to retire and return home. He walked towards the Carter Family Villas with a military duffel bag on his shoulder. As he approached, his thoughts drifted back to six years ago...

Six years ago, he was drugged. He ended up unconscious in a psychiatric hospital, where he had s*x with Selena Carter, who had also been set up. The Carters forced them to register their marriage without even holding a wedding. Winston was pursued by enemies that night but didn't want to drag the Carters into his troubles. He finally left Selena behind and fled! After that, he joined the army, serving for six long years!

Six years later, he was no longer that weak, disheveled young man but a revered general. He was determined to give Selena a life of wealth, honor, and respect.

Arriving at the villa entrance, Winston suddenly saw the pitiful little girl. Though he had never met her, a sharp surge of pain struck his heart once he laid eyes on her, making him shudder.

"Stop!" Winston instinctively shouted, rushing into the yard and pushing the boys away. The boys fell to the ground, but Winston didn't even use much force, it was enough to make them stop. He then took off his coat and covered the girl.

"Are you okay?" Winston asked the girl in his arms. As he looked closer, his eyes widened in shock. The girl's features resembled his own!

"Please! Please save my mommy! She's tied to the fountain. Save her, please! Mommy got tied up because she tried to get food for me, but I'd rather be hungry than let mommy get hurt," the little girl cried, her face etched in sorrow.

Winston turned and leaped to the fountain immediately. With a firm tug, he tore the ropes binding the woman.

The woman looked exhausted. She was drenched from head to toe, her hair hanging loose, and her clothes sticking to her body, which made her look very messy. Even so, Winston recognized her immediately. She was Selena, the woman he had to leave six years ago.

Winston murmured, "S-Selena?"

Selena replied, "You're… Winston? Winston Drake, who left six years ago, right?"

Six years ago, by some twist of fate, Selena had ended up sleeping with a mentally ill man. The incident spread throughout Riverside City, causing a huge sensation. To salvage the Carters' reputation quickly, they arranged for Selena to marry Winston the next day. However, after they got their marriage certificate, Winston mysteriously disappeared and never returned.

Selena had long lost hope and had thought that Winston would never return. But now, he was back! Even after six years, she would never forget him! But why was he here?

Before Selena could think further, a woman in exquisite makeup, a black evening gown, and high heels rushed over.

"My little pumpkin, did you fall? Does it hurt?" This woman was Miranda Carter, Selena's sister. The chubby boy who had fallen earlier was her son, Allen Carter.

"Mom, this little brat pushed me on purpose." Lying on the ground, Allen looked at Selena's daughter, Yuris Carter, standing nearby, his face full of malice.

"What?! How dare you hit my son?!" Miranda was about to rush over and slap Yuris!

Smack!