Chapter 763

Chapter 763

Winter looked up at the man who had taken her water bucket. He was

strong and clearly a farmer, with dark skin and calloused hands. He

was looking at her with concern, noticing how delicate she looked

compared to the other women in the village.

Despite being six months pregnant, Winter still appeared much more

lively than the other women in the village. Her skin was fair and

flawless except for her protruding belly. From behind, she still had a

slender waistline that only revealed her pregnancy when viewed from

the front.

This made Winter stand out even more in the small village.

Rey was already 38 years old but he hadn't found a wife yet. His family

had been poor when he was younger and his parents were sickly until

they passed away, leaving him alone.

He made his living by fishing on the riverbank. He worked hard every

day on his small boat to catch fish from dawn till dusk and earned some

money along with it.

But because of his age now, most of those who should have gotten

married in their village already did so long ago; there weren't many

unmarried women left like him anymore.

So when Winter arrived half a year ago as an orphaned mother-to-be,

Rey became interested in her right away.

Winter not only looked beautiful but also had a kind heart that attracted

Rey even more.

He often helped Winter chop wood or brought fish or noodles to share

with her.

Many people by the riverbank watched them together which made

Winter feel embarrassed sometimes.

She reached out again to grab Rey's water bucket, saying, "Rey, you

don't need to help me; I can do it myself.”

"You're pregnant now; how can you carry water? I'm going back

anyway, so let's go together,” replied Rey without hesitation as he

picked up both buckets of water for them both.

In the village, they got drinking water from either fetching it directly from

this clear river or carrying it home using buckets over their shoulders.

Although life here wasn't as comfortable as living in cities where

everything is convenient and modernized, but for Winter, this place

gave her peace like never before.

The villagers were simple-minded folks who worked hard during

daylight hours and rested at nightfall except for gossiping about others’

business which happened quite frequently too!

Winter didn't mingle much with these gossipy women though; instead

she spent most of time alone inside her little wooden house doing

needlework while waiting for childbirth soon approaching fast!

She bought some fabrics herself, sewed clothes and blankets

personally by hand just for her and Clark's baby!

Thinking about how Clark would be born into such primitive conditions

instead of growing up within The Wilson Family saddened Winter

deeply...

However... the Wilson family were all ruthless and unscrupulous, and

when Clark transferred his property to her, Cameron took it all away.

Luckily, she had taken her own secret money when she escaped. She

had been with Wilson Entertainment for so many years and Clark had

never mistreated her. At least she had saved up some money, enough

to live comfortably with her child in this small village.

She just couldn't show off her wealth.

People's hearts were unpredictable. When she first escaped from the

Wilson family, she wandered around remote places.

Finally too tired to go on, she fainted at the entrance of the village. It

was the neighbor who brought her back and let her stay in this empty

little wooden house.

So usually she lived frugally and kept up with the villagers' standard of

living.

She was afraid that if there was anything unusual about herself, the

village would not tolerate it.

But she also knew that there were many men in this village who

coveted her if it weren't for being pregnant...

She knew Rey was a good person but Winter's heart died with Clark

long ago.

Whenever it was quiet at night and Winter thought of Clark, there would

be a pain in her chest that made it hard to bear.

She didn't know how he was doing now; he got a one-year reprieve

before his death sentence... The deadline was coming soon.

Rey carried a water bucket back home for Winter. "Winter, if you need

anything in the future, make sure you call me okay?"

"Thank you, Rey." Winter smiled as she said, "I bought some fruit at

market two days ago; have some."

"You're pregnant; eating more fruit is good for you but I don't want any.”

Rey laughed kindly, "I went fishing early this morning and caught

several big lobsters for you; I'll bring them over later."

"No need..." Winter didn't want to owe anyone favors since Rey always

looked after them anyway. But Rey ignored what they said directly,

turned around and walked away.

After a while, he came back carrying several large lobsters, “This kind

of lobster meat is tender yet nutritious; our poor village can't compare

with cities where meat and milk are affluent. Eat well so your child will

grow strong."

Winter declined politely but then a woman passing by their door spoke

sourly, "Winter, why won't you take something free? If I were you, I'd

take them right away!"

"Phoebe, it's not easy for Rey to catch fish, and catching shrimp must

have taken some effort too. If I just enjoy the fruits of his labor like that,

it would be too much." Winter said as she pulled out two hundred

dollars from her pocket. "Rey, consider this me buying from you.”

Rey became anxious upon hearing this. "Buying what? People in our

village were born by the river and we've been eating these crayfish

since we were young. It's just a common thing. Why do you give me

money?"

He turned around angrily and walked away.

Winter tried to catch up with him but he was tall and big while she had a

big belly so she couldn't keep up.

"Really now, it's just two crayfishes. You could have accepted them,"

Phoebe rolled her eyes at Winter before remembering something else

to say. "Oh yeah, did you hear? Our village is going to be demolished

soon so we have to move!"

Phoebe loved gossiping and always had insider information about

everything. She smiled at Winter as she continued speaking, "You're

really unlucky to settle down in our village but now there won't be any

place for you to live."

Winter was confused. "What do you mean?"

"I heard that a wealthy businessman from the city wants to buy our land

and build a resort here! Apparently there's hot springs behind the

mountain in our village that they want develop into tourist attractions,”

Phoebe explained further before adding, "But who knows how much

they'll pay us? If they don't give us enough money, then it wouldn't be

worth it."

"After all, fishing is how we make a living here for generations; if they

offer us peanuts, then how are we supposed to survive?" Phoebe

ranted on before finally saying, "I'm worried about you though. Your

baby is due soon, so where will you go if there's no place left?"

Winter felt uneasy but having gone through many hardships already in

life made her smile calmly instead. "I'll figure something out later."

Phoebe scoffed at her pretense before turning around abruptly.

Winter sighed as she watched the two crayfishes squirming on the

ground with their claws tied together unable escape or resist capture.

She picked them up intending on steaming them later after cleaning

them properly.

As night fell slowly over the small house, Winter locked up her door

securely before lying down on bed watching her belly move with each

kick of her unborn child inside of her womb.

She couldn't help but stroke gently over where it kicked while

whispering softly: "Baby... Mommy doesn't have much ability right now;

all I can do is hide away in this small village like this so that both of us

can stay safe."

"Unfortunately... we're about to be homeless again,” she sighed, her

heart filled with mixed emotions.

"Snap!" A sudden noise.

Winter sat up abruptly, listening intently for a moment before realizing

there was no sound.

Just as she began to doubt herself, the door to her room suddenly

rattled. Someone was pushing it forcefully.

She jumped in fright. "Who's there?"

The yard gate had been locked... Her heart tightened as she nervously

stared at the thin door panel. It creaked pitifully as a somewhat drunken

voice came from outside, "Winter, open up! I want to talk!"

Listening to this unfamiliar voice made Winter's face turn pale. "I have

nothing to say to you. Leave."

“You're always wandering around the village trying to seduce people!

What? You want some kind of chaste reputation now that your man is

dead?" The man continued his vulgar speech.

"Don't you feel lonely? Don't you want someone holding you at night?"

He sneered mockingly and added, "Let me show you how good it

feels.”

Hearing these disgusting words made Winter nervous and scared; she

wasn't stupid and knew what this man wanted without guessing.

Looking around for something that could be used as a weapon in self-

defense when suddenly...

Bang! The door was kicked open by the man!

A drunken Devyn stumbled into her room reeking of alcohol. "Devyn?"

Winter gritted her teeth in anger; this guy who had mocked her earlier

belonged Phoebe!

She rarely spoke with him but now he barged into her room like he

owned it...

Grabbing a mop handle nearby for protection, Winter shouted angrily,

"Get out of here! Stop messing around in my house!"

"Winter," Devyn said with an obscene grin on his face while lunging

towards her aggressively. "Stop talking nonsense and let me taste how

good you are!"

Winter swung the mop handle at him but before she could run out of

the doorway or call for help - he covered her mouth tightly dragging

back inside where things were about get much worse...

Suddenly - Bang! The yard gate was kicked open by Phoebe who led

several village women inside shouting, “This damn woman is really a

bitch!"

"She only knows how seduce men since coming here."

"My husband doesn't even work anymore because of this woman!"

"How can someone be so shameless? She's pregnant yet still tries

seducing men!"

Before Winter could react further, Phoebe slapped hard across her

cheeks along with several other women joining in on beating her...

Devyn saw his wife come in and didn't dare to do anything else, quickly

letting go of Winter.

"Honey, she seduced me. She invited me to come see her at night

during the day.”

Winter's face was swollen and had a few scratches on it. She glared at

Devyn with her hair disheveled. "Shameless! You're the one who

wanted to bully me!"

"My man is not that kind of person at all. It's you who seduced him!"

Phoebe cursed loudly.

Several village women also joined in, "Dunk her in a cage! Dunk her in

a cage!"

“Let's go! What use is there for this kind of woman? She said her

husband died, who knows if she cheated on him and got pregnant with

an illegitimate child!"