He Sent Me to the Wilderness to 'Fix' Me... Now He's on His Knees

The day I was supposed to leave for my study abroad program, my stepsister, Ashley—the one everyone thought was the real heiress until the truth came out—showed up at the airport out of nowhere. She threw herself on the ground in front of me, banging her head on the floor, begging. "Chloe, please! I did what you said! I went up to that godforsaken cabin in Appalachia, I dealt with those creepy mountain hermits, all ninety-nine days! Can I have the study abroad spot back now? Please?" My boyfriend, Ethan, the campus golden boy, immediately ripped up my plane ticket. Trip canceled, just like that. Then he arranged for me to be taken deep into the remote Appalachian wilderness – the real deep woods, miles from anywhere. No phone, no contact. He wanted me to experience what he thought Ashley had gone through, but worse. I survived out there for three years. Three years of being treated like an animal by the feral men who lived off the grid. They used me… used me until I barely felt human. I even lost a baby out there, a stillbirth brought on by the horror. The day Ethan finally showed up in a helicopter to get me, I overheard him on the radio, talking to someone back home. "Yeah, I know Ashley lied," he said, his voice tinny through the speaker. "She never went to Appalachia, never saw any 'hermits.' But if I didn't play along, she wouldn't have gotten that scholarship slot. Besides, Chloe… she’s the actual daughter, the one inheriting everything. Missing one semester abroad? It’s nothing to her in the long run." He paused. "Look, once I get her back, I'll propose. I'll make it up to her." My heart turned to ice. I strapped on an emergency parachute I found stashed away, wrenched open the cabin door, and jumped. "I'm not going back," I screamed over the wind. "Just leave me here in the mountains!" Ethan lunged, grabbing my hand, his face a mask of panic, begging me to come back. … The roar of the helicopter blades was deafening, the wind tearing at my ragged clothes. I instinctively tried to duck behind a tree, but Ethan grabbed my wrist, hard. His face was tight with anger as he dragged me towards the chopper, not caring as branches scraped my skin raw. "Didn't you cry and beg me to come get you? What's this stunt now?" His angry voice triggered something deep inside me. Almost automatically, out of pure muscle memory from the past three years, I dropped to my knees in front of him, ready to beg for mercy. Ethan froze, his expression darkening. "Chloe, for God's sake! It's been three years, haven't you learned anything? Do I have to force you to leave?" I looked up at him blankly. The name 'Chloe' sounded strange, unfamiliar after so long. Out there, they didn’t use my name. They called me… things. Treated me like property, something to use whenever they felt the urge. At first, I fought back. Used sticks, rocks, anything I could find. But fighting only earned me worse beatings, bites… They tied me up with the livestock sometimes. When winter hit hard, they treated me like emergency rations, taking pieces… drinking my blood. Their needs were constant, brutal. Hours of torment, every single day. Afterwards, I’d often be bleeding, my whole body aching like I’d been run over by a truck. Months into it, I delivered a stillborn baby. It looked like a tiny infant, but… the memory is a blur of pain and horror. Ethan gave me a rough shove, his patience clearly gone. Without thinking, I pulled off my tattered jacket, exposing myself. When he just stood there, staring, I instinctively reached for his belt buckle. He shoved me away violently, his face turning purple with rage. "Chloe! Have you lost all sense of decency?!" he yelled. "Just three years! Have you forgotten what shame even is?" His shouting stunned me. I pressed myself against him, desperate. "I'm sorry! Whatever you want, I'll do it!" That seemed to ignite his fury. He grabbed my throat, his eyes blazing. "Chloe, when did you become so… cheap?" His fists clenched, his teeth grinding. It terrified me. Images of the men in the woods flashed through my mind – the beatings, the violation. I scrambled backwards, shaking, my face paling. "Don't hit me! Please, don't hit me! I'll do anything, just don't hit me…" My voice was thin, trembling. "Whatever makes you happy, I'll do it." The terror washed over me, suffocating me with helplessness. He squinted, studying me with suspicion, but anger quickly took over again. "Stop acting!" he snapped. "I know you hate me for leaving you in this hellhole, but playing the victim won't work!" "Weren't you always so high and mighty? Looking down your nose at everyone? Now look at you, acting like a bitch in heat!" He sneered, a cruel twist to his lips. He wasn't wrong. Before all this, I was proud, maybe even arrogant, thanks to my family's name and money. I expected the best, even in a partner. Ethan had seemed perfect then. But after three years of being treated like less than human in those mountains, pride was a luxury I couldn't afford. I remembered when I first got stranded. I frantically called Ethan on the cheap burner phone I’d had, begging him to help me. But the call connected, and I heard a woman's soft sobbing. Ashley. "Ethan," she sniffled, "are you sure about this? Leaving her out there… isn't it too much?" Then Ethan's cold voice. "You're too soft, Ash. After everything she did to you? You're still defending her." "I'm just teaching her a lesson. When she finally admits she was wrong, I'll bring her back." Ashley sniffled again. "Maybe we should just forget it? I already forgave her, really." "She ruined your reputation, almost cost you everything! What she did… she’ll pay for it, tenfold," Ethan growled. "Baby, stop crying now, we've got better things to do…" I clutched the phone, listening in horror as the sounds turned intimate, unmistakable gasps and moans filling the silence. My world shattered. Soon after, the phone died, cutting off my last link to the outside world. "Chloe, I'm warning you," Ethan snarled now, pulling me back to the present. "My patience is running out." He hauled me to my feet and shoved me into the helicopter. "Enough with the drama. Come home. But if you ever try to hurt Ashley again, don't think I won't throw you right back into this wilderness!" 2 I knew Ethan was my only ticket out of this nightmare, so I didn't resist anymore. I just shut down. He frowned, clearly disgusted, and waved over the paramedic traveling with them. "Check her out. I want to see if she's really hurt or just putting on a show." He glared at me. "Chloe, I'm warning you, don't think playing pitiful will get you off the hook." "You will apologize to Ashley. Properly. Or I swear, I'll kick you out of this helicopter mid-air. You don't want another three years out there, do you?" The mere thought sent a violent tremor through my body. I huddled, shaking like a leaf. But when the paramedic approached, I flinched away violently, clutching my ragged jacket, refusing to let go. He was rough, ripping the fabric, pulling out clumps of my hair in the process. I hadn't bathed properly in years, living in filth with animals. As my clothes came off, a foul stench filled the small cabin. My body was exposed – a roadmap of scars from whips, bites, and God knows what else. My lower body was almost entirely covered in ugly, raised scars. There wasn't an inch of smooth skin left. Even the paramedic looked stunned, his hands trembling as he tried to examine me. "Mr. Thompson," he said hesitantly, "Ms. Vance's injuries are severe. She needs immediate hospital treatment." Ethan's eyes were cold, dismissive. "She'd do anything to get my sympathy," he cut the paramedic off impatiently. "Don't fall for her little pity party." The paramedic shut his mouth, but his eyes held a flicker of pity as he looked at me. Ethan pinched his nose against the smell and tossed a spare jacket at me. "Three years, and you haven't learned a thing. Still resorting to cheap tricks like faking injuries." He scowled. "Don't try any funny business. I'm not soft-hearted like Ashley." His icy stare felt like a threat. Misinterpreting it, convinced he was about to hit me, my body reacted on instinct. I scrambled towards him, pressing myself against his legs, trying to appease him the only way I knew how anymore. I felt Ethan's body go rigid. His neck flushed red with fury. He ripped me off him, his voice tight, teeth grinding. "Chloe! What is wrong with you? You're acting like a bitch in heat!" My eyes were blank. I felt no shame, only fear of the blow I expected to follow. Seeing my lack of reaction seemed to infuriate him even more. "You almost destroyed Ashley's life! And you have the nerve to stand there playing dumb?" He grabbed my arm. "Let's go! You're going to apologize to her. Now!" He dragged me into the main cabin area. Ashley was sitting there, pretending to read a book. The moment she saw me, she unbuckled her seatbelt and rushed over, bursting into tears. Her eyes, full of fake sympathy and pity, scanned my ruined appearance. "Oh, Chloe! Sister! It's all my fault," she sobbed, clinging to me. "If Ethan hadn't been so determined to stand up for me, you wouldn't have suffered out there in the wilderness." She dabbed at her eyes. "He wouldn't let me come get you, you know. I wanted to, so badly!" She choked back another sob, burying her face in her hands. Seeing my numb, unresponsive state, a flicker of triumphant satisfaction crossed Ashley’s face before she could hide it. As soon as Ethan stepped away to talk to the pilot, her mask dropped completely. "Those rescue messages you kept trying to send Ethan?" she whispered venomously, a smirk playing on her lips. "I deleted every single one. He never saw them." Her eyes glittered with malice. "So, tell me, dear sister, how did it feel? Being 'entertained' by those charming mountain men?" I stared at her, disbelief warring with the dawning horror. Why? Why would she do this to me? Before I could even form the question, Ashley suddenly slapped herself across the face. Hard. She immediately started crying again, clutching her cheek, looking utterly pathetic and wronged. "Sister, I know you blame me!" she wailed, just loud enough for Ethan to hear. "Hit me, yell at me, I deserve it! But did you have to hit my face? I have that performance next week! Are you trying to ruin my career too?" Ethan spun around at the sound. Seeing the red mark blooming on Ashley's cheek, his face hardened instantly. He strode over and backhanded me across the face, sending me sprawling to the floor. My head exploded with white noise, a loud ringing in my ears. "Chloe, are you insane?!" Ethan roared. "If you won't learn your lesson, then I'll teach it to you myself!" He ripped the silver chain from around his neck, wrapping it tightly around his knuckles. He clenched his fist and started walking towards me, his face a mask of cold fury. 3 Half of Ethan’s face was lost in shadow, making him look terrifyingly like the men from the woods. Their faces swam in my memory – eyes gleaming with predatory light, tearing at my clothes while I screamed, lashing me with thorny branches just to watch me bleed. My terrified cries only seemed to excite them more. Like a cornered rabbit, I scrambled behind a seat, trembling uncontrollably. "Don't hit me! Don't hit me! I'm sorry! I know I was wrong!" Driven by pure terror, I ripped off the jacket he’d given me, kneeling on the floor and instinctively arching my back, presenting myself in the degrading way they had trained me to. Ethan's face contorted with disgust and rage. He kicked me hard, sending me tumbling sideways. "Have you got absolutely no shame left?!" he yelled, his voice cracking. Of course, I knew shame. But could shame feed me in the wilderness? Could it stop those brutes from beating me? He grabbed a handful of my hair, yanking my head back and slamming it against the armrest of the seat. Again. And again. Sticky warmth trickled down my forehead, blurring my vision with blood. Pain flared through me. Looking up at Ethan’s furious, contorted face, tears finally started to well in my eyes. I remembered when we first got together. He wouldn't let me suffer the smallest discomfort. He took care of everything, even silly things like putting on my socks for me before we went out. I used to tease him, asking if he was trying to turn me into a helpless doll. He'd sworn then, so sincerely, that he didn't care if I became helpless; he'd happily spend his life devoted to me. But everything changed when Ashley appeared. She stole my parents' affection, then she stole the man who claimed to love me. And then she orchestrated three years of hell for me in that wilderness. The paramedic from the front cabin rushed back and pulled Ethan off me before he could do more damage. Ethan glared down at me, breathing heavily, and let out a scornful laugh. "Don't think playing dead will save you." He spat the words out. "You made your mistakes, and you will pay for them. Don't think you can trick your way out of it." He dragged me towards the back where the paramedic had his equipment set up. But the sight of the examination table and the metal instruments sent a fresh wave of panic through me. I started screaming, fighting him. Ethan cursed and slammed me down onto the narrow bed, holding me there while the paramedic tried to examine my legs. It felt just like before. Those men in the woods, tying my arms and legs with vines, spreading me out like an animal sacrifice for their amusement. In the winter, they loved stripping me naked and forcing me to crawl in the snow, bleating like a sheep. If I moved too slowly, they’d whip the soles of my feet raw with thorny sticks. My screams were like fuel to their cruelty. Sometimes they used sharp rocks, other times rough, splintery branches… inside me. They wouldn't stop until I was barely conscious. Slowly, piece by piece, they had broken me, tamed me like a wild animal. I learned not to fight back, just to endure, hoping it would lessen the pain. "Are you faking this, or are you really sick?" Ethan growled, pinning me down. "The doctor will find out." My body wouldn't stop shaking, which Ethan clearly took as a sign of guilt. "If I find out you're faking," he hissed, his face close to mine, "I'll make you regret it!" His sudden shout terrified me. I tumbled off the bed, scrambling to his feet, banging my head on the floor, begging for mercy. When he didn't immediately strike me, I dared to reach out, touching his pant leg, looking up with pleading eyes, trying to appease him. He seized my wrist, his grip like iron, threatening to crush the bone. "I knew it! You are faking!" he snarled. "You'd even pull this crap just to get me to forgive you!" Pain shot up my arm, cold sweat breaking out on my skin, but I only dared to whimper softly. Ethan flung my hand away, but his voice softened slightly, surprisingly. "Look, I know you nearly ruined Ashley's life. I know you're scared I'll punish you, so you came up with this 'crazy act' routine." He took a breath. "Just let the doctor check you out. Apologize properly to Ashley, and… I'll still treat you like my wife." He pulled me back onto the bed. Ignoring my desperate cries, he and the paramedic worked together, strapping my arms and legs down securely. The paramedic examined me for what felt like an eternity. Finally, he stepped out, his brow furrowed, looking grim. "Mr. Thompson, the results are in…" Ethan was instantly alert. "Well? Is she faking?" "Sir," the paramedic said slowly, choosing his words carefully, "Ms. Vance has suffered severe psychological trauma… PTSD. That explains her… erratic behavior." He hesitated. "And the scars on her lower body… they're consistent with… with bite marks. Human bite marks, sir. Torn flesh." He swallowed hard. "There's also severe internal tearing and infection… consistent with repeated, brutal sexual assault…" The words hit Ethan like a physical blow. He just stood there, frozen, staring towards the curtained-off bed where I lay, his face utterly stunned, disbelieving. 4 "How could she..." Ethan whispered, his voice barely audible, filled with dawning confusion. He seemed to be questioning everything. But then, just as quickly, a cynical laugh escaped him. "Chloe's always been manipulative. She's too calculating to let herself get really hurt." His voice hardened again. "This has to be another act. A desperate ploy to make me feel guilty." He ripped back the curtain separating the examination area, his eyes narrowed, sharp as knives. "If I find out you lied to me about this, Chloe..." His words died in his throat as he saw me. Really saw me. I lay there, exposed on the narrow bed. The lower half of my body was a ruin of scar tissue, purpled and white, completely covering the skin. The edges of some scars clearly showed the jagged pattern of teeth marks. Near my inner thighs, the skin was raw, inflamed, weeping a mixture of blood and greenish pus. Even Ethan, with his anger and coldness, couldn't help but recoil, sucking in a sharp breath. The sight was horrific. "How...? How did this happen?" he stammered, looking genuinely shaken. "I just left you in the mountains for three years. That's all! And I told that park ranger, Mike, to keep an eye on you, make sure you were basically okay! How could you end up like… like this?" The Appalachian backcountry is vast and dangerous. Even experienced hikers with full gear get lost or injured. Sending me out there alone, a city girl with nothing… what did he think would happen? And as for the ranger… Mike… Just then, the walkie-talkie on Ethan’s belt crackled to life. "Mr. Thompson? Hey, uh, why'd you take that little piece back with you?" The voice was rough, familiar. Chillingly familiar. Static hissed, but I knew that voice instantly. It belonged to Mike, the ranger Ethan had supposedly told to "look after" me. He was the one who'd zap me with a cattle prod whenever I got too close to the edge of the territory, trying to find a way out. Once, I fell to my knees, begging him to just get a message to Ethan for me. He just grinned, showing yellow teeth, and unbuckled his belt in front of his buddies. "Maybe if you take real good care of me and the boys first," he'd leered, "I might think about it..." I tried to run, but his men surrounded me. They dragged me into a dark shed… I was bleeding heavily when they finally let me go. Mike’s voice now, on the radio, was laced with a slimy attempt at camaraderie. "Mr. Thompson, sir, you told us to give that hot little thing some 'special attention,' make her learn her lesson, right? Me and the boys, we put in a lot of effort, yes sir." He chuckled darkly. "She was a feisty one at first, I'll give her that. Bit one of my guys bad, even after we broke a couple of her fingers." He laughed again. "But she's real obedient now. Real well-trained. Does whatever you tell her. Been real… fun having her around." The walkie-talkie crackled with Mike’s self-satisfied laughter. His ugly, leering face floated in my mind's eye, refusing to leave. The color drained from Ethan’s face. His hand holding the radio started to tremble. "You… you did what?" His voice was a strangled whisper. "Sir?" Mike sounded confused. "Wasn't that the plan? You said she framed Miss Ashley, deserved whatever she got out here, left to rot?" Ethan lowered his voice, speaking into the radio, but his eyes were ice-cold, staring into nothing. "Actually," he said, almost to himself, "I knew Ashley was lying. She never went to Shennongjia, never saw any wild men." He took a shaky breath. "But if I didn't go along with it, Ashley wouldn't get that study abroad spot. And Chloe... she's the real heiress, set for life. Missing one little trip abroad means nothing to her." He sighed, a ragged sound. "Forget it. Once I get her back home, I'll propose. Marry her. I'll make it up to her then." My head snapped up. I stared at Ethan's back, the tiny spark of hope I hadn't even realized I was holding onto instantly extinguished. It wasn't just negligence. It was deliberate. Calculated. While everyone was distracted by the radio conversation, I moved. Quick and silent. I grabbed the emergency parachute pack I'd spotted earlier, fumbled with the straps, pulled it on. With every ounce of strength I had left, I threw open the helicopter door. Ethan whipped around, his eyes wide with terror. "Chloe! What are you doing?!" My heart felt like a lead weight. With a final, desolate look back, I jumped. "I'm not going back!" I screamed into the wind shear. "Just leave me in the mountains!"

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