They Cropped Me Out, So I Cut Them Off Chapter 02

They Cropped Me Out, So I Cut Them Off Chapter 02

The other three people in the sleeper cabin were already lying in their own beds.

No one spoke to me.

No one even looked at me.

I touched the pepper spray hidden under my pillow.

Part of me wanted to give in and believe what Isla and the others had said.

I really did look harmless.

Maybe there was nothing to worry about.

But another part of me knew better.

You could never be too careful.

Soon, exhaustion took over.

I had always been a light sleeper.

But after days of traveling, visiting attractions, and helping everyone plan the trip, my body and mind were completely drained.

Before I knew it, I fell into a deep sleep.

Then I felt someone climbing onto my bed.

I woke up almost instantly.

Before I could struggle, a hand covered my mouth.

The man leaned close to my ear.

His breath brushed against my hair.

“Didn’t your friends say it themselves?”

“You’re the one who got lucky.”

He smiled at me in the darkness.

His features were handsome.

But looking at him only made me feel sick.

“Don’t play hard to get.”

His cold, sticky hand slipped under the hem of my clothes.

My fingers immediately reached for the pepper spray under my pillow.

I couldn’t see clearly in the darkness.

I just raised it and sprayed blindly.

Luckily, he screamed and let go of me.

I immediately crawled off the bed.

My hair was messy.

My voice shook as I screamed, “Help!”

My scream was sharp and desperate.

It quickly attracted the railway police officer and the train attendant.

People from nearby cabins also came out to see what was happening.

But the person who had promised he would always be watching out for me…

Never showed up.

The train attendant saw me trembling all over.

She wrapped her arms around me and gently comforted me.

After the railway police officer understood what happened, he grabbed the man who was trying to disappear into the crowd and forced him to the ground.

I tried to calm down.

Then I took out my phone and called the four of them.

But every single phone was turned off.

The train attendant had to send someone to get them.

They walked over half-asleep.

The moment they saw me, they froze.

Then Theodore spoke without thinking.

“Wait, seriously?”

“Someone was actually that desperate?”

He was looking at his own sister—hair messy, red marks on her neck.

And his first reaction wasn’t worry.

It was the same joke they always made.

My heart completely sank.

I froze in the train attendant’s arms.

She felt me tense up.

She lowered her head and looked at me with pity.

Then she turned around and shouted at my brother, “Shut up!”

“Don’t make this worse for her!”

Someone quickly explained what had happened.

Luca’s expression changed.

Confusion turned into anger.

His fists tightened.

He stepped toward the man on the ground, ready to hit him.

But Serena grabbed him from behind.

“Luca, don’t!”

“Don’t do something stupid!”

“You’ll go to jail!”

Isla also tried to stop him.

“It’s not worth it.”

“Nothing actually happened.”

He was my boyfriend.

I was the one who had almost been violated.

Yet they acted like Luca had no reason to be angry.

My nails dug into my palm.

Only then did I realize my hand actually hurt.

Serena glanced at me.

Then, like she was only casually mentioning it, she said, “Isn’t it strange?”

“Blythe literally asked if we’d regret it if something happened to her.”

“And then something actually happened.”

Luca froze.

Everyone’s suspicious eyes landed on me.

The man pinned to the ground suddenly seemed to understand what Serena meant.

He immediately shouted, “She’s the one who wanted it!”

“She called me over to her bed!”

“Then she suddenly started screaming!”

Luca stumbled back like he had been struck.

He looked at me in disbelief.

“Is that true?”

Three words.

Three simple words.

But they shattered the last bit of control I had left.

Tears rushed out like a broken dam.

My voice trembled.

“Luca…”

“You don’t believe me either?”

He looked at the people surrounding us.

At the man on the ground still shouting disgusting accusations.

Then he silently looked away.

That silence hurt more than any accusation.

Serena stepped forward like a judge delivering a verdict.

“You can tell by his face. He doesn’t look like a bad guy.”

“She wasn’t seriously hurt anyway.”

“Let’s just forget this happened and move on.”

With just a few sentences, she turned a crime into a misunderstanding.

Those words felt like a slap across my face.

After nearly twenty years of friendship and family bonds…

They trusted the “look” of a stranger more than they trusted me.

The handsome stranger on the floor.

Not me.

The man in my sleeper cabin stood up.

“I didn’t want to get involved.”

“But I can’t just watch this.”

He took out his phone.

Then he showed everyone the video.

He had recorded it from the upper bunk.

The footage clearly showed the man climbing into my bed on his own.

Theodore stared at me in shock.

As if he couldn’t believe someone like me could actually become a victim.

Then a trace of guilt appeared on his face.

The train attendant told the railway police officer to keep the man detained.

At the next stop, he’d be taken straight to the local police station.

The train attendant led me to the dining car to calm down.

Luca reached for me.

“Baby…”

The attendant pushed his hand away.

“Don’t touch her.”

“Let her breathe.”

I turned my face away.

I didn’t want to look at him.

But Luca looked at me with hurt in his eyes.

“Blythe…”

“Are you angry with me?”

Serena cut in.

“Fine.”

“Blythe, why don’t you switch berths with me?”

“You must be terrified.”

“Let Theodore and Luca look after you.”

“No!”