Strongest Boyfriend In The Apocalypse: Every Girl Depends On Me!-Chapter 37: Strange Man

Nina’s wrists burned.

Not because the ropes were too tight, but because she had already struggled too much against them earlier, wasting strength that she knew she should have saved.

The room she was kept in was small, barely lit, with walls that smelled of old wood and damp air, and a floor that felt cold even through the thin fabric of her clothes. She had long since stopped counting how much time had passed since she was dragged here. Time felt meaningless when every second stretched too long.

The door creaked.

Nina lifted her head slowly, her eyes sharp despite the exhaustion weighing down her body. The woman who stepped in was dressed in white, the same woman Nina had followed from the forest earlier.

Her clothes were clean in a way that didn’t fit this broken world, and her expression was calm but guarded, like someone who had already decided what kind of person Nina was.

Without saying a word, the woman walked forward and dropped a few pieces of cooked meat on the floor near Nina’s feet. The smell reached Nina instantly, rich and heavy, and her stomach twisted painfully in response. Hunger was cruel like that. It didn’t care about pride or dignity.

Only then did Nina notice the knife in the woman’s hand.

The blade caught the faint light as the woman raised it slightly, her grip firm and deliberate.

"Try anything stupid," the woman said coldly, her voice steady and emotionless, "and I won’t hesitate to slit your throat."

Nina didn’t respond immediately.

She simply looked up at her.

Not with fear. Not with anger.

But with a strange calm that made the woman hesitate, just slightly.

Nina’s eyes were tired, but they were kind in a way that didn’t fit someone tied up like a criminal. There was no panic in them. No wild desperation. Just quiet resolve and something deeper, something the woman couldn’t quite understand.

That look lingered.

After a moment that felt longer than it should have, the woman exhaled through her nose and stepped closer. Slowly, carefully, she knelt down and cut one of the ropes binding Nina’s right hand, leaving it free.

"Don’t get ideas," she warned, standing back up and moving toward the doorway. "I’m watching you."

She leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, eyes locked on Nina as if waiting for her to prove her right.

Nina flexed her freed fingers once, feeling the blood rush back painfully, then lowered her gaze to the meat on the floor.

She stared at it for a moment.

Then she reached down, grabbed one piece, and began to eat.

She chewed slowly, deliberately, her movements controlled. Hunger screamed at her to devour it, but she refused to look desperate. She swallowed, then took another bite.

Only after a few moments did she speak.

"Tell your father to let me go."

Her voice was calm, but there was urgency beneath it, restrained but clear.

"I meant no harm," Nina continued, glancing up briefly before returning her attention to the food. "But since you don’t want to believe me, I won’t waste time begging. I need to leave. I have to get somewhere before it’s too late."

The woman in white scoffed softly, pushing herself off the doorframe.

"You’re lying," she said sharply. "You were sneaking around our home. Watching us. That means you were planning to attack."

Nina paused mid-bite.

Her jaw tightened.

She lowered the meat and finally looked straight at the woman, her eyes burning with restrained frustration.

"If I wanted to attack you," Nina said slowly, "I wouldn’t be tied to a chair right now."

The woman’s lips pressed together, but she didn’t respond immediately.

Nina went on, her voice steady despite the anger bubbling beneath it.

"I followed you because I needed help. I didn’t know who else to trust. The world outside isn’t kind to people who walk alone anymore."

"And you expect us to believe that?" the woman snapped. "Every enemy we’ve faced came pretending to be harmless."

Nina inhaled deeply.

She forced herself to calm down. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"Listen to me," she said, softer now, persuasive rather than confrontational. "I don’t belong here. I’m not part of any group hunting you. I have people waiting for me. People who will come looking if I don’t return."

"That sounds like a threat," the woman replied coldly.

"It’s not," Nina said immediately. "It’s a fact."

Silence stretched between them.

The woman studied Nina’s face, as if trying to find cracks in her expression, signs of deceit or malice. But all she saw was exhaustion and determination, layered with frustration that felt real.

After a long moment, the woman stepped forward again.

She retied the loosened rope with firm, practiced movements, making sure Nina’s right hand was restrained once more. When she was done, she straightened and took a step back.

"Any enemy is a monster," she said quietly, her eyes hard.

Then she turned and walked out, closing the door behind her without another word.

The moment the door shut, Nina snapped.

She screamed.

Not a weak cry. Not a plea.

A raw, furious scream that tore from her chest as she strained against the ropes, her breath coming in harsh gasps as anger flooded her entire body. She cursed under her breath, her teeth clenched so hard her jaw ached.

When the anger finally burned itself out, she slumped forward, breathing heavily, sweat slick against her skin.

That was when the door opened again.

Nina lifted her head sharply, ready to spit venom at whoever came next.

But the man who entered wasn’t the woman in white.

He was older. Middle-aged. His movements were slow and deliberate, his posture relaxed in a way that felt out of place here. He held a knife loosely in his hand, not threateningly, but casually, as if it were just another tool.

He didn’t speak.

He didn’t glare.

He simply looked at her.

For a long time.

Nina’s breathing slowed as confusion crept in. His gaze wasn’t hostile. It wasn’t suspicious either. It was thoughtful, almost distant, like he was seeing something beyond what was in front of him.

Then, without saying a single word, he stepped closer and used the knife to cut the ropes cleanly.

The fibers fell away.

Nina froze, staring at her freed wrists in disbelief.

The man turned and walked away immediately, leaving the door open behind him.

Nina remained seated, stunned.

She didn’t understand him.

And that scared her more than the ropes ever had.