"You have no idea how foolish you have made yourself look," Lucas said, inches away from Arnold. Arnold's eyes widened as he stared at his best friend speaking to him that way. He couldn't believe that someone he trusted with his heart would ever treat him like that. "Why?" He asked Lucas slowly. "Why would you do this to me?"Lucas threw his head back and laughed. "Vera was never yours. Do you know how long I have been sleeping with her? Do you know how long I have been taking care of her and paying her bills? Well, I guess you are too slow to notice things. That's exactly why you think she would settle for you. You wretched low-class trader." Arnold shook his head. Lucas's words pierced his heart like a knife. "Is that why you refused to help me all this time? Is that why you won't help me with money to promote my business? Because you were sleeping with my girlfriend?"Lucas grinned. "Finally, you're beginning to catch on. Well, that was part of the reason. I'm shocked you're not

The cool whiff of the evening breeze, whipped past fleetingly, and with a gasp, Arnold’s eyes shot open albeit painstakingly.At the same time, he felt a splitting ache in his skull, and blinking through his blurred vision, he closed his eyes again, and tried to remember where he was.He could hear voices nearby, the faint sounds of ambulance sirens wailing loudly, and he groaned as a wave of nausea swept over him."What was happening to him? Where was he?" He wondered, as he tried to move his stiff body ,but unfortunately, he couldn’t. And then it slammed into him all at once, like a ton of bricks and suddenly everything that’d happened came flooding back to him.The disgraceful wedding scene. Him getting drunk afterward and attacked by a group of vile men who had beaten him to a pulp and robbed him. Then……… the accident.“No…” The words tore out of his lips in a rush, and just as he tried again to get up from the hard bricked floor he heard a voice in his head.‘Of course, Not. Yo

Arnold still couldn't wrap his head around it. Maybe it was the misfortune all his life speaking but it all felt like a dream he would just suddenly wake up from."Ow!" He hissed, and head held high, Arnold began to walk the streets, going straight to his apartment building, and in no time he arrived.Black soot coated the walls of the apartment complex. The once bright red hue was no longer it's original color. Instead it had patches of sickly green all over. It looked like it could pass for a work of art but it wasn't. It was a dumpster all in all. A soft wind blew by and a creak accompanied it. It was late at night and everywhere was eerily quiet, so even the faintest sound reached Arnold's ears. It was his window.The sill was broken and the glass was cracked. The sun's rays bounced off it and Arnold discovered a not so tiny hole.So that's where the rats and geckos were coming in from. Honestly, Arnold couldn't even remember what condition it was when he moved in."What the?" A

Arnold woke up to the heady scent of luxury. For the first time in his entire life, he had slept without any form of discomfort. All he could feel was the fluffy beddings and the pillows that felt like tufts of cloud.After the incident with the hotel staff, they had apologized to him profusely and provided everything he needed immediately. Fueled by the doors his money opened for him and the endless privileges, he had entered cloud nine from yesterday until today.He opened his eyes and all he could see was white. If he didn't know any better, he would have simply assumed that he must be in heaven.He stood abruptly, letting the soft, white duvet slide off his bare skin and walked into the adjourning bathroom in his birthday suit. After showering, he laid out the brand new designer clothes he'd ordered on the bed, sniffing it like a savage before proceeding to put it on — with the tags still intact, of course.As he put on the gray suit trouser, he heard a light buzz coming from his d

Mr Larry watched Arnold speak. He watched him try to articulate his words very well. He puffed out smoke from his cigar repeatedly. Sometimes, he did it so close to Arnold’s face that he could see the visible disgust on the man's face. It gave him some sort of sick pleasure.“Hold on.”Arnold looked up at Larry, wondering why he suddenly told him to hold on.“Yes?” Arnold asked, now looking at Larry intently, his eyes examining the man’s face. From his examination, he made a finding: Mr Larry's lips didn’t resemble that of a smoker. It was surprisingly clean and fresh-looking.“Why?”Arnold was beginning to wonder. He shook his head to stop his distracting train of thought. “Why what?”“Why the fuck should I invest in your business? Let’s say, okay, I’m interested in this business idea you’re pitching to me, why do you think I should invest in it?” Larry laughed — a dark, long laugh. He reached out and put out his cigarette on the ashtray beside him. “From what you’ve said so far, it