Lena and Vin stared at Nick in shock, unable to believe his outburst.
A vein pulsed angrily in Seth's temple. Quickly, he peeled the apron off, "How dare you speak to me that way, you ungrateful wretch. After all we've done for you!"
"Done for me? What exactly have you guys done although than to treat me like nothing?" Nick threw his arms out wide,his voice rising with every word.
"Do well to remember your place,you worthless piece of trash" Seth warned.
Nick’s eyes hardened as he declared for all to hear, "I quit. And if any of you lay another hand on me, you'll regret it."
For a long moment, no one breathed but then Seth's face darkened. "You insolent rat! How dare you quit, who do you think you are?"
He pulled back his fist, clearly intending to put Nick back in his place. But this time, Nick was ready. He caught Seth's wrist and flipped him over his shoulder. Seth crashed to the floor with a startled yelp.Pin-drop silence fell in the lavish ballroom. Seth struggled to his feet, face livid but before he could charge again, Nick landed a quick right hook to his jaw, sending him sprawling to the floor again. He clutched his mouth as blood spilled between his fingers.
Clara felt dizzy at the impact of that blow even though she was only watching. She had no idea Nick knew how to fight like that!
"That's for being such a pompous ass!" Nick shouted.
The crowd recoiled as one, shocked by such disrespect shown to the esteemed Sinclair family. Taking advantage of the distraction, Max lunged at Nick with a grunt. But Nick was quicker, grabbing two fistfuls of his dinner jacket and slamming him into the wall. The stunned guests watched as Nick drove his knee into his gut. Max held his stomach,gasping for air.
Oh how long he had wanted to do that already!
"Nick stop!" Clara cried behind him, tugging at his arm.
The watching crowd gasped as one but he paid them no mind, too lost in finally standing up for himself after so long bottled in.
A hand suddenly grasped his shoulder from behind but he wrenched free instinctively, whirling to defend himself further. His fist stopped an inch from Vin's face as he threw his hands up in a placating gesture.
"That's enough Nick, stand down!" Vin said in an authoritative tone.Turning, he hollered, "Security, remove this man from my property at once!"
"Gladly. I never want to set foot in this hellhole again." Nick said and walked out before they touched him.
He wandered the dark streets, the cold night air biting at his skin. He pulled his down his sleeves hoping to get some warmth. What was he thinking, standing up to the Sinclair family? Now there he was, back at square one with nothing. He sighed, his breath forming a little cloud in the darkness.He didn't know how long he walked for, lost in his regret. Eventually his legs grew tired and he slumped to the ground in a quiet alleyway, leaning his back against the rough brick wall. As he stared off into the distance, he realized that he didn't even have time to grab his things from the mansion.
“Fuck!” He groaned,his own voice echoing.
Stupid, stupid, he thought to himself, slamming his fist against the wall. He knew he should get up and find shelter, but he just didn't have the energy to move. So instead, he pulled two discarded cardboard boxes towards him and started arranging them into a makeshift bed. It was pathetic, but it would have to do for now. Just a few hours of rest and then he'd figure out his next move.He must have dozed off because the next thing he knew, loud voices were echoing down the alleyway, drawing closer. Nick squinted into the darkness and saw a white van pull up at the entrance, its headlights blinding in the black night. Four men emerged from the vehicle, dressed head to toe in black. He knew without a doubt who had sent them. Either Seth or Max.
"Seth Sinclair wants you to pay for humiliating him," one of the men said harshly as they closed in.
Nick scrambled to his feet, every nerve in his body firing with alarm. "I'm not looking for any trouble," he replied, holding up his hands defensively.
The men laughed cruelly. "Too late for that now because we are here to give you some."
Before he could react, one had landed a heavy blow straight to his nose. Their fists and heavy boots continued the brutal assault without pause on his back,stomach,legs,everywhere.He managed to kick one in the groin making him collide with the others. There was no way he could take down four men at once.As they were momentarily distracted,Nick bolted down the alley as fast as he could. He heard angry shouts as they ran after him like a pack of wild dogs. He turned corners blindly, splashing through filthy puddles, not knowing or caring where he was going.
After what felt like an eternity, Nick finally spotted an empty dumpster and dove behind it, pressing his back to the cold metal. He held his breath, listening intently as the footsteps grew nearer, then started to fade again into the distance. He waited a full five minutes before peeking out, scanning the area. It seemed he had finally lost them.
Nick leaned his head back and tried to catch his breath. His whole body throbbed with fear. One hand reached up to swipe at his stinging nose, pulling away wet with blood. He decided to settle there and didn’t know when he fell asleep out of exhaustion.
Nick woke slowly the next morning and his body screamed in protest as he carefully pulled himself up into a sitting position, every muscle aching.Raising a tentative hand to his nose, he pulled it away to find it had finally stopped bleeding in the night, though it was swollen and tender to touch. His abdomen had dark bruises as well.
"What a fucking mess," he groaned.As he waited for the pounding in his head to subside, he reached out for his phone in his pocket to check the time. But when the screen lit up, it wasn't the time he saw—it was an alarming alert flashing across the top in bold letters.
"Balance update: $10 trillion USD deposited."
Nick's blood ran cold. Ten...trillion? That had to be a mistake, some glitch in the system. He jabbed at the notification with a shaky finger and his account loaded, balance proudly displayed at the top: $10,000,000,000,000.
"No fucking way," he breathed, staring in disbelief.
It had been a long day working on the construction site under the hot summer sun. Nick wiped the sweat from his brow as he focused intently on securing another panel into place on the building's framework. "You incompetent worker, these measurements are all wrong!" yelled a client, storming over with an angry scowl. "I've triple checked the blueprints sir, everything is laid out according to the specs," He replied calmly, though his frustration was building up. Why was it always his fault when things went awry, whether he caused them or not?"Well it's not right, I want it redone. And next time don't screw it up!" the client snapped before storming off in a huff. Nick ran a grimy hand through his hair, cursing under his breath. The crew watched on quietly, knowing there was little that could be said to improve the situation.Just then his cell phone buzzed. Fishing it from his dirty jeans, he saw it was his girlfriend,Clara. A grin broke through his tired expression at the sight of
As consciousness slowly returned, the first thing Nick registered was a stabbing pain in his lower leg. He winced, eyes fluttering open to an unfamiliar white ceiling. Turning his head, he saw a nurse checking the IV drip by his bed. "Good, you're awake," she smiled warmly. "Welcome back to the land of the living. How are you feeling?" Nick licked dry lips, throat raspy. "What...happened? Where am I?" He scanned for clues as he looked around."You were in an accident, dear. A car lost control on the roads and hit you while you were crossing 7th. Luckily a bystander saw and called 911." She examined his leg cast under thin blankets. "Looks like you've got a bad fracture, but it should heal up fine." "Thank you for your care," he told the nurse. "I should rest now." She nodded and slipped out. In few minutes, his doctor stopped by with an update. "You had some internal bleeding we had to fix up as well. You'll need to stay off that leg for some days to fully recover." That eveni
The movers were finally done,locking up the place and marching off to the truck they came with. As they shut the doors of the truck with a echoing slam, Nick watched numbly. As the engine rumbled to life, he saw his landlord slap the side of the truck and he yelled, "Let's get out of here!" Nick's legs gave out as the reality hit. He collapsed on the hard dirt, surrounded by his discarded property. The small crowd that had gathered to watch had dispersed, bored now that the main event was over. He was alone under the hot sun, with nowhere left to go. No family to call, no friends he could lean on.After sitting down for hours without doing anything,he decided it was time to leave. With all options cut off, he decided the nearby park was his best chance at shelter. Slinging his bag over a shoulder, he trudged towards the park. Dusk had fell and he knew he needed a place to spend the night. He found a bench and settled there,watching a few kids play around. His phone was completely
Nick slowly woke to the unpleasant sensation of someone shaking his shoulder roughly. He blinked groggily up at a figure in a nurse's scrubs. "What do you think you're doing?" she barked. "Visiting hours ended hours ago."Rubbing the crick in his neck, the events of the previous day came rushing back. "I'm sorry, I must have dozed off in the chair. It was a long day."The nurse's frown deepened. "You can't just decide to spend the night here whenever you feel like it. This is a hospital, not a homeless shelter."Nick scrambled to his feet."I know, I didn't mean to overstay. It's just...she's my mother. I wanted to be close by in case..." His voice trailed off awkwardly. The nurse folded her arms with a sigh. "Look, I understand you're going through a tough time. But we have rules for a reason."His shoulders slumped. "Please, I have nowhere else to go. Can't I just stay a few more hours?""Absolutely not. This ward houses over a dozen patients, not just your mother. I can't have peo
Nick arrived at the large iron gates of the Sinclair Estate taking a deep breath. He couldn’t believe he was actually there to take the job Clara had offered.Memories of his time with Clara flooded his mind, reminding him of the disapproval he had faced from her family. They had scorned him, belittled him, and made it abundantly clear that he was not worthy of their daughter. But Clara had been different. She had always stood by his side, defending their love.And now, she was no longer on his side.As the gate slowly swung open, Nick couldn't help but feel like a condemned man heading for his end.But he was out of options - with no job,no home and no savings left, this was his last chance.Making his way up the long driveway, Nick's anxiety grew larger. Just then, the massive front doors swung open to reveal Clara standing framed in the entrance. Gone was the warmth and affection Nick had always seen in her eyes,now they were cold and calculating as she surveyed him silently. "Clar
Nick sighed as he wiped down the last table in the dining hall. It had been a long morning of cleaning up. He had been living in the Sinclair mansion for weeks now and in all honesty,it was hard to keep up. As he turned to take the dirty rags to be washed, Clara's sharp voice rang out. "Nick, I need you to drive me shopping today." Clara was perched on her usual bar stool, cheeks flushed from half a bottle of champagne already. Nick paused, brow furrowing. "I'm the house help, ma'am. Don't we have drivers for your errands?"Ma’am. He had been ordered to address everyone as “Sir or Ma’am” and that included Clara too. Clara frowned delicately. "They're all busy with other tasks. I need someone to carry my purchases. You'll do.Its an order." Her tone left no room for argument. Nick suppressed another sigh. "Give me a moment to change," he replied politely but firmly. Clara waved a well-manicured hand in dismissal.Nick hurried to the basement and pulled on his most presentable clot
Clara could see that Nick really loved her and would almost do anything for her even while barely getting by. The guys she had formerly been with were mostly jerks at the end of the day. She didn’t love him,she loved the way he loved her genuinely. So she used him.And when she was tired of him,she tossed him away like trash.Nick sank into his seat, his heart physically hurting in his chest and his mind spinning. He couldn't believe how foolish he had been, wasting two years catering to Clara's every whim. And for what? It was painfully clear now that she had never cared for him at all. He felt like such a big fool all over again and wished he hadn’t bothered to know the answer to his questions.Lost in thought, Nick barely noticed as Clara began scrolling through her phone, trying to text someone. Suddenly, there was a deafening crash and the sound of tearing metal. Clara let out a piercing shriek as the car shuddered violently to a halt.Nick's head snapped up just in time to see th
Nick sat on the floor, his legs crossed beneath him, massaging Clara's and Lena's tired feet while they relaxed comfortably on the plush sofa. His hands ached but he didn't dare show it. Barely a week had passed since he had been freezing in the rain, still recovering from fever. Yet here he was again, fulfilling every beck and call. As Clara and her mother Lena chatted idly, Nick tried tuning them out. But Lena snapped her magazine against his head. "Pay attention, boy. Do it right or you'll be out there again the next time it rains."He hated how he was always referred to as a boy. He was twenty six years old already. If only he was wealthy…Nick mumbled an apology and doubled his efforts. Was this what his life had turned into? A toy for their amusement? Just then, Vin barged in, face flushed with rage. "My Rolex is missing, you scumbag thief! I left it on the dresser for the gala." Nick froze in confusion. "I-I didn't take it, I swear.I have never stolen anything in my life."
Lena and Vin stared at Nick in shock, unable to believe his outburst.A vein pulsed angrily in Seth's temple. Quickly, he peeled the apron off, "How dare you speak to me that way, you ungrateful wretch. After all we've done for you!" "Done for me? What exactly have you guys done although than to treat me like nothing?" Nick threw his arms out wide,his voice rising with every word. "Do well to remember your place,you worthless piece of trash" Seth warned.Nick’s eyes hardened as he declared for all to hear, "I quit. And if any of you lay another hand on me, you'll regret it." For a long moment, no one breathed but then Seth's face darkened. "You insolent rat! How dare you quit, who do you think you are?" He pulled back his fist, clearly intending to put Nick back in his place. But this time, Nick was ready. He caught Seth's wrist and flipped him over his shoulder. Seth crashed to the floor with a startled yelp. Pin-drop silence fell in the lavish ballroom. Seth struggled to his fe
Nick sat on the floor, his legs crossed beneath him, massaging Clara's and Lena's tired feet while they relaxed comfortably on the plush sofa. His hands ached but he didn't dare show it. Barely a week had passed since he had been freezing in the rain, still recovering from fever. Yet here he was again, fulfilling every beck and call. As Clara and her mother Lena chatted idly, Nick tried tuning them out. But Lena snapped her magazine against his head. "Pay attention, boy. Do it right or you'll be out there again the next time it rains."He hated how he was always referred to as a boy. He was twenty six years old already. If only he was wealthy…Nick mumbled an apology and doubled his efforts. Was this what his life had turned into? A toy for their amusement? Just then, Vin barged in, face flushed with rage. "My Rolex is missing, you scumbag thief! I left it on the dresser for the gala." Nick froze in confusion. "I-I didn't take it, I swear.I have never stolen anything in my life."
Clara could see that Nick really loved her and would almost do anything for her even while barely getting by. The guys she had formerly been with were mostly jerks at the end of the day. She didn’t love him,she loved the way he loved her genuinely. So she used him.And when she was tired of him,she tossed him away like trash.Nick sank into his seat, his heart physically hurting in his chest and his mind spinning. He couldn't believe how foolish he had been, wasting two years catering to Clara's every whim. And for what? It was painfully clear now that she had never cared for him at all. He felt like such a big fool all over again and wished he hadn’t bothered to know the answer to his questions.Lost in thought, Nick barely noticed as Clara began scrolling through her phone, trying to text someone. Suddenly, there was a deafening crash and the sound of tearing metal. Clara let out a piercing shriek as the car shuddered violently to a halt.Nick's head snapped up just in time to see th
Nick sighed as he wiped down the last table in the dining hall. It had been a long morning of cleaning up. He had been living in the Sinclair mansion for weeks now and in all honesty,it was hard to keep up. As he turned to take the dirty rags to be washed, Clara's sharp voice rang out. "Nick, I need you to drive me shopping today." Clara was perched on her usual bar stool, cheeks flushed from half a bottle of champagne already. Nick paused, brow furrowing. "I'm the house help, ma'am. Don't we have drivers for your errands?"Ma’am. He had been ordered to address everyone as “Sir or Ma’am” and that included Clara too. Clara frowned delicately. "They're all busy with other tasks. I need someone to carry my purchases. You'll do.Its an order." Her tone left no room for argument. Nick suppressed another sigh. "Give me a moment to change," he replied politely but firmly. Clara waved a well-manicured hand in dismissal.Nick hurried to the basement and pulled on his most presentable clot
Nick arrived at the large iron gates of the Sinclair Estate taking a deep breath. He couldn’t believe he was actually there to take the job Clara had offered.Memories of his time with Clara flooded his mind, reminding him of the disapproval he had faced from her family. They had scorned him, belittled him, and made it abundantly clear that he was not worthy of their daughter. But Clara had been different. She had always stood by his side, defending their love.And now, she was no longer on his side.As the gate slowly swung open, Nick couldn't help but feel like a condemned man heading for his end.But he was out of options - with no job,no home and no savings left, this was his last chance.Making his way up the long driveway, Nick's anxiety grew larger. Just then, the massive front doors swung open to reveal Clara standing framed in the entrance. Gone was the warmth and affection Nick had always seen in her eyes,now they were cold and calculating as she surveyed him silently. "Clar
Nick slowly woke to the unpleasant sensation of someone shaking his shoulder roughly. He blinked groggily up at a figure in a nurse's scrubs. "What do you think you're doing?" she barked. "Visiting hours ended hours ago."Rubbing the crick in his neck, the events of the previous day came rushing back. "I'm sorry, I must have dozed off in the chair. It was a long day."The nurse's frown deepened. "You can't just decide to spend the night here whenever you feel like it. This is a hospital, not a homeless shelter."Nick scrambled to his feet."I know, I didn't mean to overstay. It's just...she's my mother. I wanted to be close by in case..." His voice trailed off awkwardly. The nurse folded her arms with a sigh. "Look, I understand you're going through a tough time. But we have rules for a reason."His shoulders slumped. "Please, I have nowhere else to go. Can't I just stay a few more hours?""Absolutely not. This ward houses over a dozen patients, not just your mother. I can't have peo
The movers were finally done,locking up the place and marching off to the truck they came with. As they shut the doors of the truck with a echoing slam, Nick watched numbly. As the engine rumbled to life, he saw his landlord slap the side of the truck and he yelled, "Let's get out of here!" Nick's legs gave out as the reality hit. He collapsed on the hard dirt, surrounded by his discarded property. The small crowd that had gathered to watch had dispersed, bored now that the main event was over. He was alone under the hot sun, with nowhere left to go. No family to call, no friends he could lean on.After sitting down for hours without doing anything,he decided it was time to leave. With all options cut off, he decided the nearby park was his best chance at shelter. Slinging his bag over a shoulder, he trudged towards the park. Dusk had fell and he knew he needed a place to spend the night. He found a bench and settled there,watching a few kids play around. His phone was completely
As consciousness slowly returned, the first thing Nick registered was a stabbing pain in his lower leg. He winced, eyes fluttering open to an unfamiliar white ceiling. Turning his head, he saw a nurse checking the IV drip by his bed. "Good, you're awake," she smiled warmly. "Welcome back to the land of the living. How are you feeling?" Nick licked dry lips, throat raspy. "What...happened? Where am I?" He scanned for clues as he looked around."You were in an accident, dear. A car lost control on the roads and hit you while you were crossing 7th. Luckily a bystander saw and called 911." She examined his leg cast under thin blankets. "Looks like you've got a bad fracture, but it should heal up fine." "Thank you for your care," he told the nurse. "I should rest now." She nodded and slipped out. In few minutes, his doctor stopped by with an update. "You had some internal bleeding we had to fix up as well. You'll need to stay off that leg for some days to fully recover." That eveni
It had been a long day working on the construction site under the hot summer sun. Nick wiped the sweat from his brow as he focused intently on securing another panel into place on the building's framework. "You incompetent worker, these measurements are all wrong!" yelled a client, storming over with an angry scowl. "I've triple checked the blueprints sir, everything is laid out according to the specs," He replied calmly, though his frustration was building up. Why was it always his fault when things went awry, whether he caused them or not?"Well it's not right, I want it redone. And next time don't screw it up!" the client snapped before storming off in a huff. Nick ran a grimy hand through his hair, cursing under his breath. The crew watched on quietly, knowing there was little that could be said to improve the situation.Just then his cell phone buzzed. Fishing it from his dirty jeans, he saw it was his girlfriend,Clara. A grin broke through his tired expression at the sight of