Kagern approached Jennifer cautiously, the sterile white walls of the Surreal City Hospital amplifying the sound of her choked sobs. He'd never seen her like this – the ever-composed, arrogant receptionist reduced to a woman crumbling under her emotions. A sense of pity pricked at him. He remembered their first encounter; her sharp words and disdainful glare. Yet, he'd seen a different side of her – a woman terrified by Mr. Brooks, a woman he'd readily protected."Jenniffer?" he repeated, his voice barely a whisper.Jennifer flinched, startled from her grief. She whipped her head around, wiping furiously at her reddened eyes with the back of her hand. "Mr. McDenials?" she stammered, her voice thick with emotion. "I – I didn't expect to see you here.""It's okay to call me Jayden," he said gently, his concern evident. "What happened? I mean, if it's okay with you to tell me, why're you crying?"Jennifer hesitated, chewing on her lower lip. The carefully constructed facade she usually w
Kagern's blood ran cold. Bingle's muffled whimpers and Willy's smug threat painted a horrifying picture.'What do I do?'He asked himself as he ran outside. He had to reach his convoy and go as soon as possible. "Where are you?" he asked, though he suspected it was at the Golden Heart Hotel. That's where he had left Bingle, after all. "At the Golden Heart Hotel," replied Willy. "Get here in 10 minutes, alone. Bingle is not here though. My men are taking her somewhere else. If you call police or anything happens to me, he's death will be on your hands.""Ten minutes it is. OK! I'm coming!"Willy guffawed.Kagern shoved the phone into his pocket, a familiar icy dread gripping him. Helping Jennifer had been a welcome respite, but this call was a brutal reminder of the viper's nest he still called a life. Willy Williams, the arrogant fool from Williams Family must have held a grudge on him after he rescued Bungle's father. But Kagern wasn't afraid. He had so many ways to teach that fo
Kagern couldn't help but burst out laughing. He said, "Oh! I would like to see you do that."If Kagern didn't have a back up plan, he wouldn't be being arrogant. He would be on his knees now, pleading for Bingle to be released. However, now he knew his father was working on it. Soon, Willy Williams would be the one begging him. His arrogant response made a scowl appear on Willy's face. He stepped toward him and said, "Do you think I'm kidding? Do you think I won't r*pe her? Listen, that bitch had ignored me for a long time. I'll make sure she pays for it. As for you, I advise you not to play arrogant in front of me if you love her. If you don't want me to punish her even more."Kagern stepped closer to him, too, a sign that he was not afraid of him. He said, "Hey, why don't you do it now? Do you think I'm afraid of you? Haha! I feel pity for you."Willy smashed the whisky glass he was holding to the ground and grabbed Kagern by the collar. "Who do you think you're talking to like tha
"Get out of my house!" Mrs. Coulter shouted at Erio as she stood in the doorway, pointing out to make sure he saw the direction she wanted him to take. Erio stepped toward her, pleading, "Mrs. Coulter, please! Just tonight! I promise I'm gonna pay you tomorrow. Except this month, have I ever been late to pay the rent?"Mrs. Coulter burst into laughter at his words. "Never been late, uh? When did you pay me last month?"Last month, Erio only got late for just one day. He couldn't believe she still had that grudge, over just one day. It was time for him to burst into laughter, too, but he couldn't. Laughing at her would make the situation worse than it was. That's why he decided to keep pleading."I promise I'll pay you tomorrow before noon. Besides, I'm late for just 4 days. I can compensate you for them. Just... Please!"He had a manuscript he had been ghostwriting for Bernard. He was sure he would be done with it tomorrow morning, then get his payment at least 2 to 3 hours after sub
"Please! Please! Give me a few seconds and don't hurt him, okay? I'm going to send the money right away," Kagern pleaded as he pushed his way into his best friend's apartment. One could see panic on his face as he put the phone into his pockets. Before he could do what had brought him here, though, the panic on his face turned into a frown when he saw a girl in a red revealing nightgown. His mind could not register what his girlfriend could be doing at David's place... plus, what kind of outfit was that? "Erie?! What are you doing here?" Startled, Erica opened her mouth to reply, but another voice spoke from the side. "Can't she visit her boyfriend?" Kagern shifted his gaze to the source of the voice and saw David who was walking towards Erica with two glasses of red wine. He could not believe both his eyes and ears. Erica was his girlfriend. What was David trying to imply by that? "Bro, she's my girlfriend. What are you talking about?" After asking this, Kagern shifted his g
With Kagern's bulky build, David, who was a colony of women and alcohol, could not protect himself from him if he truly wanted beat him up. However, Kagern was here to ask for some money. That's why he just clenched his hands, trying hard to contain his anger. Erica pulled David back when she saw Kagern clenching his hands into fists. "Darling, don't give this dog a chance to bite you. Give him some time to register what has just happened to him. It's not easy for a broke *ss like him to lose a beauty like me, after all."Hearing this, Kagern couldn't help but laugh. "Ha! Ha!""Give me some time to register? A sucker like you? Who told you you're that beautiful?"His words made the smile on Erica's face freeze. "What did you say? That I'm not that beautiful? A sucker, eh? Davey, did you hear that? How dare a loser like him call me..."Kagern cut her off by saying, "I'm not here to argue with you." Shifting his gaze to David, he added, "I'm here for my money."David furrowed his ey
Kagern was tired of the disgusting testimonies accusing his father. Thus, at some point, he stopped going to the internet to read the updates about his father's trials. He already knew what he would find there, anyways. Lots of memes mocking his father, lots of pictures extracted from a viral album where his father was naked, seemingly being intimate with a minor...And lots of videos from a terrorist group that had kidnapped 100 school girls, demanding the release of Kagern's father while claiming that he was its sponsor.He was tired of that.About going to the court, Kagern would never dream of such a thing. A few times he did 3 years ago, people threw tomatoes and eggs at him, lots of insults escorting them. As if that wasn't enough, there were these men in black suits hunting him with guns, bullets being shot at him with hidden snipers. He was not safe. The government promised him protection, the protection which made him become like a prisoner, instead. That's why he faked h
After the convoy came to a stop, the body guards opened the door for Kagern, then rushed him toward the private jet. He was about to board when his phone rang. Maybe it was Eric. Stepping into the jet, Kagern pulled his phone out of his pockets and looked at its screen. "Dad?!"He had thought that maybe Eric wanted to thank him for saving him or what, but it was… his father? Didn't they just talk? Wasn't he on the way home to talk to him?Kagern was curious."Uh... son, I'm sorry!"One could feel sorrow in the man's tone."Sorry for what, dad?""The media is now watching my every move," explained his father. "I don't want them to find out that you're still alive. I want the Williams Family to pay for what they did to us tenfold. You being dead will be my strong weapon to have public opinion on my side."To be honest, except for his father, Kagern had no other person waiting for him in Cereal City. He would like to stay here in Surreal City where he had made many friends and enemi