Zen Maximus stood outside the magnificent house in a very upscale neighbourhood. The area was surrounded by extravagant mansions and luxury cars. No doubt that it was a luxurious neighbourhood.
There was a look of hesitation on his chiselled features. His tall athletic build slumped a little, like he was contemplating what to do next.
His wife, Stella Richard, on the other hand, smiled and jumped up and down in excitement, “Let’s go inside!"
Holding his hand she pushed him forward. She had a slender yet athletic frame. Her long lustrous hair cascaded down in gentle waves framing a face adorned with delicate features.
"Hurry up!" She nudged him again.
“I don’t know… your family hates me.” Zen replied knowing very well that he would have to face humiliation and insult if he were to go inside.
“Don't worry everything will be alright!” Stella sighed, patting him on his shoulder as she rang the doorbell.
The door opened and a young woman in her twenties came into view. Sarah Richard had a smug look on her face when her eyes fell on her sister, “Sis! I have been waiting for you.”
She stepped aside, as Stella and Zen walked inside. As soon as Stella was in the house she was engulfed in a tight hug by Sarah.
“How have you been?” Sarah asked.
“Great! What about you? And how is Benjamin?”
They broke the hug and pulled back, giving each other a smile.
“Hey!” A low pitched voice came from behind.
Benjamin Manson stepped forward and gave a side hug to Stella, “I must say you are getting pretty day by day.”
Stella chuckled a little at his comment and replied, “Aww. You are the sweetest.”
Zen stayed there in his place and watched them.
No one greeted Zen and he felt a tightness in his chest. He knew that Stella's family was upset with him, and they were showing it by insulting him.
“Oh Zen come inside, I forgot about you.” Stella grabbed his hand and pulled him inside.
Zen seemed hesitant inside as he kept his head down while going inside.
“Look, Stella also brought trash with him.” Benjamin mocked with a smug look on his face.
Zen looked away like he was trying to ignore. He noticed Benjamin's gaze linger on him, as if he was sizing him up. He looked away, trying to ignore the snub.
“You always keep trash alongside you.” Benjamin continued.
Zen felt embarrassed as his face turned red. Stella quickly pulled him closer to her and whispered, "Ignore them, they don't know any better."
"Listen, man you do not belong here.”
Zen felt humiliated. He wanted to turn around and go away from there. He was angry and sad at the same time. He knew he had made a mistake by showing up at the house of his in-laws. He knew that the right thing to do would have been to stay away and not to cause any trouble.
Benjamin and Sarah moved to the hallway along with Stella and Zen followed them too while keeping his head down.
They were standing in the hallway which was decorated well and seemed luxurious. There were white and ambient lights in the ceiling while the corners of the walls were decorated with expensive flowers and other expensive showpieces.
Zen was stunned as he saw the house from the inside. It was the first time he had come to the house. Before that no one allowed him to come there but it was his wife who wanted to take him here this time.
He knew that his in-laws were very wealthy but he was not expecting all this. He felt more embarrassed and felt like a fool for not being prepared for this.
"Come sit all of you!" Stella’s mother, Ruby, stepped forward and waved her hand.
Seeing her Zen was a bit relieved.
"Oh crap! Stella, why have you brought this piece of shit alongside you?" Ruby asked Stella rudely. Stella stayed quiet at that.
"Why do you bring this loser around here? You better leave now!" Ruby continued while pointing her finger directly towards Zen. He was shocked and did not know what to say.
"Mother, what are you saying?" Stella replied and motioned Zen to sit down.
"You think I'm stupid? I know what kind of people you hang out with!"
Zen was speechless…
"Okay let’s not ruin our mood by shitty people.” Benjamin went towards Ruby, “Come mother in law. I have brought a gift for you."
"You are so kind" Ruby replied as she took the gift from his hand.
The gift was wrapped in a purple cover and inside it was a large box. Ruby was surprised and touched, “Aww! Thank you so much. You didn’t have to.”
“How can I not bring anything for my beautiful mother in law? Of course it’s your birthday and you should get the best gift.” Benjamin flattered Ruby and she couldn’t help but blush at his statement.
"Now open the box and see what's inside.”
Ruby was nervous and excited at the same time. She carefully unwrapped the package.
"Oh my God it's so beautiful, thank you so much!" Ruby replied.
There was a very expensive necklace inside which was coated with gold and there was a flower pattern on it. She couldn't help but feel overwhelmed and emotional. She immediately hugged him and thanked him.
"Thank God you liked it," Benjamin replied, feeling more arrogant than before.
"I'm glad I was able to make someone happy.” He gently patted her on the back and said.
She felt warmth fill her heart and she hugged him even tighter. She thanked him again and Benjamin stepped back.
He saw an envelope in Zen’s hands. It was a white envelope with nothing written on top of it.
"Looks like you have also brought something, let's see what it is!" Benjamin asked Zen and snatched the envelope from his hands.
"Take it Mother and see what is inside." Benjamin gave the envelope to Ruby.
Ruby opened the envelope and there was a letter inside. Ruby started to read the letter while her face turned red while reading. Her eyes grew wide and she stared at Zen in disbelief.
"What is this? How dare you...
“I am sorry. I know I am being unreasonable but now we have nowhere to go. The rent had not been paid for 5 months and the landlord wants to throw us out.” Zen had a pitiful look on his face as he said. Stella’s eyes widened when she heard that, “But you didn’t tell me about this.” “I know… I didn’t want you to get worried.” Ruby’s face turned red as she gave Zen a death glare, “And what made you think that I will let you stay here in my house? You are already a worthless piece of trash which can give my daughter nothing and now you just want to rob us like this? Not going to happen!” Sarah rolled her eyes seeing the situation in front of her while Benjamin was enjoying every minute of this, he mocked him, “Wow! What a gift you gave her.” He turned towards Ruby and continued saying, “Mother in law you should be happy, he is giving you himself in your birthday gift. Why don’t you just keep him as your servant? I am sure he would be more than happy to lick your boots for you.” “Sh
Zen walked aimlessly for a long time. He had no idea where he was going or where he would end up. All he knew was that he needed to escape the terrible situation he was in, yet he wasn’t seeing any way out. Even his own wife Stella had turned against him, asking for a divorce. He laughed sarcastically, rubbing his hand to his face and wondering what to do next. He wished he had an option, he wished she would have trusted him more. He wished for a lot of things that he knew he wouldn't get.His phone suddenly rang, jarring him out of his thoughts. As he brought it out from his pocket, he grimaced at the look of his phone. He had been planning to change it for a while now, but since he couldn’t even afford to feed himself, how would he get a new phone?“Zen!” A man’s voice filled his ears as soon as he picked the call, “Where the hell have you been? Don’t you know you’re supposed to work today?!”He looked around in panic, seeing that he was a long way from home. He remembered retu
Stella looked shocked to see him. She gripped the biceps of the muscular man and tried to pull him inside, but he didn’t even budge. So many emotions flitted through her face, which he could see. At first she was surprised that he was then, then she was worried but not for him, then she kept glancing at the muscular man as though expecting him to react in a negative way. Not once did Zen see an emotion of guilt flit through her features. It was as though he was non-existent, like his presence did not matter in that time and space.Zen was numb. The first thought that came to his mind was her audacity to come to the door naked. It could have been anyone at that door, but she came there naked! And worse, there was a man with her. A man that had been seeing her for god knows how long. A man, in his own home.“Who is this?” the man growled, apparently fed up with the staring and standing contest.“This is my husband,” Stella said, not too happy to announce him. “You know, the simp of a
[No matter how much you try to run from your troubles, they always seem to catch up with you.]In an unknown place, a man was lying on an altar.His limbs splayed out as if he were a sacrificial lamb waiting for the slaughter.However, before anything would happen, he opened his eyes.As he opened his eyes, he felt warmth on his face.There was a confused look on his face, but with his hands still supporting him, he raised his torso and sat up.He looked down at himself and noticed that he was wearing a strange white robe."Wait!" he said out loud, surprised. "I am alive?" He remembered throwing himself off a building, so there was no way he could survive.He wondered, tilting his head to look at the sun-like light above his head. "Is this heaven?"But as he scanned the room, a sense of foreboding crept over him.The walls were covered in strange symbols that glowed with an eerie light, casting shadows that seemed to dance on their own accord.The air was thick with a heady scent that
Zen felt his heart race as he looked at Ariel. He couldn't believe he was standing in front ofsuch a stunning creature.Ariel's beauty was captivating. Her emerald green eyes sparkled like jewels, and her long, darkred hair was tied in two ponytails that cascaded down her back.She had a petite yet curvaceous figure that was accentuated by her vibrant green blouse andblack pants.Her skin was flawless and had a radiant glow to it.Zen couldn't help but notice the intricate tattoos that snaked up her arms, which seemed to bepulsating with an otherworldly energy.As she smiled at him, Zen felt like he was in a dream.Ariel's warm and inviting welcome made him feel special, and his heart raced.In his previous life, no one was willing to come near him, let alone talk to him in such a politeway. And here he was given a goddess to work with."Shall we get started?" She took a few steps towards him, and Zen felt his knees go weak."Y-yes," he stammered, trying his best not to blush as
They got into the building. Zen looked around the abandoned mess, realizing for the first time the true inspect the intrusion of the experiment had caused. There were black holes in the wall, some debris and blackened stones. It was almost as though he could imagine clearly what had happened here. As he looked at fallen walls and melted stones, flashbacks of memories that weren’t his flitted through his brain. He paused briefly at an upturned dirt in the air. A female worker had died at this spot. She was helping others to out and somehow the impact of the portal had reached her when it blew over the top. He ran forward and caught up with Ariel. She was surprisingly fast paced. He suppose he should not be surprised, seeing as she was a demon and had a magical trait. She suddenly stopped and he saw that they were in a shattered sort of room. “Here was your office,” Ariel said. “Here, you made important decisions that affected or impacted the lives of others.”“I can see that the las
On the ride to his supposed home, Zen glanced severally at Ariel. He expected that she cracked a joke to ease the tension, but the little demon was as stiff as possible. It was almost as though she was with his boss. He supposed that in many ways he was her boss; since he had the face of her former boss and he was to act as one, she’d have to accord him with the same respect she accorded the former one; which means the end of his youthful lusting towards her.Zen shook his head and thoughts away. It wasn’t like he was particularly lusting after her—okay, maybe he was, but who wouldn’t? She was the epitome of everything sinful. The car suddenly stopped and Ariel turned to him.“We are here.”Zen looked out the window at the house she had stopped at. It was a decent house in a decent neighborhood, with a tiny flower bed in front of it that was beginning to weed into the main entrance. It looked as though it had been unattended for years, but the footprint on the flowerbed signified th
Zen woke up to breakfast in bed. He stretched, yawning and then immediately closing his mouth when he realized that it reeked of bad breath. He sighed and massaged the middle of his head.“I suppose the perks of an old man includes bad breath.” He muttered to himself.A raucous laughter filled the room. He turned and saw that Emma was standing at the door, watching him. He relaxed back into the bed, watching her. His resurrection made him see life a different way. Sure, an old man point of view, but different nevertheless. Emma smiled at him and closed the door after she left. She was dressed in a black dress and a stunning red lipstick. Sighing, he looked to the food beside him.He never imagined that she would go through any length to serve him food, but she did. It was toast bread and milk, a very simple breakfast. Then he glanced to his right and saw that he’d overslept.Shit.Zen bounced of bed, and he nearly toppled on his face in the process. He steadied his foot and stood upri