Arnold gripped the steering wheel and slammed his foot into the pedal. His car sped out of Jia's driveway and onto the busy road. The streetlights illuminated the night with a rainbow of colors that swirled along the road like fireflies in a pond. He didn't notice anything beyond the windows because he was focused on the road ahead, but the sounds and cool breeze passing by were enough to relax him. With every passing mile, he got closer to his destination, and despite trying so hard to be calm, Arnold soon spiraled internally. As he replayed Rocky's report in his head, he was overcome with rage and fury. Roman—that was the name of the jerk who'd committed the heinous crime that had generated a commotion among the gang members. But how could he? How could that motherfucker? That jerk! He was responsible for the commotion that had broken out, and why had the fool done thIs? Well, the answer was self-evident. He'd done it for money. Even if Arnold paid them well, this selfish je
"Lisa, what exactly are you doing here?"Lisa fought back a smirk as Arnold turned to face her, arms crossed across his chest in defiance, and his eyes narrowed into deadly slits that made her feel afraid for a brief second. He looked so intimidating, and the prospect of his being enraged and doing anything horrible to Lisa made her uneasy.Arnold would never dare to touch her. He wouldn't dare because she was his closest confidante recently, and he knew about her traumas and how much she detested physical assault. But did he care about her that much so as not to touch her? She had no idea. She'd sneaked into his house earlier by tampering with the latch on the front door, and she’s done this to surprise him when he returned. However, the look on his face when he’d walked in through the open bathroom door and spotted her was one Lisa didn’t like at all.For goodness sake, she'd dressed in her most expensive lingerie, her legs wide open and exposed to the air like some sex goddess, b
SOME DAYS LATER Arnold pulled open the restaurant door and stepped into the dimly illuminated area.Finally, he was meeting Mr. Kein tonight, and he prayed everything went well. The conversation would go smoothly, and he'd acquire the information he needed. Days earlier, after following his inner voice's advice, Arnold had taken the card Mr. Kein had given him and contacted the number on the business card. LThe call had gone through, and Mr. Kein had picked up on the first ring. Mr. Kein had chatted passionately, and he had seemed genuinely interested in the reason Arnold had phoned, which was a bonus.Arnold had asked for a meeting, and Mr. Kein had agreed. The older gentleman had then supplied the address of this eatery, and here he was. Arnold sighed and looked around. There was no indication of Mr. Kein, nor were there any customers in the building. This was strange, and a shudder raced down Arnold's spine as he proceeded to take in his surroundings. Something didn't feel q
"What is it you fight for, Mr Kein?" Mr. Kein's expression darkened with disdain when Arnold asked that query. What gave the young man in front of him the audacity to ask such questions? He had no right to ask a man like him what he was fighting for.Arnold, or whatever his name was, also had such a bold and arrogant appearance that Mr. Kein was already irritated.Because he'd granted an audience, the young man in front of him assumed he could ask whatever he wanted. Mr. Kein couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity as these thoughts and questions swirled around in his head.Mr. Kein perceived the query as an insult to his personality, although it was innocent and uncomplicated. The question went too far, probing into his private life, and he didn't like it. Also, the thought of someone knowing anything about his personal life repulsed Mr. Kein. His personal life was no one's business, and he would rather die than allow anyone to come close to it.Taking a moment to collect himsel
It was Saturday, and Arnold was in Mr. Xiu's office building.As expected, the building was deserted. Of course, it was the weekend, and no one would be working until Monday, so there were no employees at the time. As Arnold proceeded straight to Mr. Xiu's office, his heart thudded in his chest, and his head beat painfully as he tried to think of reasons as to why Mr. Xiu would summon him here so early on a Saturday morning in the first place.When he had gotten the call earlier, he’d been at home, unwinding and relaxing, and he’d answered cheerfully. But after listening to Mr. Xiu’s request and the moment the call had ended, many questions ran through his head. There was one question in particular that worried him, though. And it had something to do with the meeting he'd had with Mr. Kein a few days before.A meeting that had started well, with Arnold absorbing a lot of information from the learned man, but it had quickly devolved when he posed an innocent inquiry.Perhaps the ques
"Jia. I might have fucked things up with your Dad.”The words flew out of Arnold's mouth nearly too quickly and ineloquently to be deemed a legitimate speech or statement, let alone anything that sounded remotely like it could even begin to explain how he felt at the time. The words, like sour fruit, left a harsh taste on his tongue, and while he admitted that he might have messed things up with his mentor—Jia's Dad—it took all of Arnold's self-control not to strike the wall adjacent to him. Instead, he remained silent, saying nothing further as he awaited Jia's response.As he waited, his mind raced through the events of the previous few hours. It was already afternoon, a few hours after he'd stormed out of Mr. Xiu's office in a rage. Driving about town with no goal in mind, Arnold kept thinking and thinking, attempting to clear his mind, until he finally decided to come to Jia's hospital. He’d wanted to see someone. He needed to vent about what had happened and how he was feeli
Jia had been looking forward to this meeting. After her conversation with Arnold at the hospital some days back, they’d reached out to Mr. Kein, and fortunately, he’d granted them an audience. Now here they were. This meeting was the first step in the grand reconciliation plan Jia and Arnold had baked and curated for the two older gentlemen. Speaking of Mr. Kein, this would be her first meeting with him. She'd heard much about him from her father and the news, as he was well-known in the business world. He was her father's one genuine archenemy, someone she was supposed to despise with every fiber of her existence. But she just couldn't. Whatever hostility the man had with her father was best kept between them, and she didn't want to get involved in their rivalry. Even if this man had contributed to the deaths of her mother and brother—people she'd grown up not knowing—Jia understood it wasn't all Mr. Kein's fault. Or was it? She didn't know what to think or believe, and shakin
Arnold and Jia arrived at Mr. Xiu's house in under thirty minutes.Arnold pondered the enormity of what lay ahead as he drove his car down the paved road, the passing countryside a blur. The road stretched out before them, a trail leading to the mansion that, as it stood, contained the key to half of his troubles.Arnold's hands gripped the steering wheel, unable to ignore the butterflies in his gut. The excitement was mixed with apprehension as if entering the home would open the door to a world he wasn't quite prepared to face. But he couldn't back out now. Mr. Kein's cry for closure struck a deep chord within him, propelling him ahead, and the fact that the guy was unwell made Arnold reconsider many things. Arnold had been taken aback by Mr. Kein's admission that he had been diagnosed with a terminal illness.Wasn't he the same agile and muscular man he'd met a few days before this second visit? The same man he'd bantered and conversed with, and not for a single second had Mr. K