A man with a messy look, Carlos, entered the hair saloon and received many weird glances. Their movements, be it of their eyelids or their fingers, looked to be in slow motion in his eyes.
“Hey, this place ain’t for beggars!” one of the workers there tried to push him out, but he took out a hundred dollar bill. “S-Sorry, sir. Please take your seat.” the worker’s behavior took a U-turn. “What type of haircut and shave do you want?”
“As clean and simple as possible.”
In a few minutes, the job was done. The workers and other customers were surprised by how differently he looked now. Though he had a thin scar running diagonally at the corner of his left eye, his overall appearance was quite manly. He looked rather thin as if he was on an extreme diet, but his deep brow-ridge, his intense gaze, and his thick jaw, everything about his mein screamed manliness.
He didn’t care about the change in the impression the others were having of him. He walked out of the saloon and looked around with a slightly cold gaze before stepping out into the sun.
His skin burned and itched a little, but it wasn’t unbearable. However, the longer he stayed under sunlight, the more intense the pain became. He had to stop by in the shadows and take a little bit of rest there.
He was still quite surprised with all the changes in his body. Not only did his broken knees get cured completely, he was able to hear and see things better than ever. Even now, as he sat on the footpath, he could hear all the hundreds of different noises on the streets and distinguish one from another much more clearly.
He could hear a child sniffling about two hundred meters away. He could hear his own heart rhythm pretty well.
All these changes scared as well as excited him.
Only hours back, he was close to dying from starvation, but now, he looked relatively healthy and strong. His senses were sharper than ever. However, when he put his hand down to the side, an ant bit him.
“You little…” He slapped the ant with the intent to kill it. He immediately regretted it, but then the ant wasn’t dead. It got back to its feet and walked away. His slap couldn’t kill it.
He kept watching the ant for a long time. “Even an ant bites back if you mess with it. How can I let go of the Myers after they have ruined my whole life?” his eyes gained redness as he thought of all the horrible things they had done to him.
“Just because you have money, you think you can do anything and get away with it. Just you wait… Sofia. If I don’t make you kneel and cry before me, I’ll change my name to Craplos!”
“Hey, you. This is my begging spot,” a beggar with an arrogant look approached him. “Go and beg somewhere else!” He had a big birthmark on his nose. "You good-for-nothing fool!"
“I’m not in a good mood, so buzz off,” Carlos warned.
“What did you say?” the beggar kicked at Carlos’ face.
Carlos glanced at him. His leg came in slow motion. He could yawn and move his head away before it hit him, but he not only deflected the attack but then also swiftly punched in the beggar’s crotch, warping his face into a warthog.
“You little…” the beggar fell to his knees and cringed in pain.
“You are still quite rude.” Carlos snatched the dollar bills from the beggar’s pocket and walked away.
The beggar was furious, but the pain in his balls didn’t let him get up just yet, so he could only watch Carlos leave with his money. Almost thirty dollars in total.
As Carlos walked, he noticed a mother playing with her child in the park. His expression turned a bit sad. If Sofia had done even some justice to her role, they would probably have a child by now. On one hand, his heart ached. On other hand, he was also glad that the mother of his child wouldn’t be a wicked woman like Sofia.
All the thoughts burdened his heart.
He took a deep breath. “Let’s not worry about the past. I should focus on the future.”
“What should I do now? I don’t want to do the same job again as it will remind me of that family.”
“Should I work as a freelancer? No, I don’t have the desktop or the necessary setting for that. Besides, I can’t earn much with that. I want to find a job that helps me earn fast. The more the better. The faster the better.”
He entered the internet cafe and logged into his online account and printed out his resume and other necessary documents required at interviews, including the locations where the interviews were being held for the next few days.
“It’s time to walk into some interviews.”
He went to the nearest building. There were more than forty people sitting outside the interview room on the second floor, biting their nails or checking their files and whatnot. He walked past them and entered the room, shocking them all.
The interviewers were also surprised to see Carlos entering while another interviewee was being interviewed. Moreover, his dirty attire caught their eyes and contorted their expressions.
“Did you come here for an interview?” one of the three interviewers asked, his voice neither polite nor rude. If he hadn't asked fast, the other interviewers might have barked at Carlos and told him to get the hell out.
“Yes, of course,” Carlos casually replied.
“Then, couldn’t you wear something better?”
“I will once I get this job.” His reply left them in a bit of a daze.
“Ho, I like your confidence. How many years of experience do you have as a data scientist?”
“None.”
The interviewers fell silent for a few seconds. “What?”
“I can gain experience once I get the job, can’t I?” Carlos asked. “I’m a quick learner, so don’t worry.”
The interviewers looked at each other before speaking, “You can leave, mister.”
“Why? Am I overqualified for this job?" Carlos thought he was asking a genuine question. "Or is it because you guys don’t know what you’re talking about?”
The interviewers and the other interviewee in the room were shocked by how preposterous Carlos’ words were.
They rang the bell, and two men rushed in.
“What the hell were you two doing letting guys like him in? Take him away!” they yelled.
“There’s no need. I’ll go out by myself,” Carlos stood and snorted. “You guys don’t know you’re kicking out a CEO candidate.” He walked out with a disappointed expression. “The recruiters are supposed to have eagle eyes, but these guys are no better than bats. If others are also like this these days… Nah, I don’t want to waste time like this. Instead of working for others, why don’t I work under myself? Become a CEO of my own company?”
In Myers mansion. The family joined at the dinner table. Victoria had been murmuring with Gregory for a little while, making Andres wonder what they were talking about, even though he acted like he didn’t care. Victoria eventually spoke, eying everyone except Gregory at the table, which included her son, two daughters, and Andres, “I don’t want to do this, but I can’t ignore what happened.” “What are you talking about, Mom?” asked Marlon, her half-assed son who was never good at anything other than playing games and chasing after women older than him. “I’ll get straight to the point,” Victoria didn’t mince her words. “We all know, Carlos rotted in the cottage for weeks.” Everyone nodded in response. “But I found some food packets and water bottles inside.” “What?” Everyone else was shocked to hear that, but Victoria kept scrutinizing their expressions. She couldn’t figure out who did it purely from their expressions. Either none of them did it, or one of them was very good at hidi
A brand new Myers’ luxurious clothing store was being inaugurated by the rising star Sofia Myers. Her live-in lover also accompanied her. Hundreds thronged at the entrance just to see Sofia and to get autographs and selfies. She didn’t give a single autograph or take any selfie until she opened the showroom. She then stated, “I’ll take selfies with those who buy at least one product from this store.” Those words were like fuel thrown in fire. Almost everyone rushed into the store and looked for anything they could buy. Andres was impressed with Sofia. “You really know how to sell stuff.” “Fufu,” she snorted arrogantly. “Look at them fighting like monkeys to buy things from the store. Fans like them are one of the reasons I became an actress. I only need to do a little bit of good now and then, and they’ll take care of the rest.” The two of them could hear people not only talking about Sofia but also her father. Hearing praises from them only swelled Sofia’s pride some more. “You
Andres used the security camera footage to look for the blonde man’s identity on the internet. He didn’t search it for himself but made a worker do it. And the female worker wearing glasses was shocked by the search results. “SFF Charles!” “What?” Andres didn’t like the tone of the worker. “Who is he?” “Straight-fucking-flash Charles, sir!” the worker seemed quite shocked. “This guy got an undefeated record at poker. He pulls out straight flushes half the time and utterly thrashes everyone at the table. Whenever he played, nobody has pulled out a Royal Flush. Never. Not once. Only straight flushes are possible, and that’s also only by him, which is why he’s got the infamous name! Many casinos had already banned this guy from entering!” “He’s a gambler?” “He was. After he got banned by most casinos, he began entering official tournaments, unofficial gaming series and charity events. Do you remember the billionaire Bisconsley’s charity event that happened last month? This guy went a
Only the important guests were invited to the birthday party of Caroline Bisconsley, the wife of the late Benedict Bisconsley who loved her wife so much he gave his entire property to her. Naturally, all of her children and relatives very much sucked up to her at every possible moment. While Caroline greeted everyone equally, her eyes caught sight of two handsome men in the crowd. She showed them to her granddaughter, Laurel, from a distance. “The orange-haired one is Marlon Myers. The only son of Gregory Myers,” Caroline said. “From what I know, he’s definitely going to inherit at least half of Myers’ assets.” “He’s good-looking, for sure,” Laurel said and glanced at the second man. “What about the other guy?” “Ah, he’s more of a rogue with a vague background. Don’t know if it’s his real name or not, but he calls himself Charles Wallace. He’s a gambler who’s got hundreds of millions sitting in his bank account.” “Charles Wallace?” Laurel was a little surprised. “Isn’t he the one
“Why did you stop me?” Laurel’s tone was serious, and her gaze was piercing sharp. “She apologized, didn’t she?” Charles’ sent daggers back at her. “That’s…” Laurel bit her lower lip for a second before yanking her hand out of his grip. Quarreling with Charles at such a party wouldn’t do any good for her, she thought. Still, she coldly peered at Narika and said, “Watch where you’re going, woman, or what’s the use of having eyes and big-freaking glasses?” Saying that, she hurried upstairs to get her dress changed. Charles turned and looked at Narika. Their eyes briefly met, and she turned around and hurriedly left. “Not even a thanks, huh…” Charles muttered under his breath. “Not that I expected it, but… she does look a lot different in short hair. Sofia’s shy sister. She’s become quite lean as well. I almost couldn’t recognize her.” Charles had no idea that the Myers family had put Narika in a dog cage and starved her for almost two months, giving her food every few days so she wo
Charles just won another poker competition and pocketed 3.5 million dollars. The press interviewed him afterward and asked for the secret of his success. “Focus and determination. Those two things will help get results.” That was all he said. “What about luck?” a random reporter asked back. “There’s no such thing as luck,” replied Charles. “Everything in this world is ordained by God. He once stripped me of everything, and then he decided to make me sit here and talk with you guys.” “Haha, you mean you’ve become successful because God wished for it and not because of your own hard work?” “Well, I always work hard, but my effort ends with picking the next poker card on the table. I can’t control the cards every other player picks, can I? The picture I see is very little compared to what a bird in the sky can see, let alone the guy sitting up above the sky, don’t you think? So, the answer to your question is… will you live for a thousand years just because you breathe harder?” His
“Sofia, can we have dinner together today?” “I’m not feeling like going outside, so I can’t.” “Sofia, how about lunch in your favorite restaurant tomorrow?” “I have some important work, no.” “Sofia, do you hate me? Why do you avoid eating with me?” “I don’t hate you, Carlos. Why would I hate you, my husband? I know I hit you sometimes, but that’s because I care for you. You meant the world to me.” “Then, let’s have dinner together tonight.” “That’s… I’m afraid I have a party to attend.” “Then, take me along.” “It’s a women only party, so…” Charles kept thinking back on the times he had asked his wife to spare some time for him only to get refused time and again. Now that he was wearing a new suit, tie, and face, she suddenly had the time to not only call and ask him for dinner but to also pick the dinner spot. And he didn’t find it funny. “I was ignorant back then. She looked beautiful, and I took the bait. I had no idea she had a long list of ex-lovers, and she even met th
“There are hundreds of Sofias in this city,” Charles stated, “and I’m sure people can recognize the difference between Sofia Myers and Sofia Becic even though both are in the acting profession.” His words not only restored Sofia’s face but also greatly boosted her confidence. “I don’t use my grandfather’s name before every little thing I do like someone else,” Sofia said, smiling. Laurel’s eyebrow jerked a little, but she did well controlling herself. “Mr. Charles,” she peered at him with intense green eyes. “When are we going to have dinner together?” Charles’ heart skipped a beat. He wasn’t prepared for this question. He had not expected for Laurel to be here, after all. Laurel seemed to be much more of a bold and straightforward woman than Sofia, he thought. And this wasn't good news for him. But what should he answer now? What response would satisfy both the prideful women sitting at the same table and staring at him with inquiring eyes. “Aren’t we already having one?” Charl