CHAPTER 2. I AM OLIVER ROBERTS

“W-What do you mean, Mom?” Oliver asked, his eyes widening in surprise. He squeezed his mother's hand who looked very sad.

"Oliver, actually, after you went to prison, your lover left without a word. "He abandoned your parents even after the sacrifices you made for him," said Oliver's friend. His world collapsed when he heard the bitter reality that he had just learned.

All this time, he thought that his girlfriend was looking after his parents while he was in prison. But he didn't expect that after Oliver was in prison, he would actually run away from his family.

Oliver fell to the floor feeling devastated. He was sad, disappointed, and felt guilty about everything that had happened. And all of this is his fault. If I did he wouldn't defend his girlfriend, who he thought was a good woman, but in reality. After all the chaos that happened, his lover actually betrayed him.

“Now you know what happened to us, right?” his mother asked. He also knelt in front of Oliver with his body shaking. Her husband was dying of heart disease. There is no solution for them to cure them because of the lack of money they have.

“I'm sorry, Mom… I'm sorry… I didn't know if things would turn out like this. I just tried to do my best for all of you and protect you, but in reality, it all hurt you. Please forgive me." Oliver sobbed as he cried in his mother's lap. He gripped his mother's hands tightly with deep feelings of guilt.

“All of that has happened. Knowing you're out of prison makes us happy, Oliver. Our only hope is you, so please don't disappoint us again," said his mother while sobbing.

Oliver was fully awake. That the only people who love and care about him the most are his parents. The lover he had always adored actually betrayed him completely without any pity at all. And he regrets having protected and loved a woman like Katie Jones.

He wiped his tears quickly and looked at his mother while holding her hand tightly. “I promise I will make up for all my mistakes. I assure you I will make your father well again. This is my vow to you," he said in a trembling voice.

However, at that moment, a loud noise was heard from the front door. The door of their house was violently opened, and a group of large men barged in. They were notorious gangsters in the neighborhood, and they came with a clear goal—to collect a debt that Oliver's parents couldn't afford. The gangsters glared at Oliver and his mother, demanding the money that should have been paid two months ago.

“We came to collect our money!” he exclaimed, holding a baseball bat in their hands. With his eyes glaring sharply, the atmosphere in the room suddenly became stuffy as if the air had suddenly disappeared from there.

Oliver's mother, weak and helpless, begged in a trembling voice. “Please give us more time. My husband is seriously ill, we have no money to pay now. We will find a way, but please give us time.”

One of the gangsters, their leader, snorted harshly and with a sudden movement, pulled Oliver's mother into the middle of the room.

“I don't care about my condition. The money you guys borrowed, it is my right to ask for it! So, give me the money right now because we've given you more than enough time!” he shouted angrily. “If you don't want me to use force, don't make excuses and do it properly when you have to pay your debts!” He continued to pull Oliver's mother's hair without any pity.

Oliver's mother screamed hysterically, in pain as her hair was pulled.

“Mom!” Oliver's eyes widened with anger and pain in his chest. He ran frantically towards his mother. Embracing his mother's body and trying to protect her from the gangsters who were trying to hurt her.

“Move!” the gangster leader snapped, his eyes glaring sharply at Oliver. “Who are you, brat? Do you think you can protect your mother from us, huh?”

"Stop hurting my mom or you'll regret it," Oliver hissed with his eyes burning toward the gangster leader.

He laughed loudly at Oliver. "What can a weak person like you do, huh?!" he shouted.

“Oliver, no don't… you could get into trouble again if you fight him. You just got out of prison because of your girlfriend. She even betrayed you, so don't do anything useless again," said his mother with her trembling hands holding Oliver's arm. She tried to stop her son from fighting with the gangsters.

The gangsters who heard this immediately laughed at Oliver who was just a loser.

“So you're just a loser kid who just got out of prison? It would be sad if your parents had a child like you. Wouldn't it be better if you just died because you have troubled your parents?" he said in a condescending sentence that made Oliver feel slapped and hurt.

"Fuck!" said Oliver with his eyes narrowed sharply.

“Damn! Watch your mouth, little brat! You don't know who we are and you dare to fight me?! You better immediately pay your mother's debt or you will see me abusing your parents right in front of you! That way you will really become a useless child!” he exclaimed with a burst of laughter.

Oliver felt very angry with the attitude of the gangsters. He had humiliated him and done violence to his mother that he would never be able to forgive.

“Shut your mouth,” Oliver said angrily.

“What did you say, bastard?! You idiot loser! Looks like you're tired of living, huh?!” The dreamer was so angry with Oliver's attitude and words that he seemed so brave and intended to teach him a lesson. He swung his baseball bat at Oliver.

Oliver's friends who had been watching in fear widened their eyes in shock when the gangster deliberately wanted to hit Oliver on the head. Instead of moving away, Oliver gripped the end of the stick very tightly.

“Didn't I tell you that you guys would regret it?” he growled. He stood up with the strength of reason as he took the baseball bat from the gangster's hands and crushed it with ease.

Making the gangsters and their friends stare in disbelief at what they saw. Oliver was much stronger than they had imagined. Even breaking such a hard stick was impossible for them to do.

“W-Who are you?” his face paled when he looked at Oliver. His body was shaking violently.

"Me? I am Oliver Roberts. And once again I emphasize, never try to hurt my parents, otherwise, you will end up like your baseball bat. Now, get out of here and never come back!” Oliver shouted. The gangsters immediately ran out with horror on their faces.