Chapter 8

I couldn’t take it anymore. Watching them degrade the woman who had raised me—who had sacrificed everything for me—I felt my chest burn with rage.

I rushed to them and stopped my grandmother from kneeling. 

Mikky’s eyes locked onto mine just as I approached, and that smirk of his deepened.

“Well, well, look who it is—the pauper himself,” Mikky sneered. “Come to watch the show, busboy? Maybe you could serve us some wine and cheese to make it more fun and memorable”

I clenched my fists, fighting to keep my cool. I wanted nothing more than to knock that smug look off his face.

“Grandma,” I said, stepping in front of her protectively. “Let’s go. You don’t need to beg anyone for anything.”

Mikky stepped forward, blocking my path. “Oh, leaving so soon? I thought we were just getting started,” he said.

I glared at him, my voice low and uninterested in his antics. “Move.”

He laughed. “Or what? You’ll hit me again, Jordan? You want to make this worse for yourself?”

I glanced briefly at Diana, who stood there with her arms folded, clearly enjoying every bit of this. My disdain for her deepened. This wasn’t the girl I once loved, and the sight of her made me sick.

Mikky stepped forward with a sickening smirk plastered across his face. “Go ahead, Jordan. Try something. Lay a finger on me, and I’ll have you expelled so fast, you won’t even see it coming.” His voice was low, dripping with so much malice and power.

My fists clenched tighter as anger surged through me. 

It was time to teach him a lesson.

My grandmother gripped my arm, her frail hands trembling. “Jordan, please… don’t do it.” Her voice was a soft plea, but I could hear the fear in it. 

My friend Josh stood beside me, his hand on my shoulder, trying to hold me back. “Bro, let it go,” he muttered under his breath, glancing nervously at the crowd that had gathered. “It’s not worth getting expelled. Not for this idiot.” he whispered the word ‘idiot’ in my ears obviously so Mikky won't hear.

Mikky and Diana laughed,  Diana looked at me with that same mocking smile, as if she was daring me to make a move too, daring me to sink to their level. 

“Oh, look at him,” Diana cooed mockingly. “So angry, yet so powerless. A disgusting peasant that can’t even afford his tuition.”

Mikky threw his arm around her shoulders, sneering. “That’s right, busboy. Walk away like the loser you are. This isn’t your world. You don’t belong here.”

Mikky’s arms crossed, his eyes glinting with cruelty.” Oh, let’s not forget the medical fees, busboy. After all, you did beat me up in the dorms." His smirk grew wider, eyes flicking over to my grandmother, as if he already knew how this would end.

However, before I could stop my grandmother, out of a desperate desire to avoid trouble, she reached into her purse. Her hands trembled as she pulled out the little money she had—crumpled bills and a few coins—extending it to Mikky.

"Here," she said, her voice trembling. "This is all we have. Please, just let him be, let us go, sir."

Mikky laughed, not even bothering to glance at the money before swatting it from her hand. The crumpled bills fluttered to the ground like worthless scraps. 

"What is this? An insult?" His eyes gleamed with malice as he spat in her face, the sound of it hitting her cheek sharp and cruel. 

The world stopped. Everyone gasped.

My heart hammered in my chest, my vision narrowing as rage consumed me. He spat on her! This was the final straw—the moment that shattered any remaining restraint.

My grandmother stood frozen, her lips quivering as she wiped the spit from her face. It was too much. Everything inside me snapped.

Before I even knew what I was doing, I was on him—my fists pounding into his smug face. The memory of him humiliating my grandmother drove every fiber in me for vengeance, the way he’d thrown her money on the ground, fueled every punch. 

Mikky tried to shield himself, but he was too slow, too cocky to expect what was coming.

"Is this enough of an apology for you?" I growled between clenched teeth, my voice barely recognizable as my own. I wasn’t holding back this time.

His body hit the pavement hard, and I didn’t stop. I grabbed him by the collar, slamming his head back into the ground. 

He yelped, his hands flailing uselessly as I trampled on him, grinding his face into the dirt beneath my feet. “This is for disrespecting my grandmother.”

“Stop, Jordan!” My grandmother’s voice was distant, but her plea echoed in my mind. I didn’t listen. I couldn’t. Not after what he’d done.

Diana screamed, her voice frantic, but she didn’t step forward to help him. She just stood there, her face pale, I heard her call for someone, but I didn’t care who.

I was about to hit him again when a sharp, authoritative voice cut through the chaos.

“Jordan, stop right there!”