The Mysterious Midnight Magnate

06: Beaten By Thugs

06: Beaten By Thugs

"Are you trying to pull pranks on me?" The bartender raised the corner of his lips scornfully.

"No, I'm serious about what I saw. There's a ring under that table," Eric was flabbergasted and it made his mouth part in astonishment for a split second.

He was stupefied because he didn't want to think it was just him who saw the ring and no one else did.

"Another drunk. Get the fuck out." The annoyed bartender warned him.

"Just come out and take a closer look.." Eric barely finished with this persuasion, when someone's large fist connected to his face and sent him to the floor immediately.

Pain shot through his nose and spread to the rest of his face, as stars danced around his head for a couple of seconds. Because he didn't see that coming, and it was completely earth-shattering.

"Piece of shit, you're becoming a nuisance," someone thundered like an enraged giant.

Eric saw the semi-giant standing right in front of him with a sneer on his face.

"What the fuck?" Eric asked as he managed to get back to his feet. Thankfully he hadn't sustained any bruise but the punch was still ringing bells in his head.

"I don't like the way you yelled." The guy with a dyed-white beard threw his arms across his chest, and his muscles bulged out.

At this, Eric looked around him and realized that these men were thugs because they had the same intimidating look on their faces.

How come he didn't pause to look at each one of them earlier? He could have quietly left to save himself from any impending trouble.

"I'm not..." Eric started, then realized that nothing he could say to such a person would help. It wasn't his intention to get into an argument with anyone. He just went there to drink his beer, leave, and look for ways to pack his stuff out of Claudia's apartment. But it seemed as though trouble was lurking around him, even though he was trying to avoid it, “What the hell do you want?”

"Haven't you learnt how to shut the hell up? Ah? " He drunk Eric's beer in one gulp, then smashed the bottle to pieces on the floor.

Eric didn't even budge a bit. "I didn't come here to fight anyone, just let me go in peace,"

"Oh, you wish." The guy laughed. With this saying, the man attempted to punch Eric for the second time, but Eric dodged.

The guy lost his balance for a moment, and the next second, he screaming to signal his men to attack Eric from behind.

Eric wanted to escape from the place, upon knowing things had leaped from frying pan to fire but it was already too late because he was trapped in their midst.

They beat him black and blue like a thief, kicked him in the stomach, and pummeled his face until his vision blurred. And his blood accidentally splashed on the reflecting ring under the table.

After beating him to their satisfaction, they left him when they thought he had passed out.

Eric could barely even move his body, but he could see his blood smearing across the dirty floor, and how it was rolling to the end of the table, where the rusty ring lay.

The reflection of the ring changed from diamond to crystal blue and despite the pain, Eric couldn't help but ponder how it was possible. He knew he would have a concussion, and he couldn't even lift any of his limbs, but he was marveling at the sight of the diamond, switching up into different colors.

"Get this filth out of here or you'll end up in the same position as him," Eric overheard his bully commanding the Bartender sternly.

"Hurry!"

The next thing Eric knew, he was being pulled out of the bar, through someone's hold on his legs.

Who would have thought the evening would turn out bad for Eric as well?

His mouth parted but words couldn't even come out of it. Had he seen this coming, he would have ditched the idea of going to the bar.

And he could hear a familiar voice coming from the TV screen.

It was a movie his ex-wife, Claudia starred in as the villainess. She was being mean to a maid.

Eric wanted to break into a sad smile, but he ended up wincing because of the pain. Indeed, those who hurt him were doing better than him, while he was just having the worst night of his life.

And immediately the bartender abandoned Eric outside, he felt a cold metal on his finger.

His eyes widened in shock when he raised his right hand up to his face and figured it was the rusty ring on his finger.

"How did it get here?" Eric couldn't recall going close to the ring or even touching it. Because on his left, he still had his wedding ring which he had forgotten to take off, after his divorce with Claudia.

Eric groaned because his head was killing him. No one even bothered to come to his rescue, upon seeing how the 'Closed' sign had been put on the bar's glass doors to tell customers off, although it wasn't even 8 PM in the evening. His bullies were still inside and Eric swore under his breath to teach them a lesson because he marked their faces.

The wave of pain was making it difficult for Eric to stay awake, and the last thing he heard before he passed out was his phone chiming non-stop with several text messages.