– The Feeling of Betrayal

*****

Xavier, with no background nor support whatsoever, had withstood the rain, blood, and hunger alone to create his company from scratch seven years ago and in a matter of two years, managed to turn it into a slightly successful company, with more than twenty employees.

He had handed it over to Jennifer after he was sentenced to prison five years ago, hoping that she’d manage it and from the profit made, take care of his parents.

Never in his life had he imagined that not only would she not take care of his parents, but would also team together with his oppressor and sell off his properties, a lie he obviously did not believe.

Xavier began to fume frantically, but eventually, clenched his fists to calm the rage that was on the verge of bursting out.

Meanwhile, seeing Xavier in this state, the adulterous pair before him had wide grins on their faces.

Jennifer felt not even the slightest trace of pity nor remorse for him and for betraying betraying him. She was even more pleased that she had quickly abandoned him, considering his present poor standing which was worse compared to five years ago.

“Are you going to weep now?” She suddenly inquired with a taunting voice, finally jolting Xavier back to his senses.

The following second, Xavier, who had never imagined any of what is as happening erupted with laughter, deeply startling the adulterous duo.

They exchanged confused gazes, wondering why Xavier would laugh when he was supposed to be loosing it, but then they smirked, realizing that it was a laughter of pain.

Perhaps, had the couple known the sort of person Xavier had become like those from the prison, they wouldn't have mocked his laughter, instead, they would have been scared to death and quickly kneel to beg for mercy, but unfortunately, they had no idea.

Xavier laughed with so much despair in his voice for a while before stopping all of a sudden and glance at Jennifer with an emotionless face.

“The guy who almost rapped you five years ago said you guys sold off all the properties I left in your care to manage and use its money to pay off his medical expenses, right?" he inquired coldly, causing Jennifer to go blank for a moment before her eyes nearly shot out flames.

“How dare you low-life ex-convict entity call my man a rapist?” she cursed but Xavier ignore her, coldly continuing, interrupting her outburst.

“I will leave everything to you then, but one thing I can promise you is that you, Jennifer Steezers will recall this day soon and regret it," he stated emotionlessly, then with his heart shattered into millions of pieces, turned around and walked away.

Earlier, Xavier had entered with a heart overflowing with joy and love, but now, as he left, his heart was burdened with sadness, disbelief, and hatred.

“Fool,” Victor snorted with disgust after a moment of comprehending Xavier’s threat.

“I will look back on this day and regret my actions? Jennifer asked ironically ignoring the sudden discomfort she was feeling. “Did he think this life is a Nollywood movie?" she chuckled loudly with derision.

With that, the two adulterous couple burst into laughter, heartlessly mocking Xavier without the slightest trace of pity for him.

Just then, Victor looked back at Jennifer, his heart filled with victory. “How about we go for another round?” He inquired playfully, making Jennifer blush.

“You naughty boy,” she murmured beneath her breath and then tapped Victor seductively on the chest, her face crimson red, and with that, Victor’s breathing became heavy.

Without a moment of hesitation, he hauled Jennifer into the bed and they started another round of action, not affected by the return of Xavier or his threat for revenge.

….

Meanwhile, outside the door, Xavier, who hadn’t left immediately clenched his fists with all the strength he could muster, even cutting into his flesh till blood sipped out.

Before long, his palm was covered in blood, but he didn’t notice. Instead, his eyes were filled with an expression he had never had before, not even on the day he was sentenced to prison or during his initial weeks there, which were marked by relentless bullying.

“What was I even waiting for?” He mumbled to himself after a while, recalling his foolishness of waiting outside the door, thinking he would be able to eavesdrop if Victor had forced Jennifer.

“To think I kept her in my mind all these years, using her promise of waiting for me to motivate myself whenever I felt weak,” he mumbled to himself, chuckling in the most painful way imaginable.

With this, Xavier cast one final glance at the door and then decisively walked away another moment of hesitation.

He did not even know how he reached the living room, but just as he was about to exit, however, he saw two people walking in, laughing.

They were Jennifer’s mother and brother, who noticed Xavier the instant he saw them.

“Burglar! What are you doing in my house?” Ava abruptly yelled, glaring cautiously at Xavier.

Xavier, seeing her, his eyes immediately reddened slightly, not offended as he understood that Ava had not recognized him.

She had been very good to him back then and she was the one he always ran to report Jennifer to whenever she offended him, given how she always sided with him and make Jennifer know her wrong.

“Aunty,” Xavier opened his mouth and called out with a raspy voice, dumbfounding the duo of mother and son who were getting ready to attack him.

They stared blankly at Xavier for a moment before; “Aren’t you that prisoner, Xavier?” They abruptly inquire in unison.

- Jennifer’s Hatred

*****

“Huh?” Xavier went into a daze and couldn’t react after hearing how he was addressed.

‘Let’s assume Jennifer’s love somehow disappeared after years of him being away, what about them?’ He thought blankly.

Although Xavier was from a poor background before starting his company, Jennifer’s background had been worse than his.

They were homeless when Xavier met Jennifer, and Xavier, in his little, had gotten an apartment for the family, furnishing it. He also enrolled Michael, who had dropped out of high school into college, paying all his tuition in advance.

That did not still end there. Xavier even placed the entire family on a payroll, giving them the exact amount he was giving his parents every month, yet they still addressed him as a prisoner despite knowing the reason behind his time.

This was what Xavier was busy thinking when;

“Who release this prisoner?” Michael suddenly laughed, breaking Xavier’s dumbstruck state. “Weren’t you supposed to rot in jail?”

“And what if he was released from prison?” Ava inquired angrily, glaring fiercely at Xavier who became even more stunned, and then continued without giving him a chance to react.

"Don’t you realize this house belongs to me now, the in-law of the powerful Amodu family? How dare you, a worthless ex-prisoner, come here? Are you trying to stain the Amodu name?" she shouted, and Xavier trembled

Amodu was Victor’s surname, and now…

“You—you…” Xavier pointed, his mouth dropping with stupefaction.

“You what?” Michael rudely interrupted him, but then recalled something and a look of fear appeared on his face.

He quickly looked back at his mother and asked. “Did we not leave my brother-in-law with my sister before we left for the market?”

“This-“ Ava was stunned as soon as she heard this, then glared even more at Xavier.

“You bastard! Hope you hadn’t disrupted the relaxation of the two?”

“That’s not even the problem, mother!” Michael cried before continuing when he saw his mother’s confusion. “Have you forgotten that brother-in-law promised me a new car and you a new change of wardrobe? Would he still fulfill them if he misunderstands things and thinks my sister still cares for this prisoner?!” He yelled, dumbfounding Ava.

“This!” A look of fear appeared on her face as she panicked, and then without hesitation, she rushed away, anxiously yelping. “I need to go beg my son-in-law and convince him that my daughter has nothing to do with this low-life prisoner anymore!”

Michael instantly glared hatefully at Xavier once Ava was gone before growling. "I swear I'll take your life if you make my brother-in-law break his promise," he threatened and pointed at the door.

"Now, get your filthy prison-ridden self out of my house before I have you dragged back to where you belong," he growled ferociously.

Xavier feeling that everything was a nightmare shook slightly, but still; “Your house?” He inquired emotionlessly.

“Yes,” my house, Michael responded affirmatively, smirking arrogantly. “My brother-in-law bought it for my family,” he added spitefully, making sure Xavier understood after which he continued coldly. “Now, get going before I throw you out!”

Xavier unable to react for a moment chuckled, the massive pain in his eyes returning.

He eventually released a heavy sigh before deciding to leave when without any warning, Michael lounged at him.

“Bastard! I told you to get your useless prison-ridden body out of my house!” He yelled, throwing a heavy punch at Xavier’s face with all the strength he could muster.

Looking at Michael's well-built physique, it was obvious he was a gym enthusiast, making Xavier seem like a dwarf beside a giant, and for this reason, anyone's first impression would be that if Michael ever hit Xavier with his full force as he intended, Xavier’s face would immediately shatter and he would pass out, a reason why Michael decided to attack.

Contrary, however, just as the fist was on the verge of hitting Xavier, a sort of invisible force radiated from his body, sending Michael hurling back until he crashed into the wall.

He shot out blood from his mouth the next second and his face paled significantly.

He was dumbstruck for a moment, then his heart began to pound hysterically in his chest, staring at Xavier in horror as he couldn't understand what just happened.

Xavier, who hadn’t even moved a single finger from the beginning looked down at Michael, then not saying a word, he sighed heavily and walked out, no longer looking back.

No sooner had he disappeared, however than Michael, who had been scared out of his wit returned to his senses.

“Argh!!! The prisoner is trying to murder me!!!" he howled, his voice so loud it seemed to echo throughout the entire villa.

”This…” Ava, who had been excitedly peeping into her daughter’s bedroom through the keyhole was dumbstruck, but before she could react, the door was opened and a scared couple rushed out.

They were instantly dumbstruck upon seeing Ava but hearing the terrified voice screaming nonstop, they had no time for her, so they rushed away and Ava also ran after them.

”What happened? What happened!!”

They asked with fear, rushing toward Michael, who was seated in front of the puddle of blood before him.

Michael immediately sobbed as soon as he saw his family. He had thought he was going to die earlier after he felt the aura released from Xavier.

“Boohoo! Th-that prisoner suddenly attacked me out of nowhere! He tried to murder me in revenge!"

“This—” The trio were dumbstruck for a moment before their eyes became filled with rage.

Ava began to curse at Xavier and all his generations, wishing them all the evil in this world while Jennifer looked toward Victor, breathing heavily.

“You must avenge my brother,” she said with eyes filled with hatred.

Apart from her mother, Michael was the next person Jennifer loved most in her life, and now… she felt like tearing Xavier apart for daring to touch him.

She instantly regretted her slight hesitation back then when Michael and her mother pressured her to go to Michael after Xavier’s sentence.

‘I should have dumped him even before he was sent to the place he deserved!’ she thought hatefully.

As for Victor, he immediately smirked upon hearing Jennifer’s request. “That’s a little thing,” he responded, but when he saw that Jennifer didn’t seem convinced, he continued.

"I had him imprisoned five years ago with just a single call, and that was before my family became this powerful. Do you think getting him a death sentence now will be difficult?” He inquired and it was only then that Jennifer became relieved.

Unbeknownst to Jennifer, she harbored deep guilt for betraying Xavier, and unable to accept this guilt, she unconsciously transformed it into hatred, wishing every possible misfortune to befall him.

“Thank you,” she responded before urging her mother to take Michael to the hospital for treatment, then although she was no longer in the mood after the duo was gone, she had no choice but to follow Victor back to the room, seeing how excited he still was.

– A Situation In The Pub

*****

Although Xavier tried appearing strong as he walked away from the house he had bought through his blood and sweat, he was very vulnerable.

His mind was in complete disarray, and he felt like a wreck, recalling the memory he did not know if he would ever forget in his life.

He was deeply pained, realizing he had wasted his love and emotions on someone who did not deserve them.

In addition to his pain, Xavier felt a deep sense of guilt, knowing that he had also punished his parents, which weighed heavily on him.

Although he knew his parents couldn’t have managed his company on their own, Xavier felt pained that he should have entrusted everything to them instead of the ungrateful woman.

For this reason, Xavier did not immediately look for his parents after leaving Jennifer—He had one idea how he would face them after five years of denying them the right to see and be protected by their son.

Xavier began to walk aimlessly around, various memories running through his head at the same time.

After strolling around for what felt like an eternity, he eventually found himself walking into a bar filled with heavy music and the heavy smell of alcohol.

“One of your strongest drinks, please,” he said to the beautiful bartender who appeared to have a weird countenance.

The lady looked at Xavier in surprise, and her eyes lit up as soon as she saw his handsome appearance.

“Hey, handsome. Seems you just suffered from a heartbreak. Do you need someone to talk to?” she asked loudly, but Xavier ignored her, making her instantly snort at the realization that Xavier was not interested in her goodwill.

With this, her eyes flashed fiercely, and l without hesitation, mixed the strongest alcohol in the bar for him.

‘Let’s see if you’ll be able to ignore me once you’re drunk,’ she thought with a scheming smile as she handed the drink to him.

Not knowing what she was thinking, Xavier accepted the cup and chugged the entire content without hesitation, badly startling the bartender.

She stared at Xavier as though he were an alien, unable to believe that he had just downed the strong alcohol in a single gulp.

“You—are you trying to kill yourself?” She gasped but before she could think much, Xavier handed his cup back to her.

“More.” He demanded, almost causing the bartender to fall off her feet.

“You—you—do you think getting yourself killed because a lady broke up with you is smart?” She inquired helplessly, hoping Xavier would reason and change his mind but he only stared emotionlessly at her.

“Make it two cups,” he stated coldly.

“You—you—” the bartender became frustrated before eventually becoming infuriated, realizing that Xavier was too arrogant.

“Whatever," she snorted and complied with the request.

After paying for the three cups he had ordered, Xavier took the two cups handed to him and turned to walk toward the back area of the bar when suddenly, his eyes went in a particular direction and he subconsciously became stuck in his tracks.

Although Xavier had been in prison for the past five years, he had met more people than he could have in his entire life, including numerous world-class beauties, yet, compared to the woman he was currently staring at, all the beauties seemed to pale in comparison.

But what really made Xavier stop in his tracks wasn’t this beauty herself, but instead, the expression she currently had on.

She appeared heartbroken, helpless, exhausted—with an emotion Xavier could deeply relate to. The look of someone who wished to cease living.

For some reason, Xavier’s heart ached, seeing this lady like this, especially when he saw the two men with sinister intentions beside her, continuously pouring more alcohol into her cup and persistently pushing it to her mouth.

He understood at a glance that they were trying to take advantage of her, but…

“What are you staring at, you brat?!” An aggressive voice abruptly broke through Xavier’s train of thought, and upon looking, he saw one of the two men glaring coldly at him.

“Get your ass moving now before I gouge your eyes out of their sockets!” The other snapped and Xavier, hearing their unhidden threat, frowned slightly, however, what does anything have to do with him?

‘I have my own to deal with,’ he thought and then looked away after which he moved to the last seat in the deepest corner of the pub and sat.

With that, he began to sip his alcohol, while wallowing in his misery.

The more he reflected, the more regretful and pained he felt, and he came to realize just how much of a fool he had always been.

‘How could I have loved a girl so much to the extent of going to prison for her?!’

‘To think I almost got killed the first few weeks of my time in prison, all because of love.’

‘To think my favorite time in the past five years was the time I think about her and our meeting after serving my time.’

“Argh!!!” Xavier suddenly growled under his breath and then ground his teeth hysterically against each other.

Perhaps the world would have been thrown into chaos if it knew that the renowned Master Xavier was currently sobbing and consumed by sorrow over a woman. However, since it remained unaware, Xavier, utterly devastated lost himself in basking in his grief until, suddenly…

“Lea—leave me alone!” A weak cry broke through his thought.

Xavier subconsciously looked toward the source and behold, it belonged to the jade beauty of earlier.

She currently appeared totally wasted.

“I’m—I’m not following you, evil men!” She uttered in her drunken state, pushing back the two men currently trying to make her follow them.

Although it was in a less crowded part of the bar, there were still several people present. However, despite witnessing the vulnerable woman about to be taken advantage of, no one showed any intention of intervening. Instead, they laughed and mocked the lady, happily enjoying the scene.

“Why don’t you follow the lion kings!”

“Hahahaha! The two kings are going to take care of you!”

***

Hearing the voices around them, the expressions of the two self-proclaimed Lion Kings, renowned for their dominating actions and their boastful claim of being the absolute ruler in their territory like the original Lion King, grew even more excited.

“You heard the crowd, right, beauty? Why don’t you just quietly follow this king and become one of my Lionesses?“

“That’s right. This Lion King’s body is already full and given how this Lion had never seen such a beautiful as you before, just follow us already! I promise we will not hurt you!’ The second menace guy also urged, trying to pull the intoxicated lady up.

One would think that since she was already wasted, she wouldn’t be able to resist after all the persuasion. But contrary, she strongly fought back

“You are—you are both evil! I—I won’t follow!” she said, hiccuping

“This…” the two lion Kings finally frowned with helplessness and frustration which eventually ended up turning to anger.

“Whether you like it or not, you are following us tonight!” The second Lion King coldly uttered and then resorted to using force.

“You—you… leave me!” the lady cried out in her drunken state, her face finally showing a hint of fear. However, too drunk to resist, she was unable to fend off the strong man's pull.

Realizing this, the lady subconsciously threw the leftover drink from her cup into the guy’s face, and instantly, the area fell silent. Even the DJ, who had been excitedly hyping the two Lion Kings subconsciously stopped his music.

No one could react for a moment, refusing to believe that someone had dared to pour a drink on one of the two evil Lion kings’ faces.

This silence lasted for a moment before everyone began to heave cold sighs, and then started shaking their heads in pity for the lady, already knowing what her fate would be.

With this, the few people around quickly ignored what was going on and returned to doing what they had been doing before.

At the same time, the eyes of the Lion King who got himself drenched in alcohol flashed fiercely.

“B!tch!” He suddenly growled, his voice booming within the bar and causing everyone to turn their heads.

They immediately sighed, realizing that another beauty was about to suffer. As they watched the Lion King raise her hand to strike the woman’s face, they all felt a sudden pity for her.

”I will fucking kill you!” The Lion King roared, finally throwing the hand he had raised, making some people shut their eyes, unable to watch.

Just as the palm was about to strike the now-terrified beauty on the face, with the club now in absolute silence, however, a gentle hand reached out and stopped it.

“Please respect yourself,” a lazy voice sounded.

For a moment, no one could react, unable to believe that someone had dared to interfere in the Lion King’s business.

Everyone quickly turned their heads to see who dared to intervene, and a moment later, they were left dumbstruck, their mouths agape in disbelief, as they questioned whether they had seen correctly.

“Had—had that weak-looking person just dared to involve himself in the Lion King's affairs?"

“Is he tired of living?” These two questions popped up in everyone’s mind.