– The Situation Getting Out Of Hand

*****

The entire bar fell silent, with everyone staring blankly at the lean person holding a hand that was twice the size of his own.

No one could react for a moment, but eventually, the eyes of the Lion King, whose hand Xavier was holding, darkened with wrath.

“Brat! Weren’t you the one I warned earlier to mind your business?” He snapped, his voice brimming with unhidden killing intent.

Xavier, however, wasn’t bothered. Instead, continued maintaining his composed demeanor.

“This lady here does not want to follow you, why are you forcing her?” He inquired calmly making everyone instant exchange stunned gazes.

“This—this fool!” The bartender, whose gaze hadn’t left Xavier since the beginning scoffed with frustration and then hurriedly left what she was doing to rush over.

“Lion King, hahahah. Please don’t mind this friend of mine. He appears to be too drunk to know what he was doing,” she stated with a smile, tearing Xavier’s hand away from the lion king.

The Lion King quickly cast a glance at the bartender and growled but then hesitated before snorting.

“I will let him go on your account then,” he said unhappily before sparing Xavier a dangerous glare and then ignoring him, casting his unhidden hungry-filled gaze back at the terrified beauty.

“You’ve caused enough scene here already, let’s get going now,” he said darkly and threateningly before looking at his brother.

“Let’s pick her up,” he said and the first lion king nodded his head, scaring Grace to the core.

Although she was completely drunk and her mind was no longer functioning properly, she instinctively shrank back when she realized what the two were planning, her heart pounding fiercely with fear.

Grace had heard many times from news about something like this happening, but she had never expected to encounter it the first time she decided to run away from her comfort zone and drown in her sorrow.

She looked around for help but saw none. Instead, a few people watched her with pity, while the majority laughed, cheered on the Lion King, and praised the spectacle as a display of beauty.

Just as Grace thought she was doomed, however, the composed voice she had heard earlier, which she thought was that of a savior sounded again.

“Did I tell you that you can go with her?”

The entire bar became eerie silent again, but it was soon broken and before long hushed voices filled the entire bar.

“Is this guy a fool or what?”

“Instead of being grateful for the Lion King’s forgiveness, he still chose to push your luck?”

“Given his weak physique, wasn't he even supposed to keep a low profile instead of provoking people who could end his with a single snap!”

Everyone mumbled and even the bartender, who had earlier pleaded on behalf of Xavier was stunned for a while before she sighed helplessly.

She looked back to the Lion King and wanted to beg them again, but before she could open her mouth, they had already addressed her.

“I listened to you earlier because of my respect and appreciation, but please, don’t try your luck too much,” they said in unison, their voices laced with an unmistakable menace.

The Bartender immediately sighed upon hearing them and then looked at Xavier helplessly.

Eventually, she shook her head and glanced back at the Two Lion Kings. “Please, for my sake, don’t give him a life-threatening injury.”

“That, we can do,” the two responded and looked back coldly at Xavier.

“Since you hate minding your goddamned business so much, get your ass over here and move this b!tch to our room for us!”

The second King, whose hand Xavier had earlier held growled and the bar became silent again with everyone staring at Xavier, wondering what he would do.

Contrary to their thoughts, however, Xavier, who had been calm all along did nothing.

He just continued standing and watching lazily, acting as though he didn't feel the alarming intent closing in on him.

“Bastard! Are you deaf?!” The voice of the second Lion King boomed, sending the hearts of the hearers banging against their chests, but still, Xavier did not react.

This finally infuriated the two Lion Kings to the extent that they felt like killing someone.

“Please forgive me,” the second Lion King said coldly to the bartender, then not waiting for a response stormed toward Xavier.

“What I hate the most is people interfering in my affairs, offending me, and disrespecting my order. For daring to do all those, I’m going to castrate you,” he said coldly, then not waiting for any reaction, delivered a powerful kick to Xavier’s crotch.

As soon as everyone saw this, their hearts skipped a beat, following which, their entire body went cold. They sighed deeply, suddenly feeling strong pity for Xavier.

“He could have minded your business but unfortunately chose not to..”

“This made me recall the last person who offended the Two Lion Kings. Hadn't he become a past today, yet, another little guy will join.”

“What a stupid hero. Wouldn’t he live the rest of your life in pain and regret now, knowing he could have easily refused to help the needy,” the crowd sighed one after the other.

Even Grace couldn’t help but be scared to death, watching what was going to happen.

She opened her mouth, wanting to plead for mercy for Xavier, knowing she would never forgive herself if Xavier ended up getting hurt because of her.

“Plea-“ she began to cry out when without any warning, her jaw dropped and her eyes constricted sharply.

It wasn’t only hers, but literally everyone in the bar.

If Xavier was like a thin pole, the Lion King attacking him would be a small mountain—muscular and imposing. Yet, at this moment, Xavier was casually holding his leg in his hand.

That’s right and just then, a calm and composed voice filled with disbelief sounded.

“You will castrate me just because I don’t want you to commit a wicked deed?”

– The Terrified First Lion King

*****

Bars are known for their constant noise, especially at night during operating hours, but right now, the entire bar is eerily silent with everyone within staring blankly as though they were seeing the most disbelieving thing in history, particularly the ones who knew the reputation of the two Lion Kings.

This silence lasted for a long time before eventually, the Lion King, whose leg was being held by Xavier returned to his senses and became deeply embarrassed which promptly changed to an incredible rage.

“Bastard! Let go of my leg!” He snapped ferociously, trying to force away his leg from Xavier’s lazy grasp. Yet, for some reason, he wasn’t able to move it an inch—It was as though the leg was being held by the large hand of a deity and not the seemingly weak Xavier.

“Are you deaf? I say let go of my leg!” He barked and Xavier instantly smiled slightly before nodding his head.

“Sure,” he responded before continuing just as the Lion King was about to heave a sigh of relief. “I will just repay you with what you wanted to do to me.”

“This!” Everyone gasped and saw something flash in their eyes before they could think, after which, a shrill scream that sounded as though someone was being butchered echoed.

Subsequently, Xavier let go of his hand and the Lion King was sent ricocheting away halfway across the bar.

“Ah!!!!!!” He wailed like someone whose skin was being torn away from his body, making everyone feel their hair standing at the end while wondering about what had just happened.

They all turn into statues in an instant which lasts for a moment before the first Lion King forces himself to return to his senses.

“Third—third brother! What’s with your cry?” He asked with fear before rushing toward his brother.

“Aren’t you embarrassing yourself too much? Yelling this loudly and painfully merely because a tiny ant that could easily be squashed to death with my fingers hurled you away?” He complained with dissatisfaction before bending over to help his brother up.

The following second, however, he paused slightly before his eyes widened significantly, after which a strong shill ran down his spine.

“What-“ his mouth hung open as he subconsciously moved his hand toward his brother’s crotch area.

“What’s—what’s blood doing here?” he inquired incredulously and then pressed down with his hand.

“Rahhhhhhh!!!!” The second Lion King’s roar intensified as if he were experiencing the most excruciating pain imaginable, and soon after, he fainted.

The bar became pin-drop silent after this until; “He wanted to castrate me, but I castrated him instead. That’s fair, no?” A calm and lazy voice inquired, making everyone shiver frantically with goosebumps crawling hysterically all over their skin, then they glanced at the speaker.

“He—he crippled the lion king?” Someone swallowed hard and mumbled doubtfully.

Just then, the first Lion King returned to his senses and he screamed. “How dare you castrate my brother?!”

“I’m going to kill you!!!” His voice filled to the brim with killing intent scaring everyone in the bar out of their wits.

“The Lion King is finally mad,” someone mumbled and ran toward the bar’s exit without hesitation, looking terrified to the core.

“Probably all the eyewitnesses here tonight are done for!” Another person mumbled fearfully as he also ran for his li…

Everyone, knowing how unreasonable the Lion Kings normally are quickly ran for their lives, and before long, only Xavier, the fainted Lion King, the first Lion King who had turned into a raging bull, the dumbstruck bartender, and a horrified Grace were left behind.

“Die!!!!” The First Lion King roared with rage and closed in on Xavier, throwing his tightly clenched fist at his face with all the strength he could muster.

Watching this scene, the hearts of the bartender and Grace trembled, knowing that there was no way Xavier would be able to dodge or survive the attack.

Although they weren’t the ones receiving it, they felt the strong force originating from it and trying to destroy them, making the two ladies shut their eyes just as the attack was an inch away from hitting Xavier’s face, unable to handle the scene that would follow.

They brace themselves, expecting a shrill scream, but then a deafening silence was what they heard, lasting for a long time until the ladies could no longer handle their confusion.

‘What happened?’ they thought and squinted open their eyes, wanting to sneak a peak at what had happened.

What came into their view the next second made their eyes widen in stupefaction.

“Am—am I dreaming?” The bartender mumbled to herself dumbly before quickly pinching her arm.

Having worked in the bar for a few years, she had long learned about the strength of the two Lion Kings, able to face the attacks of five able-bodied men without breaking a sweat, yet…

“You—you—you…” the Lion King, who had attacked Xavier with madness and hatred earlier finally returned to his senses and stuttered as he eventually experienced what his brother had gone through a moment ago and to say he was terrified right now was nothing but an understatement.

He had never thought the seemingly weak Xavier who looked like someone he could pinch to death with his fingers would be able to stop his punch with just a single hand.

He thought he was dreaming as he stared at Xavier casually holding his arm that was tightly bulging with his thick veins from exerting all his strength.

“You—you—who… who are you?” He finally completed and Xavier, staring composedly at him sighed.

“I didn’t want any trouble; I just wanted to prevent you from committing an immoral deed while enjoying my peace. Why did you and your brother have to push my hand?” he asked helplessly, leaving the Lion King and the bartender stunned.

‘You didn’t want trouble and yet you interfered in our business, even castrating my brother! What nonsense was that?!’ He yelled in his mind, almost sobbing, but dared not to speak out.

“Plea—please forgive me, master. I—I was just too blind to see the elephant in the room! Please forgive me!”

The bartender, “_”

‘Is this still the First of the two shameless and evil self-acclaimed Lion kings?’ She thought blankly before hurriedly glancing back at Xavier.

Her heart began to pound frantically in her chest and she became filled with curiosity for him, meanwhile, Xavier, not realizing what he had caused to the bartender suddenly gazed seriously at the Lion King.

Given how you and that fool behaved today and the things I learned, you two love getting ladies drunk so that you can have your ways with them, no?”

“I—I… “ The Lion King became further terrified.

If those who had run for their lives out of fear were to witness this scene, they would have been stunned to death, but since no one was there, they couldn’t have in their entire lives imagined what had transpired after they escaped.

“I—tonight was our first time and I have never had the intention of forcing myself on anybody,” the lion king sobbed, regretting why he and his brother hadn't ignored or begged Xavier to mind his business earlier.

“Please forgive me!” He pleaded desperately, wishing nothing but to escape right now.

Xavier watched the horrified Lion King without reacting for a moment, while the two ladies stared at him, waiting to see what he would do. Eventually, he sighed deeply.

“As I mentioned earlier, I only wanted to have some drink in peace.”

– The Next Morning

*****

Inside a quiet, peaceful, and rough bedroom that has the appearance of a war aftermath, a sudden vibration sounded and the next second, two bloodshot eyes snapped open.

Very lazy to the peak and still sleepy, Grace, not seeing her present appearance twitched, wanting to pick up the phone ringing.

Just then, she felt a warm body against her skin, scaring her badly. She jumped back and stared with full alert, preparing to engage in case someone had intruded on her bedroom.

The following second, however, she saw probably the most handsome body she’d seen in her life.

Although the body was lean, it was well-built with no excess muscles or fat. Just as she liked it.

Though her heart skipped a bit at the sight of this body, Grace was able to ignore it, instead, her gaze slowly turned cold in an instant and she was about to yell when; everything that happened the previous night came crashing into her brain.

Her face paled the next second and she appeared to have done the most unforgivable thing of all time.

“How could I?” She mumbled dumbly before eventually sighing deeply.

The next moment, it was as though she wasn’t the one filled with deep regret just a moment ago—Her entire being turned emotionlessly cold in an instant.

She then glanced emotionlessly at the handsome man sleeping beside her for a moment before slowly picking up her cell phone and holding it to her ear.

“Where have you been, boss? Your grandfather, cousins, and uncles had long been waiting for you in the conference room.”

“This…” The emotionless look on Grace’s face changed significantly and she panicked for a moment, having forgotten the important meeting she had that morning.

“What time is it?” she thought to herself before quickly checking and upon realizing that it was already after nine in the morning, she felt like smacking herself on the face, wondering how she could have forgotten such an important meeting.

She took a deep breath before returning the phone to her ear.

“I will get be there shortly, keep them busy for me,” she said before hanging up the cell phone, not waiting to hear what the secretary was going to say.

Without hesitation, Grace crawled out of the bed and then gave Xavier an icy cold glare.

She felt like strangling the peacefully sleeping Xavier to death but then forced herself to breathe in again after which she bent over, wanting to pick up her scattered clothes.

Just as she made this single movement, however, it felt as though a blade had sliced through her legs, causing her to wince in pain and break out in a sweat.

Instantly understanding the cause behind this pain, she sent an even more hateful glare toward the still-sound-asleep Xavier, the urge to strangle him to death returning with a stronger force.

Grace gritted her teeth hysterically against each other. ‘I should get out of here before I commit a murder!’ she thought before managing to finally pick up her dresses and quickly wearing them.

Once done, she picked up her bag and walked out of the room without hesitation.

****

The bedroom returned to its tranquil state after she was gone and this lasted for thirty more minutes until Xavier, who had been sleeping soundly twitched.

The next moment, his eyes snapped open, and he let out a lazy yawn, following which he tilted his head to the side, producing a loud crack, and then sluggishly sat up.

Just then, he saw the sun streaming through the window, and he was greatly taken aback, the look of laziness in his eyes vanishing.

“Did I just sleep till the sun fully rose?” He muttered with disbelief while feeling as though he was dreaming, as he couldn't remember the last time he had slept for more than four hours.

Xavier took a moment to process this before eventually shaking his head and trying to recall where he was.

The next moment, however, his face went blank again, and this time a wry smile spread across his lips.

“To think that, not only had the love of my life, whom I was imprisoned for, moved on upon my release, but she was also sleeping with the person who imprisoned me in my house, with all my possessions gone,” he murmured, his voice heavy with pain.

He then chuckled self-deprecatingly after a moment as he remembered everything that had happened the day before, clenching his fists.

Xavier had hoped that getting drunk would help him forget the pain, which was why he allowed himself to get intoxicated the night before. However, the pain remained just as fresh as ever.

He heaved a deep sigh after a moment and got out of the bed while mumbling; “I should go and see my parents.”

At that moment, something caught the corner of his eye, and he quickly turned to look. In the next second, his eyes widened in shock.

“Blood?” He mumbled with confusion. “What’s blood doing in—in… wait!”

Xavier' went into a daze, staring blankly as everything that had happened after he got drunk the night before came crashing back into him.

“This!” His eyes widened as he couldn't believe the memories in his head.

“Did I just share a one-night stand with someone I newly met?” He muttered in a stupor, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

Eventually, Xavier let out a wry chuckle before shaking his head. "Considering how she left, it's clear she doesn't want any relationship with me, just as I want."

As he uttered this, Xavier yawned lazily once more before gathering the bedding and putting on his clothes that were as well sprawled on the floor.

After doing all this, Xavier gave the bedroom a last glance before stepping out.

***

The room was on the second floor of the bar, and when Xavier reached the ground floor, he found it quiet and peaceful, a stark contrast to the chaos he had encountered the night before.

He glanced around, and seeing no soul present, dropped a wad of cash on the cashier’s table before leaving without looking back and just a little over five minutes later, the bartender from the previous night entered the bar, pushing a trolley of wines.

“Is he still sleeping?" she wondered and quietly made her way to the second floor to check the room where Xavier had been staying.

Realizing he was no longer there, she felt unexpectedly heartbroken and lost in her thoughts for a few minutes until the sound of footsteps jolted her back to reality, then giving the room one last look, she heaved a deep sigh before exiting and scurrying back to the bar.

“We’re not open yet!” she announced loudly upon arriving, but the next second, she was greatly taken aback to see the fierce and menacing figures standing there, each holding dangerous objects and glaring fiercely at her.

”Where is the bastard who castrated my brother light night?" the leader of the menacing group, one of the most notorious dons in Riverton City, asked coldly.

”This…” the bartender went momentarily daze, having never expected something like this.

She continued staring blankly until she hurriedly shook her head to snap out of her reverie.

“He has left,” she responded, stunning the people before her.

“Left?” Jazzy inquired blankly for a moment before glancing at his men with a fierce glint in his eyes.

“Did you guys hear that?” He inquired and immediately, a gang member hurriedly approached him.

Boss, I suggest you let us tear this place apart. I refuse to believe this bitch won’t provide the bastard who dared to harm your brother!"