Chapter 13 Loser

• “I saw your mother at Dreamscape Clubhouse!” I cried. My words proved to be effective, as not only did Jessie stop in her tracks, but she turned on her heels to come back to me.
• “What kind of nonsense are you spouting? Why would my mother go to a clubhouse?” With a frown on her face, she stared at me.
• “I have no reason to lie.”
• “Tell me what happened.” She was growing anxious.
• “I’ll tell you after you let me go and apologize to me.” I laid out my terms while calmly regarding her.
• “Hudson, don’t you forget that I was the one who gave you all the money you own, and you’re still living in my house!” Jessie was glaring at me menacingly.
• “I earned all of the money with my own two hands! I earned 200,000 by selling myself to you and 100,000 by entertaining Miss Young. Then, I earned another 300,000 by rescuing Gemma and you from Fatty. I have a savings of 600,000, which was earned through my blood, sweat, and tears, so how dare you claim them as your own?” I retorted.
• Jessie’s face was flushed as my words seemed to drive her up the wall. “You— I see. You’re accusing me for being an ungrateful b*tch when you’re the one who’s the most ungrateful! You wouldn’t have earned any of the money if it wasn’t for me! Besides, I have to pay you a monthly stipend of 6,000 without you having to work for it!”
• “I’ll tell you as soon as you release me.” I already made a compromise, as I no longer required her apology.
• “Not before you tell me what happened,” Jessie demanded.
• “I no longer need you to apologize, so release me.”
• “You first!”
• “No, you first!”
• After a brief standoff, Gemma came to smooth things over for us. “Jessie, Hudson, you should stop quarreling. People might assume that you’re in a couple’s fight.”
• “We are a married couple,” I said nonchalantly.
• “Pfft! I’m not your wife.” Jessie had a different opinion on the matter, which made sense considering she was a queen, whereas I was but a poor w*nker. If it wasn’t for our chance encounter, we might not have even gotten the chance to speak to each other. Eventually, Jessie relented and untied me. After regaining my freedom, I stretched my aching body. Upon noticing the bruise caused by the whiplash, I shot her a furious glare.
• “What are you doing, Hudson? You’d better not do anything outrageous.” Jessie struck a defensive pose, which indicated that she had practiced some form of self-defense.
• “You’d better lock the door when you sleep next time, or else I might just climb into your bed. We’re a legally married couple, so the police won’t care even if you sue me!” I threatened Jessie. The bruise on my shoulder burned with pain, irritating me very much.
• “I’ll make sure to shave that d*ck off you if you dare even enter my room! Hmph!” she retorted. After a while, she asked, “Speak up! What happened last night? How did you find out that my mother was at the clubhouse? Why was she there?”
• “Your mother?” I cast Jessie a glance.
• “Yeah!”
• “Why would she go there in the first place?” I questioned with an innocent look on my face. With that, I quickly fled the scene.
• It wasn’t until a few seconds later that I heard her roaring, “Hudson, we’re not done yet!”
• Standing by the entrance of the room, I waved at her. “Bye!” Then, I ran away without looking back. Although I might be humble and unassuming, I wasn’t stupid. Not only was her mother at the clubhouse to get a gigolo, but she picked me, who was supposed to make a cameo appearance, to be intimate with her. I even got to see her naked and feel her. Heck, we nearly crossed the line! I would be dead if I ever told Jessie that I nearly f*cked her mother.
• As soon as I left Rose Community, I got a call from Jessie, during which she yelled over the phone, “Hudson, you’d better explain yourself!”
• “Why would you believe in a lie? Your mother is a knowledgeable professor in university, so how could she visit a lowly place like a clubhouse? Do you have no faith in her?” I asked.
• “Hudson, you’re dead meat! How dare you make fun of my mother?”
• Upon hearing her roar over the phone, I shrugged, all the while holding the phone away from my ears as I pouted. Then, I replied, “I have other things to do, so I’ll be hanging up!” After some thought, I switched off the phone so that she wouldn’t disturb me.
• For lack of anything better to do, I walked along the streets, eventually coming to High Street. I used to enjoy looking at beautiful women while sitting there, so I was about to do that again since I had time to spare. After buying myself some orange juice, I chose the perfect spot to settle down before enjoying the view while sipping on my juice.
• All of a sudden, I saw a familiar face amongst the crowd. It was none other than Maddy, the B-class prostitute that I met during my first day at work. She had on black skinny jeans, cream-colored canvas shoes, as well as a pink T-shirt with a heart-shaped pattern. With the bag that she was carrying around, she looked just like a university student.
• Seeing her made me surmise, Bloody hell! Is she really a university student? I was also once a university student, so I had heard of girls who worked in prostitution while studying. However, Maddy didn’t look like a vain girl, so I figured she must’ve had her own reasons. She might be just like me, who married Jessie for her money. Well, I suppose everybody has their own sh*t to deal with, I lamented inwardly.
• Just when I was considering greeting her, I noticed she had started bickering with a man. Although she tried to leave, the man held her back. Their fight had attracted a crowd. “What’s going on?” I blinked while walking up to her. Considering that we were somewhat acquainted with each other, I wouldn’t mind lending her a hand if it was something that I could offer.
• Despite my usual cowardly demeanor, I was in fact quite a righteous person who admired heroic people and deeds. If I truly was a wimp, I wouldn’t have rescued Gemma and Jessie by rendering Fatty unconscious back at Avenue Bar. Hiding behind the onlooking crowd, I listened to their bickering for a few minutes, but was none the wiser as to why they were fighting. All I could hear was the man accusing Maddy, saying, “Don’t you dare act like an innocent girl! I know you’re working at Dreamscape Clubhouse!”
• “Let go, or else I’ll be calling the police,” Maddy warned him.
• “Go on! What can a prostitute do anyway?” Scoffing, the man provoked her.
• Slap!
• “You b*stard!” Maddy gave him a loud slap.
• “How dare you hit me? F*ck! I have always seen you as a queen ever since we’re in high school, but you ended up working as a prostitute! Don’t a b*tch like you dare act like an innocent woman! You f*cking disgust me!” After that, he was about to beat her. Frightened by his reaction, Maddy hid her head between her arms while backing away, only to fall over on the ground.
• All the while, I couldn’t help but look down on the man. While he could be angry and jealous, he shouldn’t have been so narrow-minded. Moreover, he shouldn’t have hit a woman, which was outright unsightly. Everybody had their own hardships in life, so he shouldn’t be lashing out at her, say less of resorting to physical violence.
• Maddy had already collapsed on the ground, but the man still seemed intent on humiliating her. It triggered my protective instincts, so I quickly helped her up after getting in front of her. “Are you hurt anywhere?” I expressed my concern.
• “Oh, it’s you, Hudson!” Maddy cried out in surprise. “I’m alright!”
• “Who the f*ck are you? Are you planning to be the hero?” The man’s voice could be heard coming from behind me.
• “I think it’s unmanly of you to hit a woman, you w*nker,” I insulted him while turning around.
• “You f*cking tw*t!”
• His punch landed on my face as soon as I turned around, which caused me to topple over. I blacked out for a second while my lips stung. By the next instant, I was kicked in the stomach, the kick having me curled up into a ball as I felt like being hit by a truck.
• “Caleb, what are you doing? Stop it!” Maddy cried out in agitation.
• I was vexed by my situation. F*ck! I shouldn’t have played the hero when I’m such a weakling! Great, now I’m being reduced from hero to zero in public!
• “You b*tch, are you feeling sorry for him? Is he your regular customer?” While Maddy tried to stop Caleb from hitting me, he pushed her onto the ground.
• Spitting out the blood in my mouth that trickled out of the wound I received from his punch, I swore upon seeing Maddy, who was sprawled out on the ground. “F*ck!”
• By the next instant, I stood up after pushing the pain down. In a blind fit of rage, I held onto his waist to tackle him against the wall. I never fought as a child, so I had no experience in a brawl. Caleb’s elbow landed on my back hard, and the blow nearly caused me to pass out. While I was forced to let go, his knee struck my stomach. No longer able to retaliate, I clutched onto my stomach with both hands before slowly collapsing to the ground.
• “A loser like you shouldn’t be acting like a hero! It’s disgusting!” Caleb cursed while glancing at me.
• “You’re still a w*nker no matter how good of a fighter you are.” Being relentless and stubborn was a vice of mine. Despite the fact that I was being trampled on, I refused to admit defeat.
• As soon as I said so, he kicked me on the stomach, after which he questioned again, “Who’s a w*nker?”
• “You are! You are a bloody w*nker!” I shouted. He gave me another three kicks on the stomach. The excruciating pain managed to momentarily silence me.
• “You b*stard... Who are you calling a w*nker? Say it one more time.”
• After catching my breath and feeling the pain subsiding, I yelled once again, “You w*nker! You’re a f*cking w*nker, and a narrow-minded one at that! Anyone who hits a woman is a w*nker!” I was expecting another round of beating after that, but it didn’t come as expected. Therefore, I lifted my head to check on Caleb, only to see a thirty-year-old man with a beard standing in front of me.
• “I, too, agree that anyone who hits a woman is not a man, but a w*nker.” The man’s voice was calm, but it had a cold, cutting edge to it.
• “You f*cking—”
• Bam!
• “Ouch!”
• Crash—
• Just when Caleb was about to lash out, the man kicked him in the stomach, causing him to fly off into the distance. Letting out a wail, he lay motionless on the ground after landing.
• “Holy sh*t!” I was startled by the sight of it. A rough estimation helped determine that Caleb had flown across a distance of at least five meters. Seeing that the kick also rendered Caleb unconscious, I figured the man must be an extraordinary person.