“I... I’m not okay, Peat, I’m not okay...” James stammered, his voice trembling, the words broken by sobs that turned into deep, wrenching cries.
“I’m not okay... because I love him... and he doesn’t.” He gasped out the last sentence, tears streaming down his face.
Peat held him tightly, rubbing his back soothingly. Just then, Fort entered the room, standing by the bed and gently patting James’s back with sympathy.
“I—I’m done with Net... he broke up with me. He said I was just a plaything to him, that he was tired of me. He... left me, Peat. Net left me. My heart hurts so much, Peat. It hurts so badly... because I love him!” James’s words came out in a fragmented, sobbing mess.
He tried to convey the pain that consumed him, but the more he attempted to speak, the more his voice cracked under the weight of his grief. The memory of how Net had cast him aside made his chest ache.
“I understand, James. I’m here for you. Let it out, cry if you need to,” Peat encouraged, continuing to stroke his back.
“It hurts, Peat. It hurts so much! And I... I can’t believe it. It’s hard to accept that he only sees me as a toy. Am I really that bad, Peat?”
Peat shook his head firmly.
“No. You’re not bad at all. You’re amazing, James. You’re nearly perfect. Just ask Fort or anyone out there. You deserve the best. You’re not at fault; you just loved the wrong person. Net isn’t worthy of you. He’s no better than the other scoundrels out there. In fact, he’s the worst,” Peat asserted with conviction.
Tears continued to flow from James for several minutes. As his sobs began to subside slightly, he finally released Peat’s embrace. Fort decided to speak up.
“Maybe this is the best decision for you, James. Peat is right. P’Net isn’t good for you. He’s a very dangerous person,” Fort said.
James appeared lost in his sorrow, unable to respond with even a single word. Fort recognized this was the moment to reveal the dark side that James may never have seen.
“When we were younger, I had a close relationship with his family. But after his family got involved in illegal activities, mine forbade me from associating with them. Despite that, I kept in touch with P’Net, and that’s how I learned so much. I know P’Net is extremely dangerous. Do you know what he does, James?”
James hesitantly shook his head. He only knew a little, certainly not as much as Fort did. Aside from not trying to dig deeper, James also didn’t dare to ask.
“Hotel Scorpion, that place is actually a casino hotel, with a hidden bar inside. The Scorpion casino business doesn’t just operate in Bangkok; it extends to several cities bordering other countries and has probably spread to other Asian nations. It may seem like a legal casino, but the business is illegal. They lend money to people for gambling, but when those people lose and can’t pay back, they’ll do anything to ensure the debts are settled. If not, the consequences can be severe---perhaps they’ll even end their lives,” Fort explained.
“Originally, Scorpion might have only dealt with gambling, but now they’ve gone far beyond that, James. After his parents died, P’Net took over the Scorpion business, making it grow larger and stronger by teaming up with a powerful mafia from South Korea known as the Red Lion. You might have heard from P’Net that he had no interest in the Scorpion business at first, but after the death of his parents and Mr. Leon, the head of Red Lion, everything changed,” Fort elaborated.
James nodded. He had indeed heard about Net's initial disinterest in the Scorpion business. Net had told him that due to Leon's significant influence over him, he felt he had no choice but to cooperate, which led to the situation they were in now.
YOU ARE READING
𝐌𝐚𝐟𝐢𝐚'𝐬 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 | 𝓝𝓮𝓽𝓙𝓪𝓶𝓮𝓼 🔞
Romansa"F*ck with me tonight ..." --- James was trapped in the dark world of the mafia. At first he was just looking for fun in the midst of his sadness, but bad luck befell him, he was used as a means of paying debt by a man he met at a bar and in the end...
