2. A Broken Friendship

"I really don't have any money..." Darren said with resignation.

The loan shark boss slapped Darren hard on the cheek, three times. Darren's face fell, but his body was held in place by three of the loan shark's men.

"You poor, stupid man!"

Then the loan shark boss's gaze shifted to Darren's three tote bags lying on the ground. The loan shark boss pointed at Darren's three tote bags.

"Hey, open those three bags and take any valuables!" The loan shark boss gave the order.

The loan shark boss's three men nodded obediently. Without further ado, they immediately approached Darren's three tote bags. Meanwhile, the loan shark boss immediately took over Darren's body.

"You, gosh... you make me feel sorry for you with your shabby appearance now. But you're still the poor guy who ran away for two years from what he owed me!"

The loan shark boss delivered a punch to Darren's stomach. He didn't care that Darren was in pain and limply holding his stomach.

The loan shark's hand firmly gripped the underside of Darren's jaw and chin. His finger at the bottom of the jaw, the part connected to breathing, was pressed so hard.

Darren found it difficult to breathe. But he could not resist because his body was lifted by the loan shark boss in front of him.

"I don't care about the sad story of your life being used as a guarantor for debt. I only care about your money..." The loan shark boss said without pity.

Darren's mouth dropped open as the pressure of the loan shark's fingers grew stronger. It became so difficult for him to breathe that he had to look up.

"Boss! We found this amount of money!"

The loan shark boss looked away, and Darren's eyes glanced at one of the loan shark boss's men. There was a black plastic bag lifted by the loan shark boss's men.

Suddenly the loan shark boss's hand released Darren's body. He approached his men who came closer.

"Look, quite a lot of money!" The loan shark boss's men exclaimed enthusiastically. "The total is about two hundred and fifty thousand dollars!"

While Darren coughed and coughed while holding his sore throat with a limp body, the loan shark boss examined the plastic bag. The loan shark boss looked at Darren sharply.

"Hey! You said you didn't have any money, but you kept this?" the loan shark boss asked, then smiled smugly. "Oh my. This is quite a lot."

The loan shark boss laughed with his men.

"Boss! I found two diamond rings!"

Darren looked at the loan shark boss and his three men. His gaze fell on the two rings that one of the loan shark's men held out.

"Take a look, boss! Are these real diamonds?" asked the loan shark.

The loan shark's boss and two other henchmen approached. They were stunned to see the ring up close.

"Woah! This is a treasure that would be worth a lot of money!" The loan shark boss said sternly. "Hey, we found some satisfying things tonight!"

"No," Darren reflexively said when he remembered that the two rings were inherited from his parents. "I'm not giving you those two rings!"

The loan shark boss and his three men looked at Darren.

With his body staggering, Darren moved quickly towards them. Darren was about to snatch the two rings, but his hand was immediately thrown away.

The loan shark boss slapped Darren's face so hard that Darren was pushed back. The look on his face was one of anger at Darren.

"Ah, geez. I was just happy to find a treasure, but you've pissed me off again!" snapped the loan shark boss.

Suddenly, the loan shark boss stepped forward towards Darren. This time, the loan shark boss threw Darren's body against the wall so that his back hit hard.

Darren groaned in pain. But now he was determined to fight the loan shark boss and retrieve the two rings he had inherited from his parents.

Before Darren could fight back, the loan shark boss threw a powerful punch. The loan shark boss also twisted his body while delivering a kick to Darren's face.

At that moment, Darren's body hit the asphalt again. His strength was already drained. Some parts of his body that hurt felt numb and hard to move.

Darren groaned. Despite the pain, he tried to strengthen his body to get up. Unfortunately, the loan shark boss delivered three consecutive punches to his face.

"Ah! Damn, I shouldn't have wasted so much energy on this!" The loan shark boss cursed after finishing hitting Darren.

Without caring about Darren, the loan shark boss stood up.

"Come on, let's just go. Hey, you have to pay the rest of your debt! Those two rings and your money are not enough to pay the whole debt!" the loan shark boss said.

The loan shark boss and his three men walked away, leaving Darren behind.

On this sidewalk, Darren lay weak. His face was bruised in several places. Blood flowed from the wounds on his face and hands that were cut by the asphalt. His body was in agony.

Darren clenched his fists as he watched the loan shark boss and his three men leave. His emotions were raging. He was broken. He lost everything tonight.

All of his troubles attacked Darren with a vengeance.

Darren laughed sadly, laughing at his uselessness. He had nothing now.

***

"Good evening. Sorry we're closed-"

Mr. Troy's speech was interrupted when he saw Darren entering the door of his restaurant. Darren looked at Mr. Troy with a pleading look while carrying three tote bags on his body.

"Troy..." Darren called out.

Mr. Troy gritted his teeth as his gaze turned uneasy. His friendly smile simply faded away.

"Darren? When were you released from prison?" asked Mr. Troy who began to step closer to Darren.

"Mr. Troy, I really need your help tonight. I was recently released from prison after my charges were not proven true. I lost—"

Before Darren could finish his sentence, Mr. Troy grabbed him by both shoulders and looked outside the restaurant. The look in Mr. Troy's eyes was fearful as if he was being watched by someone.

"Hey, why did you come to my restaurant? Did someone see you come here?" Mr. Troy asked, his voice sounding wary.

Darren was confused. He looked behind him, where Mr. Troy seemed to be watching something.

"I came alone. Why do you look scared, Mr. Troy?" Darren asked.

"You should leave! I don't want you around at all!" Mr. Troy suddenly said while pushing Darren's body.

Darren was surprised to get such treatment by Mr. Troy. He still didn't want to leave this restaurant.

"Mr. Troy, what are you doing? I need your help tonight. My wife cheated on me and I got kicked out of the mansion after selling my house to Cloe..."

"I don't care!" Mr. Troy cut Darren off, snapping. "Darren, you're not the friend I once knew. You're an ex-con!"

Darren was dumbfounded by Mr. Troy's words. All that time, he was trying to guess what happened to Mr. Troy.

Before Darren was imprisoned, Mr. Troy was his best friend since childhood. Darren had given his money to help Mr. Troy when he was fired from his part-time deliver job. Then the money from Darren was used to build a small restaurant until it grew quite rapidly.

Unfortunately Darren could not witness the development of Mr. Troy's restaurant because he was slandered and imprisoned. Now that he has been released from prison, Mr. Troy cannot accept his arrival?

"What will people say if I'm with an ex-con like you?" asked Mr. Troy guiltlessly. "It's disgusting! I never want to be friend with people like you!" 

Darren laughed unexpectedly.

"Mr. Troy... did you just kick me out? Don't you remember we're best friends?" Darren asked.

Mr. Troy laughed and grinned. "How would anyone want to be friends with an ex-con?"

"I haven't done anything wrong, Mr. Troy. It's just that tonight, I need a place to stay to rest—"

"You better get out of here!" snapped Mr. Troy as he shoved Darren out of the way.

Darren didn't have time to fight back. This time his body was pushed repeatedly by Mr. Troy until his feet were on the ground outside the restaurant.

"I'm not friendly with ex-cons like you, Darren! Just leave! The reputation of the restaurant that I've worked so hard to build will be ruined if I let you in!"

After saying that sentence, Mr. Troy closed the restaurant door firmly. Leaving a stunned Darren who was hoping for a warm welcome from Mr. Troy.

"How dare you betray me like this, Mr. Troy?" Darren muttered, clenching his fists.