Broken Hearts, Fragile Egos

Arnold stumbled through the dark streets, fully drunk and confused. He had been drinking for hours, trying to drown his sorrow with the alcohol.

Right after he left the courtroom, he went to a bar. It was the only place he could go to forget his pain. He had downed several bottles of alcohol and finally left when he was intoxicated.

As he walked through the blackened street only illuminated by streetlights and shops displaying the usual open sign, he muttered bitterly. He occasionally stopped and chuckled, which caught the attention of people. Many people stared at him like he had lost his sanity, but he didn't care. He was too lost in his heartbreak to care about the people watching him.

He staggered, almost falling to the ground but managed to hold himself back. Then he let out another laugh, this one longer and creepier than the last.

"She left me." The words tasted like bile on his lips. He took out his phone and scrolled to the message icon to read his messages with Vera. His head moved sideways as memories of Vera's humiliation came crashing down.

He had called her in the bar, begging her to come back to him. He had hoped that she would change her mind with one phone call, just like back when they were in high school. One phone call. One phone call was all it took to settle any disagreement or quarrel they had. Now, even Killing himself sounded like what she would want.

However, Vera made him feel even worse than he thought. She had added more salt to his broken heart whose crime was loving her wholeheartedly.

Her words in the courtroom played in his head over and over again and Lucas's betrayal still seemed surreal at this point. The spiteful and mocking glares Vera's relatives shot him from the courtroom felt like an illusion his drunken mind was forcing him to accept. He felt like he was in a nightmare and he couldn't wait to snap his eyes open and come back to reality. The one where Vera was by his side and madly in love with him. But even Arnold knew all too well that it was only a matter of time before reality would come crashing down.

She'd yelled at him not to call her anymore. Words he never thought she could utter was all she spewed, hurting his heart and his ego too.

He promised to take on more jobs to fund her extravagant lifestyle but she wouldn't hear it. Instead she cursed him the more and threatened to block him everywhere. Seeing as Arnold couldn't get through to her anymore, Vera's threat was no longer empty. Somewhere along the line, he was sure he heard Lucas threatening to get him beaten up too.

She hung up the phone while he was trying to reply. He broke down in tears in the bar, and after crying, he ordered more drinks. Throughout his relationship, he had never expected her to hurt him. She had always been kind and lovely to him. When did she suddenly stop loving him? When did Lucas turn her against him?

He felt stupid that he had not noticed anything going on between them. He had trusted both of them too much to take note of the little things.

After drinking and getting more drunk, he had texted her under the delusion that he could still win her back.

Vera had sent a series of pictures as a reply. Arnold's heart shattered when he saw wedding pictures between her and Lucas. They had planned their wedding that same day, and he didn't know. Vera was right about planning everything for a long time.

All the while, he had been showering her with love in the best way he could, she was plotting to humiliate and ruin his reputation. It was far better that she left before the wedding. Instead, she found it entertaining to hurt him before many people.

She also sent him pictures of her and Lucas kissing on a yacht. Their wedding was organized in Lucas' private yacht with only renounced businessmen in attendance. Everything looked expensive, unlike his wedding. Vera was wearing a very elegant and expensive-looking dress. Aside from the diamond ring, she was also wearing more diamond jewelry which cost thousands of dollars.

He could not afford any of the things she was putting on. He knew how hard he worked to save money for their wedding ring, so buying a diamond ring was almost impossible.

The pictures didn't only make him feel inferior but worthless. Vera made sure to send videos of their wedding and the exquisite arrangement.

Arnold read the messages and pictures repeatedly in pain. A girl he loved with his heart dumped him, and his best friend betrayed him. He looked at the pictures she sent, and his heart churned with misery.

Vera looked so happy in them. She looked happier with Lucas, and it made him angry. As he watched, smiling at the videos, he was overwhelmed with emotions. Before he could stop himself, he yelled angrily on the streets.

Several people turned to him with concern on their faces. Then he crumpled to the ground and began to cry again.

"Don't leave me." He muttered incoherently between sobs. Many people watched him in shock. It was rare to find a man crying openly on the street. After some minutes of crying, he rose slowly from his position. He staggered briefly before walking forward.

He was dizzy, and his eyes were swollen. Due to this, he couldn't see properly.

"Watch it, jerk!" A man barked at him as he bumped into him. "Watch where you're going, or I will do that for you." He added angrily.

Arnold turned to apologize but bumped into a couple of men who were even more livid than the previous man.

"Stupid, get off the road!"

"Get your drunk ass out of here!" They barked at him collectively.

Arnold mumbled an apology and quickly walked away from them. Frustrated about experiencing the worst day of his life and filled with rage about all the disrespect he had endured all day, tears began to stream down his face.

As he wiped his tears, he received a text on his phone. He immediately took his phone out, hoping that he had received a message from Vera.

Unfortunately, it was the loan shark he borrowed money from for his wedding. He sent a reminder that he was to repay the money within a month. If he failed to do so, he would face severe consequences.

His excitement-filled eyes slowly faded into sadness. He was once again reminded of the tragedy that happened to him. He had borrowed money and incurred debts for a wedding that never took place. How could he explain to his lenders that the marriage was canceled? What if he was not able to raise the money within a month?

He was lost in thoughts about his situation that he did not know when he walked into a dark alley. By the time he realized where he was, he had gone too far. He decided to walk faster to leave as there was no one else with him, and the alley was known to be a very dangerous place at night.

"Hey!" He heard a voice behind him. "Stop right there!" Another voice ordered.

Fear seized his body as he realized that some men were following him. He ignored them and continued to walk faster, his heart pounding in his chest. If he got out of the Alley fast enough, he would not be harmed.

He could hear several footsteps approaching him, and he knew instantly that the men were running toward him. He also broke into a run, but before he could cover a reasonable distance, one of the men grabbed him from behind and tackled him to the ground with his leg.

Arnold fell to the ground violently with a loud groan. He landed with his back on the ground. His head hit the ground, and he held his head in pain. The pain was excruciating, and he was too weak.

"How dare you ignore us?" One of the men asked, his voice laced slightly with anger and Arnold yelled out in pain as a foot crashed into his stomach.

Another man came forward and began to kick him repeatedly in his stomach. "How dare you try to run away from us?"

He grabbed his stomach and tried to block the kicks. However, the man dealt several blows until Arnold was too weak to move.

"Pick him up.” One of the men ordered, and two men surrounding him rushed to his side. They aggressively yanked him up from the ground, but he collapsed back as he was drunk and injured.

"Leave him on the ground." The leader said, and they released him. The men formed a circle around him, their eyes gleaming with fury and mischief.

Arnold crawled to the wall and rested his back against it. Even in his drunken state, he knew he was in trouble. It was late at night, and people barely came into the alley. No one was coming to save him, and the man could do whatever they wanted to him.

He only prayed that they would not kill him. He wished he hadn't taken so much alcohol. At that moment, he wished his wedding hadn't been ruined. He would have been with Vera, enjoying his honeymoon. Instead, he was surrounded by vicious men who attacked him.

Arnold cried as they threw punches and kicked him all over his body, and he cowered trying to deflect the hits not nothing happened. One of them searched him and took his wallet, which contained his phone and all his money. Then they continued to hit him for some moments. When he became motionless, they stopped and ran away, leaving him battered on the ground.

Arnold lay on the ground, bleeding from several places. His face was bloodied, and his nose was broken. His lips burst in several areas, and he was injured all over his body.

"Help me." He whispered, but no one could hear him. The alley was dark and abandoned. He managed to summon up some energy and began to crawl out.

After crawling weakly for some time, he could finally leave the alleyway. His clothes were soaked up with blood as he crumbled by the roadside. Looking around, he tried to call for help, but the streets were deserted. He realized no one was coming to save him and staggered to his feet.

His head was dizzy with pain, and his eyes were fuzzy. As he stood with his shaking legs by the roadside, he checked the road for any passing cars.

Unable to see and losing more blood, he did not see an oncoming truck in the distance. He dragged his leg as he slowly began to cross the road.

Just as he reached the middle of the road, a bright white light hit his face, and a loud horn blasted in the air. He turned, and it was at that moment that he saw the incoming vehicle, which was moving at high speed and meters away from him.

He tried to quickly move his bloodied body with force to the other side of the road, but a sharp pain racked through his body. He fell weakly to the ground with a loud thud in the middle of the road.

His vision became blurry, and just as he was about to pass out, images from the scene in the court flitted through his mind.

"Vera," he whispered weakly, and a tear dropped from his eyes. Everything around him became pitch black, and he passed out.