A Gentleman Spurned

In front of a group of people, a tall, young man in a janitor's outfit had his head bowed, looking to the floor.

"Sir…" 

Suddenly, one of them grabbed his head and slammed it into the sink.

"Argh…" He yelled out a cry but forced himself to stay silent, shuddering.

"Make sure you scrub that restroom till it is spotless. After all, the only thing distinguishing you from it is the smell," Lucas taunted, triggering laughter from the group.

Mason watched as they, one by one, left the restroom with style. 

After they had exited, he sighed. He brought his hands to touch his forehead and winced at the tender bump.

Mason Vince remained silent, lifting his gaze from where he had collided with the sink.

Mason was already used to all of this, enduring such treatment was nothing new to him. He had no right to fight back because Lucas was the accountant of WIMS Hotel, so he held a higher position than him and Mason might be sacked from his job.

His phone began to vibrate, and as soon as he saw the caller ID, he picked it up immediately. "Babe..."

"Stop calling me that. It's been a week since I told you I was sick, and you've done nothing. Why did I have to fall for someone with empty pockets?" Her voice shot at him through the phone, annoyed.

A wave of fear passed through him. Though he wasn't surprised by her tone, as he was used to her nagging, he couldn't help but always get scared at her voice.

"Look, babe, I promise you that once I receive my money and gather it together, I will take you to a good hospital. I'll repay all the money I borrowed and all the work I'm doing for you..." He didn't even finish his sentence before she abruptly hung up.

All the work he was doing was for no one other than his sick girlfriend, Anna.

The thought of remembering how she sounded on the phone broke his heart. He had wondered how she would be doing since she hadn't picked up his calls for the past three days. And now, the first thing he was met with was her harsh voice.

He was desperately trying his best to gather the money for her treatments, but she didn't want to understand him.

He took on all kinds of work, from being a delivery man to a janitor, and he also worked in different restaurants and hotels just to make sure he could take care of her.

He wouldn't lose her, no matter what, and he would do whatever it took to make sure she didn't break up with him. He loved her blindly, even though she didn't treat him well.

After finishing the task of cleaning the accountant's toilet, his heart raced as he exited the restroom and caught sight of Lucas. His heart skipped a beat.

"Come here, you loser," Lucas called out in his husky, rude voice.  

He approached Lucas, bowing his head in fear. Lucas retrieved a file from his drawer.

"Take this file to room 12 and hand it over to the manager, James Starr, and be quick about it" Lucas instructed. He accepted the file, once again bowing his head, and left the office.

Being bullied by everyone in the hotel had become a regular occurrence for him. If he dared to defend himself, it only invited more mistreatment.

But he overlooked it all because he was doing it for his one true love, Anna. He believed that soon she would understand him and his struggles and not yell at him anymore.

He climbed up the stairs as he walked through the hallway, looking at the door numbers. As soon as he saw the number 12, he stopped.

He raised his hands to knock at the door when he started hearing sounds from inside. He began to hear moans coming from the room and dropped his hands.

The situation was only getting worse, and he had no choice but to wait for him. If he didn't, he knew he would receive more insults from Lucas.

He waited for about seven minutes, hearing a loud breath in and out. He then cleared his throat and knocked.

"Come... Come in," James, the manager, said in a shaky voice as he opened the door.

As soon as he laid his eyes on Mason, he bared his teeth and hissed, "This irritating son of a bitch."

"Baby, I'm coming," he grinned at the woman straddling him, returning her kisses.

"I was asked to give this to you, sir," he said, extending his hand with the item.

"And so what? Can't your useless brain tell you to drop it and leave?!" he shouted, causing him to freeze in place. 

These insults, again.

With a reluctant sigh, Mason dropped it and was about to leave when a voice stopped him. 

"Baby, relax. Come on, let's have another round." The voice struck a chord deep within him, as he recognized it was familiar.

His heart skipped a beat as he abruptly turned around. The moment he caught sight of her face, he gasped.

"Anna?" he called out. Shocked, she swiftly disentangled herself from James, hastily covering her naked body.

"Um... Mason?" Her eyes grew wide with surprise. "Mason, look, it's not what you think, I swear," she stammered, her words sounding desperate.

He simply couldn't believe the scene before his eyes. No, this couldn't possibly be true.

How could his girlfriend do this to him?

"What the fuck is going on here? Don't tell me this is the boyfriend you've been telling me about," James exclaimed. She let out a weary sigh and nodded.

"I thought you were sick. So, this is why you didn't let me come visit you? You've been in this hotel with my manager for the past three days?" Mason seethed, no longer concerned about the consequences, whether it meant losing his job or not. 

She offered no response, merely rolling her eyes.

For three years, they had been together, from college until now, even about to get married. He just felt like he should unsee what he just saw because it was tearing him apart from the inside.

"I never loved you," she started.

"What?" Mason exclaimed.

" Yes, that's the truth of it all. I dated you in college because you were fucking intelligent, and that's all. You would do all I asked, help with my assignments, and even almost get caught for helping me in my exams. That's the only thing that connected us. And you were a fool not to notice I didn't love you," she paused, her arms encircling James' waist.

It was true. People had whispered it to him, though often with added insults. Yet he had never taken them seriously, thinking they were just jealous of the close bond they shared in college. There were lovebirds.

"And I wasn't sick at all, Mason. I simply wanted to keep you out of my life because I didn't know how to break up with you. You're just an orphan who craves love..."

And you used that advantage against me, Anna?" He choked out, his voice trembling. 

"Fuck yeah, and the worst part is, I don't regret it. But I hope you find a woman who loves you for who you are, cos you're an amazing person. As for me, Mason, I can't." She unleashed the truth she had been hiding for all those years, not minding if it hurt him or not.

 He clasped his hands over his chest, trying to reduce the pain he was feeling inside, but it kept getting worse. 

"How could you do such horrible things to me? What have I done to you to deserve this?"