"Hehehe, I never thought I would have my hand on such a large amount of dollar bills this soon." Ethan laughed happily. He praised himself for thinking of such a brilliant plan.
' It's time to pay my bill I guess, Cain isn't that patient. Garret's boss is quite generous, I must say, the rumor is indeed right, he offers so much just for one night. Rich people surely don't know where to spend their money."
He stopped a cab that was passing by.
"Hey man, take me to Parker Street." He said to the middle-aged cab rider.
"Hop in." Said the cab driver.
He nodded and hoped in. A few minutes later the cab stopped at a lonely and sinister-looking street. The cab driver turned towards him.
"I don't know what you came here to do, son, but this street is no good place to be in. There are lots of miscreants and gangsters here and above all I heard it's a gambling den. I don't know what business you got here, son, but you have got to be a lot more careful." The man gave him a piece of advice.
He growled, feeling irritated by the man but he didn't show it on his face, he just threw the man some dollar bills and alighted from the car. Without giving a look at his surroundings, he made his way towards an alleyway.
"Be careful son," the man called behind him.
"I'm not your son," he hissed.
Soon he arrived at the casino. There were some men in the casino playing games or drinking beer. Some of them waved at him when they saw him. Among them, a man was sitting over a table giving him an unkind look. The man was very burly and bald. Some rough-looking men gathered round him and in a fawning manner.
"So, you still remember this casino, huh? I thought since you owe me you've been running away, perhaps you think there's nothing I can do outside the casino?" The man said angrily.
Ethan knew he was riled up. He shuddered slightly. Luckily, he had his money so there was no need to fear.
"It's not what you think man." He took a seat opposite the man so they could face each other.
"I decided to have a little break from gambling that's all, I will never want to run away with your money. I came to return it actually." He took out a wad of cash.
Cain's eyes lit up. He stared greedily.
"You didn't disappoint Ethan." He said as he gratefully took the money from him.
"I wonder how you are able to get this money this quickly? I heard you lost your job, and you even lost all your savings in gambling." Cain questioned.
"It's none of your business how I got the money. I don't owe anymore." He replied coolly.
"Hey, don't be cocky just because you managed to pay off your debts, I'm the boss around here, don't forget that." Cain warned him. This caused him to be angry and displeased.
"You know you shouldn't talk to me like that. Plus, you have your money back." He doesn't have to do much anyway, he just needs to show them that he's no pushover. Being familiar with the streets, he knew it wouldn't do him any good acting cowardly.
Of course, he wouldn't dare to push it with Cain. He just had to say this much and leave.
"Excuse me," he stood up quietly to leave.
"Where do you think you are going?" One of Cain's men asked, blocking his way.
"What's the meaning of this?" He asked angrily.
"Don't you know there are consequences for what you say, huh?" The man who was fat and bald laughed.
The people in the casino all stopped what they were doing and watched the show unfold. Ethan felt ashamed, he was very famous here and had kept a great reputation. No one had ever dared to mess with him before. But that was before Cain arrived.
Cain was very generous in lending money to people. It was like he always had a lot to give no matter what. It was like he never worried that the person wouldn't be able to pay it back.
All this was a mystery that he wasn't able to unravel until it was time to pay back his own debts after borrowing from him. He learnt that Cain was very notorious and known for harming people who failed to pay their debts.
After it took him a while to pay, they threatened him, and they made him pay double. Hence, he had to resort to extreme means in order to come up with the complete money before the final deadline.
"It seems you are quite the forgetful kind. You already forgot everything in just a short time huh?" Cain mocked.
Ethan gulped, he knew he was in trouble now but his pride couldn't let him apologize, at least not in public. Not in this place where he had established his dominance long ago. He looked around and saw some of his gambling buddies moving away. Clearly they did not intend to help.
He sighed.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say it like that." He murmured.
"Wait, what did you say? I can't hear you." Cain pretended that he didn't hear him.
"I said I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that." He repeated this time louder.
"Good, now get off my face, I don't want to ever see you again." He spat.
The fat guy pushed him roughly. Ethan left the casino in a terrible mood. He was feeling like crap. He has gone through a lot these last few months and right now he can't face Aria. Not that he felt great regret over what he did, but he was still feeling a bit guilty regardless.
His phone started buzzing at that moment, and he saw it was an incoming call from Aria. He ignored it and let it go to voicemail. After a second thought, he decided to reveal some news that would definitely get her to stop calling. So he sent her a text that read,
"I have been sleeping with your best friend Stephanie, so you can say we are even now. She gave me what you didn't. Do not contact me again."