Anthony didn’t remember when the blows started to blur together.
At first, he tried to count them_ the punches, the kicks, the sickening thud of his body hitting the ground.
But somewhere between the laughter and the metallic taste of blood filling his mouth.
The numbers stopped making sense.
“Stay down” the man growled.
Anthony barely lifted his head.
Through one swollen eye.
He saw him clearly- The rich replacement.
Expensive shoes, the Gold watch glinting under the streetlights.
The kind of man who never had to fight for anything…
Yet here he was, proving a point.
Behind him stood the girl Anthony once called his world.
She didn’t scream, she didn’t pleaded, no guilt, nor remorse.
Just a cold glance thrown at him.
She just watched.
Another kick slammed into his ribs.
Something cracked.
Anthony gasped in pain.
His breath hitching painfully as the night air burned his lungs.
“Please” he rasped, though he wasn’t even sure who he was begging anymore.
The man chuckled, wiping his knuckles like Anthony was nothing more than dirt.
“You should’ve known your place. ”
Darkness crept in at edges of Anthony’s vision.
The voice grew distant.
The world tilted.
Then nothing.
°°°°°
A sharp, stabbing pain dragged him back.
Anthony’s eyes snapped open, but all he saw was white-blinding, suffocating white.
The smell of antiseptic filled his nose.
Machine beeped somewhere close.
Pain exploded through his body the moment he tried to move.
“Ahhh_!” The cry tore from his throat before he could stop it.
Every bone felt shattered, every breath was a battle.
He was alive.
And somehow…
That hurt more than the beating.
And then_
A memory hit him.
°°°°°°
It all started at Maxwell Hotel and suites.
Anthony was still in uniform that day_ neat,composed, invisible like every staff member was trained to be.
A simple room service call.
Nothing unusual.
Room 507
He knocked twice.
No answer.
But the door wasn’t fully closed.
“Room service,” he announced, pushing it open slightly.
Then he froze.
The tray slipped from his hands, crashing onto the polished floor.
His girlfriend.
On the bed.
With him.
The same man now standing over him in the present.
For a second, nobody moved.
Then the man smirked.
“You must be the help.”
Something inside Anthony snapped.
Before he could think, he lunged forward- his fist connecting cleanly with the man’s nose.
A crack.
Blood spilled instantly.
But that was the only hit Anthony got.
Security came fast.
Too fast.
He was dragged out, beaten in the hallway like a criminal while guests watch in shock.
His girlfriend didn’t follow, didn’t speak.
Didn’t care.
By evening, his uniform was taken.
By night, he was fired.
“Violation of hotel conduct,” they said.
But Anthony knew the truth.
Money spoke louder than justice.
°°°°°°°°°°
On his way home.
He was crossed by three exotic cars and a van.
Men in black suits and glasses surrounding him menacingly.
He was battered.
breath ragged.
“You think you get to live after hitting me in the face?” Said the rich guy coldly.
“Kill him”.
He said coldly.
Leaving behind his arrogant back to Anthony.
°°°°°
To the present.
Beeping machines.
Pain_ everywhere.
“Ahhh-!” His voice cracked.
He tried to move.
Big mistake.
It felt like his bones were breaking all over again.
Tears slipped from the corners of his eyes.
But not from weakness.
From rage.
From memory.
From everything he had lost in a single moment at Maxwell Hotel and suites.
Anthony stared at the ceiling, breathing hard.
They took his job.
They took his dignity.
They thought they broke him.
But as the pain burned through him.
Something deeper awakened.
Something mysterious and powerful.
This time…
This wasn’t the end.
It was the beginning.
Notice.
it’s fiction not real, not acting against any company name been used.
but to make it look more real and legit.
all companies names that will be use is not an act of provocation or defamation.
it’s a fiction book, nothing else.
thanks.
Olamilekan (sky silver)