Chapter 2: He's Someone You Can't Afford to Cross!

Words : 1806 Updated : Feb 5th, 2026

"Who's joking with you?" Drew Sowden shot Atreus Lyson a look, then loosened his tie and scolded him in a teasing, almost affectionate tone. "I'm probably not even that much older than you. If you don't mind, when nobody's around, you can call me Sister Drew." Atreus scratched the back of his head, embarrassed. "Yes, Sister Drew." They exchanged a few more polite words in the office before he finally left. Outside Drew's office, Atreus headed for the stairwell by the emergency exit. The first thing he wanted to do was share the good news about landing his deal with his girlfriend, Lola Lashbrook. "The number you have dialed is powered off…" Powered off? Atreus tried again. Same message. Did her phone die? He checked the time. At this hour, Lola should still have been at work. Maybe she had simply forgotten to charge it. He still had tasks waiting on his desk, so he decided he would tell her tonight after he got home. If he could close a few more deals… They would probably be able to scrape together a down payment in this second-tier city sooner than he'd dared to hope. The afternoon dragged on forever. Atreus asked for an hour off early. He rode his little electric scooter to pick up a few dishes Lola liked, then headed toward the rented apartment they shared, feeling light as air. By the time he reached the building, dusk had only just begun to settle in. He glanced at his watch. Perfect timing. He could cook, take a quick shower, and still be ready when Lola got back. No wasted time. He had just parked his scooter when he noticed a Mustang sitting right in front of his unit's entrance, rocking up and down. Huh. Atreus actually laughed. He wasn't some sheltered kid. He'd seen people going at it in cars before. Sometimes you even ran into it on the side of the road. But doing it right at the entrance of an apartment building? That was new. Rich people really did know how to play. He was about to carry his groceries upstairs when a soft, breathy moan drifted out of the car, and his feet froze to the pavement. That voice sounded like Lola… No. No way. Lola hadn't gotten off work yet. How could she be here? Atreus shook his head, but the sound clung to his mind like a burr. He pulled out his phone and called Lola again. This time, the call connected. And the familiar ringtone rang from inside the Mustang. Before Atreus could even process it, Lola's voice floated out through the half-fogged window. "Baby, my boyfriend's calling!" "You said you'd dump that loser already!" The Mustang rocked harder, drawing curious heads from nearby tenants who leaned out to watch. Atreus's mind detonated. Blood rushed into his eyes. He stormed forward and yanked the door open. Inside, Lola was tangled up with a man. They were in the middle of it, completely unprepared for someone to rip the door open. The moment Lola saw Atreus, her face drained. She snatched up a torn scrap of dress to cover herself. "A-Atreus, you… it's not what it looks like, I…" "You disgusting pieces of trash!" Atreus roared, cutting her off. His gaze snapped to the man, who had gone pale and limp with shock. Atreus recognized him instantly. Keenan Warth. Lola had sworn to Atreus, again and again, that she wouldn't have anything to do with him. Not even a word. And yet here she was, rolling around with another man like it meant nothing. Atreus's eyes burned red. He raised his fist and swung. "Fuck you, Atreus Lyson! You think you can hit me? You got a death wish!" Keenan wasn't the type to take a beating. He yanked his pants up, bare-chested, and the two of them grappled in the cramped car, fists and elbows slamming into flesh. Lola scrambled into her clothes. Seeing her new lover starting to lose ground, she grabbed the emergency window hammer from the car and brought it down on Atreus's head. Atreus's vision went black. Keenan seized the opening. He twisted free, grabbed Atreus by the hair, and drove punch after punch into his skull. "Motherfucker, you dare lay hands on me? Killing you would be as easy as crushing an ant!" Lola's face tightened. Whether she feared someone would die, or whether a sliver of conscience still remained, she hurriedly grabbed Keenan's arm. "Keenan, stop! If you keep hitting him, he's going to die!" Keenan cursed as he stood. He kicked Atreus a few more times for good measure, then pulled a thick wad of cash from his wallet and tossed it onto Atreus's face. "Atreus Lyson, from today on, Lola Lashbrook is my woman. If you so much as bother her, I'll fucking kill you!" Atreus curled on the ground, his sight already blurring at the edges. He only wanted to ask Lola one thing. Why? Lola drew a long breath. She had planned to break up with him later, when the timing was "right." Since he'd already seen everything, she might as well say it plainly. "Baby, wait in the car for a minute." Keenan spat a mouthful of bloody saliva, still cursing under his breath, and climbed back into the Mustang. Lola took a pack of tissues from her purse and walked up to Atreus. She held them out. "Wipe yourself off first." "Why?" Atreus closed his eyes. Two days ago, she had been curled in his arms, talking about their future like she believed in it. Today she had been under another man, moaning without shame. "Because I'm sick of living like this." Lola's voice trembled with a frustration she'd clearly swallowed for a long time. "Atreus Lyson, you're a good person, but you'll never give me the life I want." She glanced at the blood running from his wound and reached out to dab it, but Atreus jerked away. Atreus lifted his head and let out a bitter, broken laugh. "So it's money. That's all that matters?" "It matters!" Lola snapped, her own emotions flaring. "I stayed with you for three years. Every day I watched my friends post pictures of their houses and cars, showing off their lives. And me? I was stuck staring at your $400-a-month paycheck. I couldn't even bring myself to buy makeup. Do you honestly think I was happy?" "You'll regret this, Lola Lashbrook." Atreus squeezed his eyes shut, pain twisting through him. Lola stood. She took the jade pendant from her neck and tossed it onto the ground in front of him. "This was from you. I'm giving it back. And don't go provoking Keenan Warth. He's someone you can't afford to cross!" Atreus bellowed, "Get out!" Lola's expression cooled with disappointment. In her eyes, a man shouting at a woman was just another kind of weakness. She let out a mocking laugh, turned, and climbed into Keenan's car without looking back. Before they left, Keenan rolled down the window just to sneer. He flicked his cigarette butt onto Atreus's face with a lazy snap of his fingers. "Broke-ass loser still wants a woman? Take a piss and look at yourself in the mirror. If it weren't for old classmates' sake, I'd have killed you!" The Mustang roared off into the distance. Atreus stared at the jade pendant on the ground, and it felt like his heart was bleeding out. That pendant was a family heirloom. His grandfather had said it was at least several hundred years old. Atreus had given it to Lola because he'd hoped, someday, it would be passed down to their child. He never imagined… Atreus's fingers closed around the jade pendant, slowly tightening. He didn't notice that the blood on his palm seeped into the stone as if it were being swallowed. Crack. The jade pendant shattered in his hand, and Atreus's mind rang with a violent roar. A sound like muffled thunder exploded inside his skull. "This one is Li Changsheng, Third Patriarch of the Supreme Dao Sect. I have left this inheritance behind, to be bestowed upon one destined by fate."

Chapter 2: He's Someone You Can't Afford to Cross!

Comments (0)