Winner Takes All

It was so quiet along the corridor that one could hear a pin drop.

Mr. Ward and Brent forcibly suppressed their feelings to maintain their composure as they were afraid of affecting Jack's mood.

The seconds ticked by...

Jack started to frown and his expression revealed the bitterness within him. His gaze began to turn gloomy...Please check at N/ôvel(D)rama.Org.

As the seconds passed, he started to exude a bone-chilling aura. It was as if countless needles pierced every inch of Mr. Ward and Brent's skin. The feeling became increasingly intense. Mr. Ward and Brent suddenly felt that something was amiss when they noticed that Jack started to tremble as his hands gripped the bench so tightly that the veins on his hands throbbed. Both Mr. Ward and Brent were shocked and Mr. Ward stood up at the critical moment and remarked, "Master!"

Mr. Ward's voice was thunderous and reverberated along the corridor.

Jack was startled and raised his head to look at Mr. Ward and asked, "Mr. Ward, what's wrong?"

Jack had not noticed his reaction but his forehead was covered with beads of sweat.

"Master, what were you thinking of just now?" Mr. Ward was shocked and asked.

Brent was also puzzled. Both of them knew that Jack had two sides of him and according to Jack's mood and reactions, he was barreling towards losing his self-control. If they unleashed Jack's dark side, then it would be difficult to go back to the current state. But how could simple memories trigger him to such an extent?

"I was just recalling my youth, the conditions were very bad..." Jack managed a smile but Mr. Ward and Brent could tell that Jack had many painful pasts.

Jack's painful expression made Mr. Ward and Brent's heartache.

If Jack's childhood memories could drive him to the edge, then ... how dark was his childhood? Before Jack revealed his dark side, he could still suppress the painful childhood memories. But now that he had this side to him, he had developed a threshold but when this threshold was broken, he might very well lose control of himself.

Although he had a threshold, it was not something that an ordinary person could surpass. But each time Jack thought of his childhood days, it would put him down the path towards darkness... "Master, about your childhood..." Mr. Ward's eyes turned red and tears welled up.

"I thought of that stormy day when my mother and I wandered the streets and even fought with stray dogs over a biscuit."

"And about a New Year's day when all other families were celebrating joyously while my mother and I were curled up in a rotten shack."

"That was when I started to have memories and I couldn't imagine what my mother had gone through over those years." Jack said as his eyes turned red, smiled bitterly, and continued, "Oh yes, at three years old, I already started to go through the rubbish bin to pick up bottles to sell. At five years old, I was beaten up until I broke my leg all because of a bottle of mineral water. I was even tossed into the rubbish pile thereafter..."

Jack began to smile bitterly as he related but his tears started to flow and he could not stop it!

Each time he recalled his childhood it would stab his heart painfully. His childhood was indescribably dark and emotionally painful. Each minute of recollection was like a bleeding wound.

"Master..." Both Mr. Ward and Brent were heartbroken and at a loss for words and felt a lump in their throats. They wanted to comfort Jack but they did not know where to begin. Should they comfort him that he was a compassionate person? If they were to dwell on Jack's pain, then wouldn't that hurt him even more?

His childhood memories were filled with darkness right from the beginning. Anyone would feel extremely bad if they were in the same situation. Whether Mr. Ward was once an elder of the Grand Freemasons or if Brent was once lord of the mercenaries. Both were no strangers to life and death and battlefields littered with corpses and gore. But at least their memories had moments of joy. The cruelty of the battlefields were adult memories and experienced over time.

But what about Jack? Each time he recalled his childhood he would be overcome with grief.

"That's why..." Jack shrugged and then wiped his face and sighed, "Do you still resent me for blaming my father? And don't you think that I should be ruthless to the Burtons of the capital?" Mr. Ward and Brent were speechless.

Each time Jack recalled his past was enough to push him towards the dark side. Such a painful past was indescribable.

"If my father did not leave us for the sake of becoming the head of the Hughes family, my mother and I would not be bullied by the Burton family. We would not need to spend our days like stray dogs on the streets and I would not be beaten up and thrown into a pile of rubbish because of a bottle of mineral water..." Jack looked depressed but it was more like the type of hatred that could not be described. Mr. Ward and Brent felt asphyxiated as if the air was thick and their windpipes were on fire.

"But I had never given up and neither did my mother. She taught me to brace myself up and walk upright steadily forward. I've listened to her teachings..."

Jack continued to breathe heavily as he drooped his head to block the tears from flowing but he started to tear again and said, "When I was at schooling age and I walked to the school like any other kids, I was really thankful for my mother. It was her who struggled to give me the chance to walk like the other kids."

"I started to study hard from the first day of school. I braced myself up and walked rapidly forward. I thought... whether it was a stray or dead dog, I would strive to become the most talented stray or dead dog." "I also worked my butt off when I started work. But so what if I struggled? My mother used her last breath to support me but in the end, her life was nothing compared to someone else's brother's marriage gifts and matrimonial house..." Jack was heartbroken.

At this moment, Mr. Ward shuddered and he could not hold back his tears, "Stop, Master, please stop. I know... I understand..."

Mr. Ward stepped forward and brought Jack into his embrace and held him tightly as if he was comforting his grandson. He continued to pat Jack's back and comfort him. "Things will get better, everything will be fine. Master is very talented and capable. Master will not disappoint your mother's spirit..." The raspy voice filled the corridor. Even the battle-hardened Brent could not stop his tears from flowing. He quickly turned his face and looked away as his eyes glistened under the lights...☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐