Chapter 58: Chapter 58

Chapter 58 Bad Luck

In a landfill far from the city, Bob woke up to mountains of garbage, breathing an air filled with stench. Flies swarmed around him as his body was covered with trash, leaving only his head on the surface to breathe.

Bob felt like his head was split in half by an axe as he tried to push himself up. He could not see properly as his eyes were as swollen as his face.

Darkness surrounded him with only a faint stream of moonlight, allowing him to identify the objects around him.

Bob struggled to crawl out of the garbage. Even the slightest movement caused him to feel an electrifying pain in his body. He grimaced every second, feeling the broken bones and bruised muscles from getting beaten up.

Despair enveloped him. He could not help but feel sad when he thought of his misery.

Just a month ago, he was the manager of the Skytal company with fame, fortune, and many women. But when he decided to pursue his beautiful colleague, Bella, his life started to get out of control.

Since then, bad luck came one after another. Bob ended up at a dump site after getting tangled with Lanny. It almost seemed to him that beautiful women only brought bad luck to his life.

'Fuck!' he mentally cursed. 'It's all that Lanny's fault!'

Bob had no idea where he was exactly, and he did not have his phone with him. All he could do was drag himself out of misery and look for help.

By the time he got out of the landfill, the sun had already risen.

People who passed by him were giving him a strange look. Disgust was written all over their faces. They would not dare come close even if he begged for help.

Bob crawled the whole night. He did not eat anything nor drink a sip of water. Suffering from famine and severe injury, his consciousness left him as he fell.

That was the only time the pedestrians gave him attention. They covered their noses while pointing at him, trying to guess how he ended up in such a pitiful situation.

For almost a minute, no one tried to help Bob until someone was kind enough to lend a hand.

***

Bob gradually opened his eyes when he heard noises from a crowd. Despite feeling pain here and there, he surprisingly felt much better, as if his injuries were already tended to.

Pushing himself up, Bob found himself inside an almshouse, wearing a plain loose shirt and cotton shorts. The long line of homeless people caught his attention the most. He traced their line until he reached the window where they received food to eat.

At that moment, an old man in a clerical uniform blocked his view. Seeing Bob had regained consciousness, he gave him a plate and a plastic cane, then gestured to line up to get food.

Although he could not deny that he was hungry, Bob tugged the old man's arm before he could get away.

"Sir, can you please lend me five dollars? I need a ride out of town to join my aunt," Bob begged the old man.

Of course, Bob was just lying about finding his aunt. He was going to Lanny to ask for his fees. And once he got the money, he planned to leave town and find a decent job to start a new life.

Despite being suspicious, the generous old man pulled a five-dollar bill from his pocket and gave it to Bob.

As if having money caused a miracle, Bob carried himself up and did not bother getting in line for food. He limped on his way to the nearest bus stop after asking for directions.

***

Lanny was livid as she had not heard from Bob yet. She had been trying to be patient while waiting for Bob, but her patience was stretched to its limits. He did not answer her calls or text messages.

While gritting her teeth, she stared at the president's hair, which she had gone through a lot of trouble to find. She was almost caught red-handed, and recalling how she had to hide in the powder room like a weakling made her so angry.

"I shouldn't have trusted that loser," she murmured in irritation.

Just as she was about to reach her wits' end, Lanny heard a knock on the door. She froze to make sure that she did not just hear things. So when another knock came, she quickly stood up and rushed to open the door.

"What the!" Lanny almost cursed as soon as she saw Bob standing at her doorstep.

Due to the bruises and swollen muscles, Bob was barely recognizable. If it were not for her familiarity with him, she would have mistaken him for a stranger. She also could not get a whiff of his scent as the remaining stench overpowered his smell.

Lanny gave him a quick look from head to toe. She noticed how Bob was close to being paralyzed. His legs were bent as if he was about to fall on his knees at any moment.

Resisting the urge to vomit, Lanny had no choice but to let him inside and not get caught. She rushed to get plastic and placed it on the sofa before letting him sit.

"What the hell happened to you, Bob?" Lanny asked in a muffled voice while holding her nose.

"A guy beat me up when I was about to go inside Bella's house," Bob mumbled with trembling lips.

Lanny stopped when she caught his words. "Wait. You mean you didn't get to enter their house?"

She could not care less to see him battered and bruised. Her only concern was whether Bob got what she wanted or not.

However, to her dismay, Bob nodded.

Lanny's eyes widened. "So you didn't get even a fucking strand of Edward's hair?"

Bob nodded again.

Instead of getting worried, the worn-out look on his face only agitated her more. She was so furious that she wanted to give him a final blow and send him to hell.