Chapter 3
The drunk fifty-year-old guy from the next private room caused a scene and demanded that I help him wait for his car.
Because of his social standing, the manager had no choice but to ask me to do it.
But while I was helping him wait for his car, he started insulting me right to my face.
"Hey, sweetheart, what's your price for the night? Come with me, and I promise I'll treat you real nice," the drunk man said.
As he spoke, he tried to grope me with his grabby hands.
When I turned him down, he got furious and embarrassed, roughly shoving me aside.
"Pretending to be all innocent, huh? I heard everything in the bathroom. You're just some sugar baby, and you think you can give me attitude?" he yelled.
Just then, I caught sight of Zane and his crew at the doorway, fresh from their dinner.
He noticed me and mouthed something in my direction.
I got it; he wanted me to plead for his help.
I pretended not to see Zane, looked away, and forced a smile, letting the man's filthy hand wrap around my waist.
Just endure it. Just a little longer, I kept telling myself.
I kept repeating it in my mind, trying to calm myself down.
But in the blink of an eye, a fist smashed right into the man's pig-faced mug.
Before I could even process what was happening, punches came crashing down, one after another.
Zane was like a furious lion, grabbing the guy by the collar and going to town on him, every punch landing with a sickening thud.
The whole place went nuts.
Yulia and I tried to break up the fight, but the guy just threw us aside. My shoulder slammed hard into the corner, and for a moment, pain blinded me. Yulia crumpled to the ground, crying out in pain.
Zane finally forced himself to stop, his eyes still blazing with fury. He glanced at me, his fist still raised in the air, then turned to help Yulia, who was crumpled nearby.
"E, Yulia, are you okay?" Zane stammered.
"Zane, it hurts. My ankle, it hurts so much," Yulia said, her face pale and streaked with tears as she curled up in Zane's arms.
When the ambulance finally showed up, Zane picked Yulia up and carried her inside. Then he shot me a glare, frowning as I held my side.
Zane said, "Eva, stop acting like a victim. You didn't even fall, so quit trying to look pathetic.
"This is on you. Yulia got hurt because of you, so get in the ambulance."
He came up with some weak excuse and just dragged me into the ambulance before I could protest.
Yulia kept crying out in pain, and Zane was right there, softly comforting her, making sure the doctors gave her their full attention.
He didn't even notice me off to the side, hurting so bad I couldn't get a single word out.
When we arrived at the hospital, Zane made sure the only bed was given to Yulia.
The second I stepped out of the ambulance, my knees buckled. I just couldn't hold on anymore, and I went down hard.
"Eva," Zane called out, sounding worried.
He was standing by Yulia's hospital bed, but when he saw me collapse, he started to come over to help. I quickly raised my hand to stop him.
"I'm fine. My legs just got a bit numb from squatting too long," I said, forcing a smile.
Biting back the pain, I forced out the words like it was nothing.
Meanwhile, Yulia was sobbing helplessly, calling for Zane.
"Zane, I think I broke my foot. It hurts so much," she said.
Zane looked at me with a mix of emotions as I crouched on the ground, then turned and hurried over to Yulia, softly reassuring her.
I forced my head up, watching Zane wheel Yulia away until they vanished. I just couldn't hold back anymore; the burn behind my eyes finally spilled over, and tears streamed down my face. That metallic taste surged up my throat and burst in my mouth.
"Somebody help. Someone's coughing up blood!" someone screamed.
Everything was spinning out of control, noise everywhere. Right before I passed out, I saw Zane fighting his way through the crowd, looking frantic as he rushed toward me.
"Eva!" Zane shouted, panic in his voice.