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Emma had them beat me,then write"deadbeat,""jerk,""Ethan owes Emma"all over me.
Thanks to my agile dodges,my blue floral boxers stayed on,hiding the fact that one of my legs was a prosthetic.
Aching,I looked up into Emma's amused eyes.
Suddenly,I felt dazed.Let it hurt—I'd take her torment willingly.
I wanted to stay near her, I had dreamed of such moments countless times.
I felt like I was going to cry,Emma hurled her shoe at my face.
"Don't look at me like I'm a dog!You didn't want me,Ethan.I've got suitors lining up,while all you’ve got waiting for you is endless suffering!"
I fell on my face,the shoe snuffing out my sentiment.
I hadn't expected Emma,post-breakup,to become so ruthless.
She really made me wish I was dead.
She demanded that I make dishes exactly as she instructed me—green pepper strips exactly three millimeters thick,pork sliced three centimeters wide,five millimeters thin,stir-fried.
After four hours of prep,she yawned,saying that she wanted steamed mushrooms instead.
She sent me to a remote shop eight miles from the mansion for a specific Louis XIII Black Pearl.
I ran all night to get it,only to get a call from her,saying she mixed up the place.
I roared,tried to flee.Her goons tracked me down,dragged me onto a plane and sent me back to her.
...
No rest upon return.
Exhausted,I collapsed.Emma was cozying up to a tall,handsome guy.
She leaned on his shoulder and curled her lips:
"Luke King,watermelon."
Luke fed her naturally.I doubted my ears,gaping at Emma:
"Kind?You call him King?Luke King?Emma,you've changed.How many John Kings,Mike Kings,Tom Kings?You rich folks play with young guys so wild..."
Before I finished,Luke chuckled,explaining his surname was really “King”.
Cutting him off,Emma stood up,grinning down at me:
"Ethan,you’re getting cozy that you’ve the energy to joke around now,huh?Good.I've got a new way to torture you—"
"What...is it?"
Dread rising,I was already en route to a fighting pit.
Emma,arm-in-arm with Luke,sat high above.
Sipping juice,she admired her beautifully-done nails,legs crossed.
She mouthed gleefully:
"Fight hard.If you don't die,we'll keep watching till you do—"
My heart leapt to my throat.Turning,I faced a muscle-bound giant half a head taller than me,ready to pounce.
