Don't lie to me

A bitter laugh left Rene's lips as he held his tears behind his lids, fighting his urge to unleash his pent-up fury. "Yeah, a nobody. I'll remember that." 

"What does that suppose to mean? Are you threatening my girl?" Jason asked with a protective look in his eye.

Ignoring him, Rene walked up to Layla, took her hand, and put the jewelry box in her palm, closing her fingers around it, "Goodbye, Layla."

Just then, Jason grabbed his arm and yanked him away from her, but Rene's fist collided with his jaw so hard it sent him flying backward.

When he recovered, his eyes filled with pure rage, and he charged at Rene once again, sending a hard punch straight to his cheek, but Rene caught his fist midair, twisting it slightly.

He threw another blow, but Rene caught his arm and slammed him to the floor, landing another punch to his stomach, which was met with a loud groan, before landing one in his nose. Blood gushed down Jason's face,  staining it crimson. 

"Get off him, you  asshole!" Layla growled, her voice shaking with barely concealed fury.

Hearing the disgust in her voice, Rene hesitated, then he stood off Jason and turned away, walking past her without uttering a single word. 

"You are a dead man!" Jason yelled after him. "You hear me?! I will fuck you up for what you've done to me!" 

As his words trailed off, he fell silent and lay on the ground with a dazed look in his eyes. 

"Are you okay?" Layla asked quietly, bending down to examine his bruised body. A trickle of blood ran down his forehead and dripped down from his nostrils.

"Fine," he mumbled,  reaching up to wipe his bleeding lip with his finger and wincing with pain at the sudden movement.

Then he slowly stood up,  clutching his stomach, trying to ignore the ache in his chest caused by the violent impact of Rene's blows. Just then his eyes rested on the Jewey box in Layla's hand, and he snatched it from her, "Give me that!!"

"You can throw it away. I wasn't planning on keeping it. Whatever comes from that human being is probably worthless." She smiled maliciously as she watched him fumble around to open the box, and she saw the confusion spread across his face when he realized what was inside the jewelry box.

"This shit is real," Jason mumbled,  his eyes wide with wonder, staring down at the ring's diamond studs.

"What?!!" 

"This is worth a fortune!"

Raising his gaze to meet  Layla's, he stared at her, incredulous, "I thought you said that bastard was a no-good-fool. How can he afford to buy you something this expensive?! Have you been spending your family's money on him?!" 

"What?! No!! Never. I've never bought anything from him before or helped him financially for anything," she snapped angrily, her icy hazel eyes flashing with irritation.

"Don't lie to me!"

"I swear!! Theo is poor. I have been to his parents' house before. They live in a tiny apartment in a rundown part of town. They are barely getting by. The only way Theo could afford something like this is if he stole it from someone  or did something corrupt."

Jason's eyes widened even more, and then a smirk crossed his face, "You are right. A lowlife like him can only afford  something this good through crooked dealings."

Then his smile faded as his eyes darkened, "Where did you say he lived again?"

*********

The rain was pulling more than before as Ryan made his way home. The storm intensifies as though echoing his internal turmoil as he stumbles through the downpour, drenched and bruised, his heart heavy with the weight of betrayal and heartbreak.

"You're poor," she had said. "I need someone who can support my lifestyle." The simplicity and brutality of that statement cut deeper than any physical blow he had received.

Rene's footsteps faltered as he reached a small, dimly lit alley. He leaned against the wall, letting the rain mix with his tears.

The weight of the night, the loss of a future he had envisioned so clearly, felt unbearable. He had given his all to this relationship, only to be discarded like a broken toy.

His dreams of a shared life, of proposing to Layla and building a future together, had evaporated into nothingness.

Finally, when he got to the rundown apartment complex, he took a deep breath before climbing the stairs,  struggling with each step with his battered, bruised body.

As soon as he unlocked the front door and let himself into the hallway, he was confronted by a disheveled, dispirited Adina, who looked up as he entered.

"Son, what happened to you?" Adina exclaimed with concern.

"Don't call me by that name so casually." Rene glared at her.

"Son?"

"You are not my mother!! You are just a maid paid by Rome to enslave me in this Godforsaken please!!" 

"Young master, I..."

"I need to sleep."

With those words, Rene strode directly to his room, slamming the door behind him.

Adina stood there for a moment with an anguished expression on her pale face. Then she pulled herself together, reached for her phone, and made a call.

"Ma'am, young master just got home and he seems troubled." She said the moment her call got answered.

The was a pause, and then Catherine's softspoken voice flowed through the speaker, "What could be wrong with my boy?..."