Chapter 4
807 Words
Stella was stunned by my sudden action, thinking I was about to molest her, and almost screamed.
"Shut up! Something's coming!" I whispered sharply.
Stella froze immediately and became still.
However, I never expected that the figures emerging from the woods were my acquaintances, Quinn and Leo—the despicable couple! They looked ragged and filthy, their faces grimy and miserable. They could have been mistaken for wild islanders.
As they approached, a foul smell emanated from them. Stella, disgusted, covered her nose and moved closer to me.
"Food! Give it to us now!" Their eyes were hungrily fixed on the remaining grilled fish on the rack.
"No," I replied darkly, positioning myself before the fish.
"Zack," Stella said with a frown. "They're starving. What's the harm in feeding them a bit? You can always catch more fish later."
Ignoring my stance, Leo and Quinn reached for the fish.
Tired of the nonsense, I quickly reclaimed the fish from Leo and Quinn.
I flung the fish into the sea. "I'd rather feed the fish than give it to you!"
Leo, just as he tasted the fish, saw it snatched and tossed away. His face flushed with anger, his neck bulging as if he were about to burst, ready to fight like a dog defending its meal. "How dare you steal my food? Do you think I won't beat you up right now?"
"Beat me? With that body you've wrecked with booze and s*x?" I scoffed.
"I'll beat you so badly you'll need help to live!" Leo yelled, charging at me.
Leo was overweight and cumbersome, his charge almost laughable. I sidestepped smoothly, then delivered a swift kick to his knee. Stumbling from the impact, Leo lurched forward and lost his balance, crashing face-first to the ground, unable to rise from the pain.
"Leo!" Quinn cried out, rushing to his side. "Are you okay?"
Leo could hardly speak. He only managed to emit pained howls.
Quinn pointed accusingly at me and shouted, "Zack Johnson! How could you hit Leo like that? Are you ready to lose your job over this?!"
"Job?" I laughed as if it was the biggest joke. "It's just a measly job paying three thousand a month. Why should I care about it?"
"You have no good educational background, no real skills—without this job, you wouldn't even land a gig as a security guard!" Quinn's expression overflowed with contempt.
By then, Leo had somewhat recovered from the pain and staggered to his feet, glaring at me fiercely. "You little rat, let's have a fair fight once I'm full. What kind of skill is it to bully someone like this?"
"That seems to be the only skill you have—making excuses," I retorted coldly, watching Leo's pathetic, dirt-covered figure.
"I won't let you talk to Leo that way!" Quinn, fuming, raised her hand to slap me.
I caught Quinn's wrist and pushed it aside. "I don't hit girls."
Before Quinn could react, I closed in on Leo, grabbed him by the collar, and landed two solid punches. "Each insult from you earns Leo another punch," I declared, tightening my grip.
That's when Leo realized the extent of my strength; his frantic struggles failed to break my grasp.
Stella finally came to her senses and hurried to pull me back, chastising me, "Stop it now! Zack, have you gone mad? It's just food. Can't you see how desperate they are?"
Ignoring Stella, I punched Leo twice more in the stomach before releasing him.
Leo crumpled to the ground, writhing in agony like a curled-up shrimp.
Stella's face turned red with anger. "You're still hitting people! Aren't you afraid of going to jail?"
Quinn, with tears streaming down her face, clung to Stella's hand. "Don't be upset, Ms. Smith. Leo was at fault too. He's just starving, which made him speak harshly."
Quinn gazed pitifully at Stella, then turned her disdainful eyes to me. "Zack is being incredibly petty. We're stranded on a deserted island; we should be supporting each other. How can he justify hurting a colleague?"
"Support each other? Hurt a colleague?" I snapped, stepping towards Quinn with a challenging tone. "What help can you two failures possibly offer? Who's causing harm here?"
Seeing me approach, Quinn recoiled, feigning terror. "Don't hit me! Somebody help!"
"Zack!" Stella was unable to bear it any longer. She stepped in front of Quinn and confronted me directly, "Are you going to hit Quinn now? Who's next? Me? I should have seen it—you are exactly the person the company rumors say you are!" Stella's chest heaved with fury, her eyes brimming with anger.
A wave of disappointment washed over me, uncontrollable and profound.
After everything I had provided for Stella—food, clothing, and shelter—she still turned against me with such harsh words.
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