Never A Good Dog

Chapter 3: Never A Good Dog

A week has passed and Ajax was slowly regaining his strength back. He was surprised with his speedy recovery. He was able to sit up and walk around, though there was a slight pain in the abdominal area. It was nothing he could not handle. Some of his bandages were removed since the majority of his wounds had healed on its own. The doctors and nurses too were surprised as well. They had taken his blood samples and ran some tests on it, thinking that he might have encountered a side effect during the surgery. However, all of his results came back negative and he would be discharged earlier than expected. Ajax was delighted with the news.

During his hospitalisation days, no one had ever come to visit him, not even the man who was his "fiancé". Ajax had expected beforehand that no one would come for him. He had accepted the fate of being alone and he preferred it to be that way. As he was about to be released from the hospital, the kind nurse whom he had befriended with; Claire, had brought him a pair of changed clothes. He came in with nothing to begin with, not even a toothbrush or a spare undergarment. All this while he had been using whatever the hospital had provided for him and Claire was there to help him with everything.

He thanked Claire for her kind gesture before changing in the washroom. When he came back, he was described to be a changed man by Claire. He was no longer the sickly pale looking man who was rushed into the emergency unit days ago. He was cleaner and healthy looking now.

"I'm going to miss you, Ajax. Please stay safe and don't come back with multiple stab wounds ever again," said Claire seriously and Ajax just gave her a small smile, "I'll try to be careful next time. Thank you for the hospitality."

They were walking down the hallway, heading towards the counter. Claire accompanied him till they reached the desk counter for checking out. The queue was not long and it would take him a couple of minutes before he was officially discharged. Claire bid him goodbye there as she had other work needed to attend to. As Claire left, Ajax went in line to self-check out. When it was his turn, he was about to sign himself out but the lady on the counter stopped him from doing so.

"Ajax Lawyer, right?" asked the lady on the counter and Ajax nearly groaned out loud at the weird last name attached to him. No matter how many times he had corrected others, they still placed that dumb surname.

"It's Rodney. My name's Ajax Rodney. I'm not married to him," explained Ajax simply and still, his comment was blatantly ignored by the counter lady.

"Your husband had checked you out earlier today. He's waiting for you in the cafeteria. Have a nice day," the counter lady faked a smile and Ajax sensed jealousy from her.

It was late for him to address this, however, he realised that it was more common to see two male couples as well as two female couples being seen together, as compared to hetero couples. This was completely different from what he was used to seeing in his previous life. He did not expect the sudden change of environment, nevertheless, the world. Even the street's name was different. He should have clarified with Claire beforehand regarding this unknown world he had unknowingly "landed" upon.

Other than that, seeing the majority of men and women displaying obvious enviousness and jealousy towards him upon mentioning about his so-called "husband", it seemed that Brandon was a well-known rich man. Although he was uncertain of Brandon's current fame standings, he was famous enough to capture the attention of others. Whatever he commanded, it was done within a second. That was how important Brandon was in the eyes of others.

Ajax's face had turned grim and his fists were clenched tightly by his sides. He was greatly irritated by this man who was known to be his "fiancé". He had come here unnoticed and he had never once visited Ajax when he was bedridden for days. Other than that, he was expecting Ajax to meet him right away, instead of the man coming to him himself. It was as if he was treated as some form of a dog. Unfortunately for Brandon, Ajax was never a nice dog to begin with.

'I'll break the chains you had put me in and once I do, you'll regret living.'

He quietly thanked the lady at the counter and walked away from there. He had a dark look in his eyes and if looks could kill, the victim would have died in an instant. 'But first, let's see what he has to say for himself.'

Unknowingly to him, everyone around him shivered when his mood changed. The temperature dropped momentarily and a chill was running down their spine. The lady on the counter was the closest to him and she was petrified. She feared she had nearly messed with the wrong person.

Upon reaching the cafeteria, he did not have to hassle in looking for his fiancé as he was the only man sitting alone with two bodyguards standing around the table. Other than face recognition he saw through Ajax's old memories, he was the only man seated in a dignified manner and he even drank his tea in a proper-rich-way manner. 'Typical rich people's behaviour.'

Furthermore, he was the only one who had a distinctive feature of mixed blonde-green hair and dark brown eyes that was being covered by the black shades he had put on.

Ajax did not hesitate to walk up to the man and kept his face composed, rid of emotions.

"What are you doing here, Brandon?" asked Ajax in a monotone voice and he spotted the look of surprise on the other before his face morphed to a joyful-looking mask.

Ajax could read him easily and he could even predict thousands of questions running through the man's mind, especially one in particular; 'he's changed.'

"My dear Ajax, was it wrong of me to fetch you home? Or were you upset I did not visit you when you were recuperating? I was busy with work, darling. I'm sorry I wasn't around when you needed me," uttered Brandon with a fake sad smile and concerned eyes.

Those actions were enough to fool other people into thinking he was being genuine but not to Ajax. He was inferior in acting when being compared to Ajax. Acting skills were essential for assassinations. If he was not a good actor, he would not have achieved the art of deceiving to manipulate his targets. Brandon was now his current target and Ajax would do everything in his power to bring the man down – without killing him, of course. He had more than enough blood in his hands and he does not want to add another, especially not someone who is not worthy enough to be killed by Ajax himself.

'Two can play the game but let's see how long you can last when your opponent is me.' Ajax calmly walked over to his side and gently picked up his tea. Brandon was looking at him with a questionable gaze and Ajax decided to start his act. 'Let's see how you like this.'

He immediately tilted the hot cup of tea over and emptied the whole contents onto Brandon from head to toe before slamming the cup hard onto the table, attracting people's attention. Brandon yelped in surprise and pain as the bodyguards were immediately moved over to his aid.

"It's not wrong for you to fetch me but you came here without a warning! You didn't tell me you were coming and you hadn't visited me for days! The doctors said my condition was critical and I was close to dying! Where were you when I was on my deathbed, huh?!" Ajax screamed aloud and made sure his voice choked in the end as if he was crying from heart ache.

A bodyguard came forward and tried to stop him from advancing forward. Ajax grew irritated with the sudden giant mass of obstacle that he then purposely, though making it seem as an accident, pushed the bodyguard hard enough that he toppled above Brandon, making them both end up on the floor, nearly kissing each other.

Sounds of clicks here and there were heard. Ajax nearly laughed at the sight of Brandon who was fuming below his bodyguard as he roared out in anger, "Get off me!"

Brandon harshly shoved the bodyguard aside as he got up hastily and nearly lunged himself against Ajax. However, the two bodyguards immediately reacted and shielded Ajax from Brandon. One of them was speaking through their communication device as the other was trying to calm Brandon down. Yet again, Ajax knew Brandon best and he would not stay calm. He was a violent person to begin with and his facade of being a genuine kind man would eventually fall.

"You! I will not let this go! You shall be punished when we're home later! You hear me?! I will make you bleed tonight!" Hissed Brandon silently before walking out of there in shame.

More bodyguards came in to shield Brandon away from the cameras as they scurried towards the exit.

Witnesses were recording the entire scene and taking photos of it with their phones. Some of them even had the guts to follow Brandon all the way to the carpark with their camera-phone still rolling. No one paid any heed towards the no-named man who had swiftly faded away from the scene.

Click. Click. Click.

From afar, Ajax could still hear the tremendous clicks of photos being taken and hush whispers between the people. A devilish smirk was plastered on his face. He was satisfied with the result and it was just a matter of time before Brandon fell badly from the throne he was sitting on.

'You shouldn't have messed with me in the first place. I was never a good dog to begin with.'