The Devil's Harem

Chapter - 31

Hardly getting a wink of sleep, when Alex woke up in the morning, to his surprise, the pain in his body had subdued, and he barely felt anything. Only when he moved his arms a bit more than necessary did he feel a bit of pain.

Stretching his body a bit, he went straight to the bathroom to freshen up. Since he was hardly feeling any discomfort and had not talked to Karen regarding any sort of leave, Alex decided there was no harm in him going to work today.

Fresh and full of energy, Alex went downstairs, following his usual routine. Downstairs, his mother was already preparing the breakfast, while George was in the living room, reading the newspaper.

When Martha saw Alex climbing down the stairs, she asked, "Why are you up so early? You could have rested a couple of hours more. I was going to bring your breakfast to your room."

"I am fine, mom. I don't feel any discomfort," Alex said, holding Martha by her shoulders when she came running to him.

"Let me see," Pushing his hands aside, Martha undid his bandages, "George, fetch me the first aid box," Martha asked George.

While Martha was checking his wounds, George came back with the first aid box, "Well, there is nothing much, but still you need to rest a couple of days," Martha said and applied the medicine on the few scratches he had, "Hopefully, there won't be any scars later."

Alex stood still, letting Martha work on him. Marth did not wrap any bandage around his head but pasted a couple of band-aids instead. After she was done, she asked Alex to join them for breakfast. George was already filling himself up with the delicious dishes Martha had prepared, with the television on and the news being broadcasted.

"You know honey, you should get Alex to give you some... you know... not that you are bad, and you need it, but a couple of tips from Alex will help you a bit," George said, taking a bite of the food.

The moment George opened his mouth, Alex knew a war was going to start. He was prepared for the verbal assault his father was going to get, but the news caught his eyes.

"You know what..." Martha was about to argue, but Alex suddenly jumped from his chair.

"These are those men," Alex exclaimed in surprise, pointing at the television screen.
"What men?" George asked non bothered by the enthusiasm Alex was showing.

"The men I fought and beat up," Alex told them.

"You beat up?" Raising her eyebrows, Martha asked, intrigued and appalled.

When Alex saw the teasing look on Martha's face, he felt embarrassed the way he bragged, "Well, I did throw more than enough punches at his face. Why don't we... well, just let's call it a draw... but that's not the point. Look at the news," Alex said.

Alex increased the volume for everyone to hear. The news about a group of people being admitted to the hospital after being beaten to death was being flashed.

Although all those people were out of danger, none of them will be able to recover from the injuries inflicted upon them throughout their life. The news anchor reported that all the people injured were identified as part of a certain underworld gang. And if they were to go by Police reports, it was speculated that whatever happened was because of their fight with another rival gang. Were these people caught off guard by their rivals, or they were just outnumbered, is a matter that is to be investigated.

When Alex saw the faces of people on the screen, the spoon in his hand dropped. The reporters were trying their best to interview the injured because one of them was the leader of the gang, but his minions barricaded around them, holding the reporters as much as possible. But they still got shots of the injured wrapped up in bandages.

When Martha saw Alex's reaction, she looked at George with an expression of satisfaction. Alex did not notice the interaction between his parents.

Martha was quite satisfied with the way George handled the situation. She grabbed a sandwich and placed it on his plate. When George saw Martha appreciating his work, he just gave her a sheepish smile acting all shy.

Alex, on the other hand, was so engrossed in the news playing out in front of him that he failed to notice this subtle interaction between his parents. But even if he did see it, there is no way he could think that somewhere in this whole fiasco, his parents played a part. He would just brush it off as his parents patching up after some days of strife.

Alex was busy giving all the credit to their bad karma, how justice was done on his behalf, and praying for eternal life for all those behind the beating of that baldy and his minions.

While Martha was just happy looking at his smiling face.

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