Lustful Paradise

This continued for a while, with the two young men becoming covered in bruises until the game finally came to an end, ending in a landslide victory for Lucifer and Nathan's team.

"Hahaha, wow. That was just sad," Lucifer said as he looked at the two defeated men on the other side of the court, chuckling at them.

Jack glared back at him, barely able to hold his anger in check, and James remained silent, though he was clearly irritated as well.

"Hey, hey. No need to glare at me like that. We were just having a friendly match, right? There is no need to be so mad," Lucifer smiled as he said this before adding, "After all, we are still friends. And friends have fun together, isn't that right?"

At the end of the court, the four girls and Ethan were looking at the scene with varying reactions.

Layla seemed satisfied, even more so after seeing that her brother gave James a little "payback" for last night, while Madison had an impish smile and a mischievous glint in her eyes. She was obviously enjoying the spectacle of Jack's frustration. Experience more content on My Virtual Library Empire

Eva, for her part, wasn't pleased with what happened but chose to keep silent about it. After all, it was true that James kind of deserved it, if only a little, considering what he had done to her before.

Zoe didn't have a clear opinion on the matter and just found the scene amusing. She just thought that it was typical of guys to fight in this way, and she also understood that James deserved it.

"Hey, are you guys okay? You seem a little bruised up," Ethan, however, walked towards the two and asked while looking at them with sympathy in his eyes.

"We're fine. It's nothing serious," James grunted as he brushed off some sand off his pants. "It's just a few scrapes here and there; don't worry."

After saying this, however, James couldn't help but wince when he stretched his left arm, feeling a stinging pain shooting through it.

"Fucking asshole... This is the second time today that he humiliated me..." Jack muttered under his breath while glaring at Lucifer as if he was ready to make him understand what violence really meant but decided against it.

***

After playing a few more games, Jack and James, feeling beat-up and bruised, decided that it was enough. They needed a break to rest and recover from their "battle".

At the end, Ethan looked more tired than anyone, as even playing a single game by Lucifer's side left him completely drained. He couldn't understand how someone could have such stamina after all the previous physical activity.

Meanwhile, Zoe dragged Nathan away, taking him with her somewhere else for some private talk.

"What do you want to talk about, Zoe?" Nathan asked the brunette girl when they stopped behind a large rock far away from where the rest were.

"It's about us, Nathan. And I hope you take this with a calm and open mind," Zoe looked him straight in the eyes as she said this.

Nathan was taken aback at the serious tone in her voice and felt puzzled. "Wait, what are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying that it's time for a change. You see, things aren't working for us as they were before..." she started to explain as the young man in front of her shifted uneasily, not sure of what she was trying to say. "What I mean by that is... I want to break up with you."

When the young man heard that, he was speechless for a moment, and then he scoffed lightly, not believing her words.

"This is not funny, Zoe. It's not like you to make a joke like that," Nathan frowned at her, trying to hide his nervousness.

"Are you doubting me, Nathan? Just look into my eyes and see that I am serious," Zoe insisted in a firm tone, keeping her eyes fixed on his without blinking. "I am telling you that I don't feel the same as before. And because of that, I want to part ways with you."

"Wait, wait! What do you mean by that?! How can you drop all this on me all of a sudden without giving me a reason or something?!" Nathan tried to stay calm, but his voice wavered a bit as he raised his tone.

"Oh... You want a reason, huh?" Zoe raised her eyebrows at him while taking a deep breath. "Okay. Let me tell you the truth. I am tired of being the one responsible for everything all the time. I don't like having to take care of every little thing. Sometimes I just want to be taken care of instead of being the one to always have to do it, you know?"

Nathan tried to interrupt her, but she shut him down immediately and continued to speak.

"No, let me finish what I have to say, okay? And it's not just about you. It's also about me. I realized that I want to change too. And being in a relationship is holding me back from doing so. That's why I decided to end things with you. We need to move on. Both of us. Please understand."

"Zoe, I know that my attitude has always been... well, quite irresponsible at times. But I've been trying to improve myself and I really believe that I'll be able to change..." Nathan paused to take a breath before continuing, "I just need more time, please."

Zoe sighed while looking at him. She knew what she was doing wasn't exactly right, but the thing was that she had already done things that went far from just "right", so continuing further would be nothing short of cruel for Nathan.

"I am sorry, Nathan. I know you can do that, but it won't be for me anymore. The spark has been gone for a while now, and staying together would hurt both of us, even if you might not realize it," Zoe said with a serious face, "It's better to let go than to drag out this relationship any longer, so we don't grow to resent each other and at least remain friends. It's better to end things on good terms rather than a bad one, wouldn't you agree?"

Nathan remained silent and just stared at Zoe while feeling his heart tighten inside his chest as if it was being squeezed by a steel vise. His mind was in disarray. He felt lost and didn't know how to respond.

Seeing this reaction, Zoe reached her hand to his shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze. "Hey, Nathan. Don't feel bad, alright? Sometimes things just don't work out the way we want them to. And sometimes you have to let something go in order to gain something else. I am sure you'll find someone who is perfect for you. Just don't let our parting affect you negatively, okay?"

After taking a deep breath, Nathan closed his eyes, trying to contain himself before opening them and asking one last question. "Are you sure about this decision, Zoe?"

"Yes," the young woman answered without hesitation or doubt.

"Okay... If this is the case, then I won't bother you anymore," Nathan said after a few seconds, letting out a sigh of defeat.

"I am sorry for this, Nathan." Zoe said. Then she patted his shoulder and walked back to where they came from.