The ungrateful man

James stood at the edge of the road, his hands shaking as he lit a cigarette. The rain soaked through his shirt, but he didn’t feel it. Not anymore. Not after everything he had lost. Just a year ago, he had it all — a good job, a small house he shared with his mother and younger brother, and a loyal circle of friends who had stood by him through thick and thin. But none of it had been enough. Not when Susan came into the picture. She was beautiful, charming, and dangerous. The kind of woman that made men forget who they were. James did. He stopped calling his mother. He ignored his friends' warnings. He quit his job to chase Susan’s dreams, not realizing he was giving up his own. And when everything crumbled — when Susan left him, when the money ran dry, when the friends he abandoned stopped picking up his calls — it was too late. Now, all he had was silence… and regret. He closed his eyes and whispered, “Why did I throw it all away?” The streetlight flickered above him, as if even the city was tired of his story. But this wasn’t the end. It was just the beginning of his fight to get everything back. Even if no one was waiting for him anymore.