Zayn could tell from the young man’s face that the latter had gotten the wrong impression about him already. Tossing the ad aside, he stood and greeted him back with a smile, “Zack! Good to see you. It’s been a while.”It did not take Zayn a long time to recognize who the young man was—Zachary Lambert, who was only a few years his junior. As a pleasant, amiable guy, Zachary used to sell breakfast in a hawker stall just below the stairs where Zayn used to live and was considered a pretty good friend. Zachary had already, on several occasions, bought lunch for Zayn just because he felt like it.After a few simple exchanges, Zayn asked in curiosity, “Say, Zack, I thought you’ve moved up north! What brought you back?”“Yeah, I moved back here a while ago. I’m with Ron now.”Zayn sized up Zachary’s clean, branded suit, knowing that it cost hundreds for one of these, and gave a lighthearted punch on the young man’s chest. “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Zack, you lucky b*stard! Looks like you’ve made
Faron Cole was, admittedly, an old acquaintance who hailed from the same town as Zachary, but it did not mean that Zayn had a good impression of him. Faron was an arrogant, vain showboat who liked nothing more than looking down on anyone he judged as inferior and holding grudges over the pettiest things. Sure, he was smart—or deviously cunning—enough to know how to cut corners and maximize profit, but his unsavory character spoke volumes. Zayn never liked the man that much.On the other hand, Zayn’s nonchalance was rubbing Faron the wrong way, especially since, in his memory, Zayn was just a pathetic, useless doormat of a son-in-law. He was below the successful class of people like himself—way, way below.Disdainful eyes swept all over Zayn. Faron could not help but notice the unremarkable getup, the matted hair, and the look of someone who had really lost much of his fortune. “So, long time no see, Zayn Larson,” he began judgingly, “I trust you’ve found a place to make yourself feel
Zayn’s answer visibly excited Zachary, whose excitement oozed out of his mien as he cried, “That’s wonderful! Just you wait, partner—you’re not going to regret attending tonight’s party. Any fat cat worth their salt is going to be there. You can befriend one or two of them, and then voila! A way up the social ladder is in your hands!”“Wow, that sounds great. It’s all thanks to you, man,” Zayn replied with a smile.Zachary flashed him a smile so earnest that it could only belong to the guileless. “Aw, shucks,” he said, waving sheepishly, “Do you really have to make it such a big deal? You and I go way back! ‘Nuff said.”Zayn smiled slightly. Then, solemnly, he warned him, “Hey, by the way, this might sound a little weird, but there’s something off about you, you know? You haven’t been hitting your stride lately, have you? Think you should be more careful.”“W-what the…? Ha-ha-ha, Zayn! C’mon! When did you start believing in all that new age hoo-ha, huh?” Zachary remarked as he laug
Thanks to his commentary, Zachary was reminded of exactly where Barrow Cove was. He started scrunching his nose in bafflement. Even he had to admit that Zayn’s bluff was a little too much—really? Barrow Cove?Zayn had gotten so sick of Faron’s commentary that he decided to tune him out altogether. He turned his attention towards Zachary. “What? You don’t look like you believe me.”“Uh, well…” Zachary began, a little hard-pressed. How was he supposed to believe Zayn when he had seen the latter squat in a corner all by himself, sopping wet with sweat and eyes focused on an advertisement that offered to hire dishwashers. It would be pretty naive of him to believe that the same man lived in an area famous for its wealthy residents.Still, Zachary could not bring himself to expose him—he respected Zayn way too much to do something so cruel.He chuckled dryly in lieu of finishing his previous sentence and said, “Well, Barrow Cove is pretty far from here, yeah? It wouldn’t be sensible to
Just when she was wallowing in her sorrow, a plump young woman sidled up to her and piped up curiously, “Lindsay? What’s with the long face? I mean, look at how many people are here for your homecoming party!”“It’s lame. The only guy I want to see isn’t actually here anyways.”Lindsay’s companion widened her eyes before crying out in surprise, “Hold up, sis. Are you… crushing on someone? Oh. My. God! Who is he?”Those who were within earshot were just as bemused and in disbelief.The truth was, Lindsay Young was no ordinary woman—she was the eminent Young family’s precious little sweetheart, a modern-day aristocrat whose standing was superior to every single trust-fund kid at the entire party!She was a member of one of Rheasia’s most premier noble families. Wealth was far from their only asset; they were also at the top of the social ladder, and had for decades contributed plenty to Rheasia’s economic growth. It was also a known fact that Youngs were highly-decorated soldiers an
Lindsay sighed with her as she propped her regret-fraught face with the thick of her palm, “Uh, you should have told me he was! God, if only I knew—I would have been on my knees when I saw him! Hell, I wouldn’t have offended him at all! Damn it!” she moaned, “I’ve been visiting Violet Vision Media Corp these past few days, but man, he’s just not interested in seeing me ever again, is he?”Allana let out a long sigh and joined her friend’s pity party. She was submerged in her own tide of melancholy and regret. Their despondency made them stick out like sore thumbs, so much so that they bothered the other attendants around them.Meanwhile, Zayn and the rest of Faron’s team had arrived at the hotel’s grand banquet hall. He had attended many upper-class parties, so Zayn had no trouble keeping his cool. Faron and Zachary, on the other hand, were visibly a little bit more shaken up now that they were in the presence of the affluent—being amongst these people made them both excited yet also
It was obvious that Zachary’s doom actually originated from Faron. It prompted Zayn to cast his keen eyes over the latter, which made him realize that Faron’s aura was darkening at a visible rate as well. It became more and more evident that the real epicenter of Zachary’s misfortune was Faron, and that Zachary had fallen victim to the collateral damage.From the looks of it, Zachary’s life was originally on the line—to the extent where his death was highly plausible—that evening because of whatever machinations Faron would eventually undertake. However, his fate had now been twisted—Zayn’s appearance had diverted its course.Things were getting interesting.Faron did not appreciate the way that Zayn looked at him, like a dubious bloodhound sniffing out evil, so he harrumphed and snorted, “What are you looking at, moron? You’re as dumb as an oaf! You’re here to act as my bodyguard, you hear me? No talking, and definitely no looking around!”Zayn flashed him a smirk and said nothing
Lindsay Young seemed to be glowing.There was a passion that burnt in Faron’s gaze as soon as he laid his eyes upon Lindsay. Lindsay was the heiress of the Young family, who had an extremely prestigious status. If he could latch on to Lindsay, he would not need to worry about money for the rest of his life!Zachary was stunned by Lindsay’s beauty, but that made him only feel more inferior. He was well aware that he came from poverty, so there was a huge disparity between him and the elegant heiress born with a silver spoon in her mouth. Naturally, he felt like he was nowhere enough for her.Soon, however, everyone’s eyes fluttered to the fine woman standing next to Lindsay. It was none other than Allana Owen. One could tell with a single glance that Allana was much more beautiful than Lindsay!Faron’s breath was taken away—he could not take his eyes off Allana once he saw her. He was not the only one who reacted in such a manner. Many of the attendants had the same reaction as we