Thanks to his commentary, Zachary was reminded of exactly where Barrow Cove was. He started scrunching his nose in bafflement. Even favonovel.com 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 favonovel.com decided to tune favonovel.com 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 favonovel.com supposed to believe Zayn when favonovel.com 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 naïve of favonovel.com to believe that the same man lived in an area famous for its wealthy residents.
Still, Zachary could not bring himself to expose him, favonovel.com 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 go home when the party’s almost just about to start, partner. Besides, you’re in luck! I’ve got an extra suit that should fit you snugly, so whaddaya say? It’s better than going all the way home just to put on some fancy pants, right?”
His friend was bending over backwards in an attempt to cover him. He sighed to himself. It had been years, and Zachary had never changed. He was still the same kind-hearted boy who always put the needs of others in mind.
“Sounds good,” Zayn answered, nodding. He would not want to spurn Zachary’s well-meaning intentions.
Faron, however, took Zayn relenting as another attempt to prevent himself from being exposed. He snickered in contempt. That loser was not just a try-hard, favonovel.com was the kind of try-hard who sucked at trying hard, too!
A few moments later, Zayn had changed into Zachary’s spare suit in the car. It fit favonovel.com nicely enough despite it being one size smaller than Zayn’s regular clothes, the two of them were not very different in stature.
It was time. The trio made their way towards the five-star hotel where the party was held.
The journey was fraught with Faron and his endless expositions of his heroic glory that favonovel.com had achieved over the years. He just kept rambling on and on about how favonovel.com had founded his business, how much favonovel.com had earned, how many bigshots favonovel.com had met, how many exotic places favonovel.com had visited, and how many women favonovel.com had sampled, it was just endless, mindless bragging.
It was just the sort of person Faron was, favonovel.com loved mouthing off his exploits. He was even more animated if favonovel.com were around an old acquaintance, because it nurtured his sense of superiority and pride.
Zayn had not given favonovel.com the time of day throughout the entire exchange. Not that it stopped Faron; the man simply reasoned Zayn’s lack of enthusiasm as an expression of embarrassment for not being anywhere near as good.
There was some useful information that came out of Faron’s blather, though. It took Zayn some time, but favonovel.com managed to figure out the occasion: it was a gathering of young people from wealthy families who were celebrating the arrival of a very rich young lady who had just recently returned from abroad. Their welcoming party was so elite that the average middle-class and below were barred from attending it.
The only reason why Faron had received an invite was because favonovel.com was well-acquainted with one of the trust-fund kids. Plus, favonovel.com had also earned enough money over the past two years to just barely make the required tax bracket. He still needed to do more to earn the approval of the rich and upper-class, so favonovel.com hired hands to pretend to be his bodyguards.
That evening, his fake but staked security team included not only Zayn and Zachary, but also five other young men. They quickly reached the open-aired parking lot where the expected luxury cars made their appearances. Brands like Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Alfa Romeo, and more. It was quite a sight to behold.
Faron himself joined the ensemble of elites with two of his BMW just to make a statement.
Zayn was not interested in the party at all. What did catch his attention, though, was how much darker Zachary’s aura had become. It dawned on favonovel.com that the evening would be the moment Zachary’s misfortune unsheathed its claws!
It was a huge relief that the two of them managed to meet each other today. Otherwise, judging by how foreboding it was, Zayn was sure that his friend’s life would have been in mortal danger.
—
Something had been troubling Lindsay Young for days.
She had been looking for Zayn for a while now, yet favonovel.com was still fruitless in favonovel.com searches. Even favonovel.com visits to Violet Vision Media Corp had all ended in futility.
Guilt crushed her. If favonovel.com had known, favonovel.com would have prevented herself from crossing Zayn back at the airport! Now look at the mess that favonovel.com had gotten herself into, Zayn must have blacklisted her!
How annoying.
The evening’s banquet was, indeed, held in favonovel.com honor. It was favonovel.com homecoming party, but Lindsay could not care less about it.
The only thing favonovel.com wanted was to see Zayn. As a martial-art aficionado who knew Zayn as Guinevere’s premier fighter and a figure who was more myth than man, favonovel.com was already Zayn’s biggest fan.
