The Deceitful One

Chapter 17 Banquet

?The public carriage stopped in front of 30 Augustus Street. Bryan, wearing his three-piece black suit, got off the carriage and paid the driver the money. He turned around and looked at the Davis Villa.

Leah's house looked very similar to Detective Watson's house, except, Leah's house had a beautiful fountain in the garden in front of the villa's main door. There was also a seating arrangement around the fountain.

Speaking of Detective Watson, his house was only a couple of houses away. Bryan took out the invitation card that Leah had given him yesterday. He approached the main gate and was greeted by the butler and head maid of the villa.

"Good evening, sir." The butler who had a head full of grey hair and a cleanly shaved face greeted Bryan with a smile. He was wearing a black tailcoat and a grey vest that butlers are usually seen wearing. The head maid who was a middle-aged woman with black hair also politely smiled at Bryan.

"Hello." Bryan nodded with a smile and handed the butler his invitation.

The butler read the invitation and said, "Mr. Lombardi, please follow me. Young Lady Leah has already informed me about you."

Bryan nodded and followed him into the villa. After entering through the main door, what greeted him was a spacious hall. The floor was made out of marble and there was a big crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

There were about 20-30 people in the living room socializing with each other. A few waiters walked amongst them while holding trays filled with glasses of champagne or red wine.

At the side of the living room, there was a long table full of different kinds of food and appetizers.

While Bryan was looking around the hall, he heard a delightful voice from one corner of the room, "Bryan, you're here!"

Bryan turned his gaze towards the source of the sound and saw Leah walking towards him with a bright smile.

She was wearing a white dress with frills at the bottom. The dress reached just slightly below her knees. The neckline of her dress covered her bosom and only her collarbone was slightly visible. She was also wearing high silver heels.

Her brown hair freely fell over her shoulders. Even without wearing any sort of jewelry or ornament, she looked extremely beautiful. 'She looks like an angel.' Bryan thought in a daze as he stared at her.

Leah approached him and gave him a hug. "You look very handsome, Bryan." She praised him with a genuine smile.

"You look very pretty as well, Leah. I almost mistook you for an angel of the Goddess." Bryan grinned.

Leah rolled his eyes at him, "You sure are getting better at flattery. Come, I'll introduce you to my friends." She held his hand and brought him to a corner of the room where a few teenagers were chatting and drinking.

There were 3 boys and 3 girls, all around Bryan's age. Leah introduced him to her friends in a cheerful manner, "Guys, this is my good friend, Bryan Lombardi. He's a student of the famous detective from Nadir, Detective James Watson."

One of the young men with brown hair and brown eyes froze on the spot. He was wearing a blue suit and black round eyeglasses. His name was Timothy Burton.

As soon as he heard Detective Watson's name, he launched a series of questions at Bryan, "Are you really the student of the great Detective Watson? What's he like in real life? Did he actually fight 10 criminals in Nadir single-handedly?

How did he solve the Clown Serial Murder case so easily? Can I meet him? Can you at least get me an autograph?"

Bryan was completely taken aback. He thought to himself, 'Teacher is so famous? How come I don't know about it?'

Looking at her excited friend, Leah had to intervene, "Timothy calm down. You can ask Bryan about his teacher in a civilized manner. You're making him uncomfortable."

Timothy realized his mistake and said in embarrassment, "My apologies, Mr. Bryan. I'm a big fan of Detective Watson so I couldn't help it."

"Don't worry about it. I'd love to talk to you about my teacher." Bryan chuckled.

"Great!" Hearing him, Timothy beamed.

Leah then introduced everyone to Bryan one by one. There was a young man, named Jack Brown, with blond hair and light blue eyes. He was casting an unfriendly gaze toward him.

Bryan figured he might be someone who was into Leah and was hostile towards him because he was so close to her. Looking at his expression, Bryan smirked indiscernibly.

The third young man was called Jim. He was a very introverted person, hence, he didn't speak much. Leah said that he was her cousin.

As for the three young women. They were Sarah, Jordan, and Grace. Bryan was slightly taken aback by how pretty Grace was. Although she was petite, her looks were really top-notch.

All six of them were Leah's classmates who had just graduated from school. In a couple of months, they would start to attend college. After being acquainted with everyone Bryan started chatting with them.

Although he was a little nervous and uncomfortable at first, since this was the first time he was actually socializing, he gradually got the hang of it. Before meeting Leah, he didn't have any friends to speak of, so this was a new experience for him.

After talking for a while, the ladies actually found Bryan to be a very funny young man. Timothy instantly became good friends with him. Jim didn't speak much and Jack continued to act cockily and ignored Bryan the whole time.

Midway through their conversation Leah apologized and said, "You guys carry on. I still have to greet other guests with my parents. I'll find you all later. Enjoy and do get drunk."

After Leah left, Jack was a little disappointed and excused himself to go to the bathroom. The others also went to get something to eat or drink. Only Grace stayed back. She approached Bryan and smiled, "Mr. Bryan, may I speak with you in private?"

Bryan was slightly taken aback. He had wanted to approach this beautiful young lady himself but didn't expect that she would be the one to approach him instead. He smiled and nodded, "Sure, Miss Grace."

Grace then led Bryan outside the villa and towards the garden at the front. They stopped by the fountain, at a relatively secluded place where they couldn't be heard talking.

Bryan looked at Grace and smiled, "What would like to talk about, Miss Grace?"

Grace didn't beat around the bush and got straight to the point, "Mr. Bryan, I know the type of person your teacher is. What I want to ask is…are you one of 'them' too?"

'What the fuck? Is she slandering my teacher?' Bryan was puzzled. He asked, "I don't know what you're talking about, miss."

Looking at Bryan's confused face, Grace came closer to Bryan and whispered into his ear, "Transcendent!"

Bryan's eyes went wide and his pupils dilated. He couldn't understand how this person in front of her would know anything about Transcendents.

Looking at Bryan's shocked expression, Grace chuckled while covering her mouth, "Please don't be alarmed, Mr. Bryan. My family also has a few…extraordinary people. And my grandfather is an acquaintance of your teacher."

"So that's how it is." Bryan sighed in relief. He was about to say something when they heard footsteps headed in their direction.

They turned their heads, only to see Jack walking towards them with a gloomy expression. Jack approached Bryan and spoke in an aggressive manner, "Stay the fuck away from Leah."

Bryan was initially taken aback, but then he had a slight playful smile on his lips. He pretended to be confused and asked, "What do you mean, Mr. Brown?"

"You know very well what I mean. Don't even think about getting in bed with Leah. She's mine!" Jack threatened him.

"Wait, now that I think about it, Leah did mention something about a Jack. I just didn't think that person was you." Bryan said in an exaggerated manner.

Jack raised his eyebrows and asked, "What did she say?"

"Mr. Brown you really are a fool. Leah had been waiting for you to confess to her all this time. She told me and Grace that she was going to approach you tonight before the party ended and have you propose to her for marriage." Bryan sighed emotionally.

"Is that true?" Jack asked Grace in bewilderment.

Grace was struggling to hold her laughter in. She decided to play along and simply nodded.

Jack froze. He thought in his heart, 'Grace has been waiting for me all this while? If I propose to her tonight she'll accept me? Ahh, that body…I can't let anyone else have it. And once we get married, her body will belong only to me.'

His attitude turned milder as he faced Bryan and said, "Sorry for earlier. And thank you for telling me this."

"No problem. You didn't have to worry about me anyway. Grace is more my type." Bryan held Grace's waist and brought her closer to him.

Looking at both of them clearly having such good chemistry, the last bit of animosity in Jack's heart vanished. He simply nodded at them, turned around, and left.

After Jack entered back into the villa, Bryan turned to look at Grace and smiled charmingly, "So, Miss Grace, where were we at?"

Grace rolled her eyes at him and snorted, "You're bound to be disappointed if you think you have a chance with me. I don't swing that way."

Bryan was puzzled at first and then he realized what she was saying. He was taken aback and said, "Wait, you mean-"

"Yes! And about that thing, we were talking about previously. Let's meet somewhere in private and talk more about it tomorrow." Grace gently removed Bryan's hand from her waist and replied with a sweet smile.

Bryan was greatly disappointed at the fact that such a beautiful lady like Grace was not into men. But he threw it at the back of his head and replied, "All right but not tomorrow. Let's meet on Tuesday instead."

"Sure." Grace nodded. Then they walked back inside the villa planning to drink their fill.