The Veil of Shadows

Chapter 4

She left me in disbelief at what she said. Before she left me, she frowned, and maybe she thinks that I am weird because I didn't seem to know anything.

Wow! This university's policy is unique. There is no school in the morning, but is there school in the evening until dawn?

If so, I just don't want to transfer. I can't keep my eyes open all night. I'll put up with Sharmaine's face rather than look like a zombie in this school.

I passed that University.

Too bad, it would have been nice to transfer, but their policies are weird.

I don't know where I'm going. I just followed the group of men in front of me. Almost everyone on the road with me was heading in the same direction. I think they are going to a gathering or party? They were wearing party dresses and suits but still all black. They have their own world, laughing and not caring if they bump into someone on the way.

The group of men I was following stopped at a gate of a large house.

I'm right. There is a party being held at this house.

Someone prompted me to enter the house too, even though I had no idea whose party was inside.

I peeked first to see who was guarding the gate. There was a security guard there, but he didn't take or look at any invitation cards. He let everyone in. My courage continued to get in line to get in.

When I was in front of the guard, he blocked his stick in front of me.

"Wait, who are you? You are not familiar,” he uttered.

I swallowed.

He doesn't really know me because I have just arrived at this place.

How can I escape his question?

"Hey, guard! Can you just let her in? There are so many of us lined up here, the party inside is about to start! I will not let myself miss Draven's grand entrance!” A woman behind me shouted.

I breathed a sigh of relief when the security guard removed his stick. He let me inside freely before the people behind me in the queue complained again.

I went inside alone. I separated myself from many people to avoid their critical eyes. I looked around, the surroundings were full of colorful flowers. There is a large gazebo in the middle where the red carpet is connected to the main door of the mansion.

The owner of this house must be very rich. They are probably just causing problems in life where they will squander their wealth.

The venue of the party is in the garden. I don't know what kind of party it was, but most of the guests were wearing expensive party dresses that are usually worn when someone has a birthday. Famous people must be here today. Maybe some artists will also attend? I can't take a picture of them. I immediately reached for my cell phone in the pocket of my jogging pants. I took it out to be ready in case an artist happened to pass in front of me.

I just stared at my phone for a moment. I also couldn't use it to contact Uncle Joseph because there wasn't even a signal bar. What kind of place is this? Not even a signal. I turned on the Wi-Fi but still not a single Wi-Fi connection to be found. The mansion is beautiful, but there is no internet connection.

I just put my phone aside.

I went to the dark part of the garden. I saw an empty table and sat there. The table was full of food but the first thing I noticed was the red wine. It is placed in a big bottle. Its color is red. I picked it up to see what brand it was, but there was no logo on it at all. It's just a plain bottle.

I put back the red wine when the crowd started cheering.

The loud music was turned down when the emcee spoke. "Are you ready to see our birthday celebrant?" shouted by the male emcee.

The screams grew louder.

"Lara, we're here. Draven will appear in a few seconds. We can't wait for him to come out when we go in there." I heard the conversation of two women next to me.

Draven.

So, today's birthday celebrant is a boy.

"Ladies and gentlemen, let us welcome, with grand applause, the sole heir, Draven Nero Feiyre!"

At the same time as the shouting and applause, the loud trumpet and drums sounded. I'm just in awe of this lavish birthday party. I would not be surprised that the emcee called the birthday celebrant an heir, because it shows the luxury he has.

"Great! Draven is so handsome!” The voice of the woman next to me was mixed with a scream.

Because I was curious about the birthday celebrant's face, I stood up from my seat to look at him. I'm just the right height to see it from the main door of the mansion.

I saw a tall fair man, with a well-shaped body. He is currently talking to the old woman who is by his side, so I can only see the side view. And when he looked straight at our audience, my eyes almost widened when I saw his whole face. The woman was right! The man he was talking about was handsome!

I rarely see a man and this one just blew me away.

Is he a model or an actor? But there is no such handsome actor in our country. If it's an actor in another country, I'd still believe it. He looks Hollywood.

He is wearing an olive green with black-colored combination formal suit and black slacks with black shoes. Her shoulder-length brown wavy hair matched her face. His shoulder-length hair attracted him even more. He looks hot as hell!

I will admit it. He is really handsome.

The man started walking down the red carpet to the gazebo. His guests were surrounding him and they were congratulating the man one by one but he didn't even look at him and preferred to walk past them all. He didn't even say thank you.

His face is so serious.

Grumpy.

"I will definitely find a way to get Draven to notice me." The voices of the two women talking next to me were weak but it was enough for me to hear them.

I pretended to focus my attention on the birthday celebrant, they didn't know I was simply listening to their conversation.

"That's unlikely to happen, Lara. Draven is hard to get along with so how can he notice you? Also, the news is widespread that Nathalie likes Draven and it is not impossible that Draven likes her too, especially since they are close to each other."

"Shut up, Leah! I don't need your opinion." The woman immediately walked out, her friend followed her.

I just shrugged at what I heard. It's not surprising that many women like what they refer to as Draven.

Except for being rich, he’s also handsome. He just fell in the part where his face is super serious. He is the type to be afraid to approach him because you know he'll just ignore you.

When Draven reached the gazebo, he stopped and looked around. He seemed to be looking for something among the many guests who were here. Until his eyes went in my direction. I felt an intense nervousness when our eyes met. A few seconds passed, but he still didn't take his eyes off me so I avoided it. I sat down so as not to stare at him anymore. I touched my chest, I could feel its strong pulse.

Why is he staring at me like I'm the one he's looking for?

Is he wondering why I'm here at his birthday celebration when he doesn't even know me?

The guests started having fun as the DJ played upbeat music. The entire dance floor erupted in cheers. My ears were almost deafened by the loud music and my eyes hurt because of the different colors that swirled around the venue.