As soon as the music ended, Jack became nervous all of a sudden. There was a feeling that, if he wasn't the one that was chosen, he would surely kill someone here. But, he managed to suppress this feeling.
On the other hand, Benson did not wait for the lady in the middle of the dance floor to mention who her partner was going to be. He Immediately got onto his feet and began heading towards the dance floor.
His current expression was quite smug. He turned around and gazed at the group behind him. After giving them a contemptuous smile, he turned around and began walking again.
Jack on the other hand, looked at Ben's back with rage fuming inside his heart. His emotions were quite getting out of control. But at the end of it all, he managed to make himself to calm down.
In his mind, he made himself believe that Benson was just bluffing them. Since the hostess had not yet mentioned the partner, he decided to keep calm and wait.
But not long after that, his heart skipped a beat the moment that he saw the lady glancing towards their direction. Currently, Ben was directly in front of him.
As she gazed towards him or Ben, Jack couldn't help but clench his fists tightly. They were currently seated some distance from the dance floor. As a result, it would take a few seconds for Ben to reach the floor.
Anderson and the others were emotionally unstable due to the fact that their enemy was going to take the first dance on the floor of the banquet that had been held their own home ground. This was absolutely no good feeling at all.
They were just about to start talking about this and that so that they could pull their attention from Ben, when Jack suddenly stood up. They were quite surprised at first, but they thought that he wanted to see how the first dance was going to be performed.
In the end, Jack did something that they were not expecting. After standing up, without saying a single word, he strode towards the dance floor.
Anderson and the others were immediately flustered. They were present when Ben had insulted him. And not just him, but all of them. In their minds right now, they thought that Jack was going to compete with Ben, to get the first dance of the banquet.
"Jack, it is better if you don't go. You can simply go after the first dance is over," William immediately tried to persuade him to stay.
"Yeah it is just a first dance, there's no need to get flustered at this moment and suffer worse consequences at the end of it all." Even Kelly, could not hold it anymore and tried to persuade him not to go.
During the chats that they had been having, they found that although Jack was quite cold, he wasn't someone who put on airs of a superior. In fact, he was an easy going person. It was just that, his face was not used to smiling. Thus, they hadn't seen his smile yet.
Jack completely ignored what they were trying to tell him and headed towards the dance floor. He had his own reasons for heading there instead of staying and being an audience to the first dance of the night.
….
As he walked towards the dance floor, Ben felt that the world was his. After all, he knew a little about Celine's background. Although not by a large margin, at least he knew that, not only was she beautiful, but she was capable in managing businesses.
Although he was a playboy, that did not mean that he was an idiot. He was just enjoying his youth. But at the end of it all, he knew that, the responsibility that he carried as the only heir of the Tawal family wasn't something small.
He was the one that was supposed to lead their family to another level and not to make it drop by a level or two. So, when it came to issues concerning marriage, he had decided to find a capable and rich girl that could be married into his family.
In this way, he would be able to improve the family condition and influence. After all, if his family and the girl's family had a good relationship, the connections that he would have gotten would help him in carrying out many business projects.
The best candidate that he had found so far was Celine. Not only was she a beauty, but her family wasn't poor as well. In fact, the word poor wasn't supposed to be mentioned when talking about her or her family. Her capabilities could not be doubted when one looked at the present issue. She was the one that was starting a company.
While he was in his thoughts, he arrived before the dance floor. He looked at the beautiful Celine and smiled. Although her face could not be seen clearly, he could still see her.
As he smiled, he said, "Thank you, miss Gravy, for accepting my request of the first dance." Even as he said these words, the smugness and arrogance within them could be easily detected.
Celine frowned the moment that she heard his words. She then looked at him as if she was looking at a fool. She then wondered to herself, 'what type of medicine did young master Ben take on this day?'
Benson didn't see the change an expression on Celine's face. So, he continued rambling about this and that.
It was only after a minute that he noticed that something was not right. He was not the only one, as all those that had attended the banquet were currently looking at Celine with confused gazes.
According to what they knew, the dance should have already begun a minute ago, the moment that the chosen partner arrived on the dance floor.
But now, a minute had already gone by, but Celine showed no movements at all. She was the hostess, so, she had to point out who her partner was. Although, Ben guessed that he was the one, he didn't step on the dance floor without being pointed at.
Just as they were about to question what was going on, Faith's voice echoed. And the words that were said were quite stunning.
"I am sorry young master Ben. But, you are not the partner that has been selected for the first dance."
Ben was stunned the moment that he heard these words. He was confused for a moment before looking directly into Celine's eyes and asked, "Not me? Are you sure that you are not mistaken? After all, amongst the young generation that have attended today, I am the best of them all."
"Furthermore, I was the one that asked for this opportunity the last time that we met last week." Ben had folded his hands in front of his chest as he looked at Faith.
"If I am right, I do remember that young miss had rejected your invitation previously." Faith said these words coldly. She knew that there must be a reason as to why Celine decided to participate in the first dance of the banquet.
But, the partner that she had chosen was obviously not Ben. If it was not for the fact that she was quite curious about 'him', she would definitely not participate in the dancing. After all, it was already enough face for her to be present on this particular day.
She was from the Gravy family, it was a family that none of the ones present in Inchoate could compete with.
"If it is not me, then tell me, who is it that can compete with me?" Ben asked as his face darkened. When he was coming towards the dance floor he hadn't expected that he would be rejected before stepping onto the dance floor.
Currently, his anger was already simmering. He wanted to know just who had the guts to compete with him.
Celine's expression was currently cold. She looked behind Ben and said slowly, "The one behind you."
Benson immediately turned around, ready to see who was so unique or special, that he could attract the attention of the lady that he was chasing after.
His movements immediately froze the moment that he met the cold and indifferent blue eyes. This was the second time that he was seeing these kind of eyes.
The first time was obviously the moment that he had completely angered Jack. And now, as these eyes stared at him, he felt his body trembling a little. In Jack's presence, his usually arrogant expression was forced to disappear.
"Why are you here?" After regaining his composure, Ben immediately asked aggressively. For a lifetime, he had never expected that the person that he was busy humiliating previously, the one that he had boasted to about being the hostess's partner, was actually the real partner.
He was indeed angry. But as there were many eyes that were currently observing him, he dared not to threaten nor insult Jack. After all, if he did that, his already stained reputation would be soaked into the mud again.
Of course, Jack had no obligation of replying to this question. So, he just passed by the side and stepped onto the dance floor.
There, his blue eyes that were originally cold and indifferent immediately changed. All the coldness immediately disappeared and what replaced it, was complicated emotions.
The two stared at each other for a moment of time, and were only brought back to the present by the sound of music.
Since the music had already begun, it was obvious that the dance had to begin as well. They each stepped closer to each other.
Then, as Celine placed her hands around his neck, he wrapped his hands around her slim waist. And bit by bit, they began moving their bodies according to the flow of the music.