Damon smiled in satisfaction as he stared at his handsome reflection in the mirror. He shook his head with a sigh as he glanced at the appearance of his worn-out suit. Although it looked old, it was the best suit in his wardrobe.
"Are you sure you want to attend your girlfriend's birthday?" Damon's friend asked as he got dressed, preparing for the birthday of his girlfriend, Cassandra.
"Of course, I need to be there. Why shouldn't I? She's my girlfriend," he said, and his friends shook their heads with a sigh.
There were three of his friends in his room; Kelvin, Gideon, and Austin.
"You know what we mean. Your girlfriend's parents are rich and a lot of wealthy people would be there. Are you sure you want to be there?" Kelvin asked in a concerned tone and he nodded his head.
"She's my girlfriend, so I need to be there for her. I can't chicken out because some wealthy people would be there," he said adamantly, and his friends shrugged.
"I hope you don't get disgraced. Who knows if her parents are going to acknowledge you as their daughter's boyfriend," Gideon said, and they snapped at him.
"Gideon!"
He scoffed and continued. "You should correct me if I'm wrong," he said, and they kept quiet.
"What do you plan to give her? You won't go there empty-handed, right?" He asked, and Damon smiled.
"Of course, I got a gift for her," he said, and they looked up eagerly.
"Where is it?" They asked curiously.
"That's why it's a gift. You can't see it," he said, grabbed the chest box, and left the house, heading to the bus stop.
"Damon," his friend called out to him, but he didn't turn back.
"Who's going to bet with me? Damon would regret going to that party," Gideon said.
"Not again," Kelvin and Austin groaned and pounced on him at the same time.
He booked a cab that arrived just in time. He entered the cab with a smile beaming on his face.
It didn't take up to an hour before he arrived at the mansion, where his girlfriend's parents were living.
He took out some cash from his pocket and handed it over to the cab driver, who smiled in satisfaction.
"Goodbye, Sir," the cab driver said and drove away.
He took a deep breath as he walked closer to the gate which was guarded by two security guards.
"How may I help you?" One of them asked in a hoarse tone and he took a deep breath.
"I'm here for the birthday party," he said, and they glanced at him, scrutinizing for a while.
"Where is the invitation card?" They asked and he stretched it at them.
They stared at him with a surprise look on their faces. They couldn't believe that someone like him could be invited to such a party.
He wasn't wearing any expensive or branded suit. The suit he had on was old and retarded. Who invited him? They had no right to stop him because of his appearance, so they let him in.
"Come in," one of them said, not without glaring at him disdainfully.
Damon understood the look on their faces. It wasn't new to him anymore. He had always been looked down upon because he was poor.
He ignored it and walked into the magnificent mansion where the event was going on.
A lot of influential and wealthy people were gathered at the mansion to witness the birthday of a young lady, Madam Cassandra.
It was his girlfriend's birthday.
Somehow, he began to regret his action of not following Gideon's words after seeing the number of wealthy people who were there. He felt mediocre among them.
However, he made up his mind not to be intimidated by their presence.
"Who is that man over there?"
"Are you sure he's not a beggar?"
"But how did he gain access to this place?"
"I bet he begged for the invitation card."
Damon bit on his lower lips and clenched his fist with an angry look as he listened to the hateful comments of the rich people who were behind him.
He turned to him and they glared at him. They continued talking, not caring about his feelings or emotions. Why should they care? He was just a poor boy.
They all sat down in the spacious and large hall. He missed most of the interesting activities because he came late. He didn't mean to come late, but he had to work overnight to buy something for his girlfriend.
Where is she? A smile formed on his face as he watched his girlfriend, Cassandra, graciously walk up the podium with her mother behind her.
She smiled as her gaze landed on him.
"It's time for the celebrant to receive a gift from you guys," the MC said, and they all agreed.
"Mrs. Jade brought a crystal dress worth over 13 million dollars."
"Mr. Edward brought out an artifact worth over 15 million dollars."
"Steven brought a diamond necklace worth over 30 million dollars," he swallowed hard as he listened to the amount of gifts that were brought to his girlfriend. None of them were worth a thousand dollars. They were all millions of dollars that he couldn't afford to get in a whole year. He was even ashamed to present his gift to her.
It was at that moment that he realized what Gideon and Kelvin were saying was right. He shouldn't have left his dormitory.
"Can you do a favor by presenting your gift to your girlfriend? Or did you come empty-handed?" The MC asked after he noticed the reluctance in Damon.
"Of course, I didn't come empty-handed," he said, and reached out to the chest box on the chair.
"Is that her boyfriend?"
He ignored the hateful comments and climbed the podium to present the gift to his girlfriend. He bowed his head slightly and handed it to Cassandra.
"Please can you do us an honor to open it and see what's inside?" The MC asked.
Cassandra nodded at him and opened it with a smile beaming on her face. The smile wiped from her face upon seeing what was inside the chest box.
"An old cracked ring?" The MC asked and chuckled mockingly.
"That's her boyfriend."
"I expected more from her. How could she be dating someone like him?
"He's poor and not even smart. Why did he come here if he can't afford to buy her a good present?
"He should hide his face somewhere else. He doesn't deserve to be here."
When Cassandra saw that the audience were displeased with her, she began to blame Damon.
"How could you get me such a poor gift on my birthday?" She asked angrily.
"Poor? Do you know how much I saved up before I could afford it? And besides, it's not an ordinary ring," he claimed, and she got angrier.
"Not an ordinary ring?" She asked angrily, grabbed it from the chest box, and slammed it against the floor.
The moment the ring touched the ground, something strange and phenomenal happened.