Damon had always known his girlfriend's mother to be a fierce and cold person, who always looked down upon or never cast a glance on the less privileged. Even when he attended the party and presented the gift to her daughter, she didn't acknowledge him as her daughter's boyfriend.
She glared at him like he had committed a crime for being poor.
So why was she suddenly nice to him? He couldn't help but feel doubtful about her change of attitude. How could she be nice to him all of a sudden? There could only be one thing. They needed something from him.
Someone like her wouldn't spare him a glance unless she needed something for him, and it was of high value.
"Make up for what if I may ask? I thought you were there when others abused and looked down upon me. Why are you suddenly being nice to me?" He asked, and Gideon nodded his head in response.
His other friend was standing by the door while listening to his conversation with his girlfriend's mother.
"About that? You don't have to be annoyed about that. It wasn't intentional," she said and laughed awkwardly.
"I'd like you to come. Your girlfriend would also love to see you. I hope you won't turn down my offer," she said in an apologetic tone, but he kept quiet.
Gideon shook his head vehemently so he wouldn't change his mind.
"Goodbye ma'am," he muttered and hung up on the call. He dropped the phone on the bed and breathed out heavily.
"Do you know what to do now that your girlfriend's mother has called?" Austin asked as he walked into the room.
"I don't know either," Damon responded and ruffled his hair with a frustrated look on his face.
Gideon wasn't bothered by his friend's feelings. All he wanted was to make sure his friends never leave the dormitory, because he knew how greedy the privileged ones could get whenever they wanted something.
"You should. There's no way you're returning to that place after what they've done to…" Gideon was interrupted by the sound of his phone.
He picked up his phone and frowned as he stared at the caller ID which had his girlfriend's name written on it. Why was she calling?
He picked up the call reluctantly and placed the phone closer to his ears after putting the volume on speaker, so his friends could hear what his girlfriend had to say.
"Babe," she called in a softer tone and he twitched his eyebrows.
"Why are you calling? I thought you were angry at me," he said.
"Angry? No, I'm not. Why would I be angry at you?" She asked.
"You can. Have you gotten what your friend said? They said a poor guy like me doesn't deserve you. Am I wrong?" He asked and she kept quiet.
His friends gave him a thumbs up for that statement while grinning.
"Don't be sensitive, babe. You know I won't leave you no matter what they say," she said in defense and he shrugged.
"That's good to know," he said and almost hung up the call when she quickly spoke up.
"My mother complained that you refused to return because of what happened. She really wants to fix her mistake," she said, and he scoffed.
"Can she also fix the pain and ridicule I faced because I chose to attend my girlfriend's birthday party?" He asked and she kept quiet.
"Please come and stop being a baby boy. I'll treat you well this time," she said and blew kisses at him, then hung up on the call without waiting for his response.
"Hmm," Damon muttered and took a deep sigh.
Gideon, who noticed what decision Damon might take, spoke up and glanced at him with a cold look on his face.
"Don't tell me you're planning to return to that place where you were rejected and ridiculed?" Gideon asked in a cold tone and Damon stood up from the chair without responding.
"So what! They want to rectify their mistake. You should let me give them a last chance. We make mistakes too, don't we?" he asked, and Gideon grunted.
"You're too stubborn. I hope you won't regret your action again," Gideon said warningly, but Damon didn't listen to him and left.
"Let's leave him. He's always like that," Kelvin said, and Austin nodded his head in response.
"Who will bet with me that he'll get disgraced again?" Gideon placed an offer but none of them dared to place a bet because of what happened the last time.
They all believed that he would regret returning, considering how powerful and wealthy Cassandra's parents were.
Just as Damon was about to cross a lonely road that led to another bus stop. He collided into an old man who seemed to be in his late 70s.
Damon quickly held the man before he could lose his stamina. The moment Damon touched him, something strange happened.
The man removed the ring from Damon's finger and replaced it with a duplicate. He put another ring inside Damon's pocket and tapped his shoulder.
He was so fast that Damon didn't notice that the ring on his finger had been replaced with a ring and another strange ring had been added inside his pocket. His speed could be compared to that of lightning!
Only when the man tapped his shoulder did Damon snap out of his trance.
"Thank you," the man muttered in a shaky tone and walked away with a satisfied smile on his face.
Damon arched his eyebrows, trying to process what just happened, but his brain couldn't pick up anything.
He sighed and walked away like nothing had happened.
The man, who was standing in a corner, shook his head with a sigh.
"You're following a path of destruction, child. I hope you come out victorious."
"That's one of your lessons, so don't disgrace me," he said and vanished into thin air like he was never there.
When he got to Cassandra's parents' mansion, he took a deep breath and walked into the compound with slight confidence.
Even though he wasn't well-dressed and wasn't looking flashy, he noticed the guests were staring at him differently. It was as though he was a different person.
What could be wrong? Just as he was wondering what had happened, he overheard some people talking about the ring that he bought as a gift for his girlfriend.
Thanks to the gossiper, he was able to figure out why Cassandra and her mother wanted him back. It was because of the ring that was in his possession. It seemed they knew the worth of the ring.
He made up his mind not to give his girlfriend the ring, no matter what she does.
He snapped out of his thoughts and looked up as he heard Cassandra's soft voice. "Damon," she called, smiling at him brightly.