AT THE BIRTHDAY PARTY

Inside the Dwayne family house, chandeliers suspended from the ceilings were a sight to behold. Their dazzling crystals refracted the light.

The combination of decorative lights and illuminants transformed the Dwayne family house into a beacon of beauty and splendour. Everything looked new, immersing everyone in a world of magic and delight.

It was Mr. Dwayne's 56th birthday!

The entire Dwayne family had been invited to the birthday party, and everyone's faces were beaming with smiles as the occasion began.

Soft music was being played in the background and everyone was engrossed in the euphoria of the occasion when Elvis walked in.

Elvis came late for the party looking rumpled and sweaty. The time fixed for the party clashed with his work time, and he had no choice. He had to do several jobs since the last week.

"The loser is here."

Elvis heard a voice whisper as he looked for a place to sit, and then he noticed that all eyes were on him.

"Ugh... what's that smell?" Brenda asked, touching her nose, then she looked at Elvis, who was beside her.

Oh, I suspected as much. It must be a street boy who walked in here!" At her remark, someone burst into laughter.

It was Marion, her fiancé, who sat beside her. He was the one who organized the exquisite party for Mr. Dwayne.

Elvis tried to ignore them and found a place to sit. However, just as he was about to sit down, he heard someone say, "Hey, don't sit there.

That seat is reserved for a guest who is on his way." It was Mrs. Dwayne's voice. The seat she was referring to was beside Leslie, Elvis's wife.

He looked at Leslie to see if she would react to her family's unkind gestures, but she seemed indifferent to all that was happening around her.

Brenda, her sister had just insulted him, and she said nothing.

Almost immediately, Elvis noticed the dress on Leslie and he knew it would have cost thousands of dollars. He wondered how she was able to pay for the dress.

Leslie had called him a few days ago and asked him to transfer a deposit of $3000 for a dress she saw at her friend's shop, but he could only transfer $420 to her, telling her that that was all he could afford. It was his entire savings for months.

Elvis had taken up two more dirty jobs in addition to the one he was doing just to afford a "befitting" dress for his wife who had been on his neck to get a special outfit for that special day.

He believed that his wife would buy a dress worth $420 at most, but she shocked him with the kind of dress she had picked.

Leslie always loved to make a statement at every family gathering and this was just another opportunity for her.

Her dress and jewellery were worth more than $20000 and Elvis wondered how she was able to get the money. He knew how much they both earned in a month, and he knew she couldn't afford the dress.

Having watched her in astonishment, he tried to call himself back to the scene of the party.

There was no other place to sit, so he spoke up quickly.

"There are no vacant seats left. And shouldn't I be sitting next to my wife?" His voice was loud and clear, making all eyes look in his direction once more.

A mix of surprise and hatred was evident on everyone's faces as they whispered to themselves. This good-for-nothing son-in-law was unbelievably bold and atrocious!

Before Grandfather Dwayne died, he brought Elvis to Mr. and Mrs. Dwayne one afternoon and requested that Leslie and Elvis get married.

That was the only way they could honour him before he died.

Even though Leslie and her family saw no good in Elvis—he was poor and miserable—they ended up fulfilling Grandfather Dwayne's wish with the intention that Elvis and Leslie would get divorced as soon as their grandfather died.

But it didn't happen as everyone had envisioned.

Leslie refused to divorce Elvis to maintain a certain social status at her workplace. She didn't want to be regarded as unmarried.

She felt that if she must divorce Elvis, she must be married to another man, and of course, someone who was wealthy this time!

"And who are you to tell me that?! You were lucky to be invited to this party in the first place and now, you want to feel like the normal humans here. If you don't have a place to sit, then stand or sit on the floor!"

While Mrs Dwayne was still speaking in anger, Mr Dwayne came to whisper in her ears then she looked to the right and smiled.

Her angry expression changed in the blink of an eye as she announced, "Our distinguished guest is here!"

Everyone clapped their hands and cheered in excitement as if they knew who she was talking about.

Elvis looked up and saw a tall, handsome young man in black and gold designer attire walking in.

It was Roy Wallace, the CEO of Palladium Group, one of the biggest and richest companies in Rockview City. Roy Wallace was known for his fame and wealth in Rockview City.

"Wow! I'm so happy for Leslie." Nathan whispered to Greyson. Nathan and Greyson were Leslie's cousins.

"Now, let's present our gifts to the celebrant." Mrs Dwayne announced.

Roy was the first to walk up to Mr. Dwayne, dangling a bunch of keys.

"Sir, here is my gift to you," he said as he handed the bunch of keys to Mr Dwayne, before adding, "It is the latest car in town, a brand-new Ford Fusion Hybrid, and I hope you like it."

"Wow!"

The rest of the attendants watched attentively and gasped at what they heard.

"A brand-new Ford Fusion Hybrid? That costs a whole 4 million dollars!" Some of them murmured.

"Thank you, my son," Mr. Dwayne said as he hugged Roy to show his approval.

Meanwhile, Elvis walked up to Mr. Dwayne and presented him with a wrapped gift. He knew it wasn't much compared to a car, but it was the best he could offer as he had bought it with his savings from the past two months.

Mr Dwayne sneered at Elvis, but still unwrapped the gift and brought it out. After looking at the gift, he gave an even louder sneer and raised it with the tip of his fingers, for all to see.

"And what is this thing you call a gift?!"

Nathan moved forward to take a closer look at the gift.

"Leslie, look at the piece of trash you're married to! Marion is only Brenda's fiance; he's not even married to her, and he organized such an exquisite party like this, and gave your Dad a lovely gift, but..."

"Elvis is such a big mistake!" Brenda yelled from where she sat. "Seriously! He's a good-for-nothing idiot!"

"See how he looks like someone who just returned from catching wild animals!" Mrs. Dwayne added with disgust in her tone while everyone burst into laughter.

Elvis felt his face turn red with humiliation. But he couldn't talk back or he was sure he would face harsher words.

"Please let everyone return to their seats, as we attend to one of the reasons why we're all here.

I'll be presenting to us, Leslie's fiance, Roy Wallace!" Mrs Dwayne didn't give Elvis another glance, instead, she turned to introduce Roy.

Everyone clapped as Roy and Leslie walked to the front with their arms locked.

"Fiance?" Elvis looked on in confusion.

As soon as Leslie and Roy got to the front, Roy drew Leslie closer to himself and kissed her while everyone continued to cheer.

Finally realizing what was going on, Elvis could no longer bear it, "What the hell are you all talking about?! I'm... I'm Leslie's husband! How can Roy be Leslie's fiance? Are you all insane?"