The Deceitful One

Bryan had no interest in getting to know them any further. To him, it was just a one-night stand. And he was content with things remaining the way they were.

After exiting the bedroom, he recalled his memories from last night and tried to find the way out of Elijah's villa.

Situated on Augustus Street, Elijah's house was a three-storied villa and it was very big, to say the least.

Bryan was currently on the second floor. He followed the red-carpeted corridor to the right and walked as he examined the beautiful paintings that adorned the walls.

The paintings were very exquisite to look at and most of them were landscape paintings while a few of them were Elijah's family portraits.

As he walked, Bryan came across a room on his left and wondered, 'Hmm, if my memory serves me right then this should be Eli's room.'

He walked towards the door and knocked twice. A few moments later, just when Bryan was about to knock again, Elijah's voice was heard from within the room, "Come in."

In a splendid mood, Bryan opened the door and walked in as he greeted, "A very good morn-"

However, the words got stuck in his mouth when his gaze landed on Elijah. He was wearing dark blue, silk pajamas and was sitting on the floor facing the floor-to-ceiling window.

From behind, his back looked hunched as he put his arms around his folded knees and looked at the view outside the window in a despondent manner.

'What's gotten into him? Is he depressed?' Bryan thought to himself as he quickened his pace and walked towards Elijah.

Bryan crouched down beside him and patted his shoulder, "Eli, are you okay?"

Elijah turned to look at Bryan and nudged his round glasses further up his nose bridge. He tried his best to not break down as he replied dejectedly, "Bryan….last night…"

"Last night what?" Bryan probed.

Elijah sniffed and continued, "Last night I got so drunk that my penis wouldn't stand. And the blonde woman I was with, instantly left when she figured this out!"

He then turned his head away from Bryan and looked past the window with a suicidal expression, "Fuck my life…"

Bryan's lips couldn't help but twitch as he tried his best to contain his laughter. He then patted Elijah's shoulder in encouragement, "Don't worry, Eli. There are many fish in the sea. Next time, don't get this drunk, okay?"

However, he joked inwardly, 'I took good care of the blonde woman on your behalf, my dear friend, kekk!'

Finding his confidence back, Elijah nodded, "You're right! Next time I'll just refrain from drinking too much."

"Attaboy! Now get dressed." Bryan took out his pocket watch and checked the time, "There's still thirty minutes to 9. We still have to go to the HQ."

"All right." Elijah got up to his feet and went to his wardrobe to take his clothes out. He then went to the bathroom to get dressed.

Meanwhile, Bryan sat on the couch by the window and waited for Elijah. Ten minutes later, the latter got out of the bathroom and then the duo left the bedroom.

Right when they exited the room, they saw Andrew also come out of the room right across from them. The three of them then made eye contact.

Bryan and Andrew smiled knowingly, however, Elijah turned downcast again as he mumbled, "So everyone got laid…besides me."

His shoulders slouched as he started to walk toward the stairs as if he had lost his will to live.

Andrew approached Bryan and asked in confusion, "What's up with Eli?"

Bryan sighed as he shook his head, "I'll tell you on the way."

The three of them then walked down the stairs. When they reached the first floor and were about to exit the villa, a deep voice sounded from behind them, "Will you all not have any breakfast before you go?"

Bryan turned around and saw a middle-aged dark-skinned man who had a receding hairline. His facial features resembled Elijah's quite a lot.

He was wearing brown trousers, a white shirt, and a brown vest on top as he sat by the dining table sipping tea.

"Father, we're already late for work," Elijah replied as he started to walk towards the exit.

"See you later, Mr. Johnson!" Andrew bid farewell to Elijah's dad and walked out of the house.

Stuck in an awkward situation, Bryan thought, 'Fuck! Eli's parents were in the house the entire time I was fucking? I hope they didn't hear it.'

While he was lost in thought, Elijah's father had already got up from his seat and walked towards Bryan.

"Bryan, right?" He stretched out his right hand for a handshake as he smiled, "I'm Elijah's father, Dele Johnson."

Bryan snapped out of his daze as he shook Dele's hand and smiled politely, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Johnson."

Dele smiled gently and stated, "Elijah has told me a lot about you. I'm really happy that you both got along so well.

Ever since he was a kid, Elijah has always been bullied because of his skin color. So it fills me with great joy knowing that he has found good friends like you and Andrew."

"Eli got bullied as a kid? I'm sorry to hear that. He's never told me this before." Bryan was slightly taken aback.

Dele sighed as he recalled the past, "Elijah's mother and I are immigrants from the Southern Continent. We came to Damascus before he was even born.

People of my color have always been ostracized and looked down upon, especially so in the Western Continent. So Elijah had a hard time growing up here."

Bryan's eyebrows furrowed after hearing this. Growing up in the slums, although he had seen a fair share of people of color there, there was no racial discrimination to speak of.

In the slums, people were more worried about getting food and money rather than marginalizing someone just because of their skin color. Hence, he was quite appalled by the fact that his friend, Elijah, was discriminated against.

Bryan looked up at Dele and assured, "Eli is one of my closest friends, whom I cherish dearly. Don't worry, Mr. Johnson. I'll always have his back."

Dele's eyes softened as he patted Bryan's shoulder, "I'm grateful for that, Bryan. You should get going now. Or you'll be late for work."

Bryan nodded his head with a smile and bid farewell, "It was nice meeting you, Mr. Johnson. Take care!"