Chapter Five

"Tch... You’re claiming to be the one and only War Lord?" The Cortez Patriarch spoke.

No one dared move a single muscle. The tension in the air was palpable, thick enough that it could be sliced in half with a knife.

Andrew frowned. "So you're saying that all this time, while you've been claiming to be the War Lord, you were actually telling the truth?"

Arthur smiled briefly. "Yes, I am the War Lord. But I've never met you before today."

Andrew furrowed his brows in disbelief. "You see, I know you're messing with everyone here. You're just a clumsy liar. The last time I checked, although no one has ever seen his true face, the War Lord goes by the name Damien Star. And your name—your name sounds nothing like Damien Star. Your name sounds more like Armstrong family disgrace, six years in prison!"

The crowd erupted into laughter, Andrew leading them with exaggerated amusement.

"This guy's a clown!" Andrew continued his ridicule. "Gosh, Amanda, this is the man you chose over me? He calls himself the War Lord? Ha! More like the Prison Lord to me. Just trying to save face! Do you even know who the War Lord is? He’s the commander-in-chief of the nine battlegrounds, a man who can wipe out a clan with just a word! Jeez, Amanda, I feel sorry for you!"

The onlookers joined in, eager to add to the mockery.

"Don’t bring him out again in the future, Amanda. You might not think it’s embarrassing, but we do!" one person sneered.

"Yeah," another added. "Don’t let him attend any of our family banquets. The Cortez family has a reputation to uphold!"

Amanda’s parents, sitting silently nearby, looked down in shame, their expressions ugly and defeated. Amanda herself sat quietly in the corner, taking the insults and scorn in silence. Tears rolled down her cheeks, but she didn’t utter a word.

The laughter continued until the Cortez Patriarch's voice cut through the noise.

"Do you think your family is qualified to receive an invitation? Have you ever contributed anything of substance to the Cortez clan?" he asked, his tone dripping with disdain.

"Yeah, keep dreaming!" Henry chimed in. "How shameless can you be to even expect an invitation to tomorrow night’s welcome banquet?"

Amanda’s family had all but given up hope. Their faces showed nothing but defeat as they looked at Arthur with growing disgust.

But Arthur let out a cold snort. "It’s because of me that the invitation was given to you! I intended to give them to my in-laws, and they were passed along to you."

"Have some self-worth, Arthur!" Andrew sneered. "Clearly, Amanda’s father got those invites through connections. What the hell does that have to do with you? Who do you think you are, huh?" Andrew’s voice grew angrier with each word.

"How dare you take credit for this? The Cortez name is prestigious. They got rewarded for it, and here you are trying to ride on their coattails! You good-for-nothing ex-con. But honestly, I don’t expect anything less from a man like you."

The Cortez Patriarch's voice boomed once more. "Look at your son-in-law! Do something about him. And don’t you dare bring him to the next family banquet. We simply cannot tolerate such insolence and behavior from an outsider! Do I make myself clear?"

Arthur was about to respond when Amanda pulled him away from the crowd. "Come with me. Now!" she demanded, her voice shaking with anger.

She couldn't stand it any longer. Hot torrents of grief ran down her cheeks as she dragged Arthur to the balcony.

"Arthur, please, you're embarrassing me and my family," she cried, her voice breaking. "Please stop. I can’t hold on if you keep messing everything up!"

Arthur gently wiped away her tears and asked, "Do you want to attend the banquet, my love?"

"Of course I do! Didn’t you see the look on my mom and dad’s faces?" Amanda replied, her tone frustrated. "But it’s not like we can go. Even if we wanted to, it’s not like you can get us in, can you?"

"Of course I can," Arthur said confidently.

Amanda's temper flared at his words. She spun on her heels, ready to leave.

"Amanda, wait!" Arthur grabbed her arm, his voice desperate. "Why don’t you trust me?"

"Tell me, Arthur... Tell me how the hell I’m supposed to trust you when you act like this?" Amanda’s voice trembled with anger and hurt.

Arthur merely chuckled softly. "I’ll definitely get you in. I, Arthur, am a man of my word."

Amanda was taken aback by the conviction in his voice. She nodded slowly. "Okay, I’ll trust you this one time. But if you can't do it... we're over."

"Deal."

"Deal. But I’m going all out on this one!" Amanda wiped away the last of her tears. "I’m going to tell everyone at the banquet that my husband is capable of getting us invitations for tomorrow night too!"

"Okay, ladies first," Arthur replied with a smile. "Let me just make a quick phone call."

"Make all the calls you want," Amanda said, her voice cocky. "Just don’t disappoint me."

***

Arthur stepped aside and made a call.

"Ten Ashure, tell Jesse I’ll be attending the banquet he’s hosting tomorrow," Arthur said the moment the call connected.

"What? You’re agreeing to attend? Thank God! The higher-ups were worried you wouldn’t give Jesse this honor."

"Yes, I’ll attend. But I need you to do something for me. I want you to ban some individuals I'm about to name from the event, even if they have invitations."

"Roger that, sir! I’ll make the arrangements immediately."

Arthur hung up and walked back inside. He spotted Amanda standing tall, her head held high like a proud peacock. It was clear she had already made her announcement. All eyes were on him as he made his entrance.

"Come to think of it," someone whispered, "how do you think this punk got the invitation? Did he steal it?"

"Who knows? Maybe he bought it just to save face."

"Don’t you know that one invitation costs over twenty million?"

"Amanda’s family owes Grandpa about three and a half million. How the hell would they afford an invitation?"

As the murmurs spread, dinner was served, marking the beginning of the family banquet.