The Return of Lord Bryan

Chapter four

The rook was silent for a few seconds and then Juliet's boyfriend, Mike, glared at, "What did you just say?" He asked furiously. 

Bryan wasn't intimidated by his cold glare or tone, "I said the ring is fake, that's not an emerald stone," he replied confidently. 

 "Who brought this thing in here?" Aunt Mae asked, butting in as she noticed that Bryan had somehow gotten attention at the table. "How would you know what stone is fake or real? You're a retard!" She spat.  

"There's only one way to find out, let me do the test and prove it to everyone," he said. 

Aunt Mae sneered at him and then turned to Freya and Claire, "This is all your fault! You brought this madman from the asylum where he ought to be and invited him here!" She said angrily, "Isn't it enough that you are a disgrace to this family? You also brought a madman to your grandmother's birthday?" 

Freya immediately tried to grab Bryan and push him out of the party, she was fed up with being ridiculed by her family and he only made it worse. "Get out of here, Bryan, I didn't invite you here!" She snapped.  

Claire was trying to shush her mother but she snapped at her, "Get your retard husband out of this place! He's been nothing but a nuisance to this family! He's brought us so much shame since you married him!" She snapped, "He can't even take care of himself, he's the reason we are in this penniless situation and now he's here bragging about knowing authentic emerald stones! Pathetic!"  

"Mum, maybe Bryan knows what he's saying, we should allow him to check the ring out," Claire replied meekly. 

Aunt Mae turned to her with a nasty scowl on her face. "How dare you! Are you trying to say that my son-in-law bought a fake gift for grandmother?" She snapped. Claire shook her head, moving back an inch. 

"That's enough, get out of here, Bryan, I've had enough of this. Stop bringing us shame!" Freya snapped angrily.   

Bryan didn't respond to her hateful insults, he simply walked to Grandmother and asked politely if he could check the authenticity of the stone for her. Mike stepped in front of him at once. "No, she won't! Get out of here, no one invited you," he ordered, pointing to the door like he was talking to a dog and not a man. 

"He's mentally unstable, he's a madman! He doesn't know anything about jewelry, just look at what his wife bought for grandmother!" Juliet snapped, coming to her boyfriend's defense at once. 

Grandmother looked at the stone in her hands, she liked it but she was interested in finding out if it was real or fake. She looked at Bryan and asked, "Can you tell if it's fake?"  

 "Grandmother, of course, he can't! Don't you remember that Bryan is a madman? Claire just brought him here to ruin your birthday, send him off, please," Mike said softly. 

Juliet confronted Claire immediately, "Why don't you put your mentally unstable husband in his place? Huh? Is he done with his treatment at the rehab?" She snapped. Then she turned to grandmother and pouted. "This madman is just here to ruin your perfect birthday, he's trying to destroy your ring, don't let him do that." 

Aunt Mae was already persuading Grandmother to send Bryan out of the house. "There's no way he has any idea about rings and emeralds, he's just a poor thing who can't even take care of his wife and her family," she stated with a scornful look. 

Bryan moved to the servant who stood with a tray of wine and some glasses. He quickly grabbed a glass and poured in oil from the table. "If this emerald is real then we'll find out," Bryan said with a smirk. Mike bared his teeth at him, trying to snatch the glass from his hands. "Why are you so afraid, if this is real then a simple experiment to prove that wouldn't hurt, would it?" Bryan asked. 

Mike noticed that everyone was staring at him oddly, he was beginning to look desperate, like he didn't want the experiment to happen. Juliet noticed that her boyfriend was nervous too but there was nothing she could do. Everyone looked interested in finding out if the ring was real or not - including Grandmother. 

 Bryan picked up the ring from Grandmother and dipped it in the oil. For a few seconds, nothing happened and Mike laughed loudly. "I said it! This retard is just trying to ruin a good party," he said with a smile and then smirked at Bryan, "You've only succeeded in disgracing yourself, Bryan," he spat. 

 Juliet smiled widely and kissed Mike on the cheek again, "I knew you would only get the best for my grandmother," she said sweetly.  

But Mike soon realized that he'd been humiliated too soon. Everyone stared in fascination as they realized that the emerald ring began to discolor in the oil. "Oh my God, he was right!" Someone said loudly. 

 Grandmother turned to the ring and her jaw dropped. It was a fake. Juliet stepped back, ashamed. Aunt Mae couldn't say a word. Mike had to save face so he took the glass from Bryan hurriedly, grabbing the ring and trying to wipe it clean. "Why are you trying to ruin the ring? We all saw it's real," he snapped. 

 "How can I possibly ruin what is fake? You bought a fake ring for grandmother, admit it," Bryan retorted. Mike sneered at him, "That's impossible, I got the ring myself from a prestigious jeweler and there's no wa__" he began to say in defense but grandfather shook his head in disappointment. 

 "Bryan is right, the emerald stone is fake. The density of the stone ought to be lesser than that of oil," he stated. "You brought a fake stone, Mike."