The clown 1

Zane arrived at the ceremony hall, though he couldn't shake off the uncanny resemblance of Anastasia to Selina from his mind.

He had never seen an unrelated person look so alike, and it was unbelievable Anastasia was Selina's exact lookalike. The more he tried to get rid of her image playing in his mind the more his heart pounded with unbearable pain.

It was an excruciating pain she had imprinted in his heart five years ago, a pain he could not forgive her for.

Remembering the importance of the evening, Zane pushed the unpleasant moment from earlier out of his head. With a regained composure and confidence, he continued walking into the lively hall.

As he took his place, he noticed the main ceremony had begun, and the guests were being entertained by the sweet sound of the piano music playing, filling the air with pleasant melody.

He darted his eyes around eyes in the small crowd, and he saw Jane approaching him.

"Honey, where have you been?" Jane asked and noticed he looked a bit upset about something.

"I was busy dealing with a minor issue." Zane answered.

Jane felt a bit relaxed. Few minutes ago, when she couldn't find him around, she feared that those young wealthy women present had taken him away from the hall to seduce him.

However, she smelled a pleasant scent enveloping him, a fragrance that women used, and it made her heart to tremble with fear.

Was he dealing with a woman? Jane thought with an irritated look. She wanted to ask him about it, but she felt the words stuck in her throat since his expression was darker than she had seen him express. She could not tell what upset him.

After gathering her courage, she asked politely. "What issue were you doing with to have a woman's fragrance on you?"

Zane sniffed his suit and inhaled a water lily fragrance from Anastasia earlier, causing his grumpy expression to darken.

He studied her worried expression and understood she was thinking about him having an intimate time with another woman.

"It's not what you think, so don't mind the clingy fragrance. It will fade away soon." Zane cleared her thoughts.

Hearing his assured words, Jane smiled at him and shoved her worried thoughts away since she trusted him.

"I was thinking we should have a mini party tonight after the ceremony. It's just the both of us alone. What do you think?" Jane suggested, embracing his arm again.

"It would be a tiring night after the ceremony is over. You should rest up early instead." Zane replied. He wasn't interested in spending tonight with her alone because he can't let another mistake to repeat itself.

"You're refusing to spend the night with me. It feels bad." Jane mumbled as she sounded disappointed he rejected her again.

"I can't spend the night with you because I feel like my body is breaking down." Zane said wearily.

Jane stared at him, speechless while she studied his expression. She observed he looked pale, and so were his lips from how vibrant he looked earlier.

"You look pale. Are you feeling unwell?" She asked him, and Zane shot her a confused look because he was healthy throughout the day and before this day.

Was this a sudden change in his health? Zane thought as his head was hammering with a headache.

Before Zane could process what was happening to him, they both heard the host saying once the entertainment was over.

"Hi, everyone. Thank you for joining us this evening to celebrate the new appointment of our Vice President of the RIS group. Please let us welcome Zane Morris, the new Vice President of the RIS group," the host declared, and there came a round of applause from the guests.

As the announcement left the host's lips, Zane moved from his spot, striding to the dais as the guest cheered him up.

The cameras of famous media outlets were snapping pictures of Zane and recording him, who was now in the spotlight on the dais.

Zane accepted his Vice President's certificate and plaque from the RIS group President's assistant while the cameras continued to capture the moments and snap multiple photos of him and the assistant.

"Congratulations, Mr. Morris." The assistant congratulated Zane with a cheerful smile, and Zane only exchanged a handshake with her.

"Congratulations Mr. Morris."

"We trust your commitment and duty."

"Congratulations Mr. Morris." The guest congratulated him.

As the president's assistant handed over the items to him, she stepped down from the dais, leaving Zane alone.

Zane stood before the audio device before his mouth to present his heartfelt gratitude. "Good evening, everyone! I'm glad you honored my invitation. And I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the entire RIS group members for entrusting me with this leadership role. You all..." Zane's lips pursed with his head lowered, battling with uncomfortable pain that struck his body ruthlessly.

He clutched his suit against his stomach as if to compress his pain while his other hand grabbed the audio device pole for support.

His heart rate was beating faster than its normal rate, making it difficult for him to utter a word or breathe properly as he gasped for oxygen.

The guest watched him silently and wondered what was happening to him.

"What the heck is wrong with me?" Zane asked in his head, still clouding in confusion about his recent health condition this evening.

He lifted his pained gaze, which had been sweeping across the guests to capture their reaction, and it fell upon a figure standing a few distances behind the guest, who had a distinct appearance.

He observed that the figure had a painted face with a red nose and a bright red wig and was wearing an oversized costume while performing some sort of magic with a card.

He didn't understand what trick the clown was performing and what the clown was doing at his ceremony when it wasn't a costume ceremony, nor was the clown part of the entertainment tonight.

"This branded journal for Mr. Morris's ceremony looks classic and unique. I will cherish it till my last breath." Emery said dramatically as she hugged the journal that she received earlier.

She stared at Zane, who still had his attention fixed on the clown, and believed that the hypnotic drug effect had fully taken hold, as well as the fact that the magic trick the clown was performing was working.

A sly smile settled on her lips as Emery said to a high-profile client beside her. "I should take a look at this classic journal."

As Emery finished saying, the focus of the high-profile client was on her, and she guessed she was one of them as she was wearing luxurious dress.

Emery flipped through the journal pages until she got to a certain one, which made her hand stop instantly, and a dramatic shock spread across her face. The high-profile client frowned in shock alongside her upon seeing what she saw on that page.

"What is the meaning of these vulgar words and images?" Emery said in disgust, looking angry. "Is it only in my journal or am the one hallucinating? Let me check yours."

Emery persuaded them and went through the pages of their journals until she found the same image of a huge middle finger, a silly meme on it, and a bold word written: 'Thank you for giving me this chance to sustain this position. Love you all, dickheads'.

As other close-by high-profile client saw this, they started going through their journals, and there was a disgustful murmur that filled the air upon seeing the same thing.

Meanwhile, Zane's concentration was on the clown, who snapped his finger, and the card transformed into a broad piece of white paper with a bold word written in black ink, revealing it to him.

Zane stared at it for a short time before he read out in a subconscious state. "Kiss my ass, dickheads!!"