Chapter 612: Funeral Proceeding
(Author’s POV)
"Chairman Larson, who might this~ .... lady be?" Vinicio spoke, voicing everyone’s curiosity as he eyed Myra from top to toe.
All ears perked up in the room. They were dying to know who this mysterious girl was to Fabian.
Getting publicly pointed out like that, Myra’s whole body locked; her muscles went rigid. She sucked in a sharp breath and held onto it. Her fingernails dug into her palm as her knuckles turned white as a sheet.
"She is Fabian’s~ ...." Jacob paused as anticipation grew amongst everyone present. "~.... friend." He completed, deflating the excitement a little.
"Just a friend?" Brian interrupted out of nowhere.
Jacob fixed him with an icy glare, and everyone instantly felt the pressure resonate. The already cold room went arctic. Brian felt it the most, his jaw tightening.
Catherine stepped in. "Chairman Larson, Brian was just asking out of sheer curiosity. That’s all."
Elio, Alaric and Brave tensed, and so did their respective wolves. The one thing they dreaded the most- keeping Myra out of Brian and Catherine’s sight- was happening right in front of them. They could no longer wait and were ready to step in.
At the same time, Dion finally rushed in and immediately felt the stifling atmosphere. With just one look, he could already tell what was going on, and his heart leapt with anxiety. Then he saw his three brothers standing to the side with grim faces, looking at Myra.
Myra’s head was lowered, but he could tell how nervous she was from her body language. Without a second’s delay, he beat his brothers and marched in her direction. Standing beside her, he looked at Brian, then at Catherine and said, "Mr. Tape, I heard you were curious about my girlfriend." He then placed a gentle hand on her lowered back and patted her to comfort her.
Myra’s head shot up with lightning speed, her glistening hazels meeting his eyes. His golden-green irises shone brightly as he held her gaze. Then he whispered softly, "I have got this," and patted her back once again as he blinked both eyes, trying to reassure her.
Brian’s face scrunched up. His right brow was ready to hit the roof. "She’s your what~ ....? No~ ... that is~ .... but~ ..." His words came out broken, unsure. He knew this girl was somewhat special to Fabian. So, he couldn’t believe Dion’s words.
Both Catherine and Jacob frowned as well.
"My girlfriend~ .... Mr. Brian Tape, I didn’t know you were that nosy about my business. But this is neither the time~ .... nor the place to talk about such things," Dion said provokingly. "I would be disrespectful towards the deceased. You certainly don’t want that~ ... do you?"
"O~ ...of course not," Brian replied before Dion had even finished his sentence.
Dion then turned towards Jacob and said, "Chairman Larson, Fabian’s waiting. We should begin his funeral." His tone was serious.
Jacob stared at him for two seconds, reading his face, then took another five to look at Myra, who still hadn’t recovered from Dion’s public declaration. Seeing that she hadn’t denied Dion’s words, he let the matter drop for now, glanced towards his grandson and nodded. "Yes~ ... you are right. Fabian is waiting. Let’s start."
Dion’s hand slid from her back to hold her hand, his grip firm as he led Myra to where his brothers stood.
When Dion announced to everyone that Myra was his girlfriend, a sudden surge of heat bubbled in all three of his brothers. At first, they were angry, anguished that Myra hadn’t said anything. But they were relieved as well. If Dion hadn’t stepped in at that moment, the penetrating glares of these bloodsucking vampires wouldn’t have stopped.
Myra stood erect, looking ahead, trying to put on a confident front. But she could clearly feel the intense gaze of all four Everests brothers. Elio stood to her right, while Dion was to her left. Alaric and Brave were standing just behind them.
Chris came in, his steps hurried. He had changed into a new shirt. One of the buttons was buttoned wrongly.
When Jacob saw his untidy look, his eyes narrowed for a fraction of a second, but he remained silent. Chris took over the center. He was going to officiate the funeral proceedings.
Clearing his throat, he started, "Good Morning, everyone. My name is Chris Shadow, and on behalf of the Larson and Stephens family, thank you for being here today."
He paused and then looked through the room, his eyes settling on Myra for a second. "We are gathered to remember the life of Prof. Fabian Stephens, to comfort one another in our grief and bid our final goodbye to a wonderful soul. It is truly unfortunate that we lost such a gem of a person at a young age." His voice choked as he finished his sentence, playing the part of a heartbroken mourner.
"Let us take a quiet moment right now to breathe, to think of our own personal memories with Fabian, and to hold them close in our hearts."
At his words, everyone closed their eyes for a minute’s silence.
A surge of memories of her and Fabian rushed into Myra’s head, as tears spilt from her closed eyes as she sniffled without realizing. The brothers sensed it almost instantly and peeked open their eyes, looking at her.
Seeing her so distraught made their chests ache; their wolves howled in pure agony.
Dion held her left hand, and Elio did right. Brave patted her shoulder to comfort her, and Alaric just stood, looking at the back of her head, his thoughts swirling.
There were some people in the crowd who were least interest in this façade of a funeral. They didn’t even bother to respect the deceased and shut their eyes. It was none other than Brian, Catherine and~ of course, Chris.
They were desperately waiting to get over this as soon as possible. If not to keep up appearances and avoid suspicion, they wouldn’t have even come to that rat’s funeral.
Brian’s eyes darted lazily across the hall, then his eyes went wide. He nudged Catherine’s shoulder and pointed towards Myra.
Catherine’s eyebrows wriggled in surprise, and a faint smile spread across her lips as she mouthed, "Ohh~ ... that’s interesting~ ...."
To Be Continued . . . . . . . . .