A Beautiful Lie (COMPLETED)

Part Thirty- six

"Where is Ethan Alfred?" Eric asked.

The butler looked at him with uneasiness. "Master Nathaniel wished not to be disturbed sir..." was his subtle reply.

He watched as he expressed the words. He knew that Alfred was just doing his job, his loyalty belonged to his brother after all as the sole heir to this manor.

He sighed. He walked away and paced back to Nicole's room. When he turned the knob the sleeping form of Nicole greeted him.

She must have been tired. He thought.

He decided to let her rest and carefully closed her door again when he heard laughter somewhere.

Then he saw them just right across from him he was about to turn his back when Ethan called out.

"Little brother, I didn't know that you were here now. How's the trip?" he asked while Lorraine's hand went up to Ethan's chest caressing it.

"It's fine Ethan..." He answered sounding uninterested.

"You remember Lorraine, right?" He asked.

"Who can forget?" he replied sarcastically.

Ethan's brow was raised. "Watch that tone, Eric, what is your problem?" He asked but Eric didn't answer "Why do you harbor so much hatred with our relationship? It's my birthday so even for today, please keep that dislike to a minimum. I expect that from you just till this weekend is over"

"Why did you invite us anyway?" Eric asked.

Ethan smiled and brought Lorraine's hand to her lips. The woman was somehow unaffected by Eric's negative retort.

"It was Lorraine's idea. We have a very important announcement to make. The guest will arrive soon. Make sure that you are ready and your friend over there..." He pointed at Nicole's door "By 6 pm" he said as he checked his watch.

Eric nodded, unable to formulate a decent response to his brother's statement. Eric went to the garden and saw that the preparations had started. Close friends and family were expected to be there.

The witch wanted Nicole to witness it all. That sly woman! It was too late when he knew what the purpose of the invitation was. If he had known ahead of time, he would never have allowed Nicole to be there in the first place.

After a few hours, the garden was filled with flowers, chairs, and tables with big lamps hanging from the tree branches. Nicole saw how marvelous it was from her balcony. Music resonates in the air and Nicole relaxed.

A small knock made her turn, and the door opened. It was Eric, she expected that it would be Ethan and with that, she quickly hid her disappointment.

"Eric! What are you doing here?"

"The party will start anytime soon. I have brought something."

Nicole noticed the box that he was carrying. He signaled her to open it. Curious eyes landed on Eric, but she obliged. She opened the box and she saw a black dress.

"What is this?" She asked.

"It's your dress, for the party. It's a masquerade theme. I chose black so that your belly won't be noticed. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable answering questions from any strangers."

"How considerate of you Eric. Thank you." She took the dress out and placed it on her body, smiling indicating she liked it.

"Have you seen Ethan already? I was wondering why he did not visit me." She uttered but her eyes were on the dress, she could have seen Eric's reaction.