After two weeks, Ethan came to the Lopez mansion and asked Austin to follow him to a birthday party. He gave Austin a hoodie and a jean to wear, and Austin wore them with gratitude.
The old Mrs. Lopez was so happy to know that Ethan and Austin were friendly with each other. She told them to take good care of themselves and waved her hand at them as Ethan drove Austin out of the compound.
"I don't expect you to follow me to my friend's birthday party," Ethan said with a fake smile.
"Mrs. Lopez feared people would harm me if I went outside. I stay at home all day. I don't expect you to take me along," Austin said.
"What do you think about the heir stuff? Did you support my dad's opinion to do a DNA test for you?"
"It is for the best. I don't want my appearance to be a hindrance to the present and the future Lopez family."
Ethan smiled, for it sounded like Austin was already surrendering the heir position to him.
"What would you do if you were the Henry we're looking for?" Ethan asked.
"Whatever Mrs. Lopez asks me to do is what I would do."
"What if you lose the heir position as Henry?"
Austin wanted to ask him why he was asking him those personal questions, but he had to cooperate because he had already promised Granny he wouldn't quarrel with Ethan, his father, and other family members who would go against him.
"I'm not after any position and I won't care if I lose."
Ethan smiled, and his smile reached his surprised eyes.
"I like your conversation with me. I would take good care of you if I were to become the heir, and I wouldn't allow anybody to bully you as I used to defend Henry at school those times."
"Why did they bully him?"
Ethan's phone beeped, and he answered it.
"Give me ten minutes. I would get there soon," Ethan said, hung up the phone, and pressed the gas, speeding more.
When they got to the party, Ethan already knew many girls would run to hug him, and so he asked Austin to get down first.
As Austin stepped down, many girls ran to him, but as soon as they saw he wasn't Ethan, they hissed and stepped aside for Austin to pass, which made the onlookers laugh at him.
Ethan then opened the car door and stepped down with a wide smile, making all the girls rush to him, hugging and kissing him with excitement.
They followed Ethan into the hall, leaving Austin with feelings of loneliness.
Austin followed them and quietly sat at the back, and he saw who he didn't expect to see.
Scarlett and Richmond were walking towards him.
"Hey loser," Richmond said. "What are you looking for here?"
"Richmond, you should have known he came to eat. Nothing more than that," Scarlett said, laughing hysterically.
"I've already told you I will increase your salary if you are still my wife's slave. But it seems you are too lazy and you have pride on your shoulders. Why won't you come here for food?" Richmond said and laughed, too.
The voice of the MC on the stage called the names of Richmond and Scarlett as some of the important people at the party. He also urged them to quicken their steps forward to sit among the very important people at the front.
Austin couldn't deny that it pained him, and couldn't just go out of the party and go home. He didn't want Granny to worry about why he left Ethan at the party.
After some minutes, a pretty girl with a ponytail walked to him with a genuine smile.
"Can I sit beside you, Henry?" she asked.
He didn't recognize the girl, which confused Austin; still, he felt as if he knew her already.
"Can I?" she repeated, and he nodded.
Once she sat beside him, she reduced his feelings of loneliness.
"Do you lose your memories? Can you recognize me?" she asked, looking into his eyes.
Austin was confused.
"I'm your favorite friend when we were kids. And I have been waiting for you to come back home since the day they couldn't find you in the car."
"What is your name?" Austin asked.
"Sandra."
"You can call me Austin."
"Why? Mrs. Lopez told me you are the Henry we were looking for," Sandra said, taking out five different photos of two kids smiling together.
"These were the photos we snapped together before you left me. I want to hug you and cry, but Mrs. Lopez told me not to hug you in public since they hadn't known you were the real Henry. But I recognize you. You might lose your memories, but you haven't lost yourself. You don't used to mingle with noisy, proud people."
Austin smiled as he saw the sincerity in Sandra's eyes. He raised his eyebrows as tears dripped down Sandra's face.
Austin watched as she touched the ring on his finger. "Mrs. Lopez told me she had given you the family heirloom. I will explain how it works if you want me to tell you. I won't tell you now. The Henry I know cannot study in this noisy room.
"I miss you a lot and I wish you would remember me. There are lots of photos of me at home. I would show them to you tomorrow."
Sandra looked at the empty table before him. "I will get you some drink. Please don't go anywhere."
Austin nodded with a smile that reached his eyes.
Once Ethan saw Sandra with Austin, depression filled him. The thought that he would lose the heir position since Henry's childhood friend had recognized him disturbed his mind.
Ethan gulped three alcoholic beverages to distract himself from his thoughts. But the more he drank it, the more it came.
He reached a stage where he couldn't drink anymore, for the hall and the dancing people were spinning in his eyes. He stood up and fell.
His friend quickly carried her into his car and drove him home.
"I will drive you home," Sandra said as she dropped some wine on the table before him.
"Can we go now?" he asked, and she smiled.
"Of course, yes."
Sandra led him to her car and motioned for him to sit in the front.
When they were about to reach the Lopez mansion, Sandra noticed his ring was glistening.
"When do you plan to give that ring your blood?" Sandra asked.
"Maybe when I get home."
After fifteen minutes, they got home, and the old Mrs. Lopez asked for Ethan, and Sandra explained he had gotten drunk and had been driven to his house by his friend.
Granny thanks Sandra for taking Austin back home and silently watches Austin escorting Sandra to her car.
"We would talk much next time," Sandra said and drove out of the Lopez compound.
And when Austin got into his room, he took a new knife from the table and slightly cut his ring finger and watched as his blood touched the shining ring.
Austin felt palpable, glistening lights filtering through the heirloom into his body. And from there, he could sense a myriad of talents flooding his mind with the medical expertise, martial arts, engineering skills, and alchemy that allowed him to transform base metals into gold, create potent elixirs, and unlock the secrets of nature.
He noticed every action of the heirloom except the moment the heirloom healed his ring finger and when it made him fall asleep.
Old Mrs. Lopez walked into his room in the morning and saw the blood-stained knife on the floor. She picked it and looked at the heirloom ring and noticed Austin's blood on it.
And for that, she smiled and dared to make Austin the heir of the Lopez family.