Chapter 98

CHAPTER 98:

SCHEMED SURPRISE

Diane’s P.O.V.

“Happy birthday!”

I got startled when everyone was just hiding behind the dark and shouted at the same time. Karen, who was the last person I would imagine to be here, even blasted a party popper near me.

Oh my God! I reacted in my mind as pieces of confetti seemed to slowly go down in front of me. The tears that I was trying to suppress a while ago were starting to surge through my eyes again. Twenty hours had already passed, and I didn’t even remember that today was my birthday.

Openmouthed in disbelief, I wasn’t even expecting this. I almost cringed, jumped, and dropped my bag at what they did to me. I was more than beyond what was the real meaning of being surprised because even Lorenz, who was with me, also shouted a happy birthday with the people around here.

But then, he released my hand as his meaningful stares never left Karen, who was only smiling in front of us. I didn’t know that Lorenz could be this deceitful, though.

So, this was the main reason why he gave me a ride because he already knew about this schemed surprise. They were clearly in cahoots for planning this all together, and I didn’t even have a single clue! Did Lorenz know that Karen would finally return? And would she stay here for good?

Not everything had completely sunk into my brain yet. If I clasped my mouth earlier because of my life-threatening nervousness, now, it was all because of an extreme shock. How would I even recover from their clever plan?

I almost died out of fear and anxiousness earlier, thinking that something bad could have already happened here—that my whole family might be in danger, surrounded by killers, and had been taken as hostages while I was away—only to find out how really naive I was to even forget my own birthday? I lopsidedly shook my head.

Damn… you’re so naive, Diane!

They were all complete here, gathering in the living room with various party banners and red balloon decors. There were even golden balloons hanging near the stairs, showing my age—a number twenty-two.

After long years, I just had to experience it again by now. The last time I celebrated my birthday with these kinds of cool decorations was when I was seven years old. My parents even threw me a children-cotillion surprise way back then. Also, we traveled and celebrated my birthday on the beach when I turned ten… but what I didn’t remember was my eighteenth birthday.

Wait, did I even celebrate my eighteenth birthday? If yes, what did I do way back then? Why couldn’t I remember even a single thing?

Although confused, I set aside my thoughts and only paid attention to the people inside our house: Mom was here; my siblings, David and Denise; and surprisingly, Karen, who I knew was still living in Cebu. She was with her younger brother and my baby sister’s friend, Michael.

My supervisor friend, Sheena, was also here; my closest and talented subordinate, Rizza; our Department Manager, Miss Shey; and another younger woman alongside her, with whom I didn’t have any connection at all. It was the first time I saw her.

They all had gifts with them as well. I really appreciated their efforts to be here and to celebrate this special day with me.

But to be honest, I only needed one gift… and sadness immediately enveloped my heart and soul when I realized that he wasn’t even here. He took this day for granted, and that made me feel frustrated.

The fact that he was so busy had saddened me, making him forget that today was our birthdays together. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes and smirk from the thought. I was aching inside when tonight should be beautiful—when everything for tonight should go as smooth as possible.

Stop those nonsense thoughts, Diane! You also forgot that today was your birthday, don’t you? How much more Liam, who was a thousand-time busier than you?

Dejected, I sighed in defeat. Liam was an in-demand CEO, so it was just normal that he tended to be very busy. I thought I would be able to understand him, but here I was, silently complaining.

Preoccupied with sudden thoughts that brought me hurt, I just bowed my head and avoided their stares. I didn’t know what to feel at these times. My lips quivered as my tears began to form again in my eyes.

Of course, I wanted to be happy because they were all complete here. But there was something inside me that was overpowering the pleasure that I could feel. I knew that something, or rather, someone was missing, and no one could ever fill-in his place. No one could replace him.

“Hey, Diane! I believe it’s your birthday today, so what’s with that facial expression? You see, I came back here in Quego del Mar just to be with you on your very special day. Is that how you will welcome me then? Am I deserving to see that brooding reaction coming from you?”

It was Karen, although I wasn’t looking at her. Her voice had gotten quite deeper.

“Oh my God, what did I get myself into? A birthday bash or a wake? Like, hello? I came here straight from my flight because I was damn too excited to see you, so will you really give me that sullen face? Come on, babe! You should be happy in the first place because we are all here to celebrate!”

I looked at her when Karen snapped at me—making me realize some sense. If my hair grew longer from shoulder-length to bra-line-area, she had her waist-length hair cut into shoulder-length. She dyed her hair into a scarlet and bleached some strands with peek-a-boo highlights in the color gray.

Karen was wearing a figure-hugging and above-the-knee blue dress that matched her rosy-white skin. She looked so beautiful with her round and dangling earrings.

She approached me with a smile and wrapped me in a tight hug. I could feel like my bones were crushing due to her strong arms. “Happy birthday, sissy! Oh, you don’t know how I miss you so much.”

Forcing my lips into a thin smile, I couldn’t help but shed a tear in my left eye. My best friend was definitely right. As much as possible, I should live with it and enjoy the rest of the night.

It was indeed my birthday today, so I should be happy for the remaining four hours. I shouldn’t think about anything anymore, and instead of worrying, I should pray that Liam was safe at Balesin Island. After all, he might be doing everything that he could for the sake of his company and also for the two of us.

Life was too short, so it would be better to make the most out of it. I wiped my tear while silently convincing myself that I should not overthink and soon enough, everything would be okay.

My arms moved on their own accord until those slowly returned the hug that Karen was giving me. I buried my face on the crook of her neck while thanking her for returning here, and my best friend even lifted me out of glee. We were enjoying our hugs when I heard Lorenz speak, and that made us girls look at him.

“Wow, I want to feel the same hug too! Can I join you?” Without hearing our response, he was about to join us as quickly as he could when Karen signaled him to stop using her right palm.

Karen even scowled at him with her deadly stares. “Hey, you don’t have any right here! There is something else we need to talk about before you can even hug us… so back off, witch!”

She couldn’t control her outbursts as she continued, “I just want to remind you that you have a lot of explaining to do, and we will start it off later by that missing foundation on your face, dude! Let’s go, Diane. Let’s leave that crazy punk!”

After that, Karen pulled me closer and dragged me to the other guests. On the other hand, Lorenz was left beside our door with his mouth hung open.

“So, how’s life in Cebu?” I asked her.

“Oh, that? Nothing special, sissy! It’s your birthday today, so everything should be all about you,” Karen replied.

“But will you stay here for good?” I demanded to know.

“If you will stop fussing yourself today… then I might stay here for good, babe!” Karen mischievously winked at me.

“Happy birthday, Ma’am Diane!” Rizza greeted me as she gave me her gift. I excitedly groped all over the wrapped rectangular object, and I immediately guessed it.

It was a Moonbucks planner. I actually told her weeks ago that I wanted to buy it and decided to plan some new things from then on.

“Happy birthday, Diane!” Sheena squealed with her high-pitched voice and did the same thing of reaching her gift for me.

Sheena’s gift was bigger and quite hard to guess because it was enclosed in a box that was only a little larger than that of a shoebox. I tried to shake it off, but nothing seemed to help me identify what was inside.

There was no sound, so I guessed it could be some sort of clothes. I creased my forehead, and that made Sheena let out a proud smirk after.

“Well, I will bet my one-month salary that you can never guess my gift to you! I’m not predictable, you know. But there’s a clue: it was close to a vibrator.” She almost whispered the last word.

“Whatever you say, Shee!” I told her before all of us laughed together.