“The watch Colt Quinn brought may not be priceless, but it previously belonged to Mr. Avery, so it’s one of a kind! Is it for Reina?”“They’re all family and friends of Gerald Howard. Did he ask them to show support for her?”“I’m so envious… Any of these gifts would be enough to impress everyone, but Mr. Howard is gifting them all to Reina!”“Here comes Ms. Reina!”Reina felt a little dizzy.Nathan’s crown was made of platinum and the best diamonds around. It was one of the Queen of Anglestan’s favorite jewelry pieces before it ended up in the hands of the public.Colt’s watch was also every rich girl’s dream gift.And Charlotte’s ring… Wasn’t it obvious what Gerald meant by gifting her a ring?Reina tried her best to suppress her excitement and calm her breathing. “Welcome, everyone. Come in!”Nathan shot Colt a meaningful look, who smiled. “We’re here to deliver some gifts on Gerald’s behalf.”Henry had never felt this honored in his life. He was so happy that he could pas
“You’re not trying to tell us Mr. Howard’s your husband, are you? Ha! That’s so ridiculous.”Linda was in a good mood so she could not resist mocking North, “Wake up and smell the roses, North. It’s normal for Mr. Howard to celebrate Reina’s birthday. If you really like that island, just get Reina to give you a tour.”Reina’s heart began pounding.Yesterday’s drone fireworks show had already made her name trend on Twitter. If he added an island to the mix… Only she was worthy of a man like Gerald!Reina looked at North. “North, please stop your daydreaming once Gerald gets here. You might upset him.”North raised an eyebrow and sipped at her red wine, but she did not say anything after that.As if on cue, a commotion started near the front door. Someone pushed the door open, causing everyone to look over.It was a man with sharp features, a handsome figure, and a priceless custom watch on his wrist. He looked like a successful man in every step he took, and his expression was so
Everyone started laughing in both agreement and mockery. “We can’t take it anymore, Mr. Howard. North sure knows how to exaggerate things.”“Yeah, she even claimed something so ridiculous as the island being for her! You can’t let her get away with this!”Reina was getting excited. She could not wait for Gerald to expose North’s lies and teach her a lesson.Gerald raised an eyebrow and looked into North’s eyes. Then, he suddenly asked, “Mr. Henry, who did you give my presents to?”Henry hastily approached him, saying respectfully, “Reina, of course. Don’t worry, there’s no way North can steal Reina’s presents for herself!”“Who said…” Gerald began in a lazy and distracted, yet chilling tone. “...Those presents were for her?”Who said those presents were for her?!Who else could they be for, if not Reina?!Suddenly, a thought occurred to everyone.No, it could not be… who was North to deserve gifts from Gerald Howard?!Reina paled and started swaying, almost collapsing to the
“Is it really your birthday?” Gerald calmly countered her.Reina fell silent instantly, fear overwhelming her mind and sending chills down her spine.“Henry, I was bored the other day so I did some digging and found these two birth certificates by accident,” Nathan said lazily, as if he was worried other people would think he was anything but a rich yet irresponsible heir.“One states that your biological daughter, North Myers, was born on December 29th about 21 years ago. The other one…” Nathan trailed off before flinging the certificate into the crowd.Everyone instinctively looked at it, and the results shocked them.“Reina’s birth certificate? She’s older than North by one year, making her 22 years old. That part is correct… Wait a minute, she was born in October!”“So, it’s not Reina’s birthday, but North’s?”“Yeah. You can’t forge a birth certificate, can you…”“Why are the Myers celebrating Reina’s birthday so extravagantly, then? What is wrong with them? Why ignore the
“I arranged that show for my wife. What does that have to do with you?”“My wife.”Nathan butted in passive-aggressively. “Yeah, Reina! Sometimes, if your brain is overly imaginative, it means something’s wrong with you. Are you Gerald’s wife? That’s weird. How come I don’t remember you becoming my sister-in-law?”Reina stumbled backward, her face turning pale.Everyone caught on and said, “Didn’t she say Mr. Howard didn’t like his wife?”“Yeah, Reina’s hinted several times that he was planning to divorce North. Was that just a lie?”“If Mr. Howard arranged for fireworks and drone shows… that’s not a man who wants a divorce. They’re clearly still in love.”“Reina would say anything to usurp North’s position, huh?”Reina and Linda felt lightheaded. The sheer difference between their expectations and reality made them quiver.“What right do you all have to criticize Reina?! If she’s a mistress trying to replace his wife, then what does that make North?!” Someone in the crowd sho
She finally understood. Things finally made sense!His surprise was just an act he and North put up to screw her over!Gerald completely humiliated her just to avenge North…“Reina.”Reina shuddered when she heard that woman’s voice. North had walked over to her at some point, saying in a voice so soft that only the two of them could hear, “Did you ever think this day would come when you stole my birthday and bragged about it?”“North Myers!”North enjoyed seeing Reina’s expression of helpless fury. “Don’t get so worked up. This is just the beginning. I’ll get back at you for all the things you did four years ago.”Fear engulfed Reina so much that she almost failed to control her facial expression. “Gerald wouldn’t let you do that. He’d protect me!”North raised an eyebrow nonchalantly. “Really? We’ll see.”Gerald put an arm around North’s waist. “Let’s go.”The birthday party had turned into a fiasco. After Gerald and North left, the rest exchanged confused looks. They did
Half an hour later, North stood in front of the hot spring in a bathrobe, still confused.Why had she nodded distractedly when Gerald asked if he could serve her?The hot spring had a wooden floor, and it was snowing outside, but it was not cold here at all.Gerald was already submerged in the spring, the steam just barely obscuring his chest muscles. North could not help but gulp at the sight.“Aren’t you going to enjoy the hot spring, Mrs. Howard?” Gerald asked in a slightly hoarse voice.North’s legs trembled. Of course, she wanted to enjoy the water.But after she said yes a while ago, Gerald had suddenly smiled and whispered something into her ear… North blushed and choked out, “Wait, I need to prepare myself. Hold on. Wait a minute.”Gerald had asked, “How do you want me to serve you, Mrs. Howard?”In that context, Gerald’s question had made her think of things children should not be hearing about. Her mind was filled with the filthiest possibilities.Gerald looked her u
North suddenly heard two employees talking to each other.“Really? That cake seemed so plain, I thought Mr. Howard had bought it from some store. I didn’t expect him to have baked it himself!”“Yeah. He actually failed twice because it was his first time baking a cake. He only succeeded on the third try. Since when have you seen him make such an effort for someone?”“I’m so envious of Mrs. Howard. Mr. Howard is such an important person, and yet he willingly stepped into the kitchen to make a cake for her.”North had a brilliant idea. That was right! If Gerald could make her a cake, why couldn’t she just make one for him too?She was not very good at cooking regular food, but pastries should be easy enough!North acted at once, but instead of asking the employees for baking ingredients, she decided to drive to the supermarket.To her surprise, she saw Gerald standing next to the car with a mysterious smile as soon as she got to the garage. “Are you going grocery shopping? Let’s g