Chapter:03: The Unexpected:

Before she could finish her words, a maid came in, interrupting her.

“Master Nicholas, you have a guest”  The maid announced. Then, she gave way for the visitor to show himself.

 As soon Nicholas set his eyes on the guest, he beamed with joy and immediately stood up and left the breakfast table.

He spread his hands for a hug as he walked toward the man, who was also coming from the front.

  They met at the center of the house, and he exclaimed.

  “Gavin! What a pleasant surprise!”  Master Nicholas said with a smile plastered on his face.

“Indeed. It's a pleasant surprise, and I wanted to give you the surprise on our princess's birthday” Gavin said as he hugged Nicholas tightly.

They hugged each other for a couple of minutes. Then, they disengaged from the hug.

“By the way, where is our princess? She must be so grown, right?”  He traced his eyes around for a sneak peek of the birthday girl.

 Nicholas chuckled and pointed toward the breakfast table.

“Your little princess is over there ” He pointed and Gavin looked in the direction of his finger. Then, his eyes fell on both women standing at the table.

When Elizabeth finally has her gaze on the man, standing a distance from where she was. She took the initiative of going over to greet him.

“Master Wylie, it's so good to see you back after so long”  She exclaimed and kissed him on both cheeks.

She wore a bright smile that could melt anyone's heart. After the pleasantries, she took a step back and looked as if she was searching for something.

“I don't see the Wylie mistress around. Didn't she come along with you?”  She asked with her gaze fixed on Gavin.

  Hearing her question, Gavin let out a dry laugh, and said.“ You know women and drama. Right? She's coming with the kids, they just went to the mall to shop for a few things. She asked me to come with her, but I couldn't wait to see my brother here” Gavin replied and looked at Master Nicholas with sincerity–The expression on his face was filled with love and admiration.

   “Oh, that's why? I see!” Elizabeth reacted.“Please, come in. You came just about the right time, we are just having breakfast. You should join us”  Elizabeth said and ushered him toward the breakfast table.

“And let me introduce you to your little princess now. I bet she doesn't remember you anymore” Nicholas joked and looked toward Mandy, who was still standing at the breakfast table with a crushed expression.

  She looked very upset about the turn put of events– She wanted to demand answers for the mystery of the strange gifts but now the unexpected happened instead. She couldn't help but feel upset about it. However, she tried to mask her emotions with a fake smile.

  She needed to keep the good atmosphere in the mansion, the way it is. After all, she is the birthday girl, she can't afford to spoil the atmosphere.

She looked at her parents and the man who was smiling all through their conversation, she couldn't hear what they were talking about. But whatever it was, she was disgusted already by the scene of the smiling man.

  

  She wanted to pose the blame on him, but she decided to caution her thoughts and accept her own faults.

  “Mandy, honey. I want to introduce you to someone”  Her father, Nicholas came forward and led her from the breakfast table.

He took her hand into his with a smile, then he walked her to where Gavin was and stood still.

      “Brother, you're joking if you tell me this is little Mandy” Gavin joked even before Nicholas could say anything.

Caught by his words, Nicholas and Elizabeth smiled mumblingly.

“Mandy, this is your uncle, my very good friend, and your mother's little brother, Gavin Wylie,”  Nicholas said and looked at Mandy for a reaction. 

Mandy didn't say anything or react, it felt as though she was caught off guard and locked eyes with the floor.

 She has always known that her mother had a little brother· At least, this is what she was told while growing up.

 She has never met him nor does she have any memory of meeting him–  Her mother has insisted that Gavin was the reason why she survived several attacks while she was still a little kid.

 Well, she never knew what attacks they were. It was serious from what she heard.

“My uncle? How come I knew about this, dad?” She asked.

“It is not your fault, darling. It's our fault for keeping this away from you, we didn't want you hurting because of the truth”  Elizabeth tried to sound convincing, but Mandy could feel that there was an atome of uncertainty in her voice.

  

“My princess, you shouldn't worry about such petty matters. The truth is, I have been away on an official matter and this is the time I was let out of duty, so I came to celebrate your 20th birthday with you. We should celebrate!” Gavin said and smiled brightly at the obviously confused girl.

“Right, we should celebrate. It's her birthday after all!” Her father chimed in and peck her forehead.

After that, he took her back to the breakfast table.

Gavin was still standing at the center with his sister. He looked at her with a questioning gaze. He pouted his lips and asked in a low whimpering tone.

   “You didn't tell her? She doesn't   know about it?” 

“No!” Elizabeth responded Whimsically.“Let us go. They are waiting” 

 Elizabeth urged and took a few steps forward while Gavin remain standing. She turned back and cut eyes for him and quickly moved.

“Uncle, was the reason you had to leave the mansion at the time?”  Mandy suddenly asked after they settled back on the breakfast table.

Hearing her sudden question. Everyone hung their heads in the air and the glass of wine in their hands was left hanging in the air as well.

 They didn't understand what prompted the question. Mandy must have been suspicious of something that is why she asked.

Gavin slowly dropped the glass of wine in his hand, and his eyelids suddenly drooped. However, he quickly masked this expression with a smile and replied, “Princess, what are you talking about? You can't be the reason I left. Remember, I had official duties”  Gavin smiled.

“Quit talking, the breakfast is getting cold” Elizabeth chimed in. She wanted them to stop with the disturbing conversation.

Everyone went silent after. And they are breakfast in silence.

Soon after that, Master Nicholas finished his food and Gavin did the same.

Master Nicholas took a napkin and wiped his mouth. He pushed the chair back and stood up.

He left for his studies with Gavin.

 Mandy watched them leave with curiosity– After seeing how everyone reacted to her question earlier, she was very sure at this point that they were hiding things from her.

She wanted to ask her after about it. Nevertheless fought the urge to ruin the atmosphere of the mansion.

 Now, she was left alone with her mother.

She retracted her gaze from the silhouettes of the men and turned her eyes back to her mother.

 She dropped the fork in her hand. Then, she cleared her throat to say something.

    “Mother..... I deserve to know what's going on here.....”   

  “Madam, the designers are here”  Her mother's assistant, Hannah came in to inform her about the arrival of the designers.

Mandy was so mad that they keep soiling her plans each time.

 Could it be that fate was fighting against her?

  “Alright. Get her settled in the living room, I will be right there in a while” Elizabeth beamed.

  She heaved a sigh of relief and smiled hideously.

 She turned her gaze back to Mandy and said, “Baby, let us go check some clothes for your party. I know you don't have a lot of time to go shopping for the party, so I brought the mall home”  She said and pushed the chair back. She steps out of the captive of the chair and the dining table.

 She took quick steps and went over to the living room to meet up with the designers.

Mandy simply watched her leave.

  She slammed her palms on the table and stood up as well– She decided to go check out the clothes.

“This gown will suit you better. You should try this one out”  The designer urged as she held out a royal blue gown out for her.

Mandy took a look at it and kept it at the side of the sofa.

She took another one– It seem like she couldn't find one that she liked.

  “Mandy, baby. This is perfect for you, it will look good on you with these shoes. Elizabeth lifted a new dress and handed them over to a maid, Mandy simply took a glance and nodded her head.

They continued shopping for more. However, Mandy seemed uninterested. 

     Suddenly, another beautiful dress caught her attention. The designer was the one holding it, she quickly grabbed hold of it and took a closer look at it.

“Do you want another dress? ” Her mother asked when she saw the smile on Mandy's as she looked at the New dress she picked.

  “No, it's not for me. It's for Alana. She will look beautiful in this”  She replied subconsciously. 

Both Elizabeth and the designers were shocked and looked at each other with curiosity. 

The birthday girl has been so moody all through the shopping and suddenly she is all smiling at the sight of a fitted dress for Alana?

Seriously?

 “Show me the best of your shoe design. I need two of the best” Mandy ordered and stopped hugging the dress.

The designers quickly looked for the best shoes in their custody– They wouldn't want to hurt the master's daughter.

If they do, they were well aware of the consequences of such action.

Mandy took the shoes and handed them over to the waiting-maid.

Alana, who has been hiding behind the walls felt warm at the sight of the kind gesture bring melted out on her by Mandy–She felt shedding tears of joy but that also meant exposing her hideout.

Just then, her eyes fell on the shadow of Alana. Who was hiding behind the wall of the living room and sending signals to her?

“What happened? What did they tell you?”  She signed? Mandy noticed this and excused herself from the shopping.

”Mom, it's getting late. I have to go get ready for the party”  Mandy said as she still had her gaze fixed on Alana.

Elizabeth turned back to catch a glimpse of what she was staring at. Luckily, Alana hid away before she could see her.

“Make sure to look your best tonight. Baby, it is your day and more than.....” 

 “Of course”  She uttered and run off immediately.

“What happened? Were you able to ask them for answers?”  Alana asked as they way into her room.

“Did nothing happen? Why aren't you saying anything?”  Alana sounded worried.

Mandy didn't say anything and pulled Alana into the room before slamming the door behind them.

She sat on the bed wearing a pensive expression. She was mumbling with dissatisfaction.

Seeing her like this, Alana blamed herself for putting such a theory in her mind.

“I shouldn't have told you about my silly thesis. If I hadn't told you about it, you wouldn't gave had to go through this. it's all my fault” Alana blamed herself.

Mandy stood up and paced around the room for a while. Then she paused.

“Stop whining like a baby already. It's not your fault that I'm so curious to know why everyone is keeping me in the dark”  Mandy rolled her eyes coldly at Alana.

Alana was instantly annoyed by her nonchalant attitude toward the situation while almost on the verge of tears, blaming herself for what happened.

  “You didn't find out a thing. Then, we should just let go of everything and focus on getting you ready for the party”.  Alana decided to let go of her thoughts and focus on making Mandy forget as well.

     “Not me. Us! It's your birthday as well, remember?”  Mandy turned to look at her.

Alana was shocked. She never told anyone about her birthday and neither does she make merry on her birthdays. But Mandy actually knew and that was the reason she made special preparations for her on the event of her birthday.

  “Mandy.....”

   “I have a new plan to extract the truth. Lana!”

 “Wait! What? How? What are you going to do?”  Alana became hyper red with a sudden surge of the hamper.

“Just watch me do it!”