Chapter 4 - The Fiasco

IRIS

Iris glanced at her surroundings. Her heart thumped heavily.

‘Please don’t let this party go awry!’ Iris prayed inside her head.

She took pity on the beautiful lady that was supposed to be the brightest star in this room today.

“What could be more important than ditching his engagement party?” a girl who tried talking to Iris before the party started asked no one in an incredulous tone.

Iris thought the same thing.

The engagement party should be of a lifetime experience for the future bride and groom.

“Where is Alexander? I saw him here before!” Mr. Ruthford asked the old man with a fury that he could not conceal anymore.

"There are urgent matters that he needed to handle right now. I promise the engagement and the joining forces between The Browning and Ruthford family is still intact," said the old man with a sharp and unwavering gaze.

"Who is he?" Iris asked the girl who stood beside her.

"He is the patriarch of The Browning Family. Mr. Jonathan Browning, father of Alexander Browning," the girl supplied the answer.

Ah, that explained how intimidating his aura was.

"I see," Iris muttered in a low voice.

"Well, these ultra-rich people never cease to amaze me. There will always be drama everywhere they go!" the girl whispered to her. She tried to find some good angle to check the drama that was unfolding in the center of the ballroom.

"Hey, anyway ... I am Iris. Who are you?" Iris holding out her right hand, intended to shake the hands and introduce herself to this stranger girl who seemed to get closer to her.

"Oh, I am Isabella. You can call me Bella. I work part time at this restaurant, assigned to come here," said Bella.

"Okay, Iris ... trust me, this Alexander Browning does not have an important matter. I guess it's a jitter. He backed out from this engagement and ran away," Bella whispered to her ear.

Iris just awkwardly smiled and did not comment further. It was not her right to assume something preposterous like that. Let alone if it was about her employer.

"Stop right now, Jonathan! If you think that after this we still want to continue the engagement after you humiliated Ruthford like this, you are completely wrong!" Mr. Ruthford was furious. His face turned red. The one who could beat him was his daughter.

Julianne Ruthford was trying her best to not cry in front of a hundred guests and was trying with all her might to keep her dignity intact.

His wife tried to calm him down. She threw a sharp glance at Jonathan Browning, and such hatred was clear in her gaze.

"We won't let this slide, Jonathan! Trust me, The Ruthford will retaliate with such embarrassment!" After delivering such a strong warning, Ruthford's family left the ballroom, and the audience parted ways to give them the way out.

Jonathan Browning stood taller with a stern and sharp look. After he saw Ruthford out of his mansion, he turned back and ascended to the second floor without another glance.

The ballroom went buzzing with the hottest gossip flying around. Some young socialites opened their phones and recorded this fiasco.

The MC tried to control the crowd.

“Let’s enjoy the night, ladies and gentlemen. You could try canape and lots of delicious food prepared here.” said the MC.

It was a futile attempt, of course.

Iris thought the party was ruined beyond repair.

People were not in the mood to taste the delicacies offered abundantly here.

But she would not be such a downer. She tried to put her smile and stand behind her cupcake stand table.

Waiting for the guests to come around and taste the masterpiece that she made, pouring all her heart into these beautiful cupcakes.

The parties concluded several hours later after the bomb announcement that the fiance was missing from the party.

Even though the party ended in a foul taste, not for her cupcakes.

Her Iris Divine Cupcakes were running out. The guests loved her cupcakes. They took several videos and pictures of her state of art cupcakes and Iris was sure that they would flood her I*******m account with some of the free advertisements from the ever update-socialites.

Her box of name cards was running out as well because they took the name card and stated that they might be called Iris if they needed her cupcakes.

In conclusion, her cupcakes were a success! And Iris could not be happier than this.

***

Iris parked her van in the parking lot in front of her tiny house. The street was already empty and dark.

Her home was relatively safe. Because it was in a suburban complex, with most of her neighbors being family or senior citizens. Nothing shady or criminal-related around her complex.

But she would not go to take a chance, and always prepared for the worst. She had her pepper spray and her taser ready inside her bag.

After checking her surroundings and believing there was nothing suspicious, she opened her door, went out, and locked her car again until she heard the sound beep.

She half sprinted to reach her door and with a speed, she put her fingerprint to open her door.

After she came inside, the alarm activated again and Iris could breathe freely.

Finally! She came home safe and sound.

"Ugh! I am so tired!" she mumbled to herself after she took a quick shower and now she headed to her bedroom to apply some moisturizer before she went to sleep.

After settling, she opened her phone and wanted to see what was going on while she was working at the mansion a while ago.

Okay, her best friend Rose sent a lot of messages to her, demanding to tell her about the stories that already circulated in the media.

Demanded! With a capital D and lots of exclamation marks.

Ha! Iris would not answer that!

After that, she tried to open her social media. Might be some of her cupcakes went viral because of the 'epic failed engagement party.

She scrolled her feeds, and yeah ... what she wished came true.

She got tagged by strangers. With a lot of the cupcakes that she brought for the engagement party.

So much buzz that she started smiling widely even though she was super tired.

When she could not fight her sleepiness, she reluctantly dropped her phone and turned off her bedside lamp. Ready to sleep with a light heart?

Little did she know that outside her home, there was a Mercedes Maybach parked several blocks from her home ever since she came back.

She did not know that the mysterious car would change her life forever.