“Did you perhaps forget your own birthday?” Brandon guessed quite correctly.“That's not the point,” I snapped back at him. The fact that he had caught on so effortlessly that I have forgotten my birthday only added fuel to the fire that was burning inside of me. It felt like everything that he was doing and saying was mocking me. “Do you want to take a look around the garden? If not, we can go inside,” Brandon suggested. “I don't want to take a look at the garden and I also don't want to go inside. What I want to know is why you gave me these dahlia flowers for my birthday present?” I ask as I quickly came to the point.“What's wrong? I thought you would like them,” Bradon replied and I could tell that my reaction wasn't what he was expecting or hoping for. I narrowed my eyes at him as my jaws clenched. After taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly, I managed to let out a scoff at the ridiculousness of the situation. “Did Anthony tell you to do this? Did you get this i
The day of our birthday party finally arrived, and it felt like a very close rerun of what happened the year previously except for the fact that we were wearing red instead of the light shade of purple that my sister fancied the year before.We greeted the guests, we accepted the presents, and we played all the games that my sister had planned. Our parents socialized with the guests that they invited while the piles of presents kept piling up higher and higher. Everything passed by in the blur of events as I didn't take note of much. “Diana, that fiancé of yours is late,” mother commented before scrunching her face in a look of disapproval. It was so like her to nitpick on even the smallest things regarding the Vulkan family. “Well…” Diana murmured before smiling like an angel to cover up for Anthony’s delayed arrival. I also did my best to smile as I resisted the urge to remind my mother that the Vulkans were precisely the ones who were funding the spectacular birthday celebratio
For a moment I was too stunned that I didn't know what to say or how to react. It was just so unexpected for him to give me something like this. “Is this for me?” I asked although he had just told me that he had something to give me. I still found it so hard to believe that this was actually happening. Nothing like this has ever happened before in all the years that I have celebrated my birthday along with my sister. “Yes, if you don't mind taking it, then I would like you to have it,” he replied as his beautiful blue eyes kept on staring directly at my face. I felt heat rushing to my cheeks and realized that I was blushing intensely. That was when I felt so thankful for the lack of proper lighting in the garden, otherwise he must have seen my flustered reaction so clearly. Even though I tried my best to tell myself that it was nothing but a pot of flowers and that there was no hidden secret meaning behind him offering it to me, I couldn't stop the way that my heart skipped danger
Anthony was silent for a moment, and I wondered if I had said too much or if I had made him suddenly uncomfortable. Just when I had started to regret my words, Anthony smiled at me and nodded his head slightly a couple of times as if in agreement. “Dahlia is indeed a beautiful name,” he commented casually. “Really? Sometimes I think that it sounds quite outdated,” I replied as I tried to sound natural. “If that's the case, have you asked your parents for a nickname?” Anthony asked with a hint of suggestion in his tone. “I'm not so sure…” I replied hesitantly because I wasn’t sure if that was a good idea at all. The idea of asking my parents for a nickname never occurred to me before, and I didn't think that they would give me one simply because I demanded it. On top of that, I had always thought that the concept of a nickname was to show adoration to the owner of the name. “Dahlia, what about Leya? It's like saying the second syllable of your name very slowly. Leya,” Anthony sug
“I guess it does make sense. So, do you have a name in mind?” Diana asked with a slightly teasing look on her face. I wondered at that moment if she had already caught on to what I was about to say. “Well, Anthony suggested that the name ‘Leya’ might be a good choice,”I confessed as if I was telling her the secret that was meant to be taken all the way to my grave. “Leya? I think it suits you perfectly. If you like it, then let's use it,” Diana said before beaming me a smile. We both burst out laughing at the same time and I was reminded of the very precious bond that we shared. It felt like the name that Anthony had given me was another precious birthday gift on top of the Dahlia flowers. I couldn't have foreseen back then that just a few days later I would end up breaking the promise that I had made to Anthony....I should have known that something was off when I returned to my bedroom to find that the flower that Anthony had given me was not where it was supposed to be. It wa
Most probably, there wasn't any explanation that I could give to her that she would find satisfactory besides from the truth, and that was something that I could not offer. Suddenly, the flowerpot in her hand made its fast descent onto the ground in between our feet. Had this been a dramatic scene in a movie, the flowerpot would have landed and shattered into countless pieces with a loud sound that would echo all around us. Perhaps it would all happen in slow motion just to add to the climax of the moment; however, the truth was the flower pot simply landed on the grass ground with a muffled thudding sound. “I don't want something like this…” she said after letting the flowerpot fall to the ground. “I thought that you might like it, but if you don't, you can just take it as a bad joke of some sort. You're also right, I got this idea from a story that Anthony told me about how happy you were to receive this flower from him as a gift a long time ago,” I said while trying to keep my vo
“Master! Master Bradon!” We both turned around at the same time to see Jenna sprinting towards us. If I had to describe the look on her face, then I would say that it looked like she had just come face to face with a ghost. “What is it?” I called out to her to save her the effort of running all the way. “The king!” She yelled before she stopped and panted. I could tell right away what sort of news she was about to deliver about the king and Dahlia's reaction told me that she also knew. “What about the king?” I asked Jenna while at the same time I managed to pull a very shocked Dahlia up to her feet. “The palace had just announced the King's passing on television. It is all over the news,” Jenna said in a shaky voice and I could tell that she was utterly upset and on the verge of tears. “The king is dead…” Dahlia mumbled in the breathless whisper. She was indeed very correct, the king is dead....**Dahlia's point of view**The king is dead. Ironically, the king died right on
The golden light from the candles bathed his face in a warm light that made his blond hair look like rays from the sunset. My chest felt heavy and warm at the same time, and that made me have to admit that I was touched. I closed my eyes and made a wish that I would have the inner strength to deal with all upcoming obstacles so that I would be victorious at the end of the day. When I open my eyes, the swaying warm golden light of the lit candles looks like a work of art filled with hope. I took in a deep breath and blew out all the candles while everyone applauded from all around us. Strangely, that moment reminded me of one of my very younger days. “Alright, now turn the lights back on and open the curtains,” I heard Jenna's voice instruct. Light flooded back into the room again and I could see clearly the people who had gathered to celebrate my birthday. Jenna, Zain, Bella, and many other maids and bodyguards were there with a bright smile on their faces. For a moment, it felt li