Chapter 8: The Birthday

In the white sports car parked in front of the large house, she sat beside him, observing his silence. He broke it after a while, saying, "How long are we going to stay like this?"

"Until you decide to go in with me."

"You tricked me."

She smiled at him and replied, "Let’s be honest, Frederick. You called me yesterday to tell me that there’s a birthday party for a sixteen-year-old girl tomorrow, who happens to admire me, and that you want me to attend so the girl can forgive you for insulting her before. After I agree and have to cancel two appointments today just for you, and I arrive at the house, you tell me you won’t go in with me!"

"Hey, I told you back then that I wouldn’t be able to go with you."

"Yes, on the pretext that you were busy, but I’ve just found out that you’re not busy at all—you just don’t want to go."

He leaned back in his seat, saying, "Sonia, this is Van’s house."

"So what?"

He spoke bitterly, "His daughter barred me from attending his funeral—my friend and brother’s funeral—so how do you expect her to let me into his house?"

His words touched her, and she said irritably, "She won’t be able to stop you because I’ll tell her that if she wants me to attend her aunt’s birthday, it will only be with you by my side. Now, either you come in with me, or we go back."

He pretended to be serious, "If you don’t go, I’ll cancel your new ad campaign."

She replied coolly, "There are hundreds of ad agencies that would love to cover my campaign. I won’t starve without your company, but I’m not sure about the opposite."

He laughed and said, "You think I live off your money? Just so you know, I donate every penny I take from you."

"You know I’m crazy! I put my life and work on hold just so some girl can forgive you! I put my life and work on hold for a man who doesn’t deserve it."

He opened the car door, mumbling, "The final solution—I’ll take you to the party and then leave."

She was greeting Bernard and Bob, who had just arrived, when she heard the doorbell. Excusing herself, she walked to the door. Upon opening it, she stood stunned before the woman who was smiling at her. She recovered and shook the woman’s hand, saying, "I’m sorry for my reaction, but when you see Nina’s room and the pictures of you covering the walls, you’ll understand."

Sonia responded with a smile, "So I don’t need to introduce myself."

"Of course not, Miss Sonia. By the way, I’m Madeleine, Nina’s sister. I’m very happy you came. Actually, I’m wondering..." She trailed off, unable to express her thoughts.

"You’re wondering who invited her? Well, I’m the one who asked her to come," Frederick said, stepping out from behind Sonia.

Madeleine smiled as she hugged him, saying, "Didn’t you notice you’ve been neglecting us?"

"You know I’ve been busy with the company, and two months of absence isn’t exactly neglect."

She didn’t comment on his words, knowing that his visits had stopped because of Maya’s presence. Instead, she said, "Well, come in, I’m eager to see Nina’s reaction."

Frederick apologized, "I’m sorry, but I have to leave now."

Sonia glanced at them and then stepped inside, leaving them at the door to talk freely. She was sure this woman wouldn’t let him leave.

Madeleine said after watching Sonia enter, "Come in and don’t waste time arguing."

"Madeleine!..."

She cut him off, "This is my house, Frederick, do you understand?"

He insisted, "Believe me, she’ll throw me out in front of everyone, and we’ll ruin the girl’s birthday."

She replied firmly, "That won’t happen because I’ll tell her now that if she doesn’t want you here, she can leave. But you’re staying."

Her words stunned him. He couldn’t leave now that she had elevated his status above her daughter’s. So, he entered with her.

"Grandpa! You already know Creek—he’s visited us before—so let me introduce you to the others. This is Bernard, and this is Bob. They’re my colleagues in the unit, just like Creek."

Her white-haired grandfather, seated in his wheelchair, replied, "Welcome, my sons."

Maya said to Bob and Bernard, "May I introduce you to my grandfather, Nina’s father, Richard—the charming man who’s been married twice and is now searching for a third wife."

After shaking hands with Richard, Bernard said, "It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir."

At that moment, Bob asked, "The third wife! What about your other two wives?"

Bernard nudged him lightly, but Richard smiled and said, "My first wife passed away, then I married a second time, but she also passed away. So, I can’t marry a third wife as Maya claims because if I do and she dies too, the police will accuse me of killing my wives."

Maya said, "You are the reason. Their love for you kills them."

Richard asked Bernard and Bob, pretending to be serious, "Is she like this with you, too? Or is she just rude to me?"

Before anyone could answer, Nina’s scream echoed through the house. Maya turned to see Nina hugging a woman and speaking to her excitedly. She couldn’t make out the woman’s identity, so she moved closer to realize that the woman was Sonia. Her eyebrows shot up in surprise—what was Sonia doing here? She looked toward the door and saw her mother standing next to Frederick. Her fists clenched as she watched him walking with her mother toward Sonia and Nina. Her face flushed with anger as she saw Nina happily hugging him. She closed her eyes in pain as she heard her mother calling her.

She walked slowly, and as soon as she reached them, Nina jumped into her arms, hugging her tightly and exclaiming, "Sonia came to my birthday! I can’t believe it, Mom!"

Maya buried her face in Nina’s wavy red hair, trying to pull herself together. Seeing Frederick still affected her. Then she heard Nina whisper in her ear while hugging her tightly, "Please don’t fight with him. Don’t kick him out." That was just what she needed—the pleading voice of Nina, which she had no power to resist.

Maya gently pushed Nina away, extended her hand to Sonia to introduce herself and shake hands. They exchanged greetings, but Maya didn’t miss the look of hatred Sonia threw her way. Then she turned to Frederick, who was watching her anxiously. She extended her hand to shake his and said, "Welcome." Then she addressed Nina, "Why don’t you take your guests and introduce them to your grandfather?"

After Nina walked away with Sonia and Frederick, Maya said to her mother in a provocative tone, "What do you think? Did I behave well? By the way, I don’t recall asking him to come."

Her mother replied calmly, "He wouldn’t have come. He just dropped Sonia off. But I saw him and invited him."

"Thank you, you’ve made me so happy."

Her mother responded, "Not as happy as I am." Then she walked away, having succeeded in making Maya as angry as possible.

"The crown fell off again. You’re not good at securing it."

Maya turned to her and said, "I’m not good at anything. Go to my mother and have her put it on for you."

Nina replied, "She’s busy with Frederick."

Maya glanced at her mother, who was engrossed in conversation with Frederick. Then she took the crown from Nina and placed it on her head, asking, "Are you enjoying yourself?"

Nina shouted with joy, "Of course! Do you know what Sonia gave me as a gift?"

"What?"

"She’s going to make one of my designs and showcase it under my name in her next fashion show. My friends are so jealous! They can’t believe that Sonia, the world-famous designer, and Frederick, the owner of one of the largest companies, came to my birthday party. Tell me, are you the one who invited them?"

Maya looked at Nina in surprise and said, "You’re joking, right? Of all people, I would invite Frederick! But I know who invited them—it was Alexander." Then she added, "There, the princess’s crown is secure."

"Why am I not the queen?"

Maya replied slyly, "If you’re the queen, then what does that make me?"

"That’s the question I want answered," said Bob, who approached them with Bernard and Creek.

Maya asked, "What?"

"What does that make you? I mean, why does Nina call you Mom when you’re her niece?"

Maya explained, "Because I raised her. Her mother passed away when she was two years old. My grandfather brought her to us and then returned to his city for work. I was fourteen at the time and became very attached to her, to the point where I asked my parents to let me take care of her alone. I told them I would be responsible for her and made her call me Mom. When she turned ten, she wanted to travel and stay with her father, but I couldn’t leave her, so I went with her. And now, after six years, we’re back."

Bernard commented, "An interesting story."

Maya smiled at him, then excused herself to go to her room when she saw Frederick approaching.

She was lying on her bed, eyes closed, when she heard a knock on the door. She said, "Come in," and then continued after hearing the door open without giving the person entering a chance to speak, "Sorry, Nina, I’ll be down in a moment. I just wanted to rest for a bit. Seeing Frederick..." But she stopped talking when she opened her eyes and saw Alexander standing by the door.

She was surprised to see him. She hadn’t seen him in a week—he hadn’t been coming to the office. Creek had told her he was doing fieldwork at some suspicious sites, and since that wasn’t typically a commander’s job, she knew he was doing it because he didn’t want to see her.

She said after sitting up on the bed, "I didn’t even know you were here."

He replied coldly, "I just arrived. I was looking for Nina. I couldn’t find her downstairs, so your mother told me she was in her room, but it seems I’ve come to the wrong one. My apologies."

As he started to leave and close the door behind him, Maya said, "Don’t you think it’s time we talked?"

He looked at her, then stepped back into the room and leaned against the door after closing it, folding his arms across his chest.

Maya pursed her lips as she observed his hostile stance. He clearly didn’t want to talk to her, but she began anyway, "I’m a good shot."

He raised his eyebrows, prompting her to continue, so she went on, "There was no chance of error, not even 1%." She swallowed hard. "I was never going to hit you."

She received no response, so she said irritably, "Okay, it’s your turn to talk."

He muttered coldly, "You won’t like what I have to say."

"Try me."

He straightened up and said, "I’m going to request that your weapon be confiscated."

She sighed, pleading, "Don’t do this to me, Alexander. Isn’t what you’ve already done to me enough? Now, tell me the real reason for demoting me to lieutenant."

He answered without hesitation, "To tighten my grip on you."

She was taken aback by his response, "Excuse me?"

He elaborated, "You told me you were going to kill my uncle, and you expect me to just let it go? I had to keep you in my sights. I wasn’t going to let you touch a hair on his head. And there was no better way than to make sure you were beneath me in rank, preventing you from leaving my team."

All she could do was smile at his honesty. Here was another opponent revealing himself—Alexander Barron, who openly declared that she wouldn’t be able to get to Frederick without going through him first. Her goal of revenge had just become more complicated and exciting. Deciding to set that thought aside for now, she asked, "You’re not really going to have my weapon confiscated, right?"

"No, I won’t."

She asked again, "You’re not angry at Bernard, are you?"

"On the contrary, I’m grateful to him. He saved me from committing murder."

She taunted him, "I told you you’re just like your uncle. First, you lied to me about submitting my transfer request, and now you’re weak enough to attack a woman."

"First, I told you I submitted the request without specifying what it was for, and second, I didn’t attack a woman—I almost attacked a crazy person who fires bullets as casually as she throws..."

He stopped speaking when Creek opened the door, saying, "Sorry for interrupting, especially since you two are in a bedroom and Maya’s sitting on the bed..."

Maya cut him off as she stood up, "Shut up and get to the point."

Creek looked at Alexander and said, "I’d prefer to speak with you alone."

Alexander spoke as he adjusted his black tie in front of the wall mirror, "If it’s about the wedding ring, there’s no need for me to leave."

Creek looked at Maya angrily, "Did you tell him?"

"No, but I’m not surprised he knows. Your reaction when Bernard revealed the ring gave everything away."

"So that’s how you knew it was mine?"

"Along with your brilliant question about how old my mom was when my dad proposed."

Creek stammered, "Well, what do you think?"

Maya responded impatiently, "You really don’t want to ask my opinion on this matter!"

"Why not? I don’t want to marry her right now, I just want to propose."

"Get out before I lose my temper."

Creek shouted, "Hey, Alex! Say something."

Alexander replied, "How many times have you met her?"

"Five times."

"And you want to give a girl you’ve met only five times an engagement ring? That’s ridiculous."

Creek retorted angrily, "Alex, I’ve changed my mind. Be quiet and don’t say anything." Then he turned to Maya, "She likes me too, and I just tested the waters a bit ago and confirmed she loves me."

Alexander asked in astonishment, "Really? Tell me, how did you test the waters? We could all learn from your experience."

Maya was on the verge of laughing at Alexander’s sarcascas she said, "She’s a child, Creek. You’re nine years older than her."

He exclaimed passionately, "You see her as a child because you think of her as your daughter, but I see her as a mature girl of sixteen. And nine years isn’t a problem."

Maya simply said, "No. You’re not giving her the ring."

Creek responded angrily, "You know what? I’ll give it to her whether you like it or not."

"Don’t challenge me, Creek. If I ask her to stop seeing you, she’ll do it immediately, even if she’s madly in love with you." Then she added after seeing the look of frustration and helplessness in his eyes, "It’s okay, forget about me and tell me, have you thought about her friends? What will they think when she opens your gift and finds an engagement ring? You don’t know, but I do know how teenage girls behave. They’ll make fun of her. She’ll be the laughingstock of the school. They’ll call her the girl who got an engagement ring on her sixteenth birthday, the girl who couldn’t wait until she was of legal age to get engaged. The result? She’ll hate the ring, she’ll hate you, and she’ll hate herself."

Creek fell silent for a minute, then spoke quietly, "But I didn’t get her any gift other than the ring."

Maya replied gently, "Then go get her a gift."

"What if I’m late?"

"I won’t let her go to bed until you get back."

Creek smiled sadly and turned to leave, but Maya called out, "Creek!" When he looked back at her, she continued, "Give me the ring."

"Why?"

"So you know I’m not mocking your love. I’ll keep this ring until the right time comes, then I’ll give it back to you and congratulate you."

Creek’s face lit up as he handed her the ring, then hurried off.

Alexander, leaning against the edge of her bed, said, "Do you know how charming you are when you talk sensibly?"

She smiled as she focused her gaze on the ring, "So, when are you going to give me a ring like this?"

He spoke as he pulled a piece of paper from his jacket pocket, "I have a gift for you, but it’s not a ring, of course."

She moved closer to him and took the paper. Looking at it, she saw that it was a check for a rather large sum of money. She said in shock, "What is this? Why..." But she stopped herself as she thought for a moment, then looked at him and asked, "I guess the right question is, how did you know?"

He replied, still looking at his hands, "That day, after you went to meet with John, I needed some information about that guy you interviewed, so I went to check your computer. That’s when I read the notification from your grandfather’s company on the screen. I also saw a paper on your desk where you were calculating the costs of your mother’s and grandfather’s medical treatments and some other expenses. It didn’t take a genius to figure out you were in financial trouble."

"And now you expect me to accept your money?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because accepting money will help you learn the second step toward becoming a sensible woman, since you’ve already mastered the first step—stopping yourself from hurting others."

She raised an eyebrow, "And what’s the second step?"

"To think about what will happen to others as a result of your actions before you do them."

She lowered her head and said, "To think about what will happen to my family if I refuse your money."

"Exactly."

She held out the check to him, saying, "I’ll try to apply the second step later because I’m not taking your money now."

He stood in front of her without taking the check and said, "Then we move on to coercion since persuasion didn’t work. Now, either you take it, or I’ll go downstairs and tell your family that your grandfather’s pension has been cut off and that they need the money."

She gritted her teeth, "You’re despicable."

He replied with a smile, "Iron sharpens iron. Since you’re driven by emotions, I thought I’d exploit those emotions and use them against you. And I must say, I found it amusing."

Her eyes flashed with anger as she turned to leave, but he grabbed her wrist, saying, "It’s nothing personal. I just thought I was partly responsible for depriving you of 30% of your salary, so I felt I should help. And by the way, you’re going to pay me back, even if you have to sell Creek’s ring to do it. Now, let’s get back to the party—we’ve been gone long enough."