Chapter 31. .Birthday Party
“Make a wish, sweet heart."
Eva smiled at her father’s words and closed her eyes to wish something After a moment, she blew out the candle
Everyone clapped for her, singing a small birthday song.
She fed the muffin to Michael first, and then Michael fed the same muffin to her.
Both shared a warm hug. Then she fed the muffin to Rose, William, and Steve.
When she reached near Stephen, she slowly forwarded the muffin plate towards him.
Although disappointed, Stephen understood she was still raged at him.
So he wished her a happy birthday and took a small piece of muffin
Eva just mumbled a small thank you.
Rose took Eva in for a side hug and told her about the best gift challenge and also notified her that Richard was also taking part in it. news, It shocked Eva to know such a challenge
Steve was going through some other intentions as he noticed how harshly Eva is treating Stephen after that media news so he started with his plan
“But mom, what will you give as a reward to the winner of the challenge?”
“Reward!!’
“Yes, of course there must be a reward for the winner; otherwise, how will we get inspired to win the challenge?”
"Yes, I agree with Steve. I think if the gift is for Eva, she is going to decide the winner too. so it will be better that she should decide the reward too.
“Me ! But what can I....”
" , don’t take stress; I will help you. See if me or William won this challenge, then you have to cook a special dinner for us on any day of your choice. And if Richard, Steve, or Stephen, any of them win the challenge...
“Then you will go on a dinner date with the winner, “Steve completed before her mother could ruin his plan.
"Dinner date !!” Eva was stunned
“Ooh, come on, it’s just a dinner date. And these three are no strangers to you. Isn’t it?” Rose tried to reassure her
“I think Rose is right if they all are taking so much trouble for you; at least you can do this much for them. And to be fair, an award is mandatory.” Michael Tried to convince Eva, who was looking very confused
After listening to her father’s words, Eva agreed to this reward.
Steve gave a sheepish smile to Stephen, who just gave a nod at him. This is Steve's plan so that Stephen could take Eva on date
“Well, one more thing: tomorrow we are going to organize a small party at our place.
So you can invite all your friends."
Eva smiled first, but then she recalled how they teased her after the news. It was out Jacey who was not present that day, but she called her later to give her support to Eva.
And the other friend that stood up for her was
Harry, but she doesn’t know whether Smith family will appreciate his presence at the party so she dropped the idea
“ I only have one close friend, Jacey; I will invite her.”
It surprised the Smith family to know about only one friend, but Michael knew the reason as Eva already told him about the teasing session she suffered that day.so Michael tried to handle the situation
"Yes, sure, after all, you didn’t make friends so easily, so call your only friend.”
The Smith family also gave an encouraging smile at her and they all returned to theirrooms
The next morning, Eva woke up with a smile on her face.
She was glad that her dad was present on her birthday.
And the gesture of the Smith family touched her.
Eva was getting ready in her room when Steve barged in.
She screamed first, but then she put her hand to her chest to calm her heartbeat.
Then she glared at Steve, who pouted in return and forwarded a beautiful hamper full of chocolates to her.
“Happy birthday, dear Eva.”
Eva grinned and accepted the basket
“Thank you, but don’t you think you should give me this gift at the party and that too in front of others?”
Steve looks at her in amazement; he doesn’t know how someone could be so na?ve.
“My dear Eva, this is a gift, but not that gift, OK? This is just a sweet gift to start your special day.
"Oooh, ok."
Eva got settled on the bed and started unwrapping the basket. She smiled,“ looking at the variety of chocolates. She quickly passed a chocolate to Steve, who was now munching on the sofa in front.
"So excited for the party."
"Yes, of course, but I don’t like that dinner date thing."
“Why?”
“No Don’t take it wrong. You and Richard are the sweetest people I know, and I will really enjoy accompanying any of you. For dinner but...”
“But?”
“Stephen, I am not comfortable around him. It’s like I am not my real self. Don’t you notice how he scolded me that day?”
“But he scolded you for a reason, Eva; he was worried for you. You know how restless he was until you reach home safely."
Eva didn’t reply as she understood Steve will always support his brother only
Although he was saying the right thing, she doesn’t prefer anyone except her dad, who could scold her
Steve understood her unsaid words, so he diverted the topic
"And you don’t have to worry about the challenge after all; you are the one who will decide which is the best gift and declare the winner."
Eva‘s eyes twinkled at his remark, as she didn’t focus on this aspect. So she just hugged Steve
“Thank you, dear, thank you so much. Now it’s easy.
“What do you mean? What is easy?”
“Oh, see, I am the judge for this challenge, so I will decide the winner, and guess what? I will declare winner any of you except Stephen, so now there is no problem.
Steve’s eyes got wide on her statement. He just wished that anyhow Stephen should win this challenge. Still, he smiled to Eva and started for the dining room along with her.
In the dining room
Stephen was busy on the phone making some arrangements for the party, whereas rose was reminding the designer of Eva’s dress
Wiliam was making a guest list of some family friends. They already invited only some important guests for the party.
Michael was noticing this all; he was lost for words looking at the affection of this family towards Eva. His daughter is really lucky to have these caring people in her life
Eva entered the room giggling with Steve, who was also laughing with her. Everyone present in the dining room smiled at them and was pleased to see her glowing
Stephen also glanced at Eva, and a smile crept on his lips, looking at Eva, who was receiving birthday wishes from his family. He noticed how lovely she was looking in that sundress. Her natural beauty did not need any beauty products. She was naturally beautiful inside and out.
Suddenly Stephen felt someone’s gaze on him.
He looked in the direction and found Michael, who was gazing at him more like examining him.
For a second Stephen got nervous, but he just gave a smile at him, to which Michael chuckled.
His action made Stephen more confused. So he again got focused on his left over work
Soon the breakfast was served, and as expected, Rose ordered the chef’s making Eva’s favorite dishes. Eva gave a grateful look to Rose and started relishing her food.
After having breakfast, Rose took Eva to the boutique to try on her dress once. Michael offered his card for Eva’s dress, but one hard look from Rose and he kept the card in his pocket.
As Rose left the mall along with Eva, William called the lawyer that was going to handle Eva’s property matters.
Today Eva became the rightful owner of 55% shares of Hudson's group of companies.
Her grandfather made this will, and only Richard and Lisa knew about it, but now Liam, Harry, and even Eva will know about it.
Stephen knew the lawyer, so he was curious to know about the reason behind his visit. Steve was also looking at the scene in surprise
The lawyer greeted William and Richard and passed the file to Michael and asked him to get Eva’s signature on those papers. Michael assured him he would get it done.
Soon the lawyer left the Smith mansion, whereas Michael left for his room to keep the papers safely. As Michael left the living room, Stephen couldn’t hold his anxiety and asked William,
“What is going on? Why was this lawyer here, and what papers was he talking about?”
“You will know later for now. Focus on the party."
Stephen asked nothing more and got back to his work, as does Steve
Soon the evening arrived, and Eva got ready in a beautiful designer dress. Kathey was helping her get ready. Rose wanted to appoint a beautician, but Eva, as usual, denied it. So rose asked kathey to help Eva
While Eva was fixing her heels, she heard a knock and muttered a small "come in.".
Soon Michael entered the room, and Kathey left the room as she already done her job
Michael looked with admiration to his beautiful daughter as he gently kissed her forehead.
"This is for you. This is a very special piece of jewelry for me, as it belongs to your mother.”
Michael transferred the petite box to her, and Eva grasped it with trembling hands. She opened it and found two precious diamond studs inside the box .
Tears brimmed in Eva’s eyes as she recalled it was the only jewelry that her mother used to wear daily. Her mother was just like her—not much fond of clothing or jewelry.
Michael took her in a hug. “You are the most precious gift for us, Eva. Today I want you to know some facts about your mother. I hope you will understand why we...”
Before he could complete, Rose entered the room and announced, “Oh my sweet girl, you are looking so pretty in this. Now come on. We have to rush to the lawn as the guests have already started arriving and William is waiting for us.
Eva looked at Michael, who gave a nod at her, and then they left for the lawn.
The moment Eva reached the lawn, her mouth agape as she was looking at the extravagant decoration for the birthday party.
Michael was also looking at the same scene. He was feeling guilty as if Eva would have always celebrated her birthday like this, only if they had not taken some decisions in the past, but as parents they did what they thought was right for her.
“So do you like it? “ Steve asked Eva, and in return she gave a warm smile at him
“I loved it. “
“So come on, let’s begin the fun."
So first it was a cake-cutting ceremony. Eva got astonished by looking at the big three-tier cake
Rose forwarded her the knife, Eva cut the cake and all the people present at the party sang a birthday song for her
Eva fed the first piece of cake to her dad and then to Rose and William. Michael, Steve William, and Rose also fed her a piece of cake.
The guests started gifting her presents and Eva was hesitant to accept this first but rose blinked her eyes to assure her so she accepted all the presents with a smile
Rose also forwarded a gift to her, and so did William.
Eva opened the gift given by Rose and found a beautiful ruby and diamond jewelry set
And William gifted her a set of expensive watches with some perfumes
Eva thanked them first. She was going to deny these gifts as it were too expensive, but Rose uttered
“Don’t you dare to refuse it, and we know you will like our gifts the most."
“Yes, you know we cannot wait to relish a delightful handmade cuisine from you."
Eva giggled at William’s words and stated in a soft tone
"Well, it doesn’t matter if you win or not, as soon I am going to cook the best cuisine for you both
So don’t worry about the challenge."
Steve also forwarded a box towards her and it was a diamond bracelet. Eva gave a smile at him
"So tell me when we are going on a dinner date. I hope you will say, Don’t worry, Steve; it matters whoever wins the challenge. I will go to dinner with you only.
Steve mimicked her words in her tone and style
Eva smacked on his arms
Jacey also entered the party, spotting her. Eva was very pleased. Jacey passed a small gift to her and took Eva in a hug. Eva introduced Jacey to the Smith family and her dad.
Richard arrived on the lawn with an envelope, ready to wish Eva and present his gift to her. It amazed her at the fact that all of them are too serious about the challenge
Eva opened the envelope as Richard was waiting for her response, noticing the picture inside her jaw dropped as it was the picture of the most expensive cooking range and also the baking kit
Eva glanced at Richard, who was looking excited to know her reaction
“It’s very thoughtful of you, but sorry...”
Rose interfered in between to look at the picture. "Don't deny it, dear Richard. I am really impressed by your gift. I think she will like this gift the most.
Wiliam also glanced at the gift, whereas Steve didn’t show any interest as he was waiting for Stephen’s gift. But he didn’t spot Stephen from the evening
“Mom, Stephen is still left. Eva, you will decide the winner only after receiving his gift. “
“Fair enough, but what will you expect from him? He is such a cold-hearted man; he even smiles at anyone, like he is doing a favor to him. So I think it’s...”
Before Richard could complete the sentence,
Stephen's impersonal voice was heard from behind
“Thank you for your kind words , Richard
Stephen reached for Eva and passed her a beautiful bouquet of roses towards Eva
“Happy birthday,”
“Thank you."
Richard chuckled beside him, “See how right I am; he just got this bouquet for you."
“This is not the gift; my gift is there on the dance floor."
All heads turned towards the dance floor and when Eva saw her three friends who were standing on the dance floor, waving at her,
An outcry escaped from her mouth. She didn’t hold any more and rushed towards them. She almost lunged upon Joey, Sara, and Madison. They shared a group hug, and they laughed; they cried in joy.
Stephen had a winning smile on his face
.