Chapter 32 And the Winner is
Eva shed tears of joy as she embraced her three friends, who have always been her pillars of support. She expressed her joy through a combination of squeals, tears, and smiles upon reuniting with her friends after a significant period.
While it may have only been a few months for others, for those four individuals, it felt like an eternity. Until now, Eva has always remained in their company, but these trying circumstances have changed that.
“When? How are you all here?”
“Mr. Stephen Smith has invited all of us to your birthday party.”
“ Hmmm Stephen."
“Yes... come on, let’s dance."
"No. First, you have to meet others too."
"Hmm, ok."
Eva stepped down from the dance floor along with her friends and reached near Rose and William. All three greeted the couple politely. They all met Michael too
Then Eva went to Steve
“Steve, this is Sara, Madison, and Joey.”
“Friends... yes, I guess I already met them once."
“Hmm when?”
“On that video chat,”
"Hi, I am... “ Steve started his introduction but got interrupted
“Steve Smith, you have a passion for trekking and exploring alternative destinations. Your favorite color is blue, and you proudly serve as the brand ambassador for *** perfumes.”
.
Steve’s eyes got wide in surprise. “woah girls! I am impressed you know me very well."
“Yes, but that’s not all. We all know all about your flings, but we can discuss it later. “
Madison muttered sheepishly, whereas Joey was still holding his hand, which he forwarded for a handshake.
Sara nudged Eva, who looked at their side and Sara signaled with eyes towards their hands
“Steve, excuse us; we will see you around. “
“Yeah ok” steve also tried to pull his hand from joey’s grip but no use
“Joey, shall we leave? “ Sara told Joey
"Yeah, “joey answers in a dreamy state, still holding Steve’s hand
“ Joey, ‘’ Eva shouted a little to bring her out of her trance. Steve chuckled, looking at Joey’s actions, whereas Sara started pulling her hand so that Joey could leave his hand. Joey glared at Sara, but in return she earned a glare from Eva, so she pouted and left his hand
Eva pulled Joey and started walking towards Richard, who had already witnessed the affection of girls towards Steve
“Girls, you all know him and Richard. They are my friends. Meet Sara, Madison and Joey.”
“Hello “
“Hi “. The three girls greeting him warmly.
“Well, I must admit that you three are quite the opposite of Eva,” a nature “
Eva gleamed at his comment. After a formal chitchat, Eva left for the dance floor to enjoy with her friends. She introduced Jacey to them too.
Stephen kept a smiling face throughout the party. Michael was noticing him as Stephen’s eyes never left the sight of Eva
Stephen. already impressed Michael with the way he asked for his help in convincing the families of Sara, Joey, and Madison.
Stephen did their traveling arrangements and made sure that the girls should be comfortable in the hotel, which he arranged for them.
All of this must have required a significant amount of money. Michael was more in love with the fact that he did all this for Eva’s happiness. And all his efforts paid off, as they all could see how happy Eva was to meet her friends
Now he was more than convinced that Stephen was the perfect man for his princess, who will cherish her all his life and take care of her.
“When will you introduce us to him?”
“Him! who?’”
"Stephen, he is the one who arranged this lovely surprise for you."
“Hmm well! I don’t think he will be interested in meeting and he already knew you right, so it’s no more needed.”
“No, we haven’t met him yet. It was his manager who was escorting us right from the moment we landed here.
And tell me one thing: How Come you changed so much, Eva, I mean, don’t you realize, he will feel bad that you introduced us to all other family members but not the only person who is the reason for our presence here. “
“Ok fine! got it now. Come, let’s meet him."
Stephen, who was observing their actions, understood that he must be the reason for their argument.
With slow steps, Eva reached near Stephen.
“Stephen, they are my friends joey, Madison and Sara."
Stephen gave a curt nod to them, as his smile was only a reserve feature for Eva.
“Hi, we are big, big fans of you, sir. Can you please tell me how you look so hot every time, no matter what you wear or not wear.?
“Is there any secret to your good looks?
Joey started again. Stephen looks at the girls in astonishment.
Whereas Eva felt embarrassed by her friend’s behavior; she knew what kind of man Stephen is, so she was expecting some harsh come back frombut Eva got shocked when a smile appeared on Stephen’s face
So were her friends; they all blinked their eyes to believe that. Stephen smith the hot breed of man's species, is smiling to them
“Wow! You have a killer smile!”
Stephen chuckled at Sara’s remark before he could say something. Eva excused herself and dragged her friends towards the dance floor. Soon they all started enjoying on the dance floor
The Smith family, along with Richard and Michael, were admiring as well as sometimes laughing at the weird dance steps of the girls. Steve wanted to join the floor, but a hard look from Stephen halted his actions. After sometime many guests evacuated the lawn, and it was only the familysome time,
The dinner had already started, and Eva complimented Richard for his delicious party food; he accepted it with a smile
While dinner time rose, she asked Eva about her decision
Eva hesitated first, but then she started in a soft tone
“Well, first, thank you to all of you for these precious gifts. They are precious not because of their price but because of the efforts that you all put into selecting every gift for me. And I love them all but I have to decide the best one among them
So it’s Stephen’s gift, as he made my birthday more special by inviting my three lifelines here
Thank you so much, Stephen .“
Stephen gave a nod at her; his face lit up as Eva declared him the winner, and he had a proud smile on his face. Stephen wasn't even as delighted as if he had cracked a million-dollar deal.
Everybody cheered for Stephen and congratulated him.
Steve teased him. “So tell me when and where I should book a table for dinner.”
Stephen glared at Steve, whereas Eva also shot daggers at Steve for bringing up this dinner date topic.
"Well, leave this decision on Stephen, as he is a very busy man, so he will decide when and where. And I think Eva will be fine with it." Michael interferes. Stephen and Eva both gave a nod in agreement
“Eva, I think we should also leave for the hotel.” Sara suggested, as it was getting late at night now.
Listening to their departure Eva was upset; Stephen already knew this was coming. So he suggested
“There is no need to stay in a hotel anymore. You all can stay at our home. Mom ask kathey to prepare the other guest room too, “Stephen stated in a decisive tone
“Really!!! Thank you so much, Mr. Stephen; you are so thoughtful. And no need for another room.as we friends love to stay together in a room. You know, actually, we friends have a lot to catch up on. Madison appreciated Stephen’s effort
“My pleasure and thank you for this compliment, as my dear friend assumed I was a coldhearted man, just some minutes before."
Richard choked on his food and glared at Stephen, on which Stephen raised an eyebrow
After they completed the dinner, Rose told Eva to show her room to her friends.
Soon, Eva and her friends left for their room, bidding goodnight to everyone
Richard also left for his home. Stephen and Steve were busy ordering his staff to wind up the party
Michael was in deep thought. William and Rose knew what he was actually worried about
"Now, I know you want to discuss Hudson with her now, but she is too happy and busy with her friends. So I suggest you can wait till they leave."
“Hmm, that’s what I was thinking. By the way, when are they leaving?” Michael replied
“Tomorrow night, don’t worry. After they leave, you will have plenty of time to talk with her, “William answered
"Yes, you’re right, William; today is her day. I don’t want to spoil her happiness by talking about some harsh realities of our life.
On the other hand, Eva reached her room along with her girl gang. After getting changed into their nightdresses, they all sat in the bed talking about their days without Eva in the town. Eva was also telling them how much she missed them here.
Suddenly, Joey remembered something. She opened one of their tote bags and took out a small gift. She passed the small packet to Eva
Eva looked at the bag in surprise, so joey and Madison signaled Sara to tell her about this
“This is your birthday gift from our side; actually, we wanted to give it to you today at the party, but when we saw this kind of lavish party occupied with high-status people, Who were passing you all the precious gifts, so we thought..’”
Eva waited a little and started opening the gift. It was a small purse with some clips and hair bands inside that bag. She started trying the clip and gave a full-blown smile to her friends
“I loved it, thank you very much, and are you mad to think like that? We relate those guests to the Smith family, not me? I also don’t belong here.
I am still your old Eva only, and you know the best part. I am returning home soon.”
“What? Really? But how? I mean, you are attending some classes here, right? Are they ”
“No, the classes are still not over, but I don’t want to stay here after that news."
“News? ooh! Right news? So are you dating Stephen? You broke many hearts, girl but you are our friend so no hard feelings and he is the best man for you. ‘
“Congratulations, dear; whenever you both marry, I’m telling you, Eva, we will be your “.
“How long have you two been dating?”
“Did he propose to you? Some romantic proposal, right.”
Their continuous questions irritated Eva so she shouted in high pitch
"Shut up!! Marriage with Stephen!! no way. and the news, it’s nothing like that. It’s all rumors
Wait, I will tell you the entire story. “Eva narrated what happened that day and also about the teasing in class. In between, she mentioned Harry’s help, too.
“Oh no! That bitches teased you. You just make us meet them once, then we will pull their hair.” “
"Yupp, same, but who is this Harry? Is he handsome, rich and Single.? “
“Of course he must be all this, as she never introduced him to us at the party,” Joey complained
“No, he was not present at the party.”
“Ooh, ok, we got it. Guys, did you notice one crucial fact in all this? “ Madison asked
"Hmm, what???” Sara asked in surprise
“Stephen Smith is single and maybe we had a chance, “Madison commented in excitement
Eva held her head with her palm while the other three giggled and squealed together
Eva threw a cushion at them, and the pillow fight started. All the time they were giggling, squealing, and jumping on each other.
At the same moment, the Smith brothers reached the first floor, and they heard the loud voices of the girls when they were discussing Stephen’s single status.
Steve chuckled and said, “They are having lots of fun. Let’s join them
“No,Stephen declined in a harsh tone.
"Ok, but at least let me notify them that Stephen Smith is no longer single. He is madly deeply in love with their dear friend .“
“Shut up, you asshole.“
.
Stephen grabbed Steve by his collar and dragged him towards his room
But Steve didn’t stop teasing him. “So tell me, where are you planning the date? Hmm “
“None of your business," Stephen again scolded him, to which Steve just snickered.