“Where did you get the dress, Ann? It is so nice.” Belle complimented as she touched the fabric.
“Oh, Jennifer had it made for me.” Anna replied with a smile.
“Uh Uh… It looks expensive,” Belle chirped in.
“Oh, it sure is expensive.” Jennifer smacked proudly.
The ladies were still chitchatting when Jenny’s phone began to ring, she checked the caller ID and blushed, quickly covering it with a smile.
Jennifer quickly rejected the call as she looked up back to her friends, she caught them staring at her with suspicious eyes.
“Ooommm…” Belle cooed. “What is the new guy’s name?” she asked teasingly
“What guy? I don’t know what you are talking about.” Jennifer denied, her cheeks getting redder with each passing second.
“Oh come on, since when are you shy about these things, spill it already.” The Cruz twins urged.
“His name is Marshall and he is standing right at the door.” Anna suddenly announced.
Jennifer’s jaws dropped. “It is a lie,” she muttered to herself as she quickly turned around to the door.
Jennifer was shocked when she saw that 6 foot 4, hunk of a man standing at the entrance, with a bunch of flowers in his hands.
“No way…” she muttered to herself. How was this possible? She had not been specific when she told him she was going for a party, how did he find his way here?
Marshall walked up to them while Jennifer was still dumbfounded. She had planned a lot of surprises tonight but she didn’t plan on getting surprised.
“Hi ladies,” he said with a sweet smile.
“Hi Handsome,” the Cruz twins echoed, admiration on their faces.
“Hey,” Marshall said softly to Jennifer, bringing back her attention. “I wasn’t sure if you are a flower kind of girl, but I can change it if…”
“Thank you,” she cut him short. “I will have it.” She added as she took the flowers off him. There was still that look of curiosity in her eyes, she was tempted to ask him how he knew she was here.
“I know what you are thinking,” Anna giggled as she stepped forward. “After you told me about Marshall, I found his contact details and sent him an invitation. It didn’t take much convincing since you already informed him that you were coming for a friend’s party. Thanks for not lying, you made my job easier.” She stated.
“Awwnn, when were you ladies going to let us in on the latest romance saga? I thought we shared everything?” Belle whined.
Jennifer laughed. “Please excuse us,” she said to the ladies as she took Marshall’s hand and they distanced themselves from the others.
“Alright Ann, spill! Where do you ladies find all these tall handsome looking muscular guys? You forgot our girl code, we share everything. I want me some tall responsible looking guy too.” Bella whined.
The ladies laughed over it as they began gossiping Jenny, making ridiculous comments about how flabbergasted she looked when she saw him.
**
“Hey, just the Forbes I was hoping to find.” Maxwell said as he approached his sister. “Is that a beer?” he asked suddenly as his eyes met the can beer with her.
Abigail hid it behind her immediately as she turned to face him, he had taken her by surprise. “No…” she lied immediately.
“Are you even old enough to have that?” Maxwell asked with furrowed eyebrows.
“Hey, I just turned eighteen, I am not a kid anymore, I need everyone to stop treating me as one.” She whined.
“Relax Abigail, I am not going to report you to the alcohol police or something.” Maxwell joked.
“Thank you big bro.” Abigail replied, making a puppy face.
“Yeah, back to why I am here. I was thinking, Aby… Have you registered for Uni?”
Abigail shook her head in the negative. “No, not yet… Why?”
“Oh, I was wondering if you would like to come stay over here in New York with us, I mean me.” He quickly corrected his words. “You know, we could have you enrolled here if you like.” Maxwell offered.
“Really?” Abigail asked with wide eyes. “Can I really stay with you?”
“Sure. Of course, if you’d like.”
“Wow! I would love to, I promise I won't be trouble, please let me stay.” She voiced out excitedly.
“Okay, I am glad you like the idea, I could do with a few more Forbes in this house.” Maxwell laughed. “I will speak to Peter and Mom, we will arrange for you to come over as soon as possible.”
“I will be looking forward to that, thanks a lot Big bro.”
Maxwell was happy to hear that title, this was a part of his life that had been missing for over a decade, and he never felt more alive than right now. As he turned to leave, he paused and looked back at her.
“Also, one more thing… drink responsibly.” He winked at her, she smiled and nodded.
** **
Talk and laughter filled the air like a glass of fizzy soda that's been overfilled. Anna's birthday party was going strong, with lots of bright decorations, tasty food, and happy faces of family and friends. Shortly after, the MC hit the microphone to silence the room and call their attention.
"Alright, folks, time for the main event!" he said loudly. "Let's gather around that magnificent cake and shower Anna with birthday wishes!"
Cheers broke out as guests rushed forward, including Anna's family, friends, and coworkers of Maxwell. Anna and Maxwell stood with their hands together in front of the beautiful vanilla frosting cake with sparkling candles that reflected the room's warm glow.
Annabel closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and said a quiet prayer. That wish wasn't for anything big; it was just for more times like this, with Maxwell by her side, full of love and laughter. When she opened her eyes and blew out the candles all at once, there were cheers and clapping.
People passed around the cake knife, which had a pink bow on it. Anna took it slowly and felt a warmth go through her. And it felt...perfect. When the previous year of her life began, it was not looking good at all, she was jobless with a lot of debts, a shattered relationship, but things were different today. She looked at Maxwell with a shy smile as she dipped the knife into the cake. For a moment, their eyes met.
He whispered, "Ready?" while his voice had a hint of worry in it.
Anna smiled back at him and nodded. They both put the knife into the cake at the same time, which earned an uproar of excitement from the crowd, especially the ladies.
Anna’s friends squealed "Happy birthday, Anna!" and hugged her tight. In the air, the smell of vanilla frosting and perfume mixed, making a sweet and strong mix.
As soon as everyone stopped cutting the cake, the music changed to a slow, love song. Maxwell, always the gentleman, walked up to Anna and offered his hand, his eyes full of hope.
He asked, "May I have this dance, birthday girl?" His voice was barely above a whisper.
Anna's cheeks turned a soft pink color. She said, "Of course," and put her hand in his. He led her to the dance floor and put a warm, comforting hand on her back.
As they moved to the music, there was a nice quietness between them. But it wasn't an awkward silence. Instead, it was a comfortable place full of feelings that weren't said.
She finally spoke in a soft voice, "Thanks, this is a great party."
Maxwell made a face. "Thank you for letting me do this, seeing you happy is all the appreciation that I need.”
When they looked at each other again, the world seemed to fade away for a moment. The music and the love in their hearts made them forget about everything else.
Someone with a dark scowl stood across the dance floor and watched them. It was Linda. As her jealousy bit her, her neatly groomed nails dug into her hand. Just seeing Anna and Maxwell having fun together made her so mad, she was going to split them so far apart that they will never get back together.
Other couples danced on the floor as well, joining the celebrant and her unofficial boyfriend. Anna's best friend Jennifer danced with Marshall, and the room was filled with laughter.
The Cruz twins, who look and act exactly the same, danced by themselves in a corner. But they weren't paying attention to their own moves. They laughed and pointed at the happy couples with big smiles on their faces, making up stories about love and romance in their heads.
“Anna, there is something else I need to do tonight, but I am nervous. I don’t know if I should first discuss it with you or just get it done.” Maxwell muttered as they danced softly.
Anna’s heart began to race, she had no idea what this could be and it scared her. “I trust you, Max. You wouldn’t purposely do anything to hurt me, so do what your heart tells you.” She said to him.
The music came to a slow stop, the dance was over. “I need to get something, I will be back.” He smiled at her as he turned to leave.
Just then he was approached by a waiter who gave him a glass of champagne. “Sir, for you.”
“Thank you,” Maxwell said with a smile, he was too excited to think twice before quenching his thirst with the drink, and then he hurried upstairs to his room.
Anna on the other hand needed to use the bathroom, so she also climbed the stairs but headed for the guest toilet to avoid bumping into Maxwell alone, she was so in the mood that she wouldn’t hesitate to jump on him if they were left alone. She needed to save the energy for tonight.
Maxwell returned shortly after and he couldn’t find Anna anywhere, he was feeling a bit dizzy from going up and down the stairs. A servant walked up to him immediately, it was the same servant that had served him a drink a while back.
“Sir… the Missus had asked to see you, she said she would be waiting in the last room on the third floor, the one right by the balcony.” He announced.
“Anna?” Maxwell muttered, his eyebrows creased in confusion.
“Yes Sir. she said to come alone.” The servant replied.
Mr. Blackwood smiled. “Alright, thank you.” He said quickly as he headed back up the stairs.
MB was curious and confused. What was Anna up to? And why would she pick that room? No one goes to that room, although furnished, he had given instructions to have it locked away for months now, due to the memories that room held.
As he got to the hallway, the place was quiet like a graveyard. “Anna,” he called softly but only the echo of his voice came as a response.
He got to the room and pushed the door open, he first took a peek in but he couldn’t find anything suspicious. He walked in and looked around, there was no one in the room.
“Annabel, this isn’t funny. Come on now, you shouldn’t lure a man down here to do bad things, what are your parents going to think?” he joked.
Yet there was no response, Mr. Blackwood went to check the bathroom but there was no one there either. As he returned to the bedroom, he realized that the door had been locked from outside, he checked around the room but Anna was not there.
“Anna, stop it already, we need to get back there, let's save the fun for later tonight.” He begged.
Maxwell tried to open the door but he couldn’t, so he just gave up and went to sit on the bed. He was very tired already and felt like he would pass out anytime.
“Fine then, honey. Lets have it your way,” He smiled as he laid his head down. He couldn’t wait to know what she had planned, but he felt this wouldn’t end well.
TBC!!