"Happy Birthday, Hugo!" Lilith smiled widely as she say her greetings. She glanced over to her mom and to her grandma who came with her.
"Thanks," Hugo showed them the inside of the garden.
The garden wasn't that big. It was just enough for them to fit in and do some fun activities. It was decorated with a few flowers on the side. There were a few tables in the middle with chairs surrounding them.
They got a good deal for this since Verda was friends with the owner of the place.
"Here," Lilianne handed him a box. "It's just a simple gift for your birthday."
Hugo accepted it with both of his hands. "Thank you, Mrs. Reyes."
He guided them to their seats and made sure that they were comfortable.
It was already quarter to 4 and almost all the guests had already arrived. They were just waiting for Julius, who was still not there.
"Mother, just let them join later. Our guests are already here." Hugo took a deep sigh. 'It's not like I want them here, anyway.'
But Verda was firm to say no. "Hugo, they are our special guests. We can't do that to them." she scolded Hugo before turning her back to talk to the other guests. They still have a few minutes left.
Hugo tilted his head to the side. He couldn't help but feel annoyed at his mother, who was persistent in waiting for Julius.
He had to put a fake smile on his face as he socialized with other people. He was still thankful that a lot has gone to celebrate his birthday.
"Are you just fine there, Lilith? Mrs. Reyes?" His feet unconsciously went towards their table.
Lilianne nodded and chuckled. "We are fine here, Hugo.' She answered.
"Yeah," Lilith agreed. "But can we have a cup of water? Grandma is quite thirsty." She shyly asked, knowing that it was Hugo's birthday and yet she was ordering him around.
"Oh, sure." Hugo uttered as he went to the table where all the foods were gathered at one side. It was cooked by his mother, while some were gifted by her mother's coworkers.
He took a glance of water and delivered it back to their table.
"Here," he placed the glass down.
"They're here!"
Verda's loud shout caught Hugo's attention. He looked back when he saw that almost all of their guests, standing up.
'It seems like they are here already.' he took a deep breath. He walked towards his mother, who welcomed Julius enthusiastically.
And just like what he expected, Hugo really had an army of people in his back. They were reporters and cameramen who keeps on taking pictures of what was happening.
He couldn't help but laugh silently. "He's already showing off his true colors and yet, it seems like all of them were still blind," he whispered right through the air.
"Thank you for coming, Sir."
Julius patted his back. "No. Thank you for inviting me, young man. I heard that you were studying in Lunaria Academia from your Mother. It seems like you're not just smart, but handsome as well."
His gazed turned to Verda. "Tell me Verda, does your son have a girlfriend now? I can introduce him to some of my friend's daughters." he joked around that earned a laugh from everyone.
Verda laughed as she shook her head. "That's the problem, Sir! My son is too focused on his studies," she sighed as if she was bothered by it.
'If you only know, Mother…'
"Tsk. Tsk. For a handsome man like you, that's new. But, no worries, I know that your priority is to study and get your family rich. I know it sucks to be poor!" Julius smiled widely.
A taint of mockings was laced on his voice, but because he laughed afterward, the others didn't get the gist of it. However, Hugo heard it all.
"Yeah. But I think it is better than some people who use other people to gain money." Hugo's smile became wider. "Especially those who act like they were innocent, but they were not."
Julius cleared his throat. He looked around and saw that everyone's eyes were on him. "Y-Yes," his voice quivered by Hugo's unexpected answer.
Hugo nodded. "How about you, Mr. Acre? What is your opinion about them?" he questioned hastily. His tone was filled with curiosity.
"Me?" Julius shrugged his shoulders. "I think that it is wrong. Well, we can't really do anything since that's their life."
"So, are you saying that what they are doing is good since that's their life? How about the people that will get affected?"
"Son… Let's go now. Our guests are already waiting." Verda interrupted when she saw that they were already gaining attention. She lightly pulled Hugo's shoulders.
Hugo chuckled. "Sorry for being too serious, Mr. Achre. I am just really your fan, so a talk like this is a pleasure for me." he apologized even though he was really laughing on the inside.
'Damn, his expression when I said that was so funny.'
The corners of his lips stretched out. He happily hummed as he went to the middle. Julius and his men proceeded to go inside.
They occupied a large table, while the cameramen and the reporters were all on one side. They haven't stopped taking photos and writing articles about Julius.
Julius kept on smiling all the time. He was making sure that his expression would be happy in front of the camera. After the issue, at the last birthday party that he attended, he needed to somehow clean his image.
He could still see some memes about him on the internet and he wasn't happy about it.
Julius looked at his side. "Did you bring the thing I asked you?"
"Tell the others to get it already." he ordered around.
Just like what Julius had ordered, Rome asked their men to get the boxes of vitamins inside their car.
"One more thing," Julius took a quick glance at Hugo before continuing his words. "Check out what that man is up to. I'm not happy with what he did earlier."
He clenched his fist when he remembered that he almost got embarrassed by Hugo's questions. But before that, he needed to take care of one thing first.
"Let's go Rome. It's our time to shy."
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Author's Note- I just received a contract invitation earlier! This is just an early reminder that this novel will be locked this month. I'm not sure of the date yet but I am eyeing the last week.
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