With a big smile on her face, she sauntered closer. “Hey everyone! Sorry, got stuck with something.”

Yellow sundress, high stilettos, shoulder length straight blonde hair, blue eyes, and perfect makeup. As stunning and sophisticated as ever.

“Hey, little sis!” Lightly kissing my cheeks, she sat next to me. “Look at you, you’ve grown more beautiful than the last time I remember.”

My lips turned up in a tight smile. “Thanks. How are you?”

“Oh, I’ve been good! More than just good, actually,” she chirped, her skin glowing under the light.

When her gaze landed on Warner, she recognized him immediately. Though I wasn’t in touch with her much, Tobias kept updating her about me on a regular basis. Even though she wasn’t interested.

After we were finished with our dinner, dessert was served.

“So, Em? You heard about the party tomorrow night?” Tess asked.

Mom tensed at the mention of the party. I raised my brows.

“What party?”

“They didn’t tell you? The party at Valencian house.” Now it was my turn to tense, where her eyes shone with excitement. “A party will be thrown at the celebration of Valencian Corp’s coming on Forbes business magazine. They’re ruling the country’s business world now. Isn’t it cool?”

Tobias cast a concerned glance. So did Mom. At Tess’s question, I just nodded.

“Yeah, that boy has worked hard for it. After his father, he handled their whole business single-handedly,” Dad said, his eyes held proud.

“Why not? After all, he is my best friend,” Tess said.

Flashes of that night floated in my mind. My hand curled around the glass.

“And, another thing! At this party, I’m going to announce something really important before the whole world. So, you all must attend.”

As I was about to open my mouth to say no, Mom gasped. “Is that a ring on your finger, Tess?”

Another smile stretched across her lips as she shyly raised her hand for everyone to see. A golden ring with tiny diamonds on it glittered under the light. “H-he proposed to me last night. And tomorrow, we’re going to announce our official engagement date.”

Everyone was stunned. Something churned in my stomach.

“When did this happen? I thought you guys weren’t serious,” Mom queried.

“I know. We were on and off. There were some issues between us. Especially with him, you know, after what happened to his family? But he finally got the balls and proposed to me last night! I can’t explain how happy I am.” Her eyes shone with happy tears.

And then my gaze fell on the letter that was engraved on her ring.

“What’s the ‘V’ stand for, Tess?” The grip of my hand tightened around the glass.

She followed my stare. “Oh, it’s for ‘Valencian.’ Isn’t it beautiful?”

TWO: STORMY GRAY EYES

A knock landed on the door. “You ready, honey? Your dad is waiting downstairs.”