Chapter 66 Birthday speech
Ryan, Riley and Rowan were dressed in neatly tailored and fitted black tuxedo shirts and pants. Their hairs were styled to fit their faces perfectly.
They had elegant wrist watches and belts on. Their shoes sparkled, just like their hearts when they watched their father talk so sweetly to Aurora.
Aurora on the other hand wore a long blue ribbed dress, which had a lace at the back. She tied the lace so tightly, revealing her super-snatched waist. She wore white heels and carried a white bag to match.
Arthur, on the other hand, wore the exact same outfits as the boys.
They all headed to the living room which was gradually beginning to fill up with people they had invited. Most of them were friends and parents from the boys’ school.
Derick and Carter arrived after Derick and Aurora started saying Hi to their guests.
“Woah. Who would have thought the party would be this big?!” Carter exclaimed, while Derick chuckled.
“It’s in Arthur’s house. Of course, it’s going to be big.” Derick answered. He and Carter were also in suits, and in Derick’s hand was a portable designer bag where he kept the gifts he had prepared for the celebrants.
“Carter!” Aurora called excitedly as soon as she saw him.
“Hey, beautiful.” Carter answered, opening his arms as they approached each other. With a chuckle, Aurora embraced him tightly.
“I missed you so much! You left that day and didn’t bother reaching out to me!” Aurora uttered, faking a frown.
“Oh, baby girl. I’m so sorry, but Derick said we should take some days off our phone. Please forgive me.” Carter uttered remorsefully.
“Oh don’t bother. I understand. And that is why I didn’t bother reaching out either. I didn’t want to be a bother.” Aurora answered, letting out a hearty grin.
“You did it.” Arthur answered with a grin as he hugged Derick.
“Told you I was going to have him no matter what. And here we are, engaged and ready to get married.” Derick answered happily.
“I’m so happy for you, friend. I’m glad.” Arthur answered, and Derick smiled and looked at Aurora.
“Oou! You look so gorgeous today!” He complimented, and Aurora giggled. “Thank you, Derick. You two look amazing together too.”
“Just like you and Arthur, right?” Derick answered, hoping to see some sort of chemistry going on between them.
Arthur turned to look at Aurora with a grin, while Aurora kept her smile on, not saying a word.
“Aurora, we have a lot to catch up on! How’s Jack, the handsome?” Carter asked in excitement, and Aurora’s face lit up even more.
“He’s fine too. He should be on his way here.” Aurora answered happily.
“You invited him?” Carter asked in awe, and she nodded.
“Of course, I did!”
Derick and Arthur watched both of them talk. On Arthur's face was anger and jealousy. ‘Who the hell is Jack? And why are they referring to him as handsome?’
“Talk of the devil!” Aurora uttered out of nowhere, staring at the door. They all looked in that direction and saw him walk in with great confidence, looking very handsome.
“Oh wow. He is indeed handsome.” Derick muttered to Arthur, who shot him a deadly look immediately. “Shut up.”
Jack sighted Aurora and raised his hand, waving at her with a large smile.
“Jack.” Aurora called, walking away from them to meet him.
“Hey, who is he?” Arthur asked Carter, his eyes still glued on the so-called handsome Jack.
“He’s Aurora’s boss. She didn’t tell you about him?” Carter asked, turning to look at Arthur’s face.
“If she told me, I wouldn’t be asking you who he was, Carter.” Arthur answered with clenched jaws.
“Why do you look mad though? They may just be friends.” Derick uttered after noticing the stern look Arthur gave Jack.
“I don’t think Jack wants to be just friends though. He’s so sweet to her. She works at his restaurant but hardly makes her do anything. I strongly believe he just employed her to keep her close.” Carter further explained.
“Hmm… looks like we’ve got an enemy. Right, Arthur?!” Derick teased, hitting Arthur’s arm with his.
In anger, Arthur approached Jack and Aurora where they were having a chat. Getting to where Aurora stood, Arthur slid his hand over Aurora’s waist, drawing her closer to himself.
“Oouuuuu. He really went in!” Derick uttered with laughter.
Jack’s gaze fell on Arthur’s hand around Aurora’s waist, and he let out a faint smile. Aurora looked at Arthur in surprise, but didn’t push him away.
“Aurora, I don’t think I know this man.” Arthur uttered, and even though he had a smile on, he made it so obvious it was fake and he didn’t like him.
“Oh, right. Jack, this is Arthur. And Arthur, this is Jack, my boss.” Aurora uttered.
“Oh, he's Arthur.” Jack answered, tilting his head slightly as he stretched his hand forth. “Nice to meet you. I’ve heard so much about you.”
Hearing him say this made Arthur even more furious. He ignored his hand and looked at Aurora.
“We would be giving our speech soon. Let’s go.” He uttered, reaching for her hand and pulling her away from him.
“Talk to you later, Jack.” Aurora waved.
“I don’t like him.” Arthur muttered to Aurora, and she raised her eyebrows.
“Why? He didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I saw the way he looked at you. No one should look at you like that except me.” Arthur uttered in a final tone, leaving Aurora dumbstruck.
They got to the front of the people and their presence commanded silence to the room. Arthur picked up the microphone and began to speak.
“Good day, everyone! I want to thank you all for honoring our invitation and going out of your way to be here to celebrate my children today. We’ll never take this for granted.
“Also, I’d love to thank the beautiful woman standing next to me, their mother, for providing such beautiful and seraphic children to me. Thank you so much, beautiful.” He uttered, turning to look at Aurora.
Aurora felt her face flush and she lowered her head shyly as she could feel everyone’s gaze on her.
“We have something very little to present today, and I must confess this was highly demanded by my children. So, to my children, Ryan, Riley and Rowan…” He turned to look at them where they sat at the secluded area they prepared for them.
“I want you boys to know that I love you so much. You guys are the best thing that has ever happened to me. Since you came into my life, I’ve been fulfilled and whole. I would never ever stop loving you and I am proud to call you my children everywhere, anyday.”
After speaking, the crowd applauded and so did the boys. Aurora reached for another microphone and started her own speech.
“When I had you in my womb, I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel or react when I finally carried you in my arms. And, I never knew you were three. I had always thought I’d have one. When I laid my eyes on you three, I felt great love. A love I had never felt before. A motherly love.
“The thought of losing you was so scary. I couldn’t envision a life without you, so I ran. I ran so that you all could be mine forever. I swore I was going to take care of you until my last breath.” Tears rolled down Aurora’s eyes as she spoke, and her voice began to vibrate.
“After getting to know you three better, I realized that if I had only one of you, I wouldn’t be the happiest mother on Earth. Three of you are equally special to me, and you all have your own special characteristics which makes me love you all very much.” Her face curved up as she broke into soft tears.
Arthur moved closer to her and placed his hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her.
“I love you all so so much.”
With tears in their eyes, the boys stood up and ran to Aurora. She fell on her knees as she embraced them tightly and wept with them.
“Oh God, I never thought I’d cry here.” Carter muttered, wiping the tears under his eyes with his finger.
“Happy birthday, my babies.” Aurora mumbled, planting kisses all over them.