Chapter 153 Surprise!

Chapter 153 Surprise!
Chapter 155

Eileen POV

Emily barely even pulled up her Royce before I pushed the door open, her hands held my shoulders still.

I spared her a glance. 

"Emily, what happened?" I asked, my voice still filled with worry. "You said something urgent happened at home. Is Dad okay?"

Emily glanced at me before pulling out her phone.

"Just go inside for me, Eileen. I need to make a quick call."

I frowned.

"What kind of call? You can't just tell me something urgent happened and then ask me to go inside without explaining anything."

She smiled, but there was something strange about the way she was trying to hide it.

"Just go inside. I'll be there in a minute."

I stared at her for a few seconds.

"Emily..."

"Go."

I sighed and reluctantly turned toward the door.

I still couldn't understand what was happening. First, she had rushed to my school and told me something urgent had happened at home. Now she stood outside, making a phone call and refusing to tell me anything.

Something must have happened.

I pushed the door open and stepped inside.

The moment I entered, I noticed how unusually quiet the house was.

It was completely dark.

I stopped."Dad?"

No response.

I took another step inside."Hello?"

Still nothing.

My fingers tightened around the strap of my bag as I looked around the dark living room.

"Is anyone here?"

I could hear my own heartbeat.

I slowly moved forward, trying to make out anything in the darkness. The entire place felt strangely empty, and for a moment, I wondered if something had happened to my father.

"Dad?"

Suddenly, the lights came on.

"Surprise!"

I froze.

My mouth fell open as I stared at the room.

For several seconds, I couldn't even understand what I was looking at.

The entire living room had been transformed.

Balloons filled the room, flowers were beautifully arranged, and several decorated boxes sat on the tables. There were money bouquets, gift packages, and other beautifully wrapped presents scattered around the room.

I looked from one person to another, completely confused.

Anna was standing somewhere in the corner with her phone raised, already streaming everything.

"What..." I muttered.

Everyone laughed."Surprise, Eileen!"

I blinked rapidly."What's going on?"

Emily finally walked inside, a huge smile spreading across her face.

"It's for you."

I stared at her."For me?"

"Yes, silly girl."

I looked around again.

All of this? For me?

My eyes moved toward the money bouquets, the flowers and the beautifully wrapped gifts, and I felt something tighten in my chest.

I didn't know what to say.

"But why?"

My father walked toward me with a smile.

"Because you're our daughter."

I swallowed hard.

He placed his hand on my shoulder.

"And sometimes, we need to remind you how much you mean to us."

My lips parted, but no words came out.

Anna suddenly laughed from behind her phone.

"Look at her face! She's completely shocked."

"Stop recording me!" I protested, although a small smile had already found its way onto my face.

"No way," Anna replied. "Everyone needs to see this."

Emily walked closer and pulled me into a hug."You deserve this, Eileen."

I stood there in her arms, still trying to process everything.

Just yesterday, I had been convinced they were hiding something from me. I had believed their sudden kindness was all part of some plan to get me on that trip.

Now I was standing in the middle of a room filled with decorations and gifts, while my family celebrated me.

Maybe I had been wrong.

Maybe they really did want to make me feel special.

I smiled as everyone gathered around me, but my eyes unconsciously dropped to my phone.

Ryan.

My smile slowly faded.

Everyone was celebrating me, but I couldn't stop wondering where he was.

I hadn't heard from him.

I didn't know whether he was okay.

And despite the beautiful room surrounding me, my heart still felt unsettled.

Emily urged Anna to escort me to her room and get me dressed before the proper filming would begin.

Anna didn’t even allow Emily to finish her words before she dragged me to Emily’s room.

The door softly creaked behind us and she tried to lead me towards the bed when I recoiled.

She looked back at me with her eyes rolled. 

I had my hands crossed and then asked. “Are you happy?” 

She had her brows creased and nose crinkled.

“Pardon?” 

I swallowed, not even giving myself time to process everything, to weigh my words.

I was having social anxiety.

“Like are you happy Emily and Dad threw me a party?” I asked, ignoring the voices in my head that were begging me to speak calmly.

She gave a brief smile and her lips tightened.

“Can we just focus on getting you dressed, Eileen?” She tried to ignore my questions.

“I just needed to know you’re happy about this party for me before I c…” 

The door pushed open from behind and my words stopped in my throat.

Anna threw a snicker in my way then Emily’s voice rang in the air.

“What’s happening?” She asked, and moved forward to the center where I could have a proper view of her. “Anna, I told you to dress your sister up for the party? Why are you delaying?”

Anna frowned with veins popping on her forehead before forcing out that smile.

“She wouldn’t want to come near,” 

“She wouldn’t?” Emily repeated 

A pause then a faint sigh from Anna. “Fine. Eileen, my mother and I went shopping to get you this dress. What do you think about it?” She asked, spreading out a light pink flared strapless gown.

“Beautiful, but I don’t think it will fit me,” The words came out cold, maybe because I was still shocked, but I never meant to be rude.

“Just beautiful?” She frowned. “You have no idea the sacrifice I made before we chose these clothes,” Anna paused, “I ended up not going to school because I needed to follow Mum to choose your kind of dress,”

“My kind of dress?” I asked.

“Yes, dress that fits your taste,” Her tone was condescending and so was her look. 

“Is it that obvious I would choose a potato sack dress?”