Happy f*cking birthday
My outburst was met with an icy silence. Mother paled. Went almost breathless.
“Father's never gonna forgive you for what you did to him. The same way I'm never gonna forgive your daughter for what she did to me. She's gonna regret it. I swear to both of you!”
I was way too enraged to mince words or try to tone it down. Mother finally got a grip and nervously cleared her throat.
“Elena, dear…” Mother tried touching me but I evaded her touch. “I didn't mean to hurt your Father. I love him so much, I wouldn't dare to hurt him. I just…”
“I don't wanna hear it.” I stopped her coldly. “Just get out of this building and never come back. Until Father wakes up. If I see you both around before then, you're gonna be sorry.”
I picked up my purse, shoving past Mother. I stopped in front of Tracy. My gaze dropped to her baby bump and I snorted in disgust.
“That child is gonna be the most miserable and heartless bastard ever born. How does it feel, knowing you're gonna be its Mother?”
She swallowed a lump. “At least he's Trent's heir. Something you never gave him.”
“Sure. Go ahead and give him multiple heirs. See if that's gonna make your miserable life any less miserable. Look at you, Tracy. You're shrinking every day. You're far from the perfection you want. And I hope you already know that your life's never gonna be perfect. Not on my watch.”
Her eyes widened at my subtle threat. I tore my gaze away from her and left the room.
I got to my car and Miguel opened the door. He didn't ask what happened and I was grateful for that. Because I wasn't ready to talk. I was still trying to keep myself from bawling my eyes out.
“Where to, Ma'am?” The driver asked.
“To see my Father.” Where else would I go?
“How about I take you for lunch, Ma'am?” Miguel asked.
It was a weird request and I hesitated. I mean, would that be alright? Me and him…?
“You look like you need a breather.” He said again, smiling a bit.
I sure did. My mood was too bad, I shouldn't go see Father like this.
I accepted his offer, and we both went to a fancy but remote restaurant.
The place had cool music, a soft ambiance, and flower-themed decorations. It had a therapeutic feeling. I couldn't help but smile.
He pulled out a seat for me and I slid in.
“Thank you.”
He took a seat and we both waited for a waitress to come over. She finally did and asked what we wanted to order.
“A bottle of champagne to celebrate. It's…her birthday.” He shot me a smile.
My jaw dropped at the memory jog. It was indeed my birthday.
What the heck?! How could I have forgotten?
The waitress smiled at me. Happy birthday Ma'am.”
“Thank you.”
She left.
“How did you know…?” I asked the same second. “I never mentioned it.”
“Uh, I did my research.”
His reply didn't ease my curiosity. But other than just curiosity, I was more grateful that he reminded me.
The wine came and he filled our glasses. We clicked both glasses.
“Happy birthday, Ma'am Elena.” He said warmly.
“Thank you.” Nostalgia hit me as memories of my previous birthdays flooded into my mind.
They were my happiest days. Vince throws me the biggest parties every year, making me the Pack's IT girl who has the most gorgeous birthday parties.
Father never fails to wow me with his incredibly expensive presents. Mother bakes my birthday cake single-handedly. Uncle Leonardo gets me tickets to an all-expenses-paid trip to any country of my choice every year.
Cheryl gets me the recent silver jewelry. Aunt Vanessa gets me a bunch of expensive dresses. Trent writes me hand letters and pays a live band to play my favorite music while we waltz to it in front of our family and friends.
Tracy stays by my side, being my right hand for the day.
I was genuinely happy. We were happy, all of us, I wanna believe we were. So how did we let those days slip away from our fingertips?
How did I go from celebrating my birthday with my loved ones to celebrating it alone? How did I go from bonding with my mother and sister on my birthday to fighting bitterly with them?
How did I get here? How did I end up so fucking alone?
“You're not gonna check them out?” Miguel asked, snapping me from my thoughts. The beep sound happened again.
I quickly took out my phone and smiled widely at the message. Cheryl.
Happy Birthday, Elena, Sunshine. So sorry I can't be with you this year. But I already paid for your jewelry. Pick them up tomorrow. Love you lots, little bitvh!
I laughed, tearfully, clicking on another message. Uncle Leonardo.
Happy Birthday, our little girl. You've grown so big. What country do you wanna visit this year? Uncle Leonardo can still make it happen.
My heart melted and danced at the messages. Until I killed my joy by realizing there was nothing from Vince.
Not a text. And certainly not a call.
I was back to feeling miserable. I dropped the phone and drank my wine silently. Tears churned my throat. It was hard holding them back. I didn't wanna admit the sad thought that had settled in my heart. But this was definitely the worst birthday of my life.
I got home, a little tipsy. Miguel let me off at the stairs and headed to his quarters. Everywhere was pitch dark and quiet. I dragged my body into my bedroom.
Chills ran down my spine as I flipped on the switch and saw Trent sitting on my bed.
He had a clouded expression and he was holding a rose bouquet.
“What are you doing here?” I asked sternly. We might live together but we certainly weren't a couple anymore. So he had no business being in my bedroom.
He didn't say a word at first. The dragged silence got me feeling a bit tense. Then he eventually looked up.
I was taken aback by the tears glistening in his eyes.
“Don't you feel sad about how we turned out?”
I didn't reply. That question was vague.
“We would have been locked in each other's arms today. We would have had our family over. We would have been laughing our heads off. Today would have been a blast. Not this miserable.”
I swallowed a lump but stayed quiet.
“Maybe I was wrong for getting involved with Tracy. But again, I didn't fall in love with her so it wasn't me who threw away what we had. It was you.”
“Really?”
He didn't answer immediately. Instead, he sucked in a harsh breath. “Fine. It was me. And I'm not ashamed to say that I regret it. I regret getting involved with her. I regret ruining what we had. I regret losing you, Elena.”
His confession was heartfelt and had me quietly bawling my eyes.
“But can you say the same?” He stood, hands in his pocket. Eyes squinted tearfully. Head tilted to the side. “Can you boldly tell me that you regret getting involved with my Father?”
I didn't reply. He took two steps forward.
“If you can say that, I'll go on my fucking knees right now and apologize for everything. I'll do it. But you gotta tell me that you regret getting involved with my Father.”
My silence dragged on longer. Maybe he thought I was considering doing it. But I wasn't. I was more awed by the fact that there wasn't any trace of me that felt guilty or regretted what I had with Vince.
There's a regret about pushing him away a lot. There's regret about not being able to fight for what we share. But there's none about getting involved with him.
It was like if I was given the chance, I'd do it again. Over and over again.
Trent finally got the message and scoffed bitterly. A tear dared to drop from his eye and he wiped it harshly.
“I see,” he whispered in a croaky voice. He stepped closer to me, watched me for seconds, and scoffed. “Happy fucking birthday, Elena.”
He swiped past me, opened the door, and left.
My heart dropped, just as I dropped to my knees. Crying but unsure why. And then it dawned on me again — I was crying over the fact that the man I loved didn't acknowledge my birthday. Something about that hurt so much. So damn much.