Under the heiress facade

Hera had seen fireworks before, but never at such a grand scale. It felt as if the entire night sky was on the verge of exploding, with the show continuing uninterrupted for a full ten minutes. "Happy birthday, Hera..." Bernard said on the other end of the line.

The fireworks were so loud that Hera couldn't hear him clearly.

"What did you say? I couldn't hear you."

As the fireworks gradually quieted, the sky, once filled with vibrant colors, darkened again, and everything fell silent.

"Open the door."

A deep, magnetic voice came through the phone.

Hera blinked. She wondered if Bernard could really be there.

She quickly turned around to open the door, but no one was there.

Her emotions, which had soared like a roller coaster, plummeted instantly. After all, it was New Year's Eve. She didn't think the Killians would possibly let him leave.

"You tricked me..."

Hera trailed off. She looked down in disappointment, only to notice two rows of red rose petals on the carpet that hadn't been there before.

The petals led from her door down the hallway to the stairs. Following the trail, she went to the living room, where at the end of the petals was a pair of white leather shoes.

bouquet of red roses. His handsome

Bernard said, handing her

you think that I

it

emotion as she rushed

one arm and buried his head in her hair, breathing in its light fragrance to fill the void of his days

you

Bernard, only then noticing that the

room had been transformed into

"Hera, happy birthday."

delicate cake tower from the kitchen that had 18

"Happy birthday to you..."

the singing and placed a birthday crown on

her heart. It was only then that she realized they had done it on purpose. They had pretended to ignore her, only to prepare this surprise

together, Hera made a wish and blew out the

"Here's your birthday present."

first to hand her

for 10% of their respective companies' shares, Sedna and

this is for you.