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.

large bouquet of red roses. His handsome face was soft, and he wore a

birthday," Bernard said, handing her the

think that I

did it

emotion as she rushed forward and hugged him

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

enough. Can you

back to reality and released Bernard, only then noticing that the Everetts surrounded

the living room had been

"Hera, happy birthday."

wheeled in a delicate cake tower from the kitchen that had 18 candles on the

"Happy birthday to you..."

led the singing and placed a birthday crown

as Hera looked at everyone, melting her heart. It was only then that she realized they had done it on purpose. They had pretended to ignore her, only to

together, Hera made

"Here's your birthday present."

to hand her a gift

James each presented her with a share certificate. Both certificates were for 10% of their respective companies'

Jedburgh next year, this is for you. This apartment might be small, but it's better