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"Happy birthday to me!" Hera exclaimed while spinning around in front of the full-length mirror. The grin on her face widening with every second, excitement oozing out of her eyes. 

She had put on the white dress she shopped for her birthday with Evelyn and couldn\'t wait to show Hunter. 

The soft chuckle she heard behind her made her tear eyes off the mirror, and Hera turned around to face Jessica Lanson. 

"Thank you, Jessica," she said, smiling at Hunter\'s housekeeper. Jessica had helped her with her hair and makeup keeping it minimal as Hera would like it. With orangey-pink lipstick on her lips, a sparkling pink blush on her cheeks and under her collarbones, Hera loved the warm makeup, especially the kohl lining her eyes. Her hair tied into a one-sided twisted ponytail. 

"You\'re always welcome, dear, and this is for you," Jessica said, handing her a small gift. 

It seemed Hera had difficulty in taming her grin because she couldn\'t stop grinning.. She opened the little gift box to reveal an oval-shaped transparent bottle of perfume, and Jessica took the fancy bottle from her hand to apply the perfume behind Hera\'s ears and a little on the inside of her wrists. The fragrance smelt of vanilla with a hint of cedarwood. 

Hera thanked her again for the gift to which the housekeeper squinted her eyes in disapproval. 

"Stop thanking me now. I\'m tired of hearing it," Jessica said, retouching the blush on Hera\'s cheeks. Hera tilted her head to look at the door when someone knocked on it. A second later, Evelyn peeked in with a broad grin on her pretty face. 

Jessica finished dolling up Hera and planted a kiss on the crown of her head, giving her the best wishes for her birthday. 

"Okay, birthday girl, here\'s your gift," Evelyn said, presenting her gift. Hera\'s intrigued eyes went wide at the small square box. Though the black, shiny object looked like a compact powder box, Hera could tell there was some expensive thing inside. Evelyn noticed how Hera was hesitating to open it. 

"Don\'t worry, Hera. It didn\'t cost me a fortune," she said, a warm, comforting smile directed at the birthday girl. "Now open it. We don\'t have all day," she said, placing her hands on her hip and playfully glaring at Hera. 

Hera gasped in pleasant surprise, her eyes wide with awe as soon as her gaze fell on the object inside the box. "It\'s beautiful, Evie," Hera said, admiring her gift. It was a silver brass elegant floral hairpin designed with purple flowers, green leaves and golden branches. "I\'m glad you liked it, Hera. Happy birthday," Evelyn said, hugging her. She air-kissed Hera\'s cheeks when they pulled away from the hug. 

Evelyn took it from her hand and pinned it to the side of her head just above her tied ponytail. Jessica nodded in approval when Evelyn turned to her, wordlessly asking if she had placed it correctly. "It\'s perfect," said the housekeeper. 

Hera looked into the mirror and loved how the floral hairpin added more charm and elegance to her simple hairstyle. She smiled at her friend through the mirror and grinned, eyes appreciating her gift. Hera couldn\'t overlook how gorgeous Evelyn looked, but she wouldn\'t stress about it today, no matter how stylish and hot Hunter\'s friends looked because it was her special day. 

It was her wedding, after all. 

\'And no matter what, the bride always looks gorgeous than every other girl on her wedding day.\'

Hera assured inwardly, comforting herself. 

She knew she was good to look, at least enough for her Hunter to love her, and that was all that mattered to her. 

"Goodness! You look like an angel, Hera," Evelyn said, hugging Hera from behind. Hera giggled shyly, patting Evelyn\'s hand clasped around her middle. "Only a veil is missing, and you would make a beautiful bride," Jessica said, catching the two girls\' attention. Hera blushed while Evelyn winked at her before laughing. 

\'Oh, if only you knew, Jessica, how accurate you are. It is my wedding!\' 

Hera thought as the heat spreading on her cheeks and neck intensified the blush. 

"For God\'s sake, stop blushing like a bride on her wedding day," Evelyn said sarcastically and bit back a smile. It wasn\'t really sarcasm, and Hera knew she was teasing her. Hera playfully glared at her friend before giving up, and they both laughed at the hidden meaning behind Evelyn\'s words. 

"Okay, we wasted enough time. Now let\'s go before Ace comes barging in, ready to strangle my neck. You know how impatient your man gets," Evelyn said, rolling her eyes. Hera scowled while both Jessica and Evelyn laughed at her expense. 

Hera requested them to excuse her for a minute, and Jessica immediately left, wishing her a good day. 

Evelyn raised an eyebrow at Hera before leaning closer to her. 

"Wedding jitters, I see," Evelyn whispered into her ear and smirked. Scowling at her, Hera shoved her away, pushing her to the door while Evelyn giggled her way out. 

Locking the door, Hera leaned against it. For some reason, she felt heavy in her chest, and she was overwhelmed. Blinking her lashes repeatedly, she tried not to spill tears. She couldn\'t risk ruining her flawless makeup, after all. 

She knew what bothered her.

She missed her parents. 

Her parents, whom she never saw or met but wished she could. She never had anyone except her Hunter, who loved her from the beginning, the only one who cherished her existence. She wished she could experience once in life what it feels to live in a loving family. 

She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. It felt hot, and she hated the thought of sweating and stinking. Walking to the windows, she opened them, welcoming the fresh cold air with gratitude. It soothed the itchiness of the heat on her neck and the prickling behind her eyelids. 

Hera closed her eyes and pictured Hunter\'s smiling face behind her eyelids. It instantly took away all her sadness, and she smiled subconsciously. With a few more deep breaths, it put her nerves at ease. 

Her feet moved to the closet. Whatever jitters troubled her stomach earlier had gone now, and Hera\'s eager fingers pulled out her little purple wallet from her backpack. There inside, her mother\'s chain glittered as soon as the light touched it. She took it out and kissed the name, Felicity. 

Warmth filled all over her chest in a good way, but Hera\'s smile was watery, and a few adamant tears rolled over her cheeks. She couldn\'t hold them back at last. She was thankful for the waterproof makeup and dabbed the tissue against her cheeks and under her eyes. The reflection in the mirror showed her that the kohl in her eyes stayed intact, and she was grateful that it didn\'t smudge. 

Wearing her mother\'s chain around her neck, Hera saw herself in the mirror. The platinum-gold chain looked pretty and gleamed against her skin. She smiled at her reflection as her fingers ran over the name. 

"I love you, Mum and Dad," she whispered as if testing the sound of it. "I\'m sure you would\'ve loved me the most if you were with me. I could imagine you kissing the crown of my head and wishing me a happy birthday, blessing me to have all the happiness in the world," she said, blinking back her tears. 

It was her birthday, and she decided not to shed tears or be sad anymore. Her happiness waited on the other side of the closed door, and she couldn\'t wait to reach out to grasp it tightly in her palms, but before that, she needed to omit all these overwhelming emotions that troubled her. 

"Uncle Ben said that my father was not a good man, and I\'m better off without him, but I know it in my heart, Dad, that you would\'ve loved me no matter what. If my Mum loved you, then you\'ve to be a good man," Hera confessed to her nonexistent father. 

Ever since she learned the meaning of family, she always imagined hers to be a happy one. They said her father left as soon as he discovered about her mother\'s pregnancy, but Hera would rather live in the pretence that her parents loved each other to the moon and back. 

"Thank you, Dad, for my existence. I\'m grateful to you and my Mum for bringing me to the world," Hera said out loud and smiled in gratitude.

"I have a boyfriend," she said and grinned. She imagined how hilarious it would be to witness her father trying to scare and grill her boyfriend for daring to love his daughter. She smiled at the concept of them competing for her attention. 

"But let me warn you, Dad, you can\'t scare him off because he is scared of nothing and no one. I admire his courage and fearlessness, you know. You would\'ve loved him too," Hera declared, pride lacing her tone. 

Her eyes shifted on their own accord and landed on the double photo frame placed on the nightstand gifted by Hunter. Hera grinned from ear to ear, her happiness dominating over her sadness, doubts, and insecurities. It emptied all the heaviness in her chest, refilling it with warmth and love. 

As if on cue, her phone went off. She had yet to get used to having a cell phone. It kept startling her every time it chimed. 

She saw the name flashing on the screen. 

"Devil calling"

A burst of soft laughter breached past her lips. Her impatient Mr Hunter was calling.