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"Today, as your birthday gift, I give my word that I\'ll always be there for you when you need me, no matter what, when, where or how," Eric promised. His words yanked her back to reality, putting a brake on her thoughts. "I would love to walk you down the aisle and give your hand away at your actual wedding," he offered.

Hera\'s lips quivered and curled downward at the corners as she tried to control the sob. But the tears rushed out of her eyes as there was no barrier to restrict them.

"How do you do that? How do you always know what I\'m missing and come with the best solution to all my problems?" Hera asked, looking at him in awe. Her heart held so much affection for him, but she couldn\'t express her gratitude in words.

"I\'ll be honoured if you say yes, and besides, I deserve the right more than Danny. You know I\'m worth it," he stated, shooting her a charming smile followed by a wink. Hera still couldn\'t speak, so she silently nodded, staring at him with her wide eyes.

Eric wiped her tears with his thumb and shook his head, a wordless request not to cry.. 

"Ace and I are not only best friends, but we are more like soul brothers. I would never leave his side no matter what, and I know neither would he leave me," Eric stated the obvious and Hera nodded again. She already knew that much without him voicing it out.

"I\'m used to seeing you next to him since forever, and I would love to have you around for the longest time," Eric confessed.

With her lips sucked into her mouth, Hera took a deep breath and slowly looked around, eyes searching for her Hunter. She wanted to thank him, firstly for befriending Eric and secondly for bringing him into her life. She had often wondered what to name the bond she shared with Eric. He was a friend, a brother, and a well-wisher.

Eric had helped and protected her in many ways more than Danny ever did. He never expected anything in return, and his intention never had any ulterior motives. She was his best friend\'s girlfriend, and that reason was enough for him to appreciate her existence. He was so selfless that Hera decided he could only be her guardian angel.

She found Hunter a few feet away from them playing with his friends.

Subconsciously, Hera smiled when she saw him laughing with Michael and Danny. Splashing water at each other with their feet, they seemed like naughty little kids. When she looked back at Eric, he was grinning at his friends too. Without thinking, Hera flung herself into his chest, hugging him tightly.

It took a second or two for Eric to realise what happened as Hera startled him with the sudden hug. "Thank you," Hera said before leaning up to kiss him on the cheek. "You\'re truly my guardian angel, Eric," she said, and Eric wrapped his arms around her, returning the hug.

"And yes, you deserve the right more than anyone else. Not that you have anyone to compete with, but I\'m glad you asked," Hera said, smiling at him in gratitude. "I don\'t think your best friend appreciates your presence enough on a regular basis, so I want to thank you on his behalf as well. Hunter is lucky to have you as his best friend," Hera decided.

"He is, isn\'t he?" Eric asked rhetorically, sounding arrogant, but Hera knew he was teasing her. She nodded her agreement anyway. She tightened her hold, squeezing him into the hug one more time before letting go.

"Thank you, Pixie. I feel honoured," he said sincerely. Hera grabbed his hand and pulled him to join Hunter and his gang.

The day went smoothly, and Hera couldn\'t be happier. It was her best birthday ever. They played in the sea, got wet all over and later soaked themselves in the sun to dry their clothes. They had their lunch at the cafe and sprawled on the sand-covered shore to relax afterwards.

Hera enjoyed the typical game of truth or dare until the bottle stopped pointing in between Hunter and Michael.

"Ooh, I\'ve been waiting for this," Michael said, sounding too excited. Hunter was at the receiving end and arched his brow in question when Michael rubbed his hands together, a mischievous smile aimed at Hunter as he chose the dare. "I dare you to smooch Hera here right in front of Danny," Michael announced, smirking triumphantly at his two best friends. 

Danny choked on his beer while Hera whipped her head in a flash to glare at the culprit. "Seems like someone has a death wish," Danny muttered, glaring at Michael. "Dude, wrong direction. Your target is in the opposite direction," Michael said, pointing at Hunter and laughed when Hunter threw the bottle cap at him.

Suddenly the pin-drop silence felt too awkward, and Hera could feel her brother\'s distress. She was contemplating what to do, almost ready to bolt at any minute when Hunter, being the best friend he was, refused the dare and accepted his defeat. He wouldn\'t do anything to make him uncomfortable.

Michael clapped his hands, a pleased smirk on his lips as if he was expecting him to refuse. "As your punishment, excluding Hera and I, you\'ve to kiss any one of our friends here," he said, snickering at Hunter. He was having too much fun, alright.

Hera\'s eyes remained rooted on Michael, and she was shooting imaginary daggers at him. The latter gave a quick up-down flash of the eyebrows and signalled the former to keep her eyes on Hunter. Grinding her teeth, Hera turned to see what Hunter would do.

Hunter shifted from his place to reach where Bianca and Samantha sat. They were sitting next to each other, and Hera held her breath, waiting for him to choose his option.

He didn\'t even pause for a single second to think before crouching down beside Bianca. He leaned in, one of his hands went around her shoulder while he used it to pull her closer and gave her a long smooch on her cheek. 

\'The fuck?\'

\'It\'s okay. At least, the asshole didn\'t kiss Samantha.\'

\'Best friend is better than an ex-girlfriend.\'

Hera kept consoling herself to keep it cool, but her patience wore off when Michael sneered beside her. He had a knowing look in his eyes as if he could listen to Hera\'s inner monologue.

His eyes slid down to her hand when Hera\'s fingers collected a few pebbles beneath her feet. Before Hera could aim it at him, Michael leapt to his feet and ran away from her reach.

Much to Hera\'s gratefulness and to Michael\'s displeasure, Evelyn decided to help Hera, and they kept chasing him until they cornered him. Hera was too happy to practise her aim using him as her target board. He kept jumping to dodge the pebbles every time Hera threw them at his feet.

"Okay, that\'s enough," Michael yelled and raised his hands in surrender, only to get ignored by Hera. She picked up a larger pebble this time and laughed evilly, shifting the oval-shaped, smooth stone in her hands.

"Stop right there if you want your gift, Hera Hunter," he said and effectively caught her interest. Hera eyed him suspiciously and tilted her head to the side as if weighing the authenticity of his words. "One more hit, and you\'ll lose your gift," he said, patting the inside pocket of his jacket where Hera could see the impression of something in a square shape.

Both Hera and Michael held a staring contest for a few seconds, analysing each other\'s moves. Michael raised his brows, a finger pointing at the pebble in her hand. Hera finally gave up and loosened her grip over the stone, dropping it to the sandy mud. Her lips stretched into a grin when he took out the said gift from his pockets.

Hera tried to snatch it from him, but Michael held it above his head, and she couldn\'t reach it. She never felt ashamed about her short height until now.

"But I don\'t want spectators. I want privacy," Michael said, glancing at Evelyn. Both Hera and Evelyn rolled their eyes in sync. "What for?" Evelyn asked, but when Hera noticed he was not budging from his position, she nicely asked Evelyn if she could excuse them. Hera didn\'t give her a chance to object, though. She nudged her shoulders, urging her to leave with a polite request until Evelyn complied.

Hera obediently followed when Michael walked away from the wave hitting the shore.

He sat on the sand as far away as he could where the wave wouldn\'t reach him. Taking his jacket off, he placed it on the sandy mud before gesturing to Hera to sit. Hera realised he had made a makeshift mat for her to sit on, and the gesture touched her heart.

He held the gift in his hand, rotating the box absent-mindedly. Hera noticed, suddenly Michael seemed nervous as if contemplating whether to give her or not. All the playfulness was gone, and his demeanour changed into a serious one.