Chapter 7

After a long pause, James finally nodded and said, "Alright."

Celeste beamed with joy and wiped away her tears. She ran to the table to grab an invitation card and gave it to him. "The address and time are on here. Please don't be late." she reminded him over and over again.

James put away the card and turned to leave.

"Mom, Mr. James said yes!" Celeste ran over, practically bouncing with excitement.

"I heard him," Naomi said, her smile faint.

Celeste loved James. Just a few simple words from him could make her happy for the entire day. Before bed, she retrieved the teddy bear she had thrown away from her room and placed it beside the toy car.

Naomi was deeply worried, wondering if James would really show up.

If he wasn't going to show up, she would have rather he said no from the start. It was better than raising Celeste's hopes only for them to be brutally crushed again.

James took the invitation card to Sophia, so Liam saw it. Right away, he burst into tears.

"What's wrong?" James and Sophia asked at the same time.

Liam held up the invitation card and said between sobs, "Celeste invited a-all our classmates… b-but she didn't invite m-me."

"Stop crying. If she didn't invite you, it's probably because you bullied her the other day. Apologize to her, and she'll invite you next time," Sophia said as she held Liam and glanced at James.

"No! I want to play with the other kids. I also want to have a birthday party on that day. I want it! I want it!" Liam wailed in Sophia's arms so hysterically that he was almost gasping for breath.

"But it's not your birthday that day," Sophia said helplessly.

"Then let's not make it a birthday party but something else. Please, Mom. I just want to play with my classmates," Liam insisted.

"Be good. Don't cry." Sophia couldn't calm him down, so she started crying herself.

"Stop crying. I'll throw you a party," James said, picking him up. "We'll do it on that day and invite the whole class."

"Really?" Liam wiped his tears and looked at James excitedly.

James nodded.

Liam broke into a grin and hugged him while cheering repeatedly.

Naomi and Celeste were unaware of James' decision. They continued preparing for the birthday party together.

The day before the party, Naomi withdrew Celeste's enrollment from the kindergarten. Once they got home, Celeste kept checking the time, hoping the day would pass faster.

As the birthday drew closer, Naomi's anxiety increased. She feared that James would break his promise again.

That morning, she sent James a message to remind him. It read, "The party starts at 5:00 pm. Don't be late."

This time, James replied almost immediately. "Okay."

Naomi looked at Celeste, who was playing a game on the tablet nearby, and let out a small sigh of relief.

If James actually came, should she still leave?

After lunch, Naomi brought Celeste to the hotel, and they began decorating the suite together.

"Mom, do you think Mr. James will come?" Celeste asked. She was starting to worry, too. Subconsciously, she glanced toward the window every now and then.

Naomi showed her the message from the morning and said, "He probably will."

Celeste smiled and went back to playing with the balloons.

Once the decorations were done, Naomi received a call from a parent. They said that something had come up, and that their child couldn't make it. They exchanged a few polite words before hanging up.

To Naomi's surprise, more and more parents started calling.

"Mom, are none of them coming?" Celeste asked after overhearing the calls. Her cheerful expression faltered, but she said, "It's okay. As long as Mr. James comes, I'm fine. I just want to spend my birthday with Mom and Mr. James."

Naomi's heart went out to Celeste because of her understanding nature. She opened her mouth but didn't know what to say.

She sent another message to James. But this time, he didn't reply.

The time for Celeste's birthday party to start came and went, yet not a single one of her classmates showed up.

Naomi glanced at her phone and saw that Sophia had updated her social media account. She had thrown an enrollment celebration for Liam and invited the entire class. The photos showed all the children and parents together, with James standing in the center.

Sophia's caption read, "Thank you, James, for organizing the party. Liam was thrilled."

Naomi's hand trembled, and her phone slipped to the floor.

James had known it was Celeste's birthday, yet…

Celeste picked up the phone and stared blankly at the photo. This time, she didn't cry.

"Let's eat, Mom," she said, placing the phone on the table and pulling the cake closer. "Help me light the candles."

Naomi's heart hurt so badly that she could hardly breathe. She lit the candles and turned off the lights.

"I hope Mr. James will always be happy. Mom and I have each other. I hope we'll stay together forever," Celeste mumbled.

Listening to Celeste's wish, Naomi couldn't hold back anymore and let her tears flow. When the candles went out, she quickly wiped her face and smiled at Celeste. "Let's eat."

"Mom, from now on, I only want to celebrate my birthday with you. After we finish eating, let's leave." Celeste took a bite of the cake and finally broke down in sobs.

Naomi pulled her daughter into her arms. "Don't cry. I'll take good care of you from now on."

James had exhausted all his chances. She and Celeste would no longer look back.

That night, Naomi and Celeste packed their things and left the villa. They booked the earliest flight to Aberford.

Before boarding, Naomi sent one last message to James. "James Hudson, I wish you a happy life."

Then, she turned off her phone and boarded the plane with Celeste.

From that moment on, they had nothing to do with him anymore.