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    Lydia

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    A big ck gate appeared immediately as my driver took the next turn. Soon, the car stopped in front of it, and a few seconds passed before the gate slid open, revealing a grand entrance.

    Making time to attend this anniversary was almost impossible. Mia had told me some time ago, but I hadpletely forgotten about it until! got a callst night reminding me of the event.

    The driver killed the engine. He stepped out and walked around to open my door. I stepped out. Cameras shed, and I stood awkwardly for a brief moment, not expecting to be swamped by a crowd of reporters.

    Mia rushed to my side and led me in. Jigi Corporation’s anniversary has been highly spoken about and anticipated by everyone. Jigipany has been in operation for over 70years and has invested in almost every sector.

    The cloud is orange, the glow of the setting sun covering half of the building.

    “Phew! How can they be so inconsiderate? I will never get used to this.” Mia said as we walked into the hotel where the event would be held.

    “Me too,” I said.

    When we stepped into the hallway leading to the designated hall for the anniversary party, we were greeted with music.

    “We are here,” Mia said excitedly. “They did magic in this ce. It’s so beautiful.” She looked around. The hallway was decorated beautifully, and balloons bearing the logo of thepany hung down from the ceiling.

    Stopping in front of the door, I could already hear the loud muttering mixed with music before the doorkeeper opened the door.

    The hall was a’s grand as I expected, filled with people who were chatting. This wasn’t just an anniversary night but a show of power, and it’s evident in the guests that were invited.

    We were led to our seats. Eight chairs surrounded a table. Most people had dates, but I hade with Mia since Marcus had to cancel. He

    suddenly had a business meeting.

    But I knew better; he had been ignoring me, or more like trying to stay away from me, since the day he saw me and Mason together.

    “I heard this is the first anniversary celebrated in such a grand style. The chairman would be in attendance today.” Mia has been reading every article she could find about this anniversary and thepany on our way down here.

    She soon became abreast with so much information about thepany and had told me about the many celebrities who would be in attendance today.

    “It’s their 70th anniversary, you should expect nothing less. Other people soon joined us at our table, leaving two chairs remaining. One by my side and the other by Mia’s side.

    “This will be us years from now,” Mia said, I nodded, my attention no longer with her.

    My eyes are pinned on the man who just entered, “Mason.” He is dressed in a white Italian suit and smiling as he speaks with a man at the

    entrancei. /i

    After our conversation two days ago, we spoke only once, and that was yesterday, when he came to y with the twins. Neither of us spoke about the previous day.

    I almost caught myself smiling as I watched him. He looked regal and stupidly handsome. I shook my head, reminding myself that he was the

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    father of my twins and nothing more.

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    Mia’sugh made me shift my gaze from him to her. When she saw I wasn’tughing, she stopped, “You aren’t listening. That was supposed to be funny.”

    “Sorry, I’m listening now,” I said, trying to keep my attention on her.

    However, my eyes remained pinned on Mason; he hadn’t noticed me yet. Should I go say hi to him? After all, we were trying to be friends.

    I contemted for a while on what to do before settling on saying hi to him. There was ino /iuse seeing him and pretending to be oblivious of his presence.

    “Are you going somewhere?” Mia asked when I pushed my chair back.

    “Yes. I want to say a quick –” my words got stuck in my throat when she suddenly came right next to him and linked her hand around his.

    I paused and slowly sat back down. He wasn’t trying to push her away or anything. I looked away from them. What was I thinking?

    He imed they broke up, but he never made it public. He probably said it to make me think it would get me to open up to him. Well, it

    almost did.

    Maybe they had a fight, and now they are back together. It wasn’t too hard to understand.

    I focused my gaze on Mia now, as I tried to peel the image of Mason and Julia out of my mind.

    The event soon began with an introduction and then a speech by the chairman. He spoke about the creation of thepany and how it has been kept running. As the third generation to hold the office of the chairman, all I can say is he was doing a good job.

    After the speech, other presentations were done, followed by entertainment. Each segment ended with apuse from the audience.

    Soon it was time for the audience to dance and mingle with each other. As usual, parties like this were not just for the agreed theme, but an adventure for people to meet up. Connections are made, investments are proposed, and even love can blossom.

    “How about we go dance?” Mia asked, shaking her head to the beat. “You can go, I don’t want to,” I said.

    For some reason, the ache in my chest from seeing Mason and Julia together wasn’t gone yet.

    “I can’t go without you,” Mia said.

    “Why? Don’t ruin your fun because of me. Who knows, you may find someone tonight.” I gestured to the left at a young man in a ck suit, seated sideways so his body faced us, “See that guy over there?”

    She follows my gaze, “What about him?”

    “He has been staring at you for a while now.” The man looked away when Mia’s eyes finally found him.

    “No, he’s probably looking at you. You look like a goddess tonight.”

    “Doesn’t mean you don’t look like one yourself. Now run along, before I change my mind and give you something to do instead.”

    After Mia left, I was left alone at my table. I tapped my finger on the rim of my ss before bringing it to my lips.

    It didn’t take ten minutes for Mia and the man from earlier to get lost in the crowd of dancers. I was d, at least one of us got to enjoy the night.

    “Here you are. I’ve been looking all over for you.” A voice said behind me. I turned to see Julia walking close to me, a ss of red wine in her

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    hand.

    I sighed, not ready for any banter about Mason tonight. She can have him and leave me in peace.

    “I have no time for you tonight,

    fuck yourself,” I said, returning my attention to the dance floor.

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    “Well, I think I have all the time for you.” Julia stepped in front of me, blocking my view. Where is Mason, why isn’t she all over him like she

    used to?

    “Julia, move, 1-” She raised her drink and poured it down. I moved back, skillfully dodging the content, but was a bit unfortunate since some ended up sshing on my hand.

    My chair screeched loudly on the floor as I stood roughly. A look of disappointment spread over Julia’s face. She was aiming for my face but got my arm instead.

    “How dare you?” I asked through gritted teeth, agitated at her act.

    “I’m giving you what you deserve. What? You don’t like it?” She asked. I looked down on myself, there were some drops of wine on my dress, but it wasn’t obvious because my dress was red..

    “Apologise to me now, and I’ll let this go.” My voice is calm, surprising even me. Julia paused, and soon a loudugh resounded from her.

    She crossed her hand over her chest and moved forward, “You’re joking, right?” She raised a brow, “You want me to apologise?” She asked, then poked me on the shoulder, her actions now drawing more attention towards us than I’d like.

    “Why should I apologise to a home wrecker?” She asked loudly, looking around. A few people had their phones up.

    ‘Home wreckeri‘ /iThe word I didn’t want to get associated with. A little gasp rasped through the audience.

    “Why should I apologise to the woman who’s trying to ruin my rtionship? I know some women loved Mason, I just never thought you were one of them or that you’d be more shameless.”

    She moved her hand forward, trying to poke me again, but I moved to the side, and in a heartbeat, my palm collided with her face.