Substitute Wife for the Mafia King R18-Chapter 295: Birthday Girl

The golden light from the candles bathed his face in a warm light that made his blond hair look like rays from the sunset. My chest felt heavy and warm at the same time, and that made me have to admit that I was touched. I closed my eyes and made a wish that I would have the inner strength to deal with all upcoming obstacles so that I would be victorious at the end of the day.

When I open my eyes, the swaying warm golden light of the lit candles looks like a work of art filled with hope. I took in a deep breath and blew out all the candles while everyone applauded from all around us. Strangely, that moment reminded me of one of my very younger days.

“Alright, now turn the lights back on and open the curtains,” I heard Jenna’s voice instruct. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Light flooded back into the room again and I could see clearly the people who had gathered to celebrate my birthday. Jenna, Zain, Bella, and many other maids and bodyguards were there with a bright smile on their faces. For a moment, it felt like the sorrowful atmosphere surrounding the king’s passing had come to a rest, even if it was temporary.

“Happy birthday,” Jenna said to me with a smile.

Bella and Zain quickly repeated that same line with a bright smile on their faces.

“Thank you so much everyone...” I thank them in a small voice as I tried to tell myself not to get emotional over something like this.

“Do you want to cut the cake yourself or should I do it for you?” Brandon offered with a grin.

That was when I realized that he was still very close to my side. I found myself smiling naturally at him before I nodded my head, and then I turned my attention to the cake. The large cake was beautifully decorated with fresh berries and some edible flowers and they ended up reminding me of springtime. The styling of the cake looked familiar, and it didn’t take long for me to connect the dots that this cake must have been from my favorite bakery that I had visited with Bradon a few days ago.

I kept on staring at his face as his hands moved to cut the cake in my place. I had to say that I honestly did not think that he would prepare a small birthday celebration for me and even go as far as to buy a cake from my favorite bakery. It was probably because I realized the extent of his effort that I felt very conflicted inside when I recalled all the harsh words that I had just said to him while we were outside in the garden. Despite what I thought about his intentions, I had to admit that it didn’t change the end result or the amount of effort that he had clearly put into all of this. Preparing the garden and all the dahlia flowers for my sake and also the cake along with the joyous and warm atmosphere as everyone participated to celebrate my birthday, everything seemed to have touched my heart but I wasn’t willing to admit it.

“Should we even be celebrating at a time like this?” I murmured hesitantly.

“Why not? It is your birthday and it’s not like anyone is going to find out,” Bradon replied casually before he winked at me.

“That’s right. I think we should celebrate while we can,” Jenna quickly agreed as she helped Brandon to arrange the pieces of cake on small plates.

Bella and a few other maids help give out cake to everyone that was in the room.

“This one’s for you,” Bradon said as he handed me a piece of cake.

I stared at the cake hesitantly while I tried to deal with the conflicting turmoil of emotions inside of me.

“Don’t tell me, you’re not going to eat your birthday cake? You like cake from this bakery, don’t you?” Bradon asked although he already knew the answer.

“Yeah...” I mumbled.

“Here you go, open up wide,” Bradon said teasingly as cut a piece of the cake with a fork and positioned it close to my lips.

I was still quite stunned even as my lips naturally parted to accept the cake. The sweetness of the cake melted against my tongue and I had to admit that it made me feel a lot better.

“Thank you...” I managed to thank Brandon in a soft whisper.

I wasn’t just thanking him for feeding me the cake but for everything that he had done generally. I wondered if he understood that when he simply smiled a little at me.

“ You’re welcome, birthday girl,” he said as he reached out his large hand to pat the top of my head.

I managed to smile before I let out of a soft giggle as I realized why it was that I suddenly felt so happy. Of course, Bradon’s actions and intentions were still as confusing as ever; however, at that moment, I felt like it wasn’t so bad to live here with everyone.

Once in what felt like a very long time, I thought that I could relax and be myself even if it was just a little.

...

The preparation for our attendance of the king’s funeral kept us busy for a couple of days leading up to the funeral itself. Noble and influential families naturally had to play a part in the funeral’s preparation including helping out and sponsoring all functions related to the event. The funeral will be held over a duration of exactly 7 days with various events taking place every single day to give a chance for everyone in the country to participate in one way or another as a way for everyone to say their farewell to the late king. So far, there has been no talk about the coronation for the next king, but everyone knew that it was going to happen very soon because the throne couldn’t be left vacant for long. For the stability of the nation, the new king had to ascend to the throne soon.

–To be continued...