Chapter 1276:
As Brenna reached the first floor, Rosie and Tessa emerged from the elevator. With care, Rosie settled Tessa into a chair before turning to Brenna with a bright smile. “Brenna, you’re up early, too?” she said cheerfully.
“Indeed,” Brenna replied with a nod. “Work calls, so no lingering in bed for me today.”
Tessa’s expression clouded, her eyes casting a frosty glance at Brenna, who brushed it off with a deliberately casual greeting.
Soon, Shepard and Giselle joined them, followed by Ernst, fresh from his morning jog.
They gathered around the table, and Rosie, her voice dripping with sweetness, broached a new topic. “In two weeks, it’s Brenna’s birthday, her second since returning to the family. Shall we throw a grand party to mark the occasion?” Her smile was all kindness, but the Harper family members knew Rosie’s knack for scheming. They suspected this talk of celebration was merely a ploy woven from her cunning threads.
When silence met her suggestion, Rosie pressed on, her tone coaxing. “Surely we should celebrate Brenna’s special day, shouldn’t we?”
She turned to Brenna, certain she would revel in the spotlight, wanting to bask in a shower of gifts and flattery, especially after her years with the Barrett family, when her birthdays had gone unmarked.
“Brenna, what do you say? You’ve only been back a short while. A lavish party, with all the town’s finest celebrating your birthday, wouldn’t that be splendid?” Rosie, who thrived on the adoration of her own birthdays, assumed Brenna shared her love for the limelight.
Brenna’s response was cool and composed. “No, thank you. I’m not one for fanfare.”
Rosie, stunned, thought Brenna was merely putting on an act, expecting to be persuaded.
Gal n o v el s . com is your destination for fiction
“Oh, come now! A young woman’s birthday is a grand affair. How can we let it pass quietly?” she exclaimed, her eyes wide with disbelief. “If you’d rather not plan it, I would be happy to take the reins. I’ve plenty of experience. I—”
Brenna cut her off, her tone firm. “I appreciate it, but no. A quiet gathering with family is all I want. Extravagant displays are little more than stepping stones for social climbers.”
Giselle, seeing through Rosie’s facade, recalled the fiasco of Brenna’s welcome dinner and knew better than to trust Rosie with such plans.
“We’ll do whatever Brenna wants,” Giselle said, glancing at Shepard. “What do you think, dear?”
Shepard gave a nod. “I agree. Let’s just have the chef whip up a few extra dishes and call the whole family together for dinner.”
Rosie’s face betrayed a flicker of disappointment, but a quiet family gathering wouldn’t derail her carefully laid plans. If a grand party was off the table, she could adapt.
“I only thought Brenna might enjoy a spirited celebration,” she said, wearing a pout on purpose.
Tessa, ever observant, sensed an undercurrent of hostility toward Rosie from Shepard’s family.
.
.
.