Taming Mr. Cold and Arrogant

Walking further inside the luxurious living room makes my frown deeper as now all I can see is a sea of lavender and gray. All the guests are wearing white, lavender and gray--- wait --- lavender and gray? 

I thought---what the hell? I simply checked my dress. I'm wearing an off-shoulder plum purple gown. My forehead creased as my eyes wandered around... to the guests and everyone inside the venue. 

Holy wow! They were all wearing lavender and guys were in a warm gray suit. 

And with a frown, I glanced at Rian's outfit and it was only then that I realized that she too was wearing lavender. A completely different dress from the one she bought with me from the boutique this afternoon which was the same color as mine. 

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" She asked pretending to be innocent as she tried to hide her smile but it's too late as I've seen it already. 

"Rian, you didn't wear the dress you bought with me earlier." It's not a question. It's a serious statement. Without a smile or emotion on my face. 

"Nope. I didn't." She even popped the 'p' before shaking her head. 

"But why?"

"I didn't feel like wearing it, so I decided to choose another dress."

Nice! 

I didn't get the chance to finish what I was saying as I felt something rubbing against my ankle followed by the familiar sound that came with it. 

'meow...'

My eyes widened. 

"Argh! The silly cat!" Rian mumbled so low but it didn't miss my ears. 

"P.u.s.s.y?"

Am I hallucinating? A cat at a party? 

'meow...' The little cat keeps rubbing her head on my ankle and --- oh my! She's real! 

"Oh, my gosh, my P.u.s.s.y!" I exclaimed loudly in excitement and I didn't notice everyone turned their eyes on me ---or--- should I say they were really waiting for me and just pretended not to notice me when I entered the door. 

I rubbed P.u.s.s.y's head and lifted her excitedly on my arms. I don't care whether all eyes were on me. 

But no... I wasn't wrong. She's my cat. She's P.u.s.s.y, she is my P.u.s.s.y and I'm sure of it! But what is my cat doing here? 

Holding my breath, I turned slowly towards Rian's direction. She's holding a smile. A smile for which I don't know if it's because she's guilty or she's hiding something from me. 

And without a second thought, I have scanned the crowd and have to blink repeatedly when my eyes landed in the direction of my in-laws. They were standing a few meters away from us, and to their left was Alex, in the middle of his friends while he's holding little Jona and Dino was with Ryan... smiling at me, so even though I don't understand what's going on around me, I have no choice but to return the smile to the kid. 

Hey, wait --- Alex is here! But Rian said he couldn't come with her to this party because he still has a late meeting tonight, so she invited me instead of him! Does this mean, she was just lying? 

"Rian, what the hell is going on?" I stared right into her eyes... but instead of answering my question, she only gave me a shrug. 

My c.h.e.s.t started pounding faster when in the next step I made, I saw Bryan with Aira on the crowd...then my Mom...and my brother Steven. 

And a stupid question came out of my mouth. 

"W-Wait...are they also invited?"

But I haven't received any response.

I couldn't take it anymore! Ignoring the stares of the guests, I put P.u.s.s.y down and went to my assistant /slash / best friend with Rian following behind me. I think I need to hear his words at this moment. 

"So, is this the reason why I can't call you this afternoon, huh?"

But like what  Rian did, he also ignored my question and instead of answering it, he pulled me into a hug and whispered something that brought another ton of puzzlement into my already puzzled mind. 

"Congratulations, girl! You're one of a hell-damn-lucky in this world!"

"What are you talking about?" I asked the moment he released me from his embrace. 

"This night is yours!" Craig replied. 

A shocked and sarcastic laugh combined in one escaped through my lips. 

"Are you kidding me, Craig Castello? Because I'm telling you, you're not a good comedian."

"No, he's not. This party is really yours, Sis!" Rian answered for him. 

What if it's a dream? What if it's just a dream? They need to wake up! We all need to wake up! 

"This is all yours, Belle! Everything you see around you is for you. A special someone had planned all this for a month to surprise you."

What the heck! I don't know what to say at that moment. I just stood there... my eyes moving from her to Craig, then back to her again. 

'Am I dreaming?' I silently asked myself. Then I closed my eyes, trying to shake off the events in front of me, but the time I opened them...someone pulled me into a hug... again. 

"Congratulations, Anak. You deserve all this and all the happiness in this world." It's Nanay Emily. Tears run down her cheeks but she dried them immediately. 

"Nanay Emily..."

Tatay Berto nods, giving me a warm smile. His arm was placed around his wife's shoulder. 

"B-But how --- I mean, why I didn't know all this?" I turned to Rian. "I thought you said this is your friend's surprise engagement party?"

"Yes, it is." She nodded. 

"This is my friend's engagement party... my brother /slash/ my friend! And yes, you're right when you said that his fiancee must be lucky, but I'm telling you, he's luckier for having you in his life."

That keeps my mouth shut. I don't know exactly what to feel at that moment. Shocked. Confused. Flattered. Overwhelmed. How could this be possible? 

I am not dreaming, I'm sure of it.'

"You're not." My head snapped towards Rian. 

"Did I say it out loud?" She nodded, giving me one of her naughty smiles...Rian's signature. 

"But before you can slap yourself or ask someone here to pinch you to prove that you aren't dreaming, please look behind you. You will see the man behind all this and the one who will answer all your questions. I'm sure he will explain everything to you."