Chapter 52: Chapter 52

ROYCE

Royce inclined his arm around me and gently squeezed my shoulder, which was consoling. He smiled pleasantly when I glanced up at his face, and I took it as my assurance to stay calm.

"Uncle Philip, this is Nelly, my girlfriend, baby, my this is my uncle, Philip," Royce said as he looked at his uncle back and forth and me.

"Pleased to meet you, sir," I greeted as I offered a hand for a handshake.

His facial expression softened, a smile crept on his lips.

"Finally, it's nice to meet you as well, Ms. Cruz," he said as he stood up and took my hand for a handshake.

I felt a burden lifted from my shoulder when I saw him smile at me; before my thoughts ran wild, I thought he might be against my relationship with Royce.

"Please have a seat; we have to talk," he said, his hand gesturing on the chair beside him.

"There's a lot of things we have to talk about," he added as he claimed back his chair to sit on.

Royce voluntarily pulled a chair for me. "Baby, here."

"Thank you," I said as I sat on the chair.

"Uncle, please let Nelly eat in peace," Royce said, his voice having a trace of a complaint.

"Come on, Royce, don't be childish. It's not like I'm disclosing any secrets to your girlfriend. You are free to listen." The old man sounded excited.

"Nelly, your father was one of my good friends in the business world. He was a good man and had an intact reputation, so I liked dealing with him. How is he now?"

"That's good to hear from you, Uncle Philip. Dad is recovering and is currently under treatment in Manila. We are hoping he'll be able to walk again."

Uncle Philip's face brightened. He seemed happy to hear dad's possible recovery.

"Oh, that's great news."

"It is. Thanks to today's high technology and the hard-working doctors and scientists tirelessly discovering new ways to treat conditions like my dad," I said, glancing at Royce.

"And thanks to Royce, of course. He helps us transfer dad to Manila and for his accommodation while staying there with mom."

"Impressive. Royce had never done this kind of effort before. I'm glad to hear he is leveling up."

I saw Royce shake his head upon hearing his uncle.

"By the way, I'm sorry about the loss of your brother. I haven't said this to you before because you are not into business. Even your mom didn't show interest in the industry."

"Yes, mom is happy in the kitchen and for being dad's moral support. It was just dad and my brother; they always took care of our businesses."

"I see. What do you think about your brother and your dad's accident? Was it really an accident? How was the investigation?"

"The investigation was closed."

I kept my mouth closed to what I had been hiding for the past few months. My chest contracted to the hypothesis I formulated in my head.

"Uncle, let's have our formal dinner. We can continue talking later on. Our guest is hungry," Royce said as he placed a hand on my shoulder.

Uncle Philip nodded. "Nelly, I should obey. I don't want your boyfriend to be mad at me," he said, teasing Royce.

After the formal dinner, there was a short program where Royce insisted on introducing me in front of his guests. If only it was an ordinary day, it would be easy for me to decline his offer. But as a part of my birthday present, I agreed. I want to see him happy for his night.

"And now, let us call on the man of the night," the male host started.

My heart was drumming in my chest. Royce told me that he would be called next, and it would be the time to introduce me. Royce squeezed my hand a little. He might have read my mind. I was nervous and almost wanted to throw up.

For a long time, I haven't been the center of attraction in a crowd of people. "We all know this man is not just a young achiever, he is handsome, hot, but unfortunately to you girls, he is taken." The host continued.

Some women were throwing glances at me. Ever since the party began, I caught them staring at me, some were glaring, but I didn't let them get on my nerves. As Marica said, let them envy you. I chose to ignore them and plastered a smile on my face.

Royce held me tight as we made our way in front of the guests. He took the mic from the host as he pulled me a bit more to his side. "Thank you, Michael," Royce said to the gay MC. Michael looked at me with a pleasant smile on his face. I gave him a brief smile in return.

"Good evening guys, I don't want to drag this long," Royce started. "First, I would like to thank you all for celebrating with me tonight. To my friends, my grandparents' friends, business partners, and relatives." People applauded as Royce stopped in a bit.

"And second, if you guys remember, I hadn't had any birthday party for the past two years, as you may know, it started when my grandfather passed away. I was left devastated and kept myself from so many people and decided to run my grandparents' businesses. But this year is different. I would like to take this opportunity to introduce the woman of my life," Royce said as he shifted at me.

I squeezed his hand hard when our eyes met. He has his ways of talking to my soul, so I chose to be taken away and forget about the nerve-racking situation.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I want you to meet my girlfriend, Nelina Cruz." Royce pulled me on his side a little bit more. I forced an open-lip smile to show some courtesy to the guests. I thought it was too much; I'm not even his wife to be introduced to his guests.

I silently thanked him for not giving me the mic and asking me to talk. It would be the end of me.

The guests started hitting their glasses with their spoons. I even saw Marica and other guys at the same table doing the same. This was when I wished I would vanish like a bubble and no one would bother to find me again. It sounds funny, but I'm just not accustomed to excessive attention from people. I know what they want, and it's too much PDA for me.

The next thing that happened was inevitable as Royce's girlfriend. Royce's lips were on mine, and for that moment, I forgot that I was standing next to the sea of guests. I reciprocated Royce's kiss, and the visitors went wild. I sure was as hot as hell and my face red as an apple.

"Happy birthday, baby," I whispered in his ears when our lips parted.

Royce rubbed his nose with mine; I did the same. It sent shivers in my body and heated it up.