Chapter 20: Chapter 20

In the evening the Rodriguez arranged a small get together with their close friends and family members. In the meantime Celeste was talking to Diana over the phone and as she had called to greet her for her birthday. She invited Diana and Evan in the evening. Diana gladly agreed to come before they hung up the call. Celeste was about to go downstairs when someone knocked on the bedroom door. She said a come in when the door opened and Clarissa entered the room holding some boxes and packets. Celeste got up and smiled at her.

"Mom, what's the matter?" She asked confused when she found Clarissa placing everything on her bed. Hearing her question Clarissa looked at her and smiled before answering.

"There's a few dresses and jewelleries that I have brought for you. Come check them out and tell me if you like them or not." Clarissa said with a motherly voice while pulling Celeste to the right where she had placed all the things. Celeste was a bit surprised. She didn’t expect her mother in law to bring so many things for her. She felt warm in her heart thinking how much her mother in law loved and cared for her.

"Thank you mom. But you didn’t need to do so much for me." Celeste said while hugging her. Clarissa chuckled at her words and rubbed her back before pulling away.

"Of course I needed to do this. You are my favourite daughter in law after all." Clarissa said with a smile. They both smiled and started to check the things Clarissa had brought for Celeste. Unfortunately they were unaware of two chocolate brown eyes looking at them with hatred in them.

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In the evening everyone slowly started to arrive. The mansion was decorated beautifully. Everyone was busy preparing for the guests. Meanwhile Celeste was getting ready in her room with Rihanna. She had worn a beautiful light blue colour dress which reached till her knees and had a sweetheart neckline. She had her hair down loosely and minimal makeup. She was already very pretty and the dress made her stand out with her eyes. After getting out she and Rihanna headed downstairs. The moment they came down, they were greeted by Diana and Evan. Diana gave Celeste a warm hug before greeting her.

"Happy Birthday, Cel. It's for you." Diana said while handing Celeste a gift. Celeste smiled before accepting the gift.

"Thank you. But you didn’t need to bring this." Celeste said looking at Diana with a smile. Diana shook her head with a smile. Celeste turned her attention towards Evan who was also standing there awkwardly. She smiled at him and he smiled back before greeting her.

"Happy birthday, Celeste." Evan said while giving Celeste a small hug. Celeste smiled and thanked him after pulling away.

"Thank you Evan. How have you been these days?" Celeste asked, smiling.

"Been good. What about you?" Evan replied and then asked.

"Never been better. Please enjoy the party. I will just go and greet some guests. See you guys in a while. Excuse me." Celeste said the last part when Clarissa gestured to her to come towards her direction. Diana and Evan both nodded and excused her with a smile. Celeste then made her way towards her mother in law who was talking to a few women with Amy beside her. Celeste went there and smiled at Clarissa before greeting those women with a hello. They all smiled at her politely.

"Celeste, come here. Meet my friends. This is Margaret Black, this is Fiona Cobblers , this is Judith Goldman and this is Jessie Keesinger. And guys this is my elder daughter in law Celeste." Clarissa said while introducing Celeste to her friends. Celeste smiled at them politely and said hello.

"Happy birthday, dear. Clarissa was right. You are indeed really beautiful." The woman whom Clarissa had introduced to Celeste as Judith Goldman said with a warm smile. She smiled back at her while Clarissa chuckled.

"Thank you, Mrs, Goldman. You are also very beautiful. This dress suits you really well" Celeste thanked her and at the same time complimented her. The old lady blushed while chuckling.

"Oh such a sweet talker. Thank you dear." Mrs. Goldman said while smiling. Everyone present there laughed except Amy who had a forced smile plastered on her face.

"Now I understand why Clar always keeps talking about you. She is indeed very lucky to get such a beautiful daughter in law." Mrs Black said with a chuckle. Celeste smiled at her and before saying a thank you.

"So Celeste, what do your family do?" This time it was Mrs Cobblers who asked the question making everyone else also curious. Clarissa frowned at her friend's question while Amy smirked devilishly. Now she wanted to see what Celeste had to say.

"My parents used to run a cafe and a gift shop in Elora before they died. Now I have only my grandma as my family and she runs our gift shop in Elora." Celeste said smiling. She didn’t have any trace of shame on her face instead she had a proud look on her face. Clarissa smiled at her while others nodded. Mrs Cobblers let out a 'ohh' sound mockingly but didn’t comment any further as if she found it insignificant to talk to Celeste at that moment. Slowly they all started talking to Celeste about anything and everything and Celeste realised Mrs Black and Mrs Goldman were Clarissa's best friends and were very kind and friendly. On the other side Mrs Cobblers was a snobby rich woman while Mrs Keesinger was a less talkative type lady but was very close to Amy. She didn’t talk to Celeste at all instead she kept chatting to Amy happily which Celeste didn’t mind at all.

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Celeste was happily chatting with Diana when suddenly Liam appeared from nowhere and called her name to get her attention. Celeste turned around to look at him and her eyes were stuck with his. Liam was wearing a black suit, looking very handsome. Celeste felt her heart beating faster when he started to make his way towards her. She got a bit nervous thinking of her appearance. She wondered if she looked okay or not. What if her hair was messy? What if her Lipstick got smudged? She mentally scolded herself for thing about such stupid things. She closed her eyes for a brief second before opening them again to calm herself down. In just a few seconds Liam reached where she was standing and called out her name in his deep velvety voice making her shiver unknowingly.

"Celeste." He called out softly.

"Liam." She whispered softly looking directly at his eyes.

"I want you to meet a few of my friends." Liam said in his deep voice. Celeste nodded and turned towards Diana.

"This is my friend Diana and this is her boyfriend Liam. We work in the same company. And Diana, Evan, this is my husband Liam." Celeste said, introducing Diana and Evan to Liam and vice versa. Liam nodded with a soft smile before forwarding his hands towards Evan for a handshake.

"It's nice to meet you both. Celeste already mentioned about you guys. Please enjoy the party." Liam said while shaking hands with Liam and giving Diana a curt nod.

"It's nice to meet you too, Mr Rodriguez." Diana and Evan said at the same time with a smile. Liam nodded and looked at Celeste before gesturing to her to come with him.

"You guys please excuse us and enjoy the party." Celeste said with a smile while excusing themselves from her friends before following Liam quietly. Suddenly Liam paused and then wrapped his right arms around Celeste before leaning forward to her ear. Celeste looked at him with wide eyes as she didn’t understand what he was doing.

"You look beautiful." He whispered in her ears before placing a kiss on her earlobe to her cheek. Celeste's cheeks turned red as the sudden blush covered her face . She looked down and smiled shyly.

"Thank you." She whispered softly making him also chuckle softly.

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After talking to Liam's friends Celeste excused herself to go to the washroom. She was passing through the corridor when suddenly Amy came from nowhere and blocked her path. Celeste looked up at her with a confused expression.

"Do you need something Amy?" Celeste asked Amy softly when Amy didn’t move or say anything for a moment. Celeste noticed Amy rolled her eyes and crossed her arms on her chest but still didn’t reply. Celeste sighed. She really wasn’t ready for another drama so she decided to ignore Amy and go to the washroom.

"If you don't have anything to say then please excuse me. I need to use the washroom." Celeste said and moved aside to go to the washroom. When Celeste was about to pass Amy, she opened her mouth.

"Enjoying the luxuries, attention and riches, aren’t we?" Amy said from behind with a chuckle, making Celeste freeze. Celeste turned around and looked at her with a confused look. Amy chuckled again and then started to pretend like she was checking her nails.

"What do you mean, Amy?" Celeste asked straight without beating around the bushes. Amy smirked at her then shrugged.

"Oh nothing. Just wanted to say enjoy everything as much as you want. It's just about time. Just five more months." Amy said with a tsk and then smirked devilishly at Celeste before walking away. Hearing Amy's words Celeste who was standing there looking at Amy with a frown froze completely. Her eyes went wide and her throat went dry making her almost unable to breathe.

At that moment, only one thing was running through Celeste's head.

How did she know!?