Chapter 65

“Surprise!” shouted Princess Anastasia, Raquel, and Taylor at the same time.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

Stefan exhaled a breath. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to overstep. I wanted to do something nice for you.”

“It’s fine, so don’t worry.”

I turned my head and smiled. There were several bottles of sparkling white wine sitting in ice buckets as well as bottled water, several trays of food, utensils, plates, and napkins resting on a table in the living room. There were also several happy birthday balloons floating in the air.

Taylor patted my shoulder. “You’re the birthday boy, so you should be the first person to have some wine.”

Enjoying my birthday as much as I had in the past was challenging, but I couldn’t get mad at my friends. Birthdays were another everyday reminder of a better life, and I could at least make an attempt at having a normal life again. My parents would’ve wanted me to move on. I couldn’t imagine them wanting me to be miserable for the rest of my life.