The next day, Stella Charlie worked from nine in the morning until nine at night, just like yesterday.
As she was about to finish work, Kai Jacobs suddenly arrived at the shop.
"Are you done?"
"Kai, what brings you here? I’m about to clock out."
Kai chuckled and said, "I haven’t had dinner yet, since you’re done, why not join for a bite?"
"How co you haven’t eaten yet? What were you up to?" Stella asked while rushing to grab a nu, "You see, what do you want to eat?"
Kai pointed to the seat across from him, "Sit down."
With hardly any custors around, Stella took the seat opposite Kai and quietly complained, "Why didn’t you co earlier? Now I have to work overti."
Kai laughed, asking her, "Did you get so busy that you forgot what day it is?"
In her confusion, Stella saw a colleague carrying a birthday cake towards them.
"Happy birthday, Stella! Your boyfriend ca early today to reserve the cake. We’ve been waiting all day to give you this surprise."
Stella was montarily unsure where to focus.
She felt a mix of being moved and a bit overwheld by the suddenness.
The girl who brought the cake leaned in and whispered, "Your boyfriend is really handso. I won’t interrupt your private mont!"
Stella blushed and quickly explained, "...He’s not my boyfriend."
Kai pushed the cake towards her and gently smiled, "Make a wish."
Looking at the flickering candle, Stella’s eyes turned red.
Just as tears were about to overflow, she clasped her hands and closed her eyes.
This was the first birthday she had ever celebrated...
Vincent Warner sat in his dimly lit living room, staring at photos on his phone.
The photos were taken through the restaurant’s glass, but still clearly showed the two seated by the window.
No wonder she hasn’t replied to his ssages...
Vincent put down the phone and headed towards the dining room.
The table was set with a sumptuous dinner and an unopened cake box.
The dishes were already cold, and Vincent dumped them all into the trash without a word.
Anger quietly spread within his heart.
Stella considered Kai a trustworthy friend, and while eating the birthday cake, she shared many stories about her family with him.
She was grateful that Kai rembered her birthday and thankful that he could spend it with her.
This eighteenth birthday turned out to be a particularly morable one.
Stella changed out of her work clothes, took her bag from the locker, and fetched her phone from it.
Since no one usually contacted her and the restaurant was busy during the day, Stella hadn’t checked her phone once.
Only then did she see that Vincent had called her before nine in the evening.
Feeling confused, she realized Vincent had texted her around three in the afternoon: Co ho early for dinner today.
After triple-checking that the ssage was indeed from Vincent, she wished she had seen it earlier and returned ho.
But it was already too late.
She hurriedly replied with an apology: Sorry, I was too busy this afternoon and didn’t see the ssage.
Without receiving any reply from Vincent, Stella suddenly felt an urgent need to return ho.
She politely declined Kai’s offer to drive her back, pedaling her bike faster than she ever had.
Since eting Vincent, their relationship had always been sowhat ambiguous—not exactly familiar, but not quite strangers, either.
She never expected Vincent to suddenly summon her back for dinner together.
Could it be he planned to celebrate her birthday too?
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