Chapter 1

JONES'S MANSION

8:00pm

"Happy birthday !

"Happy birthday !

"Happy birthday !

"Thank you ,'' came Regina Jones's tired reply to each and every one that approached her to wish a happy birthday , familiar and unfamiliar faces.

The crowded ,yet sophisticated mansion ,decorated with expensive lights , glitters, flowers and balloons .Made her anxious and bored ,she kept staring around hoping to find the person that occupied her mind.

She stood up in her elegant diamond dress and chameleon hills which matched perfectly with the deem coloured lights in the ball-like room , stalking towards her father Ryan Jones, who was busy discussing with men in expensive designer tuxedos holding glasses of red wine .

He spotted her from a distance heading towards him and signaled his companions about his departure,they nodded in response before he walked away towards his approaching daughter .

"My love ,'' he called , patting her long strawberry blonde hair which she let down ,with a few diamond pins holding some strands in place .

"Dad ,I am bored ,"she whined like a five year old child , making her father chuckle .

"Why my love is the party not grand enough ,'' he channeled as concern spread through his face , noticing she wasn't joking around .

"It's amazing dad ,I just want some time alone from here ,so I decided to inform you about my whereabout ,she said thoughtfully making him breath a sigh of relief ,he had thought the party wasn't perfect enough for her , because she was his perfect daughter who needed to live a perfect life .

"Oh dear ,you should have just said so ,you got me worried for a sec ,I thought the party wasn't perfect for you ...

"Of course it's perfect dad ,just like you , and I am happy to have you as my father.I love you very much ,'' she said truthfully .

He was the perfect dad after all , even though he didn't have a wife ,he did a better job in raising her , better than anyone she could think of.

"I love you more ,my dear ,I guess you are heading to the balcony ,I will come get you when it's time to open your presents ,take care my love ,'' he said and pecked her forehead before walking back to his companions.

Regina sighs sadly as she makes her way to the stairs ...

"Happy birthday Reginaaaaaaa,her twin best friends screamed from behind , causing her to cover her ears slightly.

She turned around in anger ,but it melted immediately her eyes met with the familiar faces .

"Thank you Jenny and Jessy for trying to destroy my ears ,'' she groaned playfully and they both laughed exposing their white dentition .

She stared amusingly at the identical twins , there was no difference between them , except the colour of their hair which expressed their personalities.

Jennifer Simpson, the older twin ,had black Raven hair that supported her nerdy nature , and Jessica Simpson had a mixture of pink on her black hair which supported her bitchy and crazy nature .

They were the last daughters of their parents who were business partners with Regina's dad .

"Oh come on ! ....we just wanna show you how happy we are, finally we are all of age to start having s*x , Jessica said and earned a smack from Jennifer.

"Really Jessy , is being 18 all about s*x , Jennifer said while Jessica rolled her eyes .

"Enough okay ,yeah Jessy is right and Jenny is making sense ,let's go with that , '' Regina said immediately to stop them from bickering .

"And you guys are late ,care to explain ,'' she issued, staring at the twins as they made faces at each other .

"Jenny made us late ,she couldn't find a dress to wear , '' Jessica said immediately , before her sister could speak.

"What ! "

Jennifer exclaimed....."that's a lie you know I don't spend my time dressing up like someone over here, Jennifer said, narrowing her eyes towards Jessica who took her face away .

Regina swallowed her laughter and patted the girl's shoulders ,"it's fine no more arguments .it's my birthday! .

"Sorry babe , Jessica said and turned to Jennifer ...''You see ,try being like Gina for once ,be calm and collected ,it's gonna fetch you some luck , Jessy mocked and Regina had to stifle her laughter not to attract people's attention.

"Seriously Rina ,I don't understand why you are friends with someone like her , '' Jennifer said, gesturing her hands to Jessica's direction .

"It's Gina from Regina ,not Rina from wherever you got that from , Jessica savaged .

And the twins began to bicker , Regina just stared at them in amusement,there she was wishing she could get siblings , and here her best friends clearly didn't appreciate each other .

She walked away silently without their notice and went up the stairs , heading for the balcony ,a very quiet and reserved part of her father's mansion that she had grown to love at an early age .

Regina wasn't happy because she still had not set her eyes on the person that occupied her mind. Seeing how anxious she had become ,she decided to come up to the balcony ,to have a peaceful and clear view of the beautiful and colourful garden .

9:00pm

After opening a few of her presents , Regina excused herself to have some fresh air and maybe not think too much .

Her dad came an hour earlier to call her from the balcony ,to open up her presents ,which made her cheer up a little .

There were thousands of decorated boxes ,so her father, Ryan ,suggested she open a few , while the maids took the rest to her room .

The few she opened were filled with luxuries ; A new iOS branded phone, jewelries , expensive and sophisticated birthday cards , female cologne ,new designer dresses,bags and shoes worth millions of dollars ,they were just too much it worsened her mood ,she opened the last present which was another Gucci bag and with annoyance she left the gift table and walked outside sadly, heading to the garden .

No one noticed anything because they were busy discussing with one another .

*No gift from him ,not even a show , and the party is almost over ,she groaned inwardly as her frown grew visible.

She was really angry ,but not at him but herself ,she could not understand why she felt that way towards this man ,why she couldn't think of anything but him ,why she's addicted to him,why she couldn't put him at the back of her mind today other than worry about him not showing up to her party .

Maybe because this was the first time he didn't show up in 15 years of constantly being at her birthday parties, it made her sad and anxious,or maybe it was because of his amazing features that she had grown addicted to,she took out her phone and scrolled through her gallery , and over a 100 pictures of him surfaced ,she clicked onto her favorite one and began to lustfully stare at his soft curly hair ,red lips ,blue mesmerizing eyes , cute pointed nose , white skin ,baby face , long eyelashes , killer smile ,crazy dimples ,v shaped face and extraordinary built arbs .

Staring at just his picture got her p*nts w*t.

The night was getting cold as the wind blew in her direction causing her hair and dress to follow in the same rhythm . The beautiful flowers danced in the wind while she stared at them .Rubbing her exposed shoulder,she suddenly felt something silky and warm cover her .That familiar manly cologne hit her nose making her heart beat really loud in her chest .

*He came! She exclaimed in her head , almost about to burst in excitement.

"Happy birthday damsel ,sorry I came late , Desmond Howard's, deep baritone voice boomed in her ears , sending different sensations to her body .

"Desmond !"

She called with a huge smile on her face and turned around hastily to make sure he was the one. She slipped and almost landed on the floor ,but he was quick to save her just in time ,his hands firmly wrapped around her tiny waist .

He pulled her upright and tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear , a few inches apart from each other,his hands resting on her waist ,he stared directly into her eyes...

"You look breathtaking pumpkin , sorry I came late ,I was caught up in traffic , '' Desmond said but Regina's mind was absent , she was completely lost in his beauty , which never seemed to stop amazing her .

She hugged him tightly in excitement and relief ,taking him by surprise.

"Am sorry ," she apologized, disengaging from the unannounced hug.

"Why are you apologizing pumpkin ,I should be the one doing so , for coming really late ,I would never miss your birthday for anything in the world ,he said sweetly caressing her face carefully like it was that of an egg.

"Thank you for making it here ,'' she said ,lost for words as her main focus was on his charming lips, that she had kissed in her dreams a million times.

"Here's your birthday gift , "Desmond said, placing a not so large decorated box in Regina's hand ...."I am really sorry for appearing this late but I have to be with your father now, we have something to discuss ,I will see you before I leave ,he pecked her forehead and flashed her his killer smile .

She smiled back and nodded at him ,with one last peck on her forehead , Desmond left the garden , and all Regina could do was stare at his retreating tall figure .

She felt sad seeing him leave , feeling exhausted ,she retired back to her queen sized bedroom to rest ,she didn't like parties anyways .

She texted her dad about the new development and also texted her friends that she was tired and needed to rest after the long day .

Laying on the large bed , Regina dropped the gift box on the bed and realized she hadn't opened it yet. Without a second thought ,she tore it open and met with an empty box. It was almost disappointing until she decided to check further.

Behold there was a paper turned to the other side making it look empty ,it was a note from Desmond to her .

She opened the note and a ticket fell out likewise a necklace ,her eyes shone brightly on seeing it. It was a diamond necklace with silver linings. Just by staring at it she already knew how expensive it was but not to deny how beautiful it was . She went through the tickets and it was a free pass to her favorite concert , it had been sold out for months, and in her hands were VIP tickets specially made for her .

She smiled heartily just staring at the gift Desmond had given to her .He understood her better than anyone else , unknowingly growing wrong feelings for him .

11:00pm

Desmond finally came few hours of waiting ,but he was somewhat in a hurry .

Regina had already changed into her nightwears and was ready for bed ,with the hope he wouldn't show up ,but he did after all,

"Are you leaving already ?" She asked with a racing heart.

"Urm yeah ,I need to get home to Trisha , Pamela is getting all cranky , '' Desmond said and Regina felt a sharp pain in her heart .

She had refused to accept that he was engaged with a three year old daughter and his fiance was no strange lady ,she was a top fashion star ,Trisha Monalisa,she had a one night stand with Desmond and got pregnant, refusing to abort it .

"Oh ! She exclaimed sadly .

"Alright you can leave ,I just wanted to thank you for the gifts ,I really love them ,'' she said politely while Desmond kept staring weirdly at her .

"You are welcome pumpkin , Desmond said and hugged her ,she hugged him back too breathing in his magnificent cologne.

He turned to leave but stopped on his track .

"I'm really sorry for messing up today ,I promise I'm gonna make it up to you ..."

"Would you like to go with me to the concert ? He proposed and Regina felt her legs wobble in excitement,she nodded like a lizard immediately . Desmond flashed her his killer smile that got her heart racing and her desires bobbling up .

"Pumpkin you have something on your lips , '' Desmond suddenly said pointing to the cake cream Regina had on her face from the junk she was eating before he walked in.

"Oh don't worry I will get it out ,'' she said and went to pick her face wipe .

"No I will help you ,'' he suggested and she nodded in agreement handing him the face wipe but instead of taking it from her , Desmond grabbed her waist and pulled her really close ,his gaze on her lips , Regina gulped, shocked by his actions .

*What is he trying to do to me ?*,she asked her numb brain.

Desmond then took the face wipe from her and cleaned her lips ,he pecked her cheek and whispered "Good night "before leaving her in a daze.

She sat on her bed ,with a filled head , thinking about what had just happened ,*He tried to kiss me !*,she thought touching her lips ,but then she began to argue with her thoughts ,it might have just been her imagination .

Tucking herself in bed ,her mind only reminded her of what had earlier on happened ,it took a while before her eyes could finally close for sleep .