Cayenne woke up around 10:00 AM and just in time since everyone was almost done with the preparation.
The first thing she did was check the monitor inside their children's room and found that they weren't there along with Stefan. Knowing that she could always count on him, Cayenne went to the bathroom and took a quick shower. It would be great to start the day with clean and fresh body.
Stefan instinctively looked upstairs upon hearing through his Bluetooth earpiece the shuffling noise that Cayenne made. Any moment from now, she'd be going out already.
Stefan stood up and invited everyone to follow him. "Let's go to the garden. Ayen will be coming out soon."
Travis picked up his son and carried him out while holding Jade in his other hand. Thomas and Monet followed him out with their child as well. As for Stefan, there was no worry with the triplets because a lot of people wanted to hold them. This time, was carrying Zeki who was silent the whole time.
If they've never heard him cry or giggle in the past, they would surely think he was mute.
As soon as they got outside, Zeki waved his hand happily with a wide smile on his face and he was making giggling sounds again. It was very rare seeing this moment so they all followed the child's gaze and ended up looking at Latticia or Alice as they knew.
Stefan handed the baby to his mother with no qualms and Zeki touched the woman's face happily.
"He likes you so much, mom. He could probably tell our resemblance," Stefan whispered which brought tears to Latticia's eyes. "Just let me know if you get tired. You're still recovering."
"Hn. Thank you for always giving me time with them."
Half an hour later, Cayenne came out and heared the buzzing whispers and chatter from the garden. [What could be happening outside? Stefan didn't say that people will be coming today, else I wouldn't have slept for so long.]
"Auntie Yen, congrats!"
"We're so proud of you!"
"Yen, you're amazing!"
Cayenne was stunned as she listened to the cacophony of voices coming from the people she cared about. Looking at them, memories of the past started flashing in her mind - those moments when she barely had real friends.
Out of three, one died, the other was now putting distance between them, and although Seiji was still considered her friend, they couldn't hangout anymore like how they used to as students in the past.
"Thank you," Cayenne said while holding back her tears. "Why didn't anyone tell me that there's a party today? I could have woken up early to help."
"The point is, this is a surprise for you. How could we tell you in advance?" Luiz retorted and laughed. "We all put the idea together and made it real."
"Congrats, my dear daughter. Your mom must be very proud of you now." Reuben said with a glass of juice in hand. He gave Cayenne a brown envelope and smiled faintly. "It's a token that me and Ingrid chose. I know that your mom would want this for you as well."
"You didn't really have to give me anything anymore Dad. I am contented with my life. I'm happy with what I have now."
"But everyone has something for you. Besides, Ingrid and I talked about this already."
"I wish I can visit her so I can see my brother, too."
"You will be able to do that soon. Ingrid and I purchased a new house where we could have some quality time as family without the elders intervening us. I'll let you know once we could move in."
"I'm happy for you Dad," Cayenne responded and gave him a hug. Her parents may not have had the happy ending together but they found love and happiness in someone else. For Cayenne, it was more than enough. Reuben shouldn't be forever tied to the past and Ingrid deserves to be loved as much as she loves Reuben.
"You can open the gift later."
"O-okay. I'll ask my brother to bring this inside for me first."
On her way to get Kyle for a quick errand, she greeted Jillyanna and her family. Jade was pretty as ever and Travis was as doting as ever to his family. You could always see love in his eyes whenever he wad with them.
Jessie and Stanley also came to celebrate Cayenne's graduation and it didn't escape Magnus' observation when Stanley approached 'Alice' to introduce his fiancé. [Why would he introduce someone to Alice who was an outsider? Worst of all, why was Stanley in a good relationship with Jean Albert. Shouldn't he get mad at him?] His suspicions grew on another level.
Yet he was bothered with the fact that Stefan kept this matter from him if what he's thinking was true.
Knowing that he shouldn't do something reckless that could displease his son and daughter-in-law, Magnus just kept quiet while observing 'Alice' and the people who interacted with her.
Not long after, amidst the conversation, jokes and games while having lunch together, Monet and Thomas came out from the helper's quarter. It was where they hid from Cayenne while waiting for Stefan's signal.
"Honestly, I wished to graduate with an award but with all the things that happened to me, I gave up on it already. It was more than enough that they allowed me to graduate."
"We could've paid - "
"No way!" Cayenne cut off Stefan's statement. "I would never allow that to happen. Besides, I'm proud with my grades despite all the bad things that happened. I just felt bad for Noah and Faith who had been so good to me."
Cayenne didn't say what she felt bad about but Stefan knew what it was. Up until they graduate, Cayenne couldn't tell Noah and Faith the truth of her not having amnesia.
As they talked, a dessert was placed on the table in front of her and Cayenne's mood was lifted instantly.
"Wow! Thank you so much," she said while picking up the spoon.
"I'm glad to see that you are happy."
Cayenne's hand paused midair and she immediately turned around to see the owner of the voice. Her eyes turned read and her nose stung when their eyes met. "Monet. Is that really you?"
"Yup, it's me. I came with Thomas and our baby."
"I am so glad you came," Cayenne hugged Monet as she let her tears fall on the latter's sould. She was really happy to see her up and about.
The celebration turned a little dramatic with their reunion but soon, the atmosphere became full of life once again.
Though, Stefan excused himself around 1:00 PM so he could put the triplets to sleep.
The party continued from lunch to dinner and more people came when work was over. Riley and Shein came together. Cayenne's team also came after clocking off from work.
Stefan even invited Cheska and Eli but only Cheska came with Diego, her fiancè. Dr. Eliezer Rivera was now busier than ever because he volunteered to take care of his junior who lost her memories in the massive flood incident that happened in Naga City.
At the same time, Reuben bid farewell since Ingrid was left at home with their child. He wanted to be their for him, something he couldn't do for Cayenne in the past. This time, he really want to become a good father.
Seeing him leave, Cayenne felt the urge to see what was her father's gift. She excused herself for a moment and slipped back to the master's bedroom. She found the envelope on her bedside table and she immediately opened it to see what was inside. Her eyes widened in surprise and her words got stuck in her throat.
"Mama would never want me to have this."