The first of the presents to be opened was Yuuna"s.Kanna slowly cut away at the wrap and opened the box. In it, she lifts up a burgundy fabric. Her eyes light up and she smiles widely. She excitedly takes the rest of the fabric revealing it to be a floor-length maxi dress.
Kanna: "Oh!"
Yuuna: "It"s the dress you wanted. And I also bought you some shoes, making it an outfit."
Kanna: "Thanks, mom!"
She ran into Yuuna"s arms and tightly embraced her.
Yuuna: "I know how you like to snoop so I made sure to keep it at the Tailor"s this year."
d.a.m.n…
Yuuna might actually have the best gift! I know she wanted these earrings but now I"m starting to worry if it"ll be enough to please her!
Madelyn: "Steven"s getting antsy as all h.e.l.l. Maybe Yuuna would be a strong contender? Can he even top what she got? His box is small, definitely not clothes as it fits in the palm of his hands. Maybe, just maybe, he has himself a piece of jewelry?"
Steven: "I could do without the narration right now."
Okay, it doesn"t have to be the best; just memorable.
I reached out with the gift boxes to Kanna.
Steven: "Kanna… I wanted to show you how much you meant to me and I figured that since it"s our first time doing a birthday together, I may as well go big."
She takes them, and I nervously watch as she slowly opens the pendant next to her mother. Once the wrap came off, she slowly opens the box and both Kanna and Yuuna have their jaws drop.
Everyone else was bated, antic.i.p.ating that Kanna would reveal what had her taken aback. She raised the pendant, revealing it to them and they too were shocked.
Cynthia: "…woah…"
Kanna: "I-It"s beautiful..! How did you get something like this?!"
Livia: "…Steven… how..?"
Steven: "Y-You both love the same jeweler, so it wasn"t much of a quest figuring out what you like. You"re also not one to stand out and we got you a set that"s low profile."
Everyone got around and looked at it themselves. Everyone but Madelyn knew exactly what I bought for Kanna.
Madelyn: "Holy s.h.i.t… that silver is shiny."
Yuuna: "Nope… that"s platinum, Maddie."
Madelyn: "Plat—!"
She stops, looks at me, and takes a step back.
Cynthia: "And the jewel? It has to be moissanite."
Yuuna: "Diamond. It"s a real diamond."
Cynthia: "That"s amazing…"
Yuuna: "A necklace would"ve been something but an entire set?! Where in the world did you get the money!?"
Steven: "I had money from my time in Hei"an."
Madelyn: "s.h.i.t dude, how much did all that cost you?"
Steven: "Not a lot, the jeweler gave me a good discount because I always visit his shop."
Kanna slowly puts it back in its box and opens up the earrings. This time, instead of shock, happiness takes hold of her and she jumps into my arms and kisses me when she sees the same earrings she wanted for a while.
Yuuna: "It"s the same deal with the earrings. Those are the ones you wanted, Kanna!"
Kanna: "Thank you so much! I love it!"
Steven: "Put on your dress, we want to see you in it!"
Cynthia: "I"ll help her out!"
Kanna and Cynthia excitedly rush into her room and get her into the dress.
The rest of us stayed in the living room and everyone kept giving me looks of disbelief. Livia, who had been sitting quietly for a while, looks straight to me like a revelation just came to her.
Livia: "Wow."
Steven: "What is it?"
Livia: "Nothing."
It didn"t sound like "nothing."
Someone as smart as her probably figured out how much money I spent.
Steven: "You figured it out?"
She slowly nods and whispers into my ear.
Livia: "Maybe 30 grand?"
Steven: "Oh, you"re smart. The discount I got dropped it to 20."
Livia: "That"s pretty generous. I"m sure he expects you to be a lifelong customer."
Yuuna and Madelyn start talking, trying to whisper but I could hear them just enough to make out what they were saying.
Madelyn: "He"s a bit insane."
Yuuna: "He"s your brother, shouldn"t you know that already? You might also be as crazy as him!"
Madelyn: "Me? I don"t buy expensive jewelry like that!"
Yuuna: "I honestly expected it to be a silver pendant. He"s always full of surprises."
Cynthia: "Kanna has been transformed into a truly beautiful woman!"
She shouted from the hallway.
We all stood up and waited for Kanna to reveal herself.
As soon as she did, we were all impressed. Kanna didn"t look like herself!
She was incredibly beautiful with the dress alone but the pendant and earrings made her mature and serious! She was in a league of her own that could rival Yuuna"s formal attire.
Livia: "Kanna, you"re incredibly beautiful right now!"
Yuuna: "Ohoho~! Trying to upstage your own mother, kitten?"
Madelyn: "A new dress and jewelry can transform anyone. Imagine if we took an hour or 2 to do her makeup."
Yuuna: "That"s an excellent idea, Maddie."
Slightly blushing, Kanna shakes her head.
Kanna: "No. No makeup today."
Yuuna: "Yeah, I agree. If we did that then the family might try to marry you off."
Madelyn: "Your family does arranged marriages?"
Yuuna: "It"s… a story I don"t want to talk about now. Aside from my mother and brother, my family is painfully self-serving. I don"t talk to many of them."
Kanna: "That"s fine, I don"t want anything to do with them either."
Madelyn looks at me then smiles mischievously.
Madelyn: "Just marry her off to Steven. They"re already in a relationship."
She said half-jokingly.
Cynthia: "Madelyn just wants a sister-in-law!"
Madelyn: "Kanna would be the first in-law that I don"t hate."
Cynthia: "Ahaha~ right!?"
Kanna continues walking and stands right next to me, taking her hand into mine. She looked at me expectantly, blushing even more, waiting for me to compliment her.
Steven: "Kanna… you"re so beautiful right now."
She becomes overwhelmed with her own emotions and slowly starts to cry.
Steven: "Kanna?!"
Yuuna: "Oh no, what"s wrong, kitten?"
Kanna: "I"m happy…"
She buries her head into my chest while everyone else starts giggling and smiling.
Cynthia: "Aunt Yuuna! I"m overwhelmed with happiness!"
Madelyn: "This is the happiest Valentine"s I"ve been to."
Livia: "Happy birthday, Kanna and Steven."
Yuuna: "Happy birthday."
Madelyn: "It"s Steven"s birthday too?!"
She shouted.
Madelyn: "How come you didn"t tell me?"
Steven: "It"s just a birthday."
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Madelyn: "Just a birthday—I can"t believe you right now!"
Yuuna glares at me.
Yuuna: "You mean the cake we slaved away to make was just for Kanna?! I think not!"
Kanna: "Cake?"
Madelyn: "Oof, she knows now."
Steven: "d.a.m.nit, Yuuna."
She waves her hand, and bows slightly.
Yuuna: "Sorry, sorry."
Kanna: "Where is this cake?"
Well, it wasn"t trying to keep it a secret anyway.
Steven: "It"s in the kitchen."
Madelyn: "What kind of cake are we talking about?"
Steven: "It"s a 3-layer cake. One layer for me, another for Kanna, and the bottom one for Valentine"s. 3 events in one cake just like 3 events in one day."
Livia: "You put some thought into it."
Cynthia: "Then why"d you have me buy the cherry cheesecake if you already made a cake?"
Steven: "Why not? I don"t see a problem with indulging ourselves. It"s Valentine"s Day, we should enjoy it!"
Livia: "What"s Valentine"s?"
Cynthia: "Yeah, is that another person we don"t know about?"
Madelyn: "It"s a celebration of love and affection. You give gifts, cards, or even just go on a date with someone you like."
Cynthia: "What kind of things do you give them?"
Madelyn: "Anything goes as long as they like it."
Cynthia: "Ohh~ so it"s like Lover"s Week but on a single day?"
Madelyn: "Lover"s what?"
Steven: "Yeah, pretty much, Cynthia."