The Love Redemption

Chapter 8

Arielle sweetly smiled as she assessed herself in front of the full-sized mirror inside her room. She was satisfied with the outcome of her appearance.

This evening, she will be attending the anniversary of a well-known politician. She personally knows Mr. and Mrs. Chua because she has attended parties at their house several times. Her parents always asked her to go with them to the party or gatherings they attended to expose her to high society. As the heir to her father's company, she was introduced early by her parents to their friends and acquaintances in the business world. So, when she takes over as the CEO of the company from her father, she already has connections with businessmen in the business world.

That night she wore a strapless silk gown that reached her ankles. The gown was rose pink in color, and the soft, shiny fabric hugged her body, which she recently discovered was in the right proportion. There were colorless beads resembling diamonds scattered on the front of the gown, adding to its simple yet elegant look.

She paired the gown with silver glass shoes and a small pouch of the same color. Her hair was pulled up and pinned atop her head, adorned with pink flowers. She allowed a few strands of thin hair to fall gently around her cheeks. Her hair and outfit perfectly complemented her simple light pink makeup.

Everything about her looks is perfect. Her looks were mixed with Cinderella and Barbie's beauty. And she loves it so much. She's pretty sure that Claire will secretly envy and be annoyed with her when she sees her appearance. Her cousin Claire doesn't like being outshined by her in any aspect, even though the truth is she always outshines her in everything.

"Ma'am! Sir Tyron is already outside," Laura's voice called out to her loudly from outside her room.

"Please tell him I'll be down in a moment," she replied. She waited a few minutes before grabbing her pouch from the top of her bed, containing only her cellphone, some cash for emergencies, lipstick, and a small mirror. She walked out of her room without haste.

If before, she would almost rush out of her room when she found out her boyfriend was outside waiting for her, now she's just chill. She let Tyron and Claire wait for her. Yes. Her cousin is with them. She is like a tail that's always with Tyron. So, the two of them often mistaken for being a couple because they were together more often than her. When the three of them are together, Tyron always speaks to Claire, making her look like her cousin's assistant. She ends up looking like a third wheel to the two of them.

Tyron stood up from his seat and stared at her as she slowly walked down the stairs. The admiration couldn't be hidden in his eyes as he looked up at her.

Claire, on the other hand, is also smiling, but she knows deep down that she wants to be buried in the grave."

"I'm sorry if you waited for me for a few minutes," she apologetically said to Tyron when she finally got close to them, then she smiled apologetically at her cousin. "Do you mind if I made you wait for a few minutes, Claire?"

"Of course not. It's still early, and we won't be late for the party," Claire replied with a fake smile. "You look gorgeous, Arielle. It seems like you're getting even more beautiful as the days go by," she praised her after scanning her looks from top down to her legs.

"I agree with your cousin, Arielle. You seem to be getting even more beautiful now that you know how to groom yourself," Tyron concurred.

She pretended to smile shyly at them. "I'm indeed a late bloomer. I only learned to groom myself when I turned twenty-three."

"I'm proud of you, Love," Tyron said with a wide smile. He extended his arm, which she quickly accepted. "Shall we go?"

"Okay. Let's go." She knew Claire was scowling now, so she deliberately turned quickly to catch her cousin's expression. And she was not wrong because her cousin's face almost couldn't be painted as she looked at them. Surely, intense jealousy was brewing in her heart. "Are you okay, Claire? You look upset. It seems like something's bothering you?"

"Don't mind me, Arielle. I'm just a bit hungry because I skipped lunch, so I might look a bit grumpy," Claire quickly explained, then she glanced worriedly at Tyron, who was giving her cousin a sharp look. She just ignored them and pretended not to notice their unusual glances.

"I think we better go now, Tyron. My cousin might eat me whole out of hunger," she joked, then she detached herself from his arm and was the first to exit her house. She let them talk behind her. She was sure that the two behind her were secretly arguing now.

When they arrived at the huge Chua residence, Tyron immediately assisted her in getting out of his car and let Claire get out of the car alone, causing her cousin to frown again.

If she remembered correctly, Tyron assisted Claire in getting out of the car before instead of her. Her cousin entered the party with him while she was behind, leading people to mistake her as Claire's assistant."

But suddenly, the scene changed. She was being assisted by Tyron now as they walked into the party, while Claire was behind them, unable to hide her expression. Since she returned to the past, many scenes and events have suddenly changed. There are also many events that did not happen before, such as her one-night stand with a stranger. There are many changes in her life. She doesn't know what else will happen that didn't happen before, so she should be careful.

While walking towards the birthday celebrant, she suddenly felt like there were eyes watching her. She discreetly glanced around to check if there were eyes staring at her differently. Besides the admiring gazes, she didn't notice anything unusual. However, the feeling of being watched with peculiar eyes persisted. She just shrugged it off, forced a smile, and chose to ignore that weird feeling since she didn't see anyone looking at her in a kind weird look.

"Happy anniversary, Mr. and Mrs. Chua," she greeted with a smile to the couple celebrating their fiftieth anniversary.

"Thank you. You look very gorgeous, Darling," Mrs. Chua praised her after giving her a kiss on the cheek and she handed her a bundle of expensive flowers and a wrapped gift she prepared for them.

"If only your parents were alive, I'm sure they would be super proud of their beautiful daughter," Mr. Chua said with a smile, though his voice carried a hint of regret.

The sweet smile suddenly disappeared from her lips as she remembered her parents. If only her parents were still alive, she was sure they would be the ones accompanying her to the party, not Tyron and Claire. She couldn't help but feel envious because Mr. and Mrs. Chua were still able to celebrate their anniversary while her parents could only celebrate theirs in heaven.

"Why did you have to mention Arielle's parents? Look, she suddenly felt sad," Mrs. Chua reprimanded her husband when she saw her eyes suddenly clouded with tears.

"I'm sorry, Arielle. I didn't mean to make you feel sad," Mr. Chua sincerely apologized to her.

"I'm okay. I always feel sad whenever I remember my parents." She forced a smile and tried to bring back the happiness to her face so Mr. Chua wouldn't feel guilty for mentioning her parents.

Tyron coughed a little but so their attention fell on him.

"I'll just take Arielle and Claire to the buffet table to get some food," Tyron told the couple.

"Go ahead. Eat as much as you want and we have plenty of food. I hope you enjoy the night, Arielle," Mrs. Chua said with a smile. She just nodded in response before turning away and joining Tyron towards the buffet table.

They were walking towards the buffet table when she suddenly felt Claire's hand pushing her towards the waiter standing with a tray of glasses of alcohol.

She secretly cursed because she forgot that she was embarrassed at the party back then. Why did she forget that important event? Because Claire pushed her back then just like she did to her now. She collided with the waiter and literally bathed in wine before. So she went home even if the party was not over because her clothes were soaked. And Tyron didn't even offer to take her home because her cousin was embarrassed to be alone at the party.

She forgot about that event, so here she is and will go through the embarrassment she felt before in front of many people. She just closed her eyes and waited for her body to hit the waiter. But to her surprise, two strong arms suddenly caught her body.

"Are you okay?" a voice that seemed familiar to her asked, but she couldn't remember where she had heard it.

She immediately opened her eyes and looked up at the owner of the arms that caught her.

It's him! she exclaimed when she saw the most beautiful eyes of a man she had seen in the restaurant before.