The Billionaire Heiress: From Heartbreak to Hierarchy.

Jennifer's POV One minute, the entire restaurant was pitch black, and the next, a bright white light rushed at me, with a loud "Surprise!" ringing in the air. I jerked back, and it took everything in me to get a hold of my balance. I stared at the scene in front of me with equal parts disbelief and shock, and I still couldn't believe my eyes. Decorations were strewn all over the place, with colorful balloons hanging from the pillars, and ribbons tailing the fancy chairs that had been set out. At the far end of the restaurant , I caught sight of a buffer table, a bar and a mini DJ set up. The entire gesture was breathtaking, but nothing caught my attention more than the huge banner that hung from the chandelier. "Happy engagement." I read out the words. My voice came out as a small whisper and tears stung the back of my eyes. "You guys threw me a surprise engagement party." "Not you guys..." Someone's deep baritone filled the air and my lips curled up in a smile. Even before he made his way to the front, I had already figured out who it was. "...I did." Daniel. My breath hitched in my throat as he walked towards me with a bright smile on his lips. "Happy Engagement, my love," he grinned, before pressing his lips against mine and capturing it in the most passionate kiss I've ever gotten. More cheers erupted in the background, but I forced myself to focus on Daniel's lips moving over mine. "You didn't have to do this," I whispered through his mouth. "This is too...." "Little compared to what I would do for you when we actually get married." He kissed me again. "You just wait and see." "Get a room, will you?" Someone yelled from the crowd and a ripple of laughter filled the room. Reluctantly, I pulled away from Daniel's lips, just to walk into my best friend's arms. "Look at you." Lisa cooed as she gave me the tightest hug ever. She was my biggest supporter and I melted in her arms, the best place to be after my fiancé's We had our little moment before Daniel appeared by my side in a flash, his hands coming around my waist. "We should cut the cake." "Ah.yes." I pulled away from Lisa as Daniel nodded to someone and a waiter came in with a loading table. On top of it, sat the most beautiful cake I'd ever seen. If I wasn't already a grown adult, I would have rushed towards it immediately. More claps filled the air as we slowly walked towards the dessert. It even towered above us, and Daniel was almost a good 6 feet. Everyone in the restaurant yelled at the top of their lungs as we pushed the knife through the ceiling-high cake after the count of three. My grin remained in my face as Daniel cut out a small chunk, before feeding me some. Everyone's coo filled the air, so I let out a laugh of my own, and more tears slid down my cheeks. I was ecstatic and this party was everything. Whether me being emotional had something to do with the fact that this was low-key what I needed to end the bad day I had today, or I just genuinely didn't see it coming, I wasn't sure. All I knew was that I wanted to cry, and shed happy tears too. "Come on, don't cry." Lisa gave me one more hug. Daniel, and I were engaged and from the moment we met, it had been pure bliss and nothing less all through. Daniel never made me question anything. Every action of his screamed the fact that he loved me to death and he would do anything to prove it. Despite not knowing my real identity as the heiress of the Wellington family, he loved me silly and would even bring heaven and the earth together for me. More guests trooped in, grabbing my attention and I made a gesture that the cake be shared among everyone, before going to mingle with the guests. I had just completed my first round of greetings when Daniel walked up to me. "I'll be back honey." He wiggled his vibrating phone in front of me. "I have to take this." "Okay." I flashed him a small smile. "Don't take too long." "There she is." Someone called from behind me. I literally had to pull my gaze away from my retreating boyfriend, but the moment I did, I didn't regret it. "Congratulations honey." "Emma, you came." I wrapped my hands around her. She wasn't alone either. In fact, Lisa had invited our entire friend group. "Sophie and Clara too." "We wouldn't miss it for the world," Clara beamed. While the rest of my friends chatted among themselves, a message made its way to my phone. "I have talked to the investors already." It was a message from my secretary and I murmured underneath my breath. "What investors?" I thought long and hard about what she was talking about and had no memory of what she was saying. "The one we've been meaning to get our contract." She shot me another text, but when at that, I still couldn't bring myself to remember. "I don't think that's necessary." I turned back into Lisa's conversation at the right moment. "Today's a happy moment and we should be celebrating. " "Yeah." I smiled, a quick way to let whatever my secretary was saying die, but I just couldn't shake it off. What investors did she really mean? Before I could think too much about it, a small ding reached my ears. It was another text notification and I clicked on it immediately. "Another surprise for my love." I read the words out slowly. "One that's perfect for my princess." A huge grin made its way to my lips, but it faltered almost instantly. The number the text came from wasn't saved on my phone. Huh? I stared hard at the texts, then the number. My first instinct was that Daniel was the one who had sent it, but the strange number threw me off as I had all of Daniel's numbers saved. The phone pinged again and another text came in. "Find the room that marks the date it all started." I mused over the text for a minute before a thought clicked. Daniel had asked me out and proposed to me on the 16th of different months and, since this was a hotel, this definitely meant room number 16. I dashed out of the restaurant and in no time, I found the room he had mentioned. With a grin plastered on my face, I slowly pushed the door open. But my smile disappeared the moment I stepped into the room, and I couldn't help the gasp that slid past my lips. "No...." My voice was a cracked whisper.