The Revenge of the Mute Wife by Melanie Paulson

Extra 33: James and Howard

Meanwhile, the grand hall where the party would be held was gradually filling up with guests.

To enter the venue, all guests had to present their invitations for the security team to allow them in. Since it was an event that had drawn attention, it was logical that there would be people trying to sneak into the party.

Among those people were Roger and his family, who were denied entry because they didn't present any Invitations when they attempted to get in, so security politely escorted them away. "Damn it! You'll regret this," Cassandra fumed.

"I told you, you're confusing things," her mother said.

"Dad..."

"Roger, just forget about it. Let's go back home... They told you back then that they're not your family anymore, so I doubt this party is for our daughter," Cassandra's mother insisted. "Don't say that, Mom."

"Ugh... You know what? I'm done with this. Do whatever you want... I'm going back home," she said, turning to walk away from the venue. "No.. Mom."

"Let her go, honey. We'll show her she was wrong later Roger said, taking his daughter's hand and returning to the venue, looking for a way to sneak into the party without an invitation. Meanwhile, inside the hall, everyone watched as George positioned himself in the center of the room.

"Good afternoon, everyone. Haha, thank you for joining us this lovely afternoon," George said, using a jovial tone. "Thank you all for coming and joining us for this magical celebration." "Come on, old man, just tell us why we're here!" one of the guests called out, already enjoying a glass of champagne.

"Yes, spill it already and tell us who this party is for," another guest said with amusement.

"Well, I think some of you only know half the story," George said, looking at his grandsons' classmates.

"We're here for James," one of the brunette's classmates called out.

"No, we're here for Howard," an excited teenager declared.

"You're both right. This is a joint party to celebrate both of my grandsons," George stated, his words filled with pride. "But shh... as you know, it's a surprise for them, and they're about to enter the venue now, so I need everyone to help me surprise them," he said, as the guests smiled and tried to stay quiet.

Then the waiters approached the guests, offering confetti cannons and noisemakers to use when given the signal.

Nicholas and Tatiana moved to the center of the room, waiting for the entrance of James and Howard,

while she handed George a confetti cannon so he could join in the fun.

Just then, Elliot and his family entered from the right, while James and the Coopers entered from the left.

The organizer signaled to turn off the lights, so they wouldn't suspect anything.

"Are we there yet?" James asked, leaning on Elizabeth to walk.

"Almost, but don't talk," his sister ordered.Content bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.

"Mom, where are we? Howard asked, also blindfolded)

"It's a surprise," his little sister said, laughing.

"That's right, it's a surprise, so just wait a bit longer," Erika said.

Carefully, they were placed in the center of the room.

"On the count of three, take off your blindfolds."

"Take them off?" they both said, noticing the other's voice.

"One two... three!" Erika and Elizabeth shouted simultaneously.

James and Howard took off their scarves and were greeted by a shower of confetti.

"Wow... what's this?" Howard asked.

"Surprise!" all the guests shouted as the lights suddenly came back on.

"But.." James saw his friends, who were already holding bottles of beer. "Ah you jerks, you tricked me."

"Surprise! We told you we had plans to celebrate, didn't we?" a blond boy said, laughing.

"Guys!" Howard greeted as he saw his classmates at the party too.

"Happy birthday, Howie!" some of them said, firing their confetti cannons.

"James, Howard," George called out. "Congratulations to both of you.

The two smiled and went over to hug their grandfather

"We deserve a hug too," Eric and Nicholas complained.

James laughed and hugged his grandfathers as well, knowing they had planned this joint party.

"Well," George said, turning to the guests, "here's the big reveal for everyone who's been asking: we're here for two reasons. The first is to celebrate that fifteen years ago today, a little redhead was born." "Wow Grandpa," the teenage Howard blushed a bit, hearing his grandfather refer to him in such a sentimental way.

"Aww... my baby is already 15," Erika said, stepping forward to kiss him on the cheek.

"Ugh. Mom, no, we're in public," Howard complained, moving away from the maternal affection.

"Mommy, I'm the baby," his little brunette sister protested, running to hug her, much to Elliot's amusement.

"I agree with Fiona; she's the baby, not me," Howard said, embarrassed, making the guests laugh.

"And he also graduated with an excellent grade point average, 9.4, Elliot declared proudly, ruffling his

son's hair.

"Oh, but you know, Elliot, when it comes to being proud, I win," Jayden said, pulling out James's plaque for everyone to see.

"Whoa... Dad, no..." James said, blushing deeply.

"Oh yes, my baby graduated with a perfect GPA, and he even got an award at school for being the first to achieve it in five generations," declared Deborah, hugging him. "Really?" asked George, taking the plaque to read it.

James turned as red as a tomato at that moment, listening to his friends' teasing and the applause of the other guests.

"Congratulations, James," said Elliot, coming over to see the award.

"Thanks, Uncle," he replied, embarrassed.

"Well, and the second reason we're here is to celebrate that today my first grandson graduated with his architecture degree," announced George. "He's a full-grown man now."

With that said, a bit more confetti fell from the ceiling, making way for a big banner that read: Congratulations James and Howard.

After that, the kids and families mingled with the guests to chat for a while. It was also a good time to hand out gifts to the honorees.

"It's such a joy to see them like this," said George, watching his grandchildren talk and laugh with their friends.

"I know, Dad," said Elliot. "Though, you know what's ironic?"

"That James is like a taller, buffer, brown-haired version of your brother."

"Yeah... and it bothers me that he just rejected James for no reason."

"But we didn't reject him, and that's what matters. Besides, Jayden really is his father," he said, looking at Jayden chatting with his friends, proudly showing off the plaque his son had received. "You can tell he raised him well without treating him any differently from his other kids."

"I'm grateful for that since, for a moment, that was my biggest fear. But it was unfounded."

"Grandpa, Uncle, come on! What are you doing just standing there?" Elizabeth called out to them, approaching with two glasses. "We're about to toast to them."

"Let's go," said George and Elliot, taking the glasses and joining the party.