Stolen Identity: Mute Heiress

Chapter 475: Bridal Shower

Lucy reached across the console and rubbed Genevieve’s back gently.

“Oh, sweetheart.”

Genevieve laughed through her tears as she covered her face with both hands.

“I can’t stop the tears these days.”

Lucy smiled as she handed her a packet of tissues. “Oh? And here I was thinking you’ve always been such a crybaby.”

Genevieve laughed again as she took it from her. “Thank you.”

She dabbed carefully beneath her eyes before looking into the mirror. “My makeup is ruined.”

Lucy smiled warmly. “Well, you’re among sisters, not strangers. You can always fix your makeup before the cameras begin to flash. Besides, you’ll be taking off your mask for this. You don’t want a different face showing on your bridal shower pictures.”

“Thank you,” Genevieve said, and they both got out of the car.

The front door was decorated with fresh flowers, ribbons, and balloons in soft shades of pink, ivory, and gold.

Everything looked elegant and thoughtful.

Genevieve smiled again. “They really did all this…”

Lucy linked their arms together. “They did. And they’re waiting for you.”

Together, they walked toward the front door.

The butler opened the door before they could ring the doorbell. “You’re welcome, Mrs Hank,” he greeted Lucy with a wide smile, before nodding politely at Genevieve.

Lucy exchanged pleasantries with him before stepping inside with Genevieve.

The butler led them to the drawing room where the others were waiting, and the moment they stepped inside the room, party poppers exploded and confetti floated through the air.

“HAPPY BRIDAL SHOWER!”

The shout echoed through the entire room.

For a moment, Genevieve simply stared. Her mouth slowly fell open as she looked around at the familiar faces around her.

Dawn, Mari, Emily, Delilah, Jessica, Sonia, Jade, and Candace.

Every one of them stood there wearing bright smiles.

A large banner stretched across the drawing room.

CONGRATULATIONS, BRIDE-TO-BE!

And there was a beautiful dessert display on one side of the room, and a table with gifts arranged on it.

Then she cried. “Oh my goodness…”

Her voice broke. “You all…”

Before she could finish speaking, Dawn hurried towards her and hugged her.

“How did she manage to play the role of Cinderella’s evil step-sister for all these years if she cries so easily?” Sonia whispered to Lucy, but it was loud enough for Jade and Candace to hear.

“Sony!” Lucy hissed, though she was amused.

Candace and Jade giggled.

“Emily, it’s good to see you again after all the buzz you and Callan made on social media,” Lucy said with a grin, making Emily blush while the others laughed and began to tease her too.

Finally, after she was calm, Genevieve pulled back just enough to look at Dawn. “I’ve been wondering why you’ve been unusually busy these past few days.”

Dawn smiled. “Not just me.”

She gestured around the room. “Everyone has been busy.”

Her eyes filled all over again. “You all did this…”

Delilah smiled. “We certainly did.”

Genevieve walked towards her immediately and hugged her tightly. “Thank you.”

Delilah kissed the side of her head. “You deserve to be celebrated, darling.”

Genevieve looked at every one of them and sniffled. “Thank you so much. I feel so loved. I’m grateful.”

Emily walked over to her and embraced her. “It’s good to see you again, Genny. Glad I’m attending your wedding, not a funeral.”

Genevieve laughed. “Me too. Thank you for coming.”

Mari suddenly clapped loudly.

“Okay! That’s enough!” She cleared her throat importantly as she picked up a small karaoke microphone from the table.

“As the official emcee of today’s event, I would like to officially announce that all unnecessary hugging and pleasantries should now cease.”

Everyone laughed.

Mari pointed towards Genevieve, “Dawn and Emily, please escort the bride to the room so she can take care of her face.”

Immediately, Dawn and Emily escorted Genevieve to the adjoining room.

Twenty minutes later, they returned, and Mari gestured to the beautifully decorated chair. “The bride will kindly take her royal seat, and her servant… scratch that, her maid of honor can serve her dessert.”

Everyone laughed as Dawn dramatically escorted Genevieve to her seat and then served her dessert.

After everyone had settled down, Mari smiled. “Thank you. First of all, I’d like to welcome everybody to the first…” She paused thoughtfully. “…and hopefully only bridal shower of Genevieve.”

Laughter filled the room.

Mari smiled. “You should know that we have games, food, gifts.”

She looked at Genevieve. “And…” She wiggled her eyebrows. “…lots of advice from the beautiful married ladies here.”

“Only the married ladies? I have advice too,” Emily said.

“You, my darling girl, should be taking some from Genny, not giving it considering how long it took her to get Stefan to pop the question,” Mari said dryly.

Emily glared at her while everyone else laughed.

“My Sassy Mari,” Sonia said with approval, and Mari blew her a kiss that made the others laugh even more.

Mari looked around. “We’re going to begin with games! And the first game is for the bride.”

The room immediately erupted into cheers.

“We are going to find out how well you know your groom. If you get enough right, we’ll officially confirm that you’re marrying the correct man.”

Genevieve laughed. “And if I fail?”

Mari looked thoughtful. “We cancel the wedding.”

The ladies burst into laughter.

“But before we get into the game, I have a couple of questions for you. We all know how you met Stefan…”

Everyone laughed at that.

“Yeah, we do,” some of them said, making her blush.

“What do you love the most about Stefan? Why are you marrying him?”

Genevieve smiled softly. “I’m afraid I can’t answer that with just one thing.”

Mari folded her arms dramatically. “Wrong answer. This isn’t an essay question.”

The ladies laughed.

Genevieve laughed too before looking down at her engagement ring.

“It’s difficult because… I don’t think I fell in love with one part of Stefan.”

Several women exchanged knowing smiles.

She looked up again. “I fell in love with all the little things.”

The room became quiet.

She smiled. “I love how safe I feel around him.” Her voice softened. “I love that he listens to me. He doesn’t wait for his turn to speak. He listens until he understands.”

No one interrupted. Not even Mari.

She laughed quietly. “I love that he solves problems before I even realise they’re problems.”

The ladies chuckled.

Tears gathered in her eyes. “I love that he makes me feel like I’m worth protecting without ever making me feel weak.”

She looked down briefly and her fingers traced the ring.

“I’ve made so many mistakes in my life. But somehow he always manages to look at me like I’m still the best thing that’s ever happened to him.”

Everyone smiled.

Genevieve continued, though her vision had become blurry. “I love that he’s patient and gentle. And I love that he apologises when he’s wrong.”

Sonia immediately interrupted. “That part is very important. He’s a keeper.”

Everyone laughed, including Genevieve.

“I love that he makes me laugh when I’m upset. And I love that every time I’m scared, he somehow makes me believe everything will be okay.”

“At the rate this is going, we are going to be here all night talking about the qualities of Stefan,” Jade said, and everyone laughed.

Genevieve giggled through her tears. “I’ll conclude by saying I love that with him home stopped being a place. It became a person.”

Silence settled over the room again.

“For most of my life, I was looking for somewhere to belong. Then Stefan happened. And now…” She shrugged softly. “I’m here with all of you. I’m no longer alone. I have family.”

The room remained silent for another moment, save for the sniffles.

“Dee, are your chefs spying on us?” Sonia asked suddenly, and everyone glanced at the door.

“No. Why would they do that?” Delilah asked with a frown, rising to go check.

“Are you sure? It feels like someone was slicing onions around here. I thought maybe your chefs are somewhere around,” Sonia said with a grin.

Everyone burst into laughter, instantly breaking the emotion.

Jade pointed dramatically at Sonia. “Sony, behave!”

“What did I do?” Sonia argued. “You were all about to cry. I saved your makeup!”

Jade laughed. “She’s right.”

Mari sighed. “Fine.”

Then she pointed back at Genevieve. “Okay…”

She grinned. “Now let’s see if this deep love of yours actually helped you remember his favourite colour or shoe size.”

The room erupted into laughter again.

“How can you tell if I’m wrong?” Genevieve asked, laughing.

“I sent Stefan a list of questions while you were fixing your face,” Mari said with a wink, and the game finally began.