I woke up to my grandfather shaking me lightly and when i looked up at him, he smiled at me saying 'Happy birthday sweetheart.' I smiled at his response and replied 'Thank you grandpa.' while stretching lightly to work out the nots in my body, I could not remember how I went to sleep in this position but I guess I just wanted to be close to my grandfather just like I clung to him when I was young because of the shock I experienced the previous day.

  'You should go home and get ready for your birthday party, you have a lot to do.' he said. 'How can you be talking about a birthday party when you are in the hospital, I do not feel like celebrating without you and I am just not in the mood for it considering the present circumstances.' 'What circumstances? are you sad because of Hanbing, is that why you don't want to celebrate your birthday?'

  'Its not just because of brother Hanbing, I have not recovered from the scare you gave to me yesterday and I need to prepare myself for the decision I took also. Don't get me wrong, I have no regrets but I still need time to process it.' I said to him. 'What time and what are you processing, you are so young and have your entire life before you, people will come and go everyday but you don't need to dwell on it too much, those who really matter will stay with you. I am not going to ask you why you decided to accept my decision so quickly as I know its not just because I fell sick I know you better than that, but I see no need to wallow over it. The decision has been made and you need to move forward bravely.' I could tell that he had probably guessed the situation with brother Hanbing from the way he was talking and did not want to expatiate on it so it would not seem like he was saying I told you so.

  Ever the general, he looked me deeply in the eyes and continued, 'Jingsen will pick you up and take you to your birthday party as your partner where he will be introduced as your fiancé, and I expect you to walk in with your head held high as the granddaughter I raised personally and move forward boldly towards your future.' I gave him a nod in affirmation and he squeezed my hands giving me a bit of warmth outside the general tone, I know he loves me and wants what's best for me and I also know sometimes you need tough love to grow and overcome some setbacks, just because he is hard on me does not mean he does not love me. He loves me more than anybody else in this world just as I love him and yesterdays situation just reminded me of that.

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  'Mr. Lee will soon be here to look after me and keep me company so you don't have to worry. Have fun and comeback tomorrow to tell me how it went and remember his name is Han Jingsen.' 'Okay grandpa.' I said giving him a kiss on his cheek before I walked out of the room going to the car park to get my phone. I brought out my phone to check the news and saw no mention of my grandfathers illness and let out a breath in relief knowing Mr. Lee had been able to keep it from the press. I guess this was another reason to hold the party because anybody that suspected there was an issue would definitely start to have doubt seeing me celebrating my party.

  I got to the house and went straight to my room to have a relaxing soak in the tub and saw the most beautiful gown I had ever seen on my bed, I was not expecting it but I knew immediately that it was a gift from my grandfather. It was a blue qipao, floor length and had a split up to the thigh. The dress was not straight or tight but had waves after the knee that made it look like it flowed. What really captured me was the embroidery, it was not much but it complimented the color of the gown and how the shade of blue faded from a dark blue to lighter shades as it got down to the floor almost looking like white at the tip with a few specks of blue. There was only one way to describe the dress, elegant and breath taking.

  I had a bubble bath and it took longer than expected as I had a light nap while in it before calling for my breakfast and asking for Ah Cy to come in and do my makeup and hair, with her around there was no need to pay for a makeup artist because she could perform magic with her hands. While dressing up, I received a text from brother Hanbing telling me he would see me at the party and wishing me a happy birthday while professing his love and how he missed me. I scanned through my phone and saw various missed calls from Ningyi, brother Hanbing and my other friends, and also birthday texts from them but I did not bother reading or replying any of them and just concentrated on getting ready. I was really not in the mood to socialize but I guess I have to get myself in the mood, I let out a sigh as I watched her work her magic on my hair in the mirror.

  I could hear the door bell ring and guessed he was here, I was feeling nervous although I tried to hide it and the butler knocked on my room door telling me my escort was here. I hurried into my dress before applying finishing touches to my makeup and grabbed my clutch purse before heading down the stairs to my future. I was nervous because it was possible that the man I was meeting today would be who I would spend the rest of my life with and although my grandfather mentioned divorce, i know that would not happen easily. I remembered what my grandfather told me and adjusted my posture walking with my head held high and no sign showing how nervous I was at the moment.