Chapter 3 - Chapter 3 : The unexpected invitation

Diana's POV Been three weeks now since I ended my relationship with the bastard, Marcel. Surprisingly, all through the two weeks, I never for once regretted my decisions, which was one thing I had feared. I had feared that it might be hard for me to let go of a seven-year relationship, and I had put in all my effort and time to make sure it worked. I had been staying at a friend's house. I barely went back to my adoptive parents' home, only maybe to pick up some clothes, and then I went back to my friend's house, Ciara. Ciara was a childhood friend. The night I told her about what had happened between me and Marcel, she had forced me into going to a party. My adoptive parents, on the other hand, never said anything about the picture, I brought it up during dinner, but the discussion was pushed away. They began to talk more about their daughter; the worst part of it was they didn't include me in the discussions; no one asked me for my contributions, and when I tried to ask Serena, my stepsister, a question, they would dismiss it like I was some outcast. The first one and a half weeks after my engagement with Marcel ended, I stayed in my adoptive parent's house. Marcel never came, but Serena was always going out, and when she wasn't going out, she was always on call smiling and laughing. I guess Marcel must have told them we had broken up, or maybe they just assumed, but it doesn't even matter because neither of them deemed it fit to ask about my relationship with Marcel. I couldn't cope with the trauma that came with being neglected and being treated as if I were a pest. Years ago and even a few months before they found Selena, my parents had treated me like I was their all. I was treated like an egg, a diamond but now, I was the rejected stone. I was lying on the couch in Ciara's home, scrolling through social media, watching news feeds and reels, when I saw a text message update. I wasn't the kind that checked their text messages immediately after they got a text; I never received text messages except if they were from network companies or spam messages. I have about a thousand-plus unread messages. Most of my important messages go to WhatsApp and the ones that aee more pressing makes calls. This time I was moved to check. My eyes widened in shock at the message. It read: "Hello Ms Diana Kensington you have been invited to our grandfather's birthday party coming up two days from now, you've been invited as a special guest since you will become one of us soon, after this message his your passcode" I read and reread, I cleaned my eyes to be sure I was reading the right thing. I had just got an invitation to Marcel's grandfather's birthday, how is that possible. I opened my WhatsApp contact and found out I was still in their group chat, and it's been beaming with messages for a long time in preparation for Grandpa's birthday. I had seen Marcel's grandfather a few times, and those two times I spent with him were marvellous. He was such a nice, kind, loving soul, and he loved me so much. I was sure that he had personally told whoever was in charge of the Invitations to specially invite me. And yes, there's a passcode; the Lorenzos are one stinkingly rich family. I stood up from the couch and began to pace around, wondering how I still got an invitation after I had broken up my engagement with Marcel. "What's bothering you?" Ciara's voice echoed through the room from the kitchen door; she was fixing us something to eat. I turned to look at her "I just got an invitation to attend Marcel's grandfather's birthday." "What!" She exclaimed "You heard me", I said, stressing my words. "How? Didn't they know that you ain't together with him? Wait, who sent it? Was it Marcel?" I looked at her with disgust in my eyes. "Hell no, it isn't Marcel. Besides, I blocked him, so there's no way he could have been able to text me." "What If he sends you the invite with someone else's number, seeing that you had blocked his..." she said coming closer to where I stood. "No, I don't think so; you weren't there when we had our last quarrel; you need to see the unremorseful attitude he had, the cold gaze when I told him we should end things and the way he sounded whenever he told me I was going to regret my decision. " I scoffed "Well, who sent it?" She asked "Well I don't know, and I don't care since I won't be attending." "What?" Ciara's gaze was questioning "What do you expect me to do? Whoever sent this isn't aware of our relationship status; I honestly don't want to be an object of mockery." "Come on, how would you be an object of mockery?" She asked "Stop acting like you don't know what I am talking about", I said, falling back on the couch. "Okay," she exhaled, sitting on the edge of the couch. "Okay, let's say you get there; Marcel comes with your stepsister, and so what?" I looked at her with surprise laced in my eyes "You weren't invited as a plus one, girl; you were invited alone, so meaning you have every right to be in the party just as Marcel has to" I stared at her without saying anything. "Besides, I don't think his grandfather knows about your relationship status right now, and that man..." she paused "he loved you like a daughter; it's going to break his heart if you don't show up to his birthday party." Ciara was right. Lorenzo Senior, Marcel's grandfather, loved me, no doubt, but I still didn't feel comfortable going to the party. Everything could go wrong; what happens when Marcel decides to tell them about it right there? "I know what you are thinking, you are thinking, what if Marcel decides to tell everyone at the party? Well, do you know what I think? I think he wouldn't want to ruin his grandfather's birthday party because he knows how much his grandfather loves you." "I don't know, Ciara I am not sure about this." "Don't worry, don't think about anything, just think about going to the party, besides you need to show that scumbag how comfortable and happy you are without him. I am sure he knows by now that an invitation was sent to you, so if you don't show up it's going to look like you are scared of him."