Shonee's POV

For the next hour or two, we lost ourselves in the party games. From the musical chairs to treasure hunts and a mini pageant show in which all the girls emerged winners, Mirasol had a fun time relating with all the kids. It warmed my heart to see her laughing, playing and generally having the time of her life. She deserved every bit of it.

I was still laughing from our last round of musical chairs when Vincent, in his excitement, went to sit on the final chair, only for the chair leg to buckle and break. He tumbled backwards into the grass, flailing his arms as he went down.

The kids and some of the adults who had witnessed the entire scene burst into a hearty laugh. Even Mirasol doubled over, giggling uncontrollably at the sight of her dad sprawled out on the grass.

"Alright, alright, no need to laugh so hard!" Vincent chuckled, brushing off the grass as he stood up.

"Oh my God, are you ok?" Giggling, I approached him and plucked out some loose grass blades from his hair.

"Yeah. I'm fine." He brushed it off as nothing and turned back to continue the game with the kids. It was nice seeing this carefree side of him.

I soon felt a tap on my shoulder and turned around to find Gerta standing there, looking more distraught than ever. "Whoa, Gerta... what's wrong?"

"We umm... we have a bit of a problem in the kitchen," she murmured, and I immediately grew worried.

"Ok, tell me what happened?" Taking her hand, we both moved towards the house and Gerta explained everything in a low voice.

"A few minutes ago, Mrs. Beckham instructed me and the staff to bring the cake out and set it up, but when Audra went to get it from the fridge... she found it ruined."

"What?" The gravity of her words hit me like a wrecking ball, and I picked up the pace, dashing into the house and straight into the kitchen.

Half the serving staff was there with the familiar white cake box on the island. I quickly pulled off the lid, and my mouth dropped open. "What the—"

The cake was smashed beyond recovery, all three layers collapsed with the icing smeared into nothing but colourful mush and crumbs.

Audra, who was standing by with a worried expression, remarked, "From the way it looks, I'd say someone did this on purpose."

I let out a slow breath. "Yeah, and I know exactly who it is."

"Well, what are we going to do now?" Gerta asked in a concerned tone. "Mirasol will be devastated if there's no cake."

Murmurs rippled in from the awaiting staff just as Nancy poked her head into the kitchen, her lips curving into a smug smile. "What's going on here? Trouble in perfect birthday paradise?"

My eyes immediately narrowed and I abandoned the ruined cake to face her. "Oh Nancy, you must think you're so smart, trying to ruin a six-year-old's birthday party just because you didn't plan it."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," she said sweetly, though her expression and everything about her was brimming with that irritating smugness. There was no doubt. This was definitely Nancy's doing and it made me shake my head.

"You know, I anticipated a move like this from you." I shot her a pointed look. "I put myself in your shoes and thought, 'If I was Nancy and wanted to sabotage Mirasol's birthday party, what would I target?' Then it hit me: the cake. I mean, you can't have a birthday party without a birthday cake. Which is why I ordered two birthday cakes."

Nancy's smile faded off as I walked over to the pantry and pulled open the door of a mini fridge tucked away in the back. If you haven't been in this house long enough, you wouldn't know about it, that's why I deliberately hid this cake here, knowing very well that Nancy wouldn't find it even if she trashed out the entire kitchen.

I reached in, pulled out the box, and set it on the island before pulling off its cover. The My Little Pony theme cake was completely intact, a beautifully decorated replica of the first cake.

Gerta heaved out a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank goodness for your intuition, Shonee. We need to get this set up as soon as possible. Audra, get the candles and sparklers."

"Right."

And just like that, the staff launched back into action, taking the cake outside.

As they filed out of the kitchen, Nancy lingered, looking pretty stupid, and I couldn't help but chuckle at her glaring predictability.

"Wow. I can't believe you actually thought you could get me with that," I laughed even harder and Nancy's jaw twitched.

"You might have taken that extra step this time, but trust me Shonee, this isn't over," she muttered in a tone clipped in pure vexation.

"Argh, here we go again with the petty threats." I rolled my eyes, then I held her gaze. "Take a hint, Nancy. I'm not afraid of you. You're all bark no bite, and what happened just now is a clear indication of how pathetic your plans are." I drew closer to her, bringing us face to face. "No matter what you do, I will always be one step ahead of you."

"Hmm!" Her lips tightened. "We'll see about that." With that, she walked out of the kitchen.

Shaking my head, I returned outside to the party setting where everyone had gathered around the cake set-up with little Mirasol standing in front of it.

"There you are." Vincent snaked an arm around my waist and laid a kiss on my forehead. "Where did you take off to?"

"Nowhere important. Just tying up some loose ends," I shot him a smile.

"Ok, everyone let's go!" Mrs. Beckham instructed, and we all belted out the chorus of the birthday song.

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear Mirasol, happy birthday to you!"

"Hip! Hip! Hip!" Mrs. Beckham yelled.

"Hooraay!"

Then the sparklers came alive, amplifying the magic of the moment as my little girl cut into the cake, beaming like the little princess she was.

Despite Nancy's ridiculous attempts, everything turned out smoothly and as her birthday party planner/nanny, I was beyond glad.

"Your smile says it all," Vincent murmured, holding me against his chest. His warm breath brushed my ear as he added, "You did an incredible job today, Shonee. This is everything Mirasol could've wished for and more."

I glanced up at him, my heart swelling. "She's worth every bit of it."

"You're amazing, you know that?" He leaned down, capturing my lips in a soft and tender kiss. My cheeks warmed in delight as the world seemed to fade away for just a moment.

We broke apart to catch our breath and not long after, we were called in to take pictures with the birthday girl. Vincent and I crouched down with Mirasol in the middle, placing our hands over hers as she held the knife in the cake.

"Ready, princess?" Vincent asked.

She nodded enthusiastically. "Ready!"

"Ok, say cheese," the photographer urged before raising his device.

"Cheese!" The camera flashed, creating that picture-perfect moment that would forever capture this special day.

*****