It was Ariel's birthday today.

She and Rita were enjoying a long, relaxing full body massage by their massage therapists in Ariel's room during a quiet, relaxing evening after work to wind down.

"You were caught by surprise?" Rita raised her brows with a smile.

"Yeah," Ariel lit up. "At first, I thought something's not right, since the restaurant was all dark and quiet during the day. When I called out, no one responded. Then I switched on the lights, and jumped in fright when everyone burst out screaming "Surprise! Happy birthday!". I never had a big birthday bash like this before. When they broke into the birthday song, Hiroshi came out with this ambitious dark chocolate cake that had elaborate, colourful buttercream flowers all around with candles. Sweet!" She smiled at the memory. "Oh, and my fans send me their well wishes too."

"That's nice...ooh," Rita reacted to both Ariel's answer and the therapist's massage.

After they were done, they put on their robes and the therapists were dismissed.

Rita glanced at the dressing table where Ariel's birthday gifts were placed. Gifts included Rita's handmade lavender vanilla candle with dried lavender flowers set in its wax, Beth's and Theo's succulent terrarium, Camila's box of Plush Puffs's handmade artisan marshmallows famed in California which was airmailed to her, and Andy's childlike painting of her and him on a small canvas with his written birthday wishes. The most expensive gift of all was a yellow-gold, diamond-crusted Rolex watch from Hiroshi. It came with a thick, shiny golden card with Ariel's name embossed across. Inside, Hiroshi's message neatly typed out in dark brown:

"Dear Ariel,

誕生日おめでとう (Tanjōbiomedetō i.e. Happy Birthday)!

Words cannot describe how happy I am to have you in my life. You're such a warmth of sunshine who's a great resilient worker and a true friend. May all your wishes come true. I'm so proud of you.

With sincerity and love,
藤田寛 (i.e Fujita Hiroshi)"

Ariel had never owned such an expensive watch before in her entire life, especially a Rolex! While having an expensive taste was part of her image, she was still a simple and humble person at heart. She would've happily accepted his gift even if it was a simple, hand-written card.

Then, there was that one untouched gift that was still in its black wrapper. It was obviously Leon's.

"Still haven't opened Leon's present?" Rita noticed.

Ariel shrugged.

"Why not?"

"Leopards don't change their spots, Rita," said Ariel, despite Rita's insistence that Leon was innocent.

"Leon's not a leopard. He's a lion, that's what his name means. He's not giving up what's his."

Ariel gave a sardonic laugh, "Yeah, right! He has Miss Hiromi to fool around with."

"Ariel..." Rita's tone got serious. "He's really telling the truth."

"I don't wanna care about he-said-she-said anymore, please. Not on my birthday."

"Then, at least open it. I'm curious to know what's inside."

"You can open it for me," said Ariel half-heartedly.

"Alright, if you say so," Rita untied the gold ribbon and unwrapped the box, which revealed a very beautiful, shiny black box with a posh but unknown logo embedded in gold on it. It was probably from a specialised artisan. She flipped open the box and her jaw dropped, "Look at this, Miss Beautiful, it's so pretty!" She showed her.

The box revealed a golden necklace with a black opal set in a pendant with diamond-crusted bands of swirls shaped like rose petals. There was a small card inside. Unlike Hiroshi's impressive card, this card was plain Lavender in colour and it was handwritten in black pen, obviously Leon's handwriting.

Ariel and Rita read the card together:

"Dear Ariel,

You're always in my thoughts, always in my heart.
You bloom beautifully each day like a rose,
Bursting with colours of exquisiteness like a black opal.
May you remain sweet and beautiful always,
In deed and in heart.

Have a happy birthday. 

Love, hugs and kisses,
Leon Waltz"

"Ahh! I'm getting butterflies reading this! Aren't you?" Rita squealed.

Ariel blushed at his words. The necklace was extremely beautiful and clearly expensive, especially with that rare black opal that reflected a vibrant array of colours. Now, it was unclear whose gift was the most expensive - Hiroshi's or Leon's. Whatever the case, Ariel felt her heart of stone melting once more.

"Is Leon still here?" she asked.

Rita was surprised her friend had momentarily forgotten he left for his parents yesterday. She reminded, "Left yesterday, remember? Oh, he said he missed you so much and I still remembered those sad eyes!"

Ariel blushed even more.

"Miss Beautiful, call him, talk to him. You'll brighten him up, like a rose," Rita nudged her.

———

The whole Waltz family, including Angel and Ivy, were present for Mrs Waltz birthday.

Leon lifted his wine glass up with the whole family and toasted to her health and good wishes during the birthday dinner. Inside everyone's wine glass was not wine but sparkling grape juice, in consideration of Leon. Even Mr and Mrs Waltz's kitchen's alcohol stash were replaced with healthy juices. Their fruit and vegetable gardens helped bring in some income since Leon's parents decided to sell their produce at a farmer's market three times a week at the nearby town.

"Don't worry, son. We do this together. I'm happy and having fun doing such work and keeping myself active with the community. Keeps dementia at bay," Mr Waltz said to Leon.

The gate intercom rang.

Angel went to answer the gate intercom and saw on the camera, a delivery man outside the gate, verifying his identity. After the verification, the delivery man drove into the mansion compound and rang the doorbell.

"For Mrs Nina Waltz," he passed a package to him.

Angel signed off the package and brought it to his mother, "You got a package, ma!"

"But I never ordered anything. Did you?" Mrs Waltz asked her husband.

"Nope," he shook his head.

"Any of you?" she asked the rest.

"No," they all shook their heads, just as curious as to who sent this package to her, especially so late in the night.

Curious, Mrs Waltz opened the package to reveal a golden box with a card on top. She flipped open the flap of the box and gasped at the colorful assortment of chocolates of the same shape and size, with different toppings of dried fruits and sprinkles of nuts and coconut.

"Oh, I love chocolates!" Mrs Waltz could not wait to take a bite. She opened the accompanying card which had an illustration of a beautiful garden,  and read the message:

"Dear Mrs Nina Waltz, Happy Birthday! I hope you love these handmade chocolates that I made for you. No nasty preservatives and no sugar (I use erythritol). May your smile forever brighten those around you.

Sincerely,
Ariel Lee."

"It's from Ariel!" Mrs Waltz was surprised. "Such a sweet girl, she hasn't forgotten me." She took the one chocolate with coconut on top and took a bite. "So good!"

"Ariel made these?" Angel grabbed one chocolate and took a bite. "Oh wow! It really melts in the mouth, so smooth! If only she can teach me that."

"Mmmm....yum!" Ivy ate a piece. "Definitely one of the best I've tasted!"

"I agree," said Mr Waltz, chewing on a piece, "Leon, try it. It's lovely!"

Leon was astonished at how Ariel managed to make the chocolates and deliver them to his mother that fast. He did not remember her making chocolates for him when she was his chef, since his frequent requests for desserts were usually cakes, tarts or cotton candy. But Ariel was a talented chef and her cooking skills were diverse. In an effort to take care of his health and reduce his body fat, Leon had cut back a lot on desserts after alcohol. Since Ariel's chocolates contained no sugar, he reached for a piece with shreds of dried orange peels and took a bite. It was indeed smooth and rich and matched perfectly with the crunchy citrusy bits of orange peels.

"Tell her I said thanks," Mrs Waltz said to Leon.

"I will," he nodded, although unsure if Ariel would read it even if he messaged her.

"Oh, I wish Ariel was here. Last year's birthday was quite fun with her and her son around. I remember how we discovered we share the same birthday!" Mrs Waltz reminisced with a giggle.

That night after dinner, Leon laid on his favourite go-to spot at the rooftop, gazing at the stars and replaying the first kiss he had with Ariel on the lips on that same spot. Time flies awfully fast.

It was nice of Ariel to remember his mother's birthday, but she still ignored him. Leon saw the Instagram pictures of her birthday celebration at her workplace including one which showed Hiroshi surprising her with a beautiful cake and both of them were wreathing in smiles. It made Leon boil inside at how Hiroshi was purposely stealing her away from him!

If only she could believe him...

"Ariel...Ariel," Leon chanted her name while staring at the faint milky way and its host of stars.

Just then, his phone;s ringing disturbed his peace.

"Hello?" he answered without looking at the name of the caller on the screen.

"Leon? It's Ariel."

"Ariel?" he got up, excited to hear her voice again. "How are you? Have you recovered? Are you okay?"

"Yes, I am. I just want to thank you for your necklace. It's really pretty."

"You're welcome," Leon smiled. "I miss you so much, Ariel. You know that?"

Ariel did not answer.

He continued, "Ariel, I'm right now at the rooftop where I used to take you up here for your birthday. The stars are beautiful and I wished you're here lying next to me."

He could hear Ariel holding her breath.

"By the way, my mother says thank you for the chocolates. My family loves them. I'm just amazed at how fast you could create and deliver them."

"Oh, my pleasure," she replied. "I prepared them two days before her birthday. I really like your mum."

"And she likes you too," Leon smiled. "It's so nice you to think of her...even though you hate me, which I hope not."

There was a momentary silence between them.

"Ariel, you there?"

"Listen Leon, I erm...I gotta go."

"So fast? Don't you have anything more to say to me?" he was surprised by her abrupt ending but she did not answer. 

"You know once I'm back in the city, I won't be staying near you anymore. I'll be living far away. Is that what you want?"

Still no answer from her.

"Ariel," Leon sniffed. "That kiss in Tokyo meant a lot to me. You're not some random girl to me. You're very special to me. I never want to give that away to anyone else. Trust me, I had absolutely NOTHING to do with Hiromi! She's lying to you! Her brother's lying to you!"

"Have a good night rest, Leon. I wish you the best in your new home, goodbye," Ariel finally answered and she hung up.

"Why does it always have to be like this!" Leon got frustrated at her short and cold responses, looking up at the sky with water welling in his eyes.

After she hung up the phone, Ariel looked at Hiromi who sat across her in the living room. The bodyguards had let Hiromi inside the house despite Ariel's clear instruction not to let her in, and she caught Ariel by surprise when she appeared in the living room during her conversation with Leon. Instead of respecting her space, Hiromi refused to leave while sitting across within hearing distance, making the conversation uncomfortable for Ariel to continue.

"What did Leon say?" Hiromi asked.

"Said he found a new home," Ariel tried her hardest not to show her fury at the boss's daughter.

"Ohh, I miss my darling so much!" Hiromi fanned herself with a silly smile. "He likes me very, very much...erm, since the day we romped on the sofa." She flashed an arrogant, victorious look.

"Is that why you came, just to tell me this?"

"I came cos' you know where he's moving to."

Ariel gave an uncomfortable laugh, "That's something you should know instead of me since he's your darling."

Hiromi's prideful smile dropped, "Well, erm...he has his reasons not to tell me. Maybe it's a surprise!"

"Oh yeah? Then why is your "darling" trying to avoid you? Why's he moving out without you?"

Hiromi felt cornered, "Er...h-he's a bad-tempered guy. He can be angry one minute, then loving the next, and then he ignores you. T-that's how he shows his love."

Ariel bit her tongue in the right side of her mouth as what Hiromi described was exactly what Leon was like indoors.

"So tell me, Ariel-san. Where's his new place? I'll get my dad to buy me a new house near Leon's."

"I don't know. Why don't you just head home?"

"Still jealous of me, because I'm younger and more beautiful?" Hiromi smirked. "You're gonna be with my brother anyway, so we're gonna be 姉妹 (shimai - i.e sisters) and we should be friendly with each other from now on," Hiromi put her arm across Ariel's shoulder.

Ariel shook her arm away with her shoulders, "You really should go, Hiromi. I need to sleep, I've got an interview with a cooking show tomorrow."

"姉! (Ane i.e older sister)!" Hiromi threw her arms around her shoulders, "I'm scared to go back home since I'll be staying all alone in a big house without Leon."

"I can get one of my bodyguards to accompany you back home."

"I'm still afraid," Hiromi whined. "I received a scary letter written in blood recently."

"Written in blood?" Ariel perked up. "What did it say? Do you still have it?"

"Nah," Hiromi shook her head. "They were thrown out. Just a jealous hate mail to me for being Leon's girlfriend."

"Was it a tiny card in a box of styrofoam bits wrapped in pink with golden polka dots?"

"Yes, yes!" Hiromi was surprised that Ariel knew the details. "How do you know? Or is it from you?" She narrowed her eyes at her in suspicion.

Ariel shook her head, "I also received such a card written in blood some time ago at my workplace. To think that you received it at your house, it could be that someone is really watching."

Hiromi got even more frightened and grabbed tightly onto Ariel's hand, "We need to call the police!"

"I did report it to the police but they dismissed this as a fan prank," Ariel sighed. She peered through her windows but saw no one, not even that tattooed storky man that she remembered.

"We'll just have to rely on our bodyguards, so don't worry," Ariel assured her. "You can stay here. I'll need to let your brother know of this."