Chapter 93 - The Grand Reveal

Winter stands on the balcony from the upper floor and takes a look at the scenery down in the garden.

The exquisite table setting pulls off a recreated look with all the soft pastel shades that beautifully tie everything together. There are these country-style table scapes that have a lot of textures with all the garlands and jars of flowers that are placed sporadically thorough out the food and plates. All the guests who arrived early seem to love the use of summer blooms, too. 

It's also quite impressive to see how creatively the desserts and delicacies are served. They've got edible blooms that taste as good as they look. The cocktail game was also upped by creating a mix and match garden bar, adding several citrus juices, making simple syrups out of different herbs, and pulling out a variety of clear spirits. 

What's more, there's a shaded area at this garden party for people who don't like being in the sun for too long. The parasols did the job, and the stylish sail shades add a bit of a beachy vibe to it. Since the party must continue seamlessly into the evening, plenty of outdoor lighting are prepared as well – a blending of different types, from tea lights to lanterns for a really beautiful luminous effect. 

'If I did not know any better, I would think that Bianca did all of these for me. I would be overjoyed that my adopted elder sister prepared so much for my welcoming party. But looking at all these now, all I can see is how insecure she is…' Winter thought begrudgingly.

'By organizing such an extravagant banquet, she is trying to impose her power and her position in the family. It goes along the line, 'I may only be adopted, but look at what I can do,' or something like, 'Of course, I'd welcome my dearest sister! To show her my love, I threw this party for her!' which are all exactly what this celebration is for. But in reality, she only wants to make people think that she's a kind big sister who cares about her little sister.'       

Everything will begin in earnest today. 

She knows what Bianca is up to, and she is ready for it. After working behind the scenes for quite some time, it's finally her turn to take the spotlight. Unlike before, she's not going to make her entrance while looking like some sort of country bumpkin who only happens to stumble upon a posh world. Right in the first get-go, she'll show them who's supposed to be the boss.   

"You look beautiful in that white floral dress, Ms. Middleton."

At that, Winter snapped out of her thoughts and turned around to find Jacob.

She almost forgot – he's an existence she should be concerned about. He knows about her interactions with Marcellus back then. And she can feel that he knows more. Fretting over it would do nothing good, though. What she has to do for now is to keep her cool and pretend to be unaware. 

Winter just needs to be prepared when Jacob pulls out a trick.

"Thank you, Sir Minerva. You look nice in that black formal suit, too…" she started, smiling.

"By the way, I'm sorry for not being able to greet you properly earlier. Please, excuse my elder brother's behavior as well. He's just… not really good with strangers."

Apparently, August had created a big deal out of their seating arrangement in the car earlier. 

Not only did he make her sit far across from him, but he also made sure that they were not going to make any physical contact. That's why he didn't let him do even something as small as a handshake when he offered her one. And as if that wasn't enough, he kept an eye on him the whole time.   

"It's alright. No offense taken. I understand that Sir Agreste is only looking out for you…" Jacob said with a kind smile, taking Winter aback for a bit. 

"He must really love you." 

She nearly fell for that one.

For a moment there, she thought for sure that he meant well. But she knows that this guy is nowhere near genuine nor sincere. She needs to be more on guard around him, considering that he is a cunning and calculating devil with an angelic facade.     

"By the way, I've got something for you," he continued, surprising her once more.

"For me?" she blurted out, and only then did she realize that he was holding something behind his back this entire time. 

"Yeah. It's something that belongs to you in the first place, though. I didn't expect I'd return it to you this way."

"Huh?"

That's when Jacob showed her a very familiar-looking floppy hat.

Winter has to peer at it for several more seconds before it finally clicks in her. Then, she realizes that it looks like the hat that she lost some time ago – the present that August gave her.

She stares at him, open-mouthed. 

"Y-You… Where did you…? H-How…?" she tried to say something but was too bewildered to do so.

"It matches your dress today, don't you think…?" he beamed at her before acting on his own accord and putting the hat on her head, bamboozling her even more.

"Make sure not to lose it this time."

Winter doesn't know what to say from that point on – and if this is a competition to see who can stay composed and in control of things, it's one point for Jacob, it seems.

--- 

The much- awaited grand reveal happens after that.

Winter tried her hardest to forget about what happened with Jacob earlier. Staying flustered may mean giving him what he wants, especially since it can distract her during the party. She's still not sure if he really did see her on the same day she lost that hat of hers, but going by the knowing look he showed her before they parted ways, she could tell the he did – 

Which means that Jacob must have also witnessed the whole 'fake couple act' that Winter carried out with Ace at that time. 

'S-S-So what?! W-W-What can he do about it, a-anyway…?!' she grimaced, barely hiding her mental panic behind her strained smile.

'Okay, calm down. This will not do. I've got to focus. Let's handle everything one at a time.'

The grand reveal doesn't particularly look that grand to Winter. 

She only made her entrance along with Cyrus who introduced her to everyone. The whole garden is packed with people by then – guests of prestige, wealth and fame. In front of such a crowd, anyone would have been intimidated. Back then, she ended up feeling so nervous that she could not walk properly, especially in these high-heeled stiletto shoes that her ever so 'thoughtful' sister made her wear.   

But right now, Winter stands before all of them with confidence. 

Not too poised that she appears like bragging, but cool enough to keep things looking casual. It's not that hard to do. But what's hard is keeping her expression together the whole time. She planned to remain collected during the entire introduction, which she knew she could do, but as soon as she spotted a certain someone in the crowd, she almost lost it.

It's Marcellus.

And he's staring at her very, very intently.

'Why the hell did you not tell me about this?' was basically what his expression telling her. 

It's a shame that she didn't get to see his surprised look. Before she knew it, he already moved on from the shock and was now glaring at her. Now, she feels like a daughter who's been caught doing something bad by her father. She's more than certain that she's going to get an earful from him after this. 

'It's your fault for getting sick, you dummy. I would've told you a month ago if you weren't acting like you're about to drop dead at any given moment. Not to mention, you're not in a good shape for the past few weeks. How can I possibly tell you about this if you can barely handle your own problems? I'm more worried about you than myself, you know.'

With that explanation prepared, Winter collects her cool again. 

She'll just have to reason that out to Marcellus later on. This way, she might also get him to open up about his problems. She feels like he's being too reserved lately. 

Marcellus isn't really the only one who's there, though. There's also Violet over there who looks so stunned that she's gaping, and there's George whose eyes are as wide as an owl's. Anne happens to be invited as well. She appears so stupefied that Winter wonders if her brain is still functioning properly.   

'Good grief. Bianca invited everyone, huh? She must be very confident. I don't doubt that her fiance had something to do about this, too. Well, not like there's any problem with that. This works for me as well since I no longer have to tell them one by one…' Winter thought to herself.

'Let's just hope that you didn't bite off more than you could chew, dear big sister.'