At the Davids' house, Christine had gathered the entire David's Architecture staff for a surprise gathering. The house buzzed quietly under dim lights—on the first floor, darkness reigned.
Mandume and Maria arrived together. As they stepped in, a strange shadow loomed.
"Why is the living room dark?" Mandume asked, narrowing his eyes. He took out his phone and tried to turn on the flashlight, but it flickered uselessly.
"What's going on?" Maria asked sharply.
"Looks like the circuit for the living room's out. But there's light upstairs, so it's only down here," Mandume replied, his voice cautious.
He began heading up the stairs when he bumped into something solid—warm. Human.
"Ouch!" a voice whispered.
Mandume froze. "Boni?"
Startled, Maria dropped her phone. It clattered to the ground, sliding far out of reach.
"I'm sorry, Boni… wait—what are you doing here? Why are you just… lying here?" Mandume asked, confused and concerned.
Just then, the lights flickered on.
"Surprise!" a chorus erupted.
The entire David's Architecture team was gathered, confetti flying, grins lighting up the room like a thousand bulbs. Bonita stood beside them, smiling sheepishly.
Mandume blinked. Lazarus, his ever-loyal PA, came forward with a knowing grin.
"Sir, thank you. We were all worried about the salary cuts, but you addressed it even before we could bring it up," Lazarus said.
"So… you threw a party?" Mandume asked, bemused.
"It was your grandmother's idea," Lazarus replied, stepping aside as Christine walked forward and hugged him tightly.
"I'm so proud of you, son. You couldn't even wait for the evening!" Christine beamed.
"Thanks, Grandma… but this party wasn't necessary," Mandume muttered.
"Since your father left, you haven't held a single celebration—not even the annual appreciation party. You let all that die," Christine said gently, her tone a mix of pride and sorrow.
Mandume sighed. "Can't even sip my coffee without someone bringing up Dad. Things will get better. He'll come back."
"I know he will. We just need to have faith. Now hand me your bag, greet your guests, and go be human again," she smiled.
Maria was still scanning the floor for her phone, growing visibly anxious. Christine noticed her and stepped on a phone nearby—assuming it belonged to the woman closest to it, she picked it up and handed it to her, then walked away. The woman looked confused and casually tossed it onto the sofa. Maria's man was still calling, but she couldn't answer.
Christine turned to her.
"Maria, I'm sure you're surprised."
"I am," Maria replied slowly. "What is all this?"
"An appreciation party! We haven't done this in years. So today, I thought—why not surprise everyone, including you?" Christine explained.
Maria shook her head. "It's too much, Mom. My husband…"
"Yes, your husband. That's your anxiety talking. You keep feeling like you shouldn't do the things he used to handle. But until when? How long will we keep living in his shadow?"
"Don't talk like he's dead," Maria snapped. "He's alive. And I'll bring him back within this week. Trust me." With that, she turned and stormed off. Christine only smiled faintly.
Outside, Star and her family had just arrived.
Leila's eyes widened as she took in the opulent house. "Whoa! This is crazy…"
"Leila," Star said, warning in her tone, "don't act like your father doesn't have a house like this."
"He doesn't. Star, this place is insane—you're really living it!" Leila exclaimed.
"Shhh! Don't embarrass me."
"I'm not a kid, Star Shining."
Star held her father's hand and walked toward the entrance.
Inside, Mandume had taken the mic.
"Thank you all for this surprise party. I didn't expect it, not even in the slightest," he said.
Star and her family paused at the door, hearing his voice echo from inside.
"I especially want to thank my grandmother for making this possible. Seeing you all here—our David's Arch-Family—means more than you know."
The crowd applauded warmly.
Upstairs, Maria was in her room. She grabbed a spare phone to call her man back, but it was dead. Frustrated, she headed to Bonita's room to borrow a charger. As she passed the staircase, Mandume's voice floated up, and curiosity drew her to the railing.
"Five years have passed since we last did this, but here we are—together again."
"Yes!" the crowd cheered.
Mandume raised his glass. "So let's—"
The front door opened.
He stopped mid-sentence.
There stood Star.
Maria froze upstairs, eyes wide. She's back? And looking fine? Her heart dropped. That phone… she remembered now—the call from her man. It was her phone that had fallen earlier.
"No," Mandume said with a smile, turning to the crowd. "Before we cheer, I want to welcome someone very special to me into the David's Empire."
The room turned to look at Star.
"This girl… this woman… she brought light into my life when I didn't even know I needed it. Today she gave me sweets," he laughed, "and somehow I ended up with all this joy."
"Please stop," Star whispered into his ear, cheeks flushed. "You're embarrassing me."
Mandume didn't hear her—or didn't care.
"She's the reason I processed your payments early," he continued. "I was going to wait until the evening, but she insisted I do it on time. Said work is work. And she was right."
Star looked confused. What is he talking about?
"So let's raise our glasses. To family. To David's Architecture. To Grandma. And to Star."
"Cheers!" they all shouted.
Maria's face hardened.
"So instead of me, it's now Star?" she muttered, a storm brewing behind her eyes.