Tomorrow was Victoria Hargrove’s eighteenth birthday.
Victoria was the only daughter of a seriously wealthy family, the kind people casually called old money.
Because of family-planning policy back then, plus the fact that both her parents were insanely busy, she had grown up as the one and only child in the house.
Her father, Edmund Hargrove, was the president of a publicly listed company. Her mother, Serena Hargrove, was a diplomat.
The two of them were deeply in love, and no matter how packed their schedules got, they always made time for their daughter.
As for Gerry Hargrove, Georgene Hargrove, and Victoria’s maternal grandparents, Mr. Whitfield and Mrs. Whitfield, they had practically rearranged their whole lives after she was born, stepping away from work just to stay by the side of the family’s one little princess.
That evening, the moment Edmund got home, he dropped onto the sofa with a grin he couldn’t hide and called out, "Vicky, Dad already wrapped up the company stuff ahead of time. It’s your birthday, so I booked the tickets too. I’m taking the whole family on a trip."
Victoria’s eyes lit up on the spot. She rushed over, grabbed his arm, and leaned against him like she was still a kid. "Dad, where are we going? Come on, tell me."
Edmund looked at her bright little face and smiled even wider. "Didn’t you always want to see the fashion shows in Paris? We’ll start there. After that, wherever you want to go, we go. Your mom and I both cleared our schedules. This time, the whole family’s going to have some real fun."
Victoria was instantly hyped. "Really? That’s amazing! Thank you, Dad. You’re seriously the best. I want to go to Paris first, then the Aegean Sea, and after that I still want to—"
Before the father and daughter could finish talking, Serena came home from work.
The second Victoria saw her, she ran over at once, threw her arms around her mother, and asked with obvious excitement, "Mom, did you get your leave approved? Dad said we’re all going out together."
Serena hugged her back, her smile soft and warm. "I did. I even added my annual leave to it. This time, Mom’s going to properly spend time with her precious girl."
Early the next morning, the whole family was already up and moving.
Everyone was busy, all focused on getting Victoria dressed up beautifully.
After all, today was her eighteenth birthday.
The entire house was bustling.
Right then, the doorbell rang.
Fabienne Whitmore, the housekeeper, went to open the villa door. Outside stood several of the country’s top makeup artists, framed by the entrance of the elegant, beautifully designed home.
They had come for one reason only: to do the makeup for President Hargrove’s daughter on the day of her eighteenth birthday.
Fabienne opened the door and looked at the group with a polite smile. "Please, come with me."
She led the makeup artists upstairs to the dressing room on the second floor, then said, "Please wait here a moment. Our young lady will be here very soon."
The lead makeup artist gave Fabienne Whitmore a polite nod. "Thank you."
Fabienne Whitmore stepped out of the makeup room and went to find Serena Hargrove. "Ma'am, the makeup artists are here."
Serena answered at once, "Got it, Auntie Zhang. You go ahead and get busy. I’ll wake Vicky."
She walked to Victoria Hargrove’s door and knocked lightly. "Vicky, time to get up. The makeup artists have arrived."
Victoria was still half asleep. Through the haze of her dream, she heard her mother’s voice and gave a soft, drowsy reply. "Okay, I know..."
She sat up on the bed, blinked a few times to clear her head, then changed into the dress her mother had prepared for her in advance.
When Victoria arrived at the makeup room, the artists were already waiting. She sat down on the stool and said with a small smile, "Thanks for coming, everyone. Sorry for the trouble."
The lead artist quickly waved it off. "Not at all, Miss Hargrove. This is our job. The styling will take a while, so you can have breakfast first. We’ll start with your hair."
"Alright."