57. Unexpected Visitor

Six months later. One week before the wedding, Clarice was busy double-checking the wedding preparations, so nothing could go wrong on her special day. Aside from the excitement of the anticipation of her second wedding, there was also anxiety growing in her heart. Was she wrong about inviting her ex-husband and her despicable former best friend Aurelia to her wedding? But she could no longer change anything because the wedding invitations had already been sent to the leaders of the pack one month in advance. Well, they couldn't possibly identify her as the old Clarice because she would be wearing a short wig different from her original hair color and length. Then she will wear contact lenses to hide the real color of her eyes. She already had a plan to alter her physical appearance, so nobody could associate her old appearance with her new one. She even practiced a new voice tone, and to make her disguise even more effective, she will be wearing a stylish face veil fit for the occasion. Besides, when it's time to greet the guests, she will not talk much and let her husband do the talking. She will just say she has a severe sore throat infection and talking is painful and hard. Damn! She is getting anxious now that her wedding is fast approaching. Sigh. She shouldn't have opted for a private wedding instead. Ah, there's no one to blame, only herself. She just wants to rub in her enemies' faces that, despite them wanting to kill her, she survived and emerged a winner, a new person that they can no longer torture and take advantage of. She will face them bravely. Too bad she can't rub her new life into their faces. That would be too risky. She can't afford to reveal her old identity. They might want to kill her again and bring chaos to her already perfect and calm life. She took a deep breath and continued checking the wedding list to make sure everything was perfect for her upcoming wedding. Six months of meticulous planning, finally it's going to happen next week. The venue for the wedding is not in the mansion. She doesn't want any traces of her enemy setting foot in her new home. Her husband rented a spacious 300 capacity wedding venue, with a garden wedding theme. The place is huge. All guests have enough space to roam around the place freely. She hired an event coordinator to supervise the venue decorations, flower arrangement and everything related to the wedding. Everything has already been taken care of. Time to relax. There was a knock on the door. She walked to the door and opened it. "What is it?" she asked. "Luna, you had a visitor," the maid said. Her brows knit together, confused. "But I'm not expecting a visitor right now. Who is the visitor? Do you know the person's name?" "Yes, she is the former Luna of our pack and your husband's ex-wife. Her name is Viviana," the maid explained. Surprised, Clarice's heart beat faster in her rib cage. What is she doing here?" Although she hadn't met Viviana face to face, she was aware of what she looked like because she left behind some of her old photos in the house and when the servant asked her what to do with the photos she told them to bury them in the garden. "What shall I say to her, Luna?" the maid asked. "Tell her to wait in the living room. Give her some refreshment, juice and pastries while waiting for me," she answered. "Copy, Luna." The maid turned around and left. She closed the door and went to the dressing table to fix her hair. She quickly put on a short brown curly wig and put green contact lenses in her eyes to complete her look. It's a tiring process, but she has already got used to it. She was glad she only had to do it when she received visitors or went to public places. When she's at home, she doesn't make any changes to her appearance. After making sure her old appearance was hidden away, she left the room and proceeded downstairs to the living room to face her visitor. Viviana was sitting on the sofa, heavily pregnant and on her lap was a box wrapped in white with pink ribbon. It looks like a gift. She approached her location and sat on the sofa, facing her. "Hello." "Good afternoon, Luna Charice. My name is Viviana. You know me, right?" Viviana said. Clarice smiled. "Yeah, I remember you." "Yeah, we met briefly a long time ago, in the lake. It's the same day I discovered my husband was having a mistress, right?" Viviana said in a mocking tone, her eyes gleaming. Clarice smiled uncomfortably. "Yeah..." "Um, don't worry, I'm not here to talk to you about the past. I'm here to give you a gift on your wedding day because I won't be there to witness it because I'm not invited. My dear ex-husband forgot to give me an invitation card," Viviana said bitterly. "Anyhow, this is my gift for you. I hope you will like it. Can you please open it now? I want to know if you like my gifts." Clarice eyed the box wearily, wondering what was inside. She looked at Viviana and scrutinized her face thoroughly, guessing about her real intention in coming to the mansion to see her. Was this woman sincere in giving her a wedding gift? Or had she planned something sinister and putting some bloody dead frog inside the box to scare her and ruin her day? Now she suddenly becomes anxious, trying to guess why this woman wants to give her a wedding gift when she didn't expect one from her. Was she planning something? Sigh. She can't help it. "What's wrong?" Viviana raised a brow. "Are you afraid to open my gift for you? Do you want me to open it for you?" she asked, studying her face closely. Clarice sighed deeply. She's not comfortable opening the gift right now. "Thank you for the gift, Viviana. I appreciate it. I will open it later after my husband returns home," she said calmly. Viviana pouted. "Why? Why can't you open it now? I meant no harm. I'm here to see you and talk to you so we can be friends because our children have the same father." She placed her hand on her baby bump proudly. "I want us to be friends because I'm also carrying your husband's baby in my tummy. We are both his women." Clarice rolled her eyes in annoyance. She doesn't like Viviana's attitude now. The way she talks annoys her. It seems like this woman came here looking for trouble. She must put her in place. "Correction, you are no longer his woman. I am his wife now." Viviana's eyes turned slit in anger for a split second, but she smiled afterward, masking the anger she felt inside. "Yeah. I know. This has been my old home for many years. It looks like I'm not welcome here anymore. Unfortunately, you don't want to open my gift, and somehow I make you uncomfortable. I should take my leave now," she said, pausing for a minute. Then she continued, "I'm sorry for ruining your mood. That wasn't my intention. I will leave now. Have a good day, and please tell my... um... my ex-husband that I came here for a visit to befriend you. But you are not ready yet to welcome me. I'm going to the clinic now for my prenatal check-up. Take care and have a good day." Clarice kept her mouth shut or else she might say something to Viviana that would make things worse between them. Viviana stood up and, with one last look at the woman who stole her husband, she left the mansion with a heavy heart. Clarice can be seen sitting on the sofa, dumbfounded, still reeling from her close encounter with Viviana. Did that woman intentionally come here to annoy her? She took a deep breath and looked at the wedding gift. What's inside the box?