That explanation felt a little hard to swallow.
Still, Zara had to admit she felt like she was maturing.
"You're right. I won't invite people like this next time.”
"It's just that my parents always worry I'll be lonely on my birthday, so they invite a massive crowd to make it lively."
Claire was genuinely speechless.
Zara hadn't even invited these people herself.
Then what was the point? Just for the aesthetic?
Claire took a bite of the pastry chef's masterpiece, only to find the texture wasn't nearly as silky as Seb's.
If Seb had made this, it would have been ten times better.
Clearly, Seb had the potential to be a master pastry chef one day.
Claire tried a few other things; they were decent.
But nothing mind-blowing.
Skylar and Lex, however, were thoroughly enjoying the food.
The three of them handed over their gifts to Zara.
Lex had brought a hand-knitted scarf.
Skylar gifted a bottle of designer perfume.
And Claire gave her a jar of her custom Luminate Luminous Glaze.
It looked completely unassuming, but the effects were miraculous.
Zara happily accepted all of them.
"Zara, are these your roommates?"
A girl wandered over to their circle.
She was pretty, though definitely not on Zara's level.
Zara nodded. "Yeah, my roommates."
The girl reached right for the gift bags.
She happened to pull out the scarf Lex had made.
"Let's see what amazing things your roommates got you."
"Oh, a scarf. Let me check the brand..." The girl flipped it over, searching for a tag that didn't exist.
"This..." The girl put on an awkwardly sympathetic face. "You didn't knit this yourself, did you?"
Zara shot her a cold look. "She did. So what?"
“Oh, um, nothing. Just haven't seen a gift this... rustic in a long time."
“Well, it's the thought that counts, right?”
She casually grabbed the next item.
"And what is this?"
Seeing her grab the Luminous Glaze, Zara immediately snatched it back.
"Don't touch that! You're going to drop it!"
Now the girl was genuinely intrigued. “You're so protective of it. What kind of treasure is it?"
Just as Zara was about to speak, Claire seamlessly cut in. "I don't suppose you've heard of the Luminate Scar Recovery Gel?"
This girl happened to be one of the people Zara had aggressively marketed to, and she had bought several tubes of the scar gel for her friends and family.
She was highly interested in the Luminate brand, but right now, they only had the one product on the market. They had teased a new release promising it wouldn't disappoint, but the actual product was still highly classified.
"Of course I have, I've bought it before."
"Wait, is this the Scar Recovery Gel? The packaging looks different.”
"Carly, don't you have anything better to do? Why are you asking so many questions?" Zara snapped anhoved She was perfectly happy with whatever her friends gave her
It was a million times better than the generic luxury garbage she received every
other year.
But Carly Hudson was oblivious to the tension and kept digging.
Didn't she notice how embarrassed Lex was when she mocked the scarf?
"Who says I don't have anything better to do? I'm just curious!"
"You used to barely tolerate your classmates, but now you brought three whole
roommates to your birthday. Obviously, you guys are super close."
Carly was actually one of Zara's few genuine friends in this circle.
She had a habit of putting her foot in her mouth, but she wasn't inherently malicious.
Seeing a golden marketing
opportunity, Claire immediately
seized it "This is Luminate's newest
unreleased product. I had to use.
insider connections just to get my hands on it."
"A new product? What is it?" Carly took the bait instantly.