The Quiet Sister✔️

41. Birthday Girl

On what would have been Ashley's thirty-first birthday, they all went to the Bahamas again, where she enjoyed her thirtieth birthday. Ashley loved the place. At some point, she knew her sister knew the end was near, and that's why she wanted to go.

One of her two boyfriends proposed to her there. She told him no, but that man never gave up trying.

They only stayed the weekend. Tennille was booked solid for shows since winning and performing at the Grammys. Everyone wanted to work with her. She was even getting movie offers and Tennille never had an interest in acting.

Sarena was booked and as busy as ever, as Ginger Hollands' manager, with her solo career kicking off and going well. Sarena was traveling all around the world with her, all while handling Tennille and her brother's career.

Krystle was doing phenomenally well in Italy. Starting up an Italian branch of KStyle Fashion in Milan put them internationally. It also got her creative juices going. She was doing more high couture fashion but kept it hip-hop. She was always in high demand after Grammys with everyone wanting her to design something unique for their appearances.

Kitty was back in the office, working, but still running her house and keeping up with those babies. She could not believe the twins were nine months old now. Time was flying by. They were already some superstars too, appearing in several magazine articles and the face of KStyle Kids along with Kerrie.

CJ was a few weeks away from releasing his debut album. He still thought he ran the world.

As for her, she stayed out of the limelight. She did a preliminary application for the FBI and they were very interested in her. She still had to keep her record clean, stay out of trouble, and be the best that she could be.

She amped up her training, focused on her shooting, and continued to study outside of her coursework. She was looking to have an intern in D.C. in the summer. She was ready for the world.

Except for her love life.

Nothing was going on there. She had not seen much of Ronan or Drew in weeks. She was sure they forgot all about her and moved on to someone who could give them what they wanted.

She did like hanging out at the mall with Tori.

"What do you mean your birthday is this weekend? How come you didn't tell me?"

"It's no big deal," she said, stabbing at her salad. "Twenty-two is nothing great, it's not like my twenty-first birthday."

"Every birthday is a great one. We're here, we're alive."

She did not like hearing those words, not after celebrating her sister gone too soon. They were born in the same month, and to her, that always meant they had a special bond.

"So, what are we doing for your birthday girl? Let's get into some trouble."

"My family's throwing me a party," she stated. "You want to come?"

"Hellllll, to the mother fucking yeah! Hang with the Kellys? Hell yessssss, baby!"

She was a little too excited for her.

"Tori, you have to treat us regularly, not like we're anything special."

"Bet."

Her party at the Ice Palace was insane. Since she did not have that many friends, again, the party was not about her. All her family, her family's friends, and her one friend. Since she could not very well invite both her guy friends, she did not invite either.

She dressed in the nines in a red body suit and red pumps. She had Jolene do her hair and then she did a photo session in Kitty's foyer with a professional photographer. Any guest could have a photo session too and Tori was going crazy with it. They took a lot of pictures together and it was so much fun.