Athary is a country that has several small cities, medium-sized cities, and large cities. Frin just happens to be a medium-sized city with a population of around 300,000 people and counting.
The city where Diamond went to college, Srad, a city she doesn't really like much because of some sad memories there, was slightly bigger and much better than Frin.
If one were to choose between staying in Frin and Srad, the best option would be Srad, as there were many options there. However, there was also a risk of not achieving their dreams there, as there were too many people living there.
So, just like any other developed city, Frin had its own influential families and families that have supported the city for decades or centuries.
These were families that were involved in industries like transport, hotel and catering, banking and consulting services, N.G.O's, health care, and so on. And there were currently six big families in Frin that keep the city firm and proud.
Where Diamond was going was not one of those six families, but a family that was ranked in the top twenty and, to be exact, number thirteen.
The protagonist of the birthday banquet on this day was turning forty years old and, unlike Cecilia, who was a housewife. The lady ran her own beauty salon that was frequented by the rich and noble.
Saloons are always the best places for ladies to catch up, gossip, and pave the way for their kids or family members.
The lady was named Anna Hipkins, a mother of three beautiful kids and the wife of a real estate mogul.
Her family wasn't old money like other Big Six families, but it was newer and money that was made in two generations. So, a lot of people admired them. After all, they managed to climb the ladder so fast and remained secure for years.
There were a lot of families that met their demise, went bankrupt, and never got heard from again, and yet the Hipkins kept on bettering themselves and soaring higher.
They walked with their heads held high and made friends from all circles.
As for how Cecilia got to know this Anna Hipkins, it was obvious. Cecilia, who liked to maintain her youthful looks, also visited the beauty salon. She liked it and continued to go there.
Cecilia's family wasn't from Frin, but it was no secret that they were very rich. After all, the villa they lived in was worth over one hundred million. Anyone who lived in villa complexes like theirs shouldn't be underestimated for no reason.
Diamond didn't believe that Cecilia was the one who wanted her at the banquet. It was probably Mrs. Hipkins who wanted to see her. She didn't mind though, as making more friends was beneficial to everything that she was doing.
The place where they were going was the third best place in Frin, another villa complex with only thirty villas, and the villas there were all priced from thirty to two hundred million. So, it just depended on the kind of villa one wanted, one would just pay according to that.
The best place in Frin was called the Dragon Court with only three enormous mansions that were worth over two hundred million each. These mansions all belonged to the heirs of the six big families.
Of course, these mansions weren't bought by the families but by the kids themselves who wanted to have their own place to call home. One of the heirs, the real owner of the complex owns a real estate agency among many others and he was the one that built this complex.
Diamond only knew about this through Andrea who loved so much to look into everyone. She didn't stop him as that information was truly helpful to her too.
She looked at the beautiful villa that looked almost the same as hers without any ripple of emotions on her face, as she was no longer fazed by this.
As someone who could get a house of any size without paying for it, how could a villa that was priced so high affect her? it's not like she would be taking out her money one day for that.
Whatever others could have, she could also get it. And she didn't need to splurge a single cent on that. so why be envious?
The place was filled with cars, sports cars, low-key sedans, and so on. With a glance, she could tell that the lady was very popular and Diamond envied her because of that.
If one day she were to host a birthday party, she knew that she wouldn't be able to invite a lot of people who were genuinely concerned about her.
She had fewer friends around her and this made her panicky, 'I need to make friends as soon as possible.'
The car came to a halt, and the two of them got out. With Cecilia a chatterbox by her side, she quickly got to place the faces of the names of people she heard about, which was truly helpful.
Soon, they were surrounded by familiar faces, some of them were customers of hers, people she met through Cecilia.
"You look so beautiful!"
"Where did you buy this?"
"I want something like this!"
"How do you pull this off?"
"It's nice to meet you!"
"…."
"…."
It was a bit noisy but she wasn't bothered by it but was happy actually. As women were creatures that loved things, it didn't take long before Diamond was at ease with the ladies and began to talk to them freely.
Cecilia dragged her to meet Anna who was all smiles and didn't put on airs.
While Diamond was busy observing Anna, the other was also doing the same.
'How come her skin looks so smooth like that? Just what kind of products does she use?'
'If I ask her, will she tell me?'
Anna was very worried as she looked at the other while maintaining her façade as if she was all calm when she knew that she wasn't.
Because Diamond had been invited at the last minute, she didn't get to prepare as much as she wanted but knowing that the protagonist owned a beauty salon, she prepared a gift that would definitely wow the other.
"You are such a beautiful young woman!" Anna still couldn't help herself and praised Diamond after a while.
Diamond giggled lightly with her small fist covering her mouth, obviously happy with the praise, and said, "Thank you, and you are also a beautiful person!"