I opened Remi's present first. I unwrapped the box and then pulled the lid off, to reveal a soft, squishy cupcake pillow.

"No! Remi!" I giggled, jumping up and launching myself at him.

"You like it?!" He asked me.

"Like it?! I'm obsessed! It's perfect!" I cheered.

"Here's the card, you can read it, but not out loud ok?" He said, handing me a card.

I took the card and read it.

Dear Cupcake,

Today is my little sister's birthday, and since it's your first birthday knowing me, I wanted to make it special. Come to my room tonight after the party, and let's have some special brother and sister time.

I want you to know everything about me, and I want to know everything about you. You're my baby sister and I'll always be around to protect you and make you laugh.

I love you more than you can imagine, Cupcake.

Romeo

I smiled up at Remi and then got up to give him a hug.

Next Ari gave me her gift.

I unwrapped the little box and I saw a golden ring. I gasped when I saw the beautiful little thing. It was wrapped in a floral design all around it. And there was a little note in the box underneath it. I took the note and read it.

Happy birthday, Kiara.

Nothing means more to me than the friendship I've found with you. My beautiful sister, you're there for me no matter what and I promise I'll always be there for you.

The ring has something engraved in it. Look inside the band.

Arabella

I picked up the beautiful ring and I looked inside the band. In very clear letters I saw the words.

Sisters Forever.

I pouted and slipped the ring on my middle finger in my right hand. Then I saw Ari hold up her right hand and I saw an identical ring on her finger.

I ran over to her in tears and she hugged me tightly.

"Happy Birthday, Sis." She said to me.

"I love you so much!" I cried over her shoulder.

"I love you too, Kiara. Always." She said, resting her head against my shoulder. "No more crying, open your gift from the girls."

I smiled at the sloppily wrapped gift that the girls forced into my lap and I opened it.

I found a kiwi, a little container of cookies and those kiwi candies that Vivi had got me that time. I also saw a little drawing of me and the girls with bunnies floating around us. It was the cutest thing I'd ever seen in my life.

"Oh, my Goodness! Thank you!" I giggled, grabbing both girls and kissing them in their chubby little cheeks.

"My turn." Gabriel said, handing me a gift.

I was curious to see what Gabe got me. I unwrapped the gift, and found a letter. I read the letter and it was quite special.

Dear Kiara,

As your new uncle, I want to first thank you for taking me to the hospital that day, I will forever be indebted to you for that. I didn't really know what to get you. I feel like everyone got the good stuff. But I went to the mall the other day, and I saw this and couldn't walk away from it. It just screamed 'Kiara', if you know what I mean.

I think Vidal will definitely love this, and I hope this wasn't your worst gift today. I'll forever love you, Kiara. Between you and I, you might be my favourite out of all my nieces and nephews.

Have the best birthday ever.

Love,

Your favourite uncle. Gabriel.

I smiled at uncle Gabriel and watched him get nervous.

"I love you, Gabe." I smiled.

"Love you too, Sweetheart." He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck.

I moved the little wrapping paper and opened the box. I knew it was jewelry, I just didn't expect it to be such beautiful and precious jewelry. I found a necklace, with a matching bracelet and earrings. They had these beautiful green diamonds on all of them, the green matched my eyes and I just knew it would make my eye colour more noticeable. I was immediately in love with this gift.

"Oh, my God, it's gorgeous!" I said in disbelief.

"I'm glad you like it." He smiled.

"Ok, it's my turn." Theo said, handing me a box.

I unwrapped it and found a letter laying on top of my gift.

I picked up the letter and read it first.

Hey Baby Sis,

Happy Birthday. I hope that you have an amazing year ahead of you and that my stupid twin stops being dumb and finally accepts what you two have between you. I wish I could get you a bunny for your birthday, but the idiot wouldn't let me. I wanted to get you a bunny though, let that be known.

When you eventually convince Vidal to let you get one, come to me and I'll find the perfect one for you. Anyways, onto your gift. I wanted something to show you that I'm always there for you. Somehow I feel like I'm not always able to be around you and show you that your big brother Theo has got you. So I decided to give you something that Ari said always made her feel like I was there to protect her.

I hope it's not a bad idea, but you'll see what it is. On top of that. I also wanted to make you a promise. I know you said having sisters was important to you and that you really wanted me to find happiness with a beautiful woman and bring her into the family.

Truth is, I already found that happiness and that woman. But I've been pretty scared to try and find her and I need some time. But... I can promise you this. In one year from now, on your birthday, I will have already tried to reach out. I can't promise that I'll have her, I wish that I could. But if not her, by the time your next birthday comes around, I promise to try and move on and find someone new.

This means a lot to me, I think you know that. But I know that if anything happens, my baby sister will have my back and she'll be able to make me smile again. So for your birthday, I give you what's beneath the wrapping paper, and I also make that promise to you. Happy birthday, baby sister.

Love,

Theo

"Aw, Theo! I love you." I pouted, hugging him tightly before turning back to my gift with tears in my eyes.

That promise meant a lot. Mabel was someone he didn't seem like he could get over, but he was promising me that he would try to get over it if he had to, and try to be happy and find another girl. Because he knew how much it meant to me to see him smile.

"I love you, Baby Sis." He said to me.

I moved the wrapping paper and found a big Theo-sized sweater. I picked it up and I looked at him when I noticed it smelled a lot like Theo's cologne.

"Yes!" I cheered, throwing myself at Theo for another hug.

"You like it? I really had my heart set on a bunny, but you know the bully you live with and how unreasonable he can be." Theo told me.

"I love it, Theo. One day, I'll convince Vivi about the bunny and you and me can pick the bunny together." I said to him.

"I look forward to that day." Theo told me, smiling down at me.

"My turn." Micah said, handing me a gift.

I didn't know what to expect really. Micah and I had a very distanced kind of relationship. I didn't get near him.

I saw a little note on top of the gift and I looked down at it.

Happy birthday, Kiara!

I've heard about your interior design skills and I've heard about your love for fluffy pillows as well. So, I wanted to ask if you'd redesign my office for me, you get an unlimited budget to do it. And you can go shopping with Ari while I distract Vidal for you. Also, there's a little something in the box for you.

Love,

Your brother, Micah.

I looked up at him in shock.

"Really?! You'll let me redesign your office?!" I asked him.

"Yes." He said.

I jumped up and gave him a big hug. I was thinking that maybe I'd been wrong to think he was different from the rest of my new brothers.

"Oh, thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I'll make it perfect, I promise!" I cheered.

"No need to thank me, I should be thanking you. Now... Look at the gift." He said.

I grabbed the box again and opened the gift to see that it was a big fluffy blanket.

"Oh my goodness! Vivi! Look at it!" I giggled, running my fingers over the soft, fluffy material.

"It's beautiful, baby." Vidal laughed.

"Thank you, Micah!" I smiled.

"No problem." He chuckled.

"My turn now before all the old people start." Evan said, earning him a slap in his arm from his mother.

I giggled and took his gift, which was really heavy.

I opened it and of course there was a note on top of the gift.

Hey Kiara,

I know you like fun and adventures, and I came across one of these. I thought you'd enjoy it and have fun with it.

Have the happiest birthday, Kiara.

Love,

Evan

I smiled and hugged Evan before removing the layer of wrapping paper over the gift. It was a big metal board, and it had holes on one face and it was rough on the other surface.

"W-what?" I asked, looking down at the board.

"Ooooh! Cool!" Ari said. "It's a hover board."

"It hovers?" I giggled nervously.

Evan helped me turn it on and then he helped me get on it.

"How does it know where I want to go?" I asked.

"Well, there's air coming out of the bottom, so you need to step down at the back if you want to go forward, and on the left to go right and so on. Once you get used to it, you'll be able to do it more smoothly." He told me.

"This is cool." I said when I put a little extra weight on my back leg and the board propelled me forward.

I looked at Vivi and found him having a heart attack.

"Vivi, why do you freak out so much?" I asked him. "I'm not made of glass. I'm fine, baby."

He looked taken aback and I realized that I'd called him baby. To me it seemed normal, but I guess it was the first time I'd said it.

"Please get off that thing." He said to me and I jumped off it. Evan helped me turn it off so that it came back to the ground and I could pick it up again.

"That's so cool, Ev! Thank you!" I smiled, hugging him tightly.

He turned red and then we all sat down again.

The others didn't really mind whose present I opened first. So one by one I opened them, reading heartwarming letters from all of them and getting beautiful gifts from them all.

Aunt Em made me a beautiful dress. It was a short one with long sleeves and it has a floral design on it. It was so gorgeous, I couldn't wait to wear it. Fifi gave me a recipe book of recipes that she'd perfected. She told me she wanted me to be able to cook them whenever I wanted.

Momma gave me something really special as well. It was a bracelet that she said was given to her by someone special. I knew it was Daddy. The way he rubbed her back when she told me how it was given to her so that one day she could pass it onto her daughter just gave it all away. It meant the world to her and she wanted me to have it since I was her daughter. I definitely cried my heart out.

Then Daddy gave me something close to his heart too. He gave me one of his oldest cameras. And then the photo album that came with it. He told me that from that album, I could flip through and on the backs of the pictures there were things written. He told me I'd get to know a lot about his young self through that gift.

Coco's gift came next. It was a long letter, and with it, he gave me a beautiful watch. One of the old ones where you had to actually read the time. But it looked fit for a smart, successful person. His letter was special though. He said he wrote it when he was waiting for me to wake up in the hospital. But one part of it hit me hard.

The pain is clear from the way your forehead is creased even as you lay unconscious. The bruises scatter across your skin remind me of one thing. It reminds me of her. The woman I fell for. That's how I know the man I've raised alongside my brother will fall for you the way I fell for her. It'll only take a matter of moments before his heart is yours.

After that, came Nana Bella and Papa Teo. They gave me a joint gift. Inside of a little box, there was a key, and with it came a letter. I looked down and read the paper.

Dear Kiara,

We were told once to keep this family together at all costs. To teach our children what family is. And now that we're old and don't have much energy to chase you kids around. We see in you the mother that can hold together this family in the hardest of times. When we go, whenever that may be, we leave the family to you. That's why we give you our home. The one we built together, and the one that served us well for many long years as we watched our family grow.

Happy birthday, Sweetheart.

Love,

Papa and Nana Ferrari

I looked up in shock. I picked up the key and looked into their eyes again.

"This is the house key?" I asked.

"It sure is." Nana smiled.

"Y-you really think I can do that?" I asked.

"There's something special about you, Kiara. The way you just love everyone unconditionally and strive to protect them at all costs. The way you mother the boys as if they were children, check in on them, and care for them. Your connection with everyone seems so unbreakable and everyone loves you to death." Papa Teo said to me.

They were giving me all this love and they thought so highly of me. I was touched. I knew once and for all that I belonged in this family. Nana Bella and Papa Teo were the ones that held this family together and built it in the first place. If they said I was a huge part of the family, then I guess that's what I was.

"Thank you! I'll do my best I promise you!" I cried, running into Nana Bella's arms.

After that, all that remained was uncle Killian, Nana Lucie and Papa Dev.

Uncle Killian went first. He came over and he sat down beside me. He handed me a very small box. I opened it and I saw a necklace with a leaf on it and of course a little note. I noticed he had a chain around his neck that had a leaf on it too. When I read the note, it explained.

He said that he didn't know about his family tree, all his life he was like a fallen leaf, roaming the world alone. I knew exactly what that felt like, because I was kind of the same. He told me that people take advantage of lone leaves, and again that fit my story perfectly.

Then he told me that he wasn't a lone leaf anymore, he found his tree. And he told me that I'd found my tree too. And it just happened to be the same tree. Which was this family. He told me that if I ever needed anyone who understood those fallen leaf feelings, he'd be there for me to talk to him.

And of course, this reduced me to tears. All these gifts were making me cry really hard. I couldn't believe how much thought they'd all put into their gifts.

Last but not least was Nana Lucie and Papa Dev's joint gift. I opened the gift they'd given me and saw a brand new laptop with new pens, new notebooks and a planner. I looked up in confusion. Wondering why they thought I'd need this. Not that I was complaining, these things would be fun to use.

"Oh.... I should probably involve myself now so that you know the relevance of this gift." Vivi said.

"What?" I asked, looking at him as he pulled a gift out from under the couch we were sitting on.

"Here. This is my gift to you." Vidal said.

"I-I.... y-you didn't have to give me a gift. After everything you've done for me, Vivi... I d-don't want anything else." I said to him.

"Just stop that and open the gift, Cuore Mio." He said to me.

"That's not English, what is that?" I asked.

"Don't worry about it, open the gift." He told me.

I decided to just open the gift and I found papers. He took my hand, he seemed to be feeling quite nervous.

I read through the documents and it wasn't something I ever would've expected. It was a document that I had to sign agreeing to run his architecture business with him. It said that I'd be in charge of interior design and he's be in charge of architecture and together we'd handle landscaping.

"Are you serious?!" I asked, tears streaming down my face without any sign of stopping.

"Dead serious, Amore. You'll do it?" He asked me.

"I will! I will! Of course I will!" I cried, launching myself at Nana and Papa to thank them before I turned to Vivi and cried my heart out.

This had been an incredible day, full of incredible gifts and so many heartfelt moments. I was ready to take on life with these people around me and I was ready to hold the family together at all costs.