Entwined With the Villainous Guardian
Chapter 144: Buying Gifts

Chapter 144: Buying Gifts

As they passed through the market street, Viviana suddenly got an idea.

"Drop me here for some time," she asked Leander.

"No!"

Leander didn’t even look at her.

"Kastello, please," she asked holding his hand.

Leander clenched his jaws. He wanted to turn to look at her but then he knew he will cave. Whenever he feels those little hands clutching to his hand, his heart begins to melt uncontrollably. It’s not fair he couldn’t get anything he wants from her and yet she could make him melt just with a simple touch.

"No," he said. The conviction in his tone was missing from the last time.

Viviana cought up to that. She knew he will allow her to go out if she begs him more. "This..." she pointed at a shop. "This store...Please..."

Her co-worker raved about this store. She said that there are a lot of charms in this store if one wanted to gift. Viviana wanted to get Leander’s birthday gift there.

The car didn’t stop but it had slowed down probably because the chauffer had a feeling that Leander will change his mind soon.

Viviana held his hand tightly as the car passed the store. "Leander, please...I won’t run. Steve can watch me. Please... I need to go to that store..." she begged.

Leander waved his hand and the driver parked the car in the side of the road. Viviana with a smile opened the car door, but Leander grabbed her hand stopping her from stepping out.

"What?" Viviana closed the door and looked at him.

Leander leaned to her ear. With a flick of his finger, the divider between the front seats and the back seat popped up. Viviana jerked as she was surprised. She didn’t even know there was a divider between the seats.

And more importantly, why was it up suddenly?

She blinked her big eyes. The entire back seat had become darker with the divider up. And stuffy. Well, the air conditioner was on so the stuffiness probably originated because of her pounding heart.

"Say it again," he whispered.

Along with the usual musky scent of his aftershave, she could smell the wine they had at lunch. She didn’t think he was drunk though. The cogwheels in her brain started turning and she tried to figure out what he wanted to hear her say.

Then she realized.

"I wanted Steve to come with me because I didn’t want you to come with me. Because... hear me out..." she wetted her lips looking at his eyes.

His dark eyes were staring her deep into her soul. He might be angry that she asked to go with Steve. But she was not trying to push him away. She decided to tell the truth.

"I want to keep your birthday gift a secret until your birthday," she said.

Leander furrowed his brows. The corner of his lips twitched a little. "B-birthday gift?" he raised his brows. "For me?"

Viviana nodded her head quickly. She smiled seeing his face relax.

"Can I go?" she asked. "I’ll be back soon. I won’t make you wait long."

Leander nodded. Viviana grinned ear to ear and got out of the car. Leander leaned back on the seat with a sigh. Running his fingers through his hair, he sighed.

All he wanted was to hear her say his name once again. But she told him that she was going to buy his birthday gift. This would be the first time he would get early birthday presents. Or just one.

Wait...She already bought ice creams. How is she going to pay?

He turned to look at her but she was already jogged to that store. Steve was following her and he was relieved. Leaning on the seat, he closed his eyes.

Viviana entered the store and she was stunned by the incredible options in that store. Most of them were affordable. She thought she would get an idea once she got inside the store, but she only got more confused.

Steve was following her at a distance and that didn’t help either.

One of the salesgirls offered help and Viviana took it. She asked who she wants to gift. Viviana told her that she wanted to gift her husband. It was weird for her to mention him that way, and her heart skipped a beat. But she pushed through.

Of course, the next thing the sales girl asked was what he likes.

Gold jewelry came to her mind and she got excited for a whole five seconds before realizing that she only has $85! She regretted buying the ice creams. If not, she would have had five more dollars to spend.

The salesgirl probably could read Viviana’s face like an open book and realized that she is not having a large budget for gift. And she probably judged her for it. But Viviana was not in a position to care. She herself knew that no woman would spend this low on her husband’s first birthday gift after their wedding.

Well, if she had her savings, she would have had almost a quarter million dollars. She would have been able to buy a gift fit for the lion.

Viviana patted her cheeks to gather her thoughts. She spent her savings for a good cause. She cannot regret it. And it was Leander who gave her this money to spend for him. So, that’s how much he is expecting from her.

The sales girl brought her to the charms section. There were a lot of small cute charms, necklaces, bracelets and studs in that section. All under $100!!

Viviana got excited. Nothing was close to what Leander wore. But this is all she could afford. She almost wondered if she should buy him a stud. She can make him pierce his ears and give him a teeny bit of pain that she endured that night from him.

But she didn’t find her intent right.

Her co-workers used to talk about buying gifts with something monogramed with both their names combined. She didn’t know if that’s the sort of gifts they’d buy for 100th day anniversary or the week anniversaries they celebrated.

But Leander is her husband. She can buy him anything, right?

And she did wonder what word can be made with both their names combined.

Leander and... What name should she use?

She could only sigh. She probably is the only one who finds trouble in deciding what name to use. Guess, she can use Minerva because that’s the name he gave her.

Minnie... Mousy, he calls her frequently.

Leander and Minerva... what can the combination bring?

She asked for a paper and pen and wrote the names.

Lea-min...

Der-va...

Va-der... Darth Vader? Nah...

Le-min... Lemon??

Ugh! Why am I so bad at even this? Ah... I’m so useless...

As she looked around, cussing herself, her eyes ended up on a lemon charm. It had a small chain and a lobster clasp that would enable it to be hanged from any jewelry.

"Is this gold?" she asked. Her eyes widened out of excitement. She didn’t know why she liked that charm so much.

"It’s silver with 14k gold plated," the sales girl said. "The citrine stones are grade A and the green stones on the leaf are grade B emerald."

Viviana held the little charm in her palm. The lemon was cute and not bigger than her fingernail. Her little fingernail.

But it was cute. So very cute! She definitely wanted to see Leander wearing this at least once. He can hang it in one of his necklaces and it would disappear, but...

It’s so cute...

"How much is this?" she asked the salesgirl.

Please don’t be more than $85... please don’t be more than $85...

She prayed.

"It’s... $75," the salesgirl said and Viviana almost jumped in glee.

I can afford it.

"Please wrap it in a gift box. I’ll buy that," she said unable to control her grin.

And she watched the packing done. They charged an extra dollar for the bow and the packaging which she paid for rather gleefully. Now she had $9 in her hand.

She thought of buying something more, but she didn’t find anything attractive there. As she stepped out, she saw a clothing store.

"Steve, did he call you?" she asked.

Steve shook his head.

"Stay here. I’ll be out in a minute," she said and entered the clothing store. It had a big SALE announced and that gave her hope.

She walked in and her lips curved seeing a shirt on 50% sale.

Was she ashamed she is buying a shirt that was on sale for her husband? A little. He brought her to the most expensive mall, fed her a lavish meal, and she doesn’t even know how much the dress he ordered for her is going to cost.

Would he even wear a shirt bought for $9 in a sale? She didn’t know.

But this is all she can afford.

It took a lot for her to bring her self-esteem up to even buy the shirt. But she got it gift-wrapped. This is not the first time she is buying a shirt as a gift, but this is the first time she felt so ashamed.

Should she even do this? Will he even appreciate it?

She remembered what happened to that watch. He threw that expensive watch in the trash as if it meant nothing.

It probably was a gift from Helena... he threw it away. And the way he treated her...

How will he treat my gift?