Entwined With the Villainous Guardian
Chapter 224: A Crown Fit For A Queen

Chapter 224: A Crown Fit For A Queen

On the way back, Leander went to the jewelry shop in the mall he frequents. He also wanted to ask the tailor if his wife’s clothes are ready.

Her birthday is coming up and he wanted her to have a good time.

Leander looked at the designs for the coronet he commissioned. His wife is a queen. She deserves nothing less than a crown.

To match the jewelry he wears, she should be plated on the whole with gold and diamonds, but she does not like to wear jewelry. He once tried to make her wear his necklaces, but she didn’t like to wear them. She does not like large earrings either.

The only thing he loves to wear is the ring he gave her. She adores it.

"Are these lemon flowers?" he asked the designer.

One of the designs had flowers in them and the crown looked elegant and not too gaudy. It caught his eyes. At first, he thought those flowers in the design were daisies, but upon closer look, he found that those little flowers were lemon flowers.

He wanted to include lemon in the design. His wife gifted him a lemon and he wanted to return the favor.

"Yes, sir. This design incorporates lemon blossoms. Did you know? Lemon blossoms represent chastity and love. They symbolically mean fidelity in a relationship," the designer explained.

Leander raised his brows. That is a pretty good meaning for such small flowers. Who needs roses when you have lemon blossoms?

"Then I chose this design," he decided.

He was pretty happy with the design. When he imagined her wearing that crown with a bright smile blooming on her face... His lips curved up.

"A crown for my beloved with flowers that never wither," Leander thought out loud.

The designer smiled upon hearing that. "EVERLASTING BLOSSOMS TIARA" he wrote on top of the design.

As they say, a perfect crown needs a name. He hadn’t named the design yet but Leander inspired him to give it that name. He didn’t expect such a passionate statement from a mafia.

Love makes poets out of brutes. It’s a universally acknowledged fact.

Leander was not pleased that he won’t be able to get the crown within two days. He wanted to present it to her for her birthday. But the jeweler was adamant that he couldn’t make this intricate design in days. He said it would take weeks.

Leander asked the jeweler to use high-quality diamonds and gold for the crown. His wife deserves only the best.

Now he will have to find an occasion where his wife could wear a tiara.

His lips curved up as he thought of a perfect occasion—A wedding ceremony.

He never gave her a wedding ceremony. He should. She might like it if they get married in a Church. He decided to look into it.

After being satisfied with the promises the jeweler gave him, Leander walked to the tailor to inquire about the status of the clothes he commissioned.

And maybe he should ask the tailor to design a white wedding dress for his bride.

-----

Viviana was taking a walk in the garden with Gabriella. Gabriella was trying to leave the house for some days, but Leander was not keen on sending her away.

"Maybe I should punch you in the face. He’ll send me away immediately," Gabriella said shaking her fisted hand in front of Viviana’s face.

Viviana laughed. "Or he will kill you!"

"Don’t brag," Gabriella tried to hit Viviana and Viviana ran as fast as she could.

Gabriella stopped as she couldn’t catch up with Viviana. Viviana went looking for Juno. They see Juno only less frequently these days. They figured that Juno would soon go into labor.

As they were walking and talking about mundane stuff, they heard the sound of a car engine in the courtyard. Viviana wondered who that was as it didn’t sound like Leander’s car.

Gabriella who was taller than Viviana looked at the driveway. "I don’t want to meet anyone. I’m dead!" Gabriella shouted and ran inside the house.

Although Viviana couldn’t see who that was, she made a bold guess that it might be Lionel by Gabriella’s reaction.

She told him that she had something to tell him and he couldn’t visit her because of his work. He must have found time now.

And she was right! It was Lionel.

"Lionel!" she walked to Lionel alighting from his car.

"Bellissima!" Lionel held her hand and kissed it as he always does.

"Come in," she invited him in. His eyes were inside the house without his control.

"She’s not willing to see you," Viviana whispered. It was hard for her to watch him yearning for a glance at Gabriella. So, she decided to rip off the Band-Aid.

"I’ll bring you tea," Viviana said and walked to the kitchen. She wanted to be not there as he composed himself.

Lionel sat on the couch rubbing his temples. His eyes ended up on the guest bedroom on the first floor. He wondered if he should try knocking on the door.

But he decided not to. He should respect her wishes.

Viviana offered him the tea she made and took her seat. "So, I have a story to tell you,"She smiled.

"Please do," Lionel placed the teacup on the coffee table.

"There was this teenager. A girl," Viviana smiled. "When she was in high school, she ended up crushing on this brooding guy. But..."

"But?" Lionel leaned forward as he wanted to know what it was. He thought she was talking about Gabriella and he wanted to hear more.

"Wait a moment..." Viviana said and walked up the stairs.

She got to her closet and pulled out one of her sweatpants. She’s been storing something valuable there.

The watch Leander threw away!

She kept it in her pockets and walked downstairs.

"So, she was crushing on this brooding guy. Her friend was a movie nerd, who was also friends with the guy she had a crush on..." Viviana looked at Lionel. She didn’t know if he made a connection but he looked very calm with his hand supporting his cheek.

"She was not shy about the crush she had and everyone knew of her crush...But time passed, and slowly but surely, she fell in love with... the nerd," Viviana said.

Lionel’s hand supporting his cheek slipped and he almost fell down. It was amusing to see him bewildered not seeing this twist in the story.

Viviana continued. "The girl wanted to tell the nerd that she liked him, possibly love him. But she didn’t know how. They were teenagers and she had already lied to some that she was in love with the brooding guy..."

"Why?" Lionel shouted. "She could have told him! It was not that hard for her to profess love for the other guy!"

Viviana pressed her lips. "She was a teenager. What did you expect? Teenagers are not known for their emotional maturity. They complicate things that need not get complicated. Back to the story..." she looked at Lionel and he nodded to continue with the story.

He looked very disappointed.

"News spread everywhere that she was in love with the brooding guy. Even the nerd believed that she was in love with the other guy. She had no way to control people’s mouths. But she saw that she was hurting the nerd guy by not speaking her truth."

Viviana held Lionel’s hand and gently placed the watch in his hand. Lionel looked at her with his brows furrowed in confusion.

"This was meant for you," Viviana said.

"What?" Lionel almost dropped the watch.

Viviana held his hand tightly. "The teenage girl with her overthinking decided to show her love using gifts. So, she went and bought two watches—an expensive watch and another one that was an imitation; a fake... Her plan was to show her nerdy friend that the love she has for him is real and true while the one she has for the brooding guy was just like the watch she gave him—fake..."

Lionel’s hands started to shake.

"But by some unfortunate incident, the gifts got swapped and she ended up..."

Viviana stopped as Lionel raised his hand to stop her.

"I remember..." Lionel held the watch with both his hands and pressed it to his forehead. "She was... petrified as we opened the case. She locked herself in the bathroom and didn’t meet us afterward... I thought she was sad because Leander threw the watch in her face. But... I didn’t know..."

Viviana sat by his side silently. She saw through her peripheral vision the gap in the guest room door. Gabriella was watching what was happening.

"She was in love with me... With me... all this time I..." Lionel covered his face holding the watch and... Viviana thought that he was crying. But she might be wrong.

Viviana saw the door open wider. "Don’t tell him...," Gabriella mouthed, tears streaming down her face. "This is enough. Tell him to move on..."

Viviana nodded. That was what she was planning to do too. There are many reasons for that. She really thought that knowing that Gabriella loved Lionel just like he did—still does, would help him get closure and help him to move on.

"Why didn’t she come to me for help? Why?" Lionel grabbed Viviana’s hand.

His hold was so tight it hurt.

"I’ll ask her myself," Lionel stood up suddenly and walked to the bedroom.