Chapter 3

"Don't!" he cut me off urgently.

"Let's not do that."

"But you don't like it, right?" I feigned surprise.

"I like all the gifts you give me."

His words rushed out.

"Besides, how can you give a gift you gave me to someone else?"

"You make a good point."

"Exactly," his tone returned to calm, even taking on a slightly lecturing quality.

"Aurora, don't get me things like that anymore. I'm about to start working. If you really want to get me something, why not buy something practical?"

"Like what?"

"Like a watch, for example. Or a car would be nice too. Those are more fitting for my status, and they'd make a good impression when meeting clients."

I almost crushed my phone.

He was still a student, barely out of college, and he was talking to me about 'status' and 'making a good impression'?

No wonder he thought the wallet I gave him wasn't good enough. Turns out, he wanted something much more expensive.

I suddenly remembered that three days ago, when I sent him the order screenshot, he'd only replied with "Oh."

At the time, I figured he was just busy, which was why he hadn't seemed excited.

Now I realized he was probably just too disappointed to even bother faking it.

"You're right," I slowly said.

"I also think that since you're about to start working, you need some items that suit a mature man."

Nealon immediately brightened.

"Right? You think so too? I actually saw a Longines watch I really like, it's about $3,000. If you..."

I cut him off.

"So, I actually tucked a watch inside that wallet. A classic Patek Philippe. Didn't you see it?"

The other end of the line instantly fell silent.

All I could hear was his increasingly rapid breathing.

A few seconds later, Nealon’s voice changed completely.

"What?"

"A Patek Philippe," I said innocently.

"It was just in the wallet's inner compartment, wrapped in velvet cloth. Didn't you open it? There was even a handwritten letter from me inside."

"I..." he stammered.

"You put a watch inside the wallet?"

"Yeah," I sighed.

"I was just worried the wallet wasn't expensive enough to express my love for you. So I bought an expensive watch."

From his end of the line, I heard a dull thud, like a fist slamming against a table.

Immediately followed by a girl's muffled, petulant voice:

"What are you doing? Why are you so angry..."

Nealon's voice was also lowered, urgent and irritable.

"It's all because you wanted a necklace! Otherwise, why would I have been in such a rush to sell the wallet! Now look! I lost a fortune!"

The girl huffed.

"I told you, that wallet was handmade, it could even appreciate in value if you waited. You're the one who insisted on selling it..."

"If I don't sell it now, how will I get it for your birthday!"

I pretended not to hear their whispers and asked with concern:

"Nealon? What's wrong?"

"Nothing," his voice was dry.

"Aurora, how much did you say that watch was?"

"About $100,000," I said lightly.

"I was originally planning to get a new car, but then I thought, you'd need a good watch more for your internship and job interviews to make an impression, so I bought it."

"$100,000?" His voice started to tremble.

"Where did you get that much money?"

"My year-end bonus," I said, pretending to be wronged.

"I did really well on my projects this year, and my bonus was $90,000, so I bought you a watch."

"You..." He took a sharp breath.

"Why didn't you say so earlier!"

"I wanted to surprise you," I paused, suddenly sounding nervous.

"Why do you ask? Is the watch missing?"

"I... I might not have noticed..." he stammered incoherently.

"I haven't looked closely at the wallet yet..."

"Go look for it!" I urged.

"I bought a handmade custom one, even second-hand it's worth $80,000! If it's lost, I'll be absolutely devastated!"

Saying that, I sent Nealon the actual watch photo and the store receipt.

"See? This style really suits you. It might look a bit mature, but you can wear it for years."