Chapter 283: Inevitability
Noticing my mood, Brad gently lifted my face, planted a kiss on my forehead, and rubbed his cheek against mine. With deep regret, he said, "Babe, don't be sad. I've got over a month of vacation saved up. Once this crazy period is over, I'll take you on a trip. Pick some places you wanna go, and we'll hit them one by one, cool?"
No, it wasn't cool.
You had over a month of vacation, but I was a second-year grad student with a packed schedule. I couldn't just drop everything and go on a month-long trip with you.
Was this suggestion meant to upset me?
I pouted, clearly annoyed. "I'm not going. You go by yourself."
"What's wrong? If something's bugging you, spill it, and we'll figure it out together. Don't keep it all bottled up, okay?"
What could be bugging me? Maybe the fact that you were always busy, leaving me alone on campus?
I really wanted to unload all my complaints on Brad, but I also knew he was busting his ass for our future. If I made a fuss, how much more stressed would he be?
Forget it.
I rubbed my sore nose, feeling all kinds of wronged.
Brad tried to comfort me, saying, "I know you're feeling down. I'll make it up to you. Be good and wait for me. I'll take some time this weekend to go house hunting with you. Go upstairs and stop overthinking."
"But we haven't even gone on a date yet." I wiped my teary eyes with his shirt, not wanting him to leave.
Brad, a bit amused and exasperated, still lovingly reassured me after hearing my complaint, "Alright, we'll go on a date this weekend. You can do whatever you want, as long as my baby is happy. Be good, don't feel wronged. I'll be with you once this busy period is over, okay?"
Brad patiently comforted me with a gentle tone and loving words, making me feel like I was being unreasonable, so I felt embarrassed to keep pushing.
I stayed in Brad's arms a bit longer. He kept checking his watch, clearly anxious but not showing any impatience.
I didn't want to make things harder for him, so I told him to come back early and then went upstairs to my room alone.
Once in my room, I kicked off my shoes and ran to the window. Brad was looking in my direction. Seeing me at the window, he waved and then turned to leave.
I saw that after taking just a few steps, his phone screen lit up in his hand. He looked at it, then put it to his ear, talking as he disappeared down the road.
Brad was really busy.
That's what I thought.
In the blink of an eye, Saturday arrived, the day Mia and I had planned to go out and buy a wedding gift for Isabella.
Brad and Yancy were supposed to come with us, and after shopping, we would go out and have some fun, like a group date. But before 7 AM, Brad's phone rang. A student from his department said there was an urgent matter. I couldn't stand seeing Brad in a tough spot, so I pretended to be cool and waved him off, urging him to go quickly.
Men should prioritize their careers, right?
The three of us wandered around the shopping district, hitting up every store, hoping to find something awesome for Isabella.
This was Mia's first real shopping spree since landing in Regalia, and we were both stoked. Watching her get all hyped up over one gorgeous dress after another, I finally knew she was totally over the heartbreak Benjamin had caused her.
I was genuinely happy for her.
Mia's job comes with killer benefits and a fat paycheck. With her hard work and mad skills, after hitting up a few big conferences, she not only got her boss's thumbs up but also snagged a bunch of bonuses, killing it both career-wise and financially.
In the past few years, I had raked in quite a bit of cash thanks to Larry's support, almost hitting financial independence.
Like many girls, when I'm in a good mood, I wanna shop till I drop.
In just over an hour, Yancy's hands were loaded with shopping bags. With so much stuff, it was a pain to carry it all around, so he had to haul it to the car first and then come back to join us.
In a jewelry store, Mia and I both fell for a pair of dolphin couple pendants. We both wanted to get them for Isabella and her hubby. In the end, I couldn't beat Mia, who had Yancy's shameless help, and she bought them.
Seeing Mia holding the gift box and grinning like an idiot, I was super annoyed and dragged her to keep shopping. I wasn't going home until I found something I liked.
Feeling guilty, Mia tagged along without a peep. Yancy, on the other hand, was our designated bag carrier.
After seeing the dolphin pendants, nothing else caught my eye. No matter how I compared, I still liked the dolphins more. As it got close to 11 AM and we reached the end of the shopping district, with only the priciest luxury store left.
Mia was already wiped out, and I felt kinda bad for her, considering she had just bounced back. But then I remembered how excited she was when she snatched the dolphins from me, and all my sympathy vanished. So I dragged her into the store.
If I had known that stepping into this store would wreck my good mood for the whole morning, I wouldn't have gone in. It wasn't worth it.
But I couldn't see that coming, and my good mood was inevitably trashed.
The store was split into several big sections: jewelry, ornaments, bags, accessories, you name it. The variety and styles were off the charts.
The ornament section was tucked towards the back of the store. After browsing a couple of display cases, I found two kissing figurines in a hidden corner. A boy and a girl, both with their butts sticking out, eyes half-closed, and lips puckered, were insanely cute.
I found them adorable and instantly loved them. I planned to buy them for under $5,000 as a gift for Mindy and Louis.
The two figurines symbolized them perfectly, so lovely!
I called over a staff member to ask about the price. The girl in a dark blue uniform, wearing white gloves, took out the figurines and placed them on the counter. She enthusiastically explained their material and collectible value, and after a discount for my next purchase, the price was $5,000.
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