Chapter 411 From Now On, It's Yours.
"Daphne, I'm so stoked to be celebrating your birthday with you this year," Benjamin said, all chill and sweet. "I hope every year from now on, it's me standing right here with you."
"Benjamin," Daphne's eyes were all sparkly with emotion.
"You dig it?" Benjamin asked.
"Yeah, I do," Daphne said, totally honest.
She loved fireworks. Even though they don't last long, they go all out to shine the brightest.
"Hey, check behind you," Benjamin said, stepping aside and nodding towards the building. "Your birthday present."
Daphne turned around, thinking, 'Aren't the fireworks the gift?'
But then she saw the building and her mind went blank.
It was this galaxy-themed place, like it was floating in a sea of stars, with twinkling lights and all that jazz.
Benjamin grabbed her hand, his palm warm. "Let's go inside and check it out."
Daphne followed him, sneaking glances at him.
When did he set this up? How did she not notice?
"The password's the number of days we've been together," Benjamin said when they got to the door.
Daphne punched in the password, and the door swung open.
Right away, this cute, cheerful robot voice started singing, "Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you..."
"Ms. Murphy, happy birthday."
"Wishing you and Mr. Reynolds a happy life together."
Daphne looked at Benjamin, her eyes full of him. "Benjamin," she said, feeling all the feels.
Benjamin smiled and ruffled her hair, nudging her to go explore.
It took them over half an hour to check out the whole place.
Everything was run by a smart system. Basically, the house was packed with high-tech gadgets.
"Did this cost a ton of effort and cash?" Daphne suddenly asked.
Benjamin kept holding her hand as they walked to the third floor. "Compared to that, there's something else that took even more effort."
"What?" Daphne asked, looking up at him.
"My love for you," Benjamin said softly.
Daphne didn't stay quiet like usual. She looked at the techy decor and suddenly thought of something. "When did you build this?"
Considering the timeline, it couldn't have been after they started dating.
Even the best international construction teams couldn't have built this in just over ten days.
"It was built before New Year," Benjamin said, "but the official gift idea came last week."
Official gift?
As she mulled it over, Benjamin led her to the third floor.
The third floor was different from the rest. No smart gadgets, just some galaxy drawings and astronomy stuff.
"This is the real gift," Benjamin said, adjusting a telescope and then looking at her. "Come take a peek."
Daphne moved over, and when she saw a stunning star through the telescope, she was totally surprised.
"I bought this star and named it after you," Benjamin said seriously. “All the paperwork's done. It's officially yours now," he said, looking into her eyes.
Daphne was at a loss for words to describe how she felt.
Sure, she could buy a star too, but she hated all the hassle.
Buying a star meant tons of paperwork and processes, most of which had to be done in person. So, she never bothered.
But now, Benjamin had done it for her.
"Benjamin, thank you," Daphne said with a soft smile.
Benjamin's dark eyes were full of love and tenderness. Outside, fireworks kept lighting up the sky.
Stars twinkled, fireworks bloomed.
They hugged and smiled.
That night, after grabbing some clothes from the second-floor bedroom, Benjamin and Daphne washed up and crashed there.
When Daphne woke up the next morning, she saw that besides Benjamin's sweet wishes, she had a bunch of birthday messages from friends on Facebook. She replied to each one before getting ready for work.
When she stepped outside, she noticed the building looked different in daylight.
At night, it was like a galaxy. Now, in the daylight, it was a sleek, modern building, all silver-white and techy.
It was clearly Benjamin's masterpiece.
On the way to the office, as Daphne sat in the passenger seat, some weird thoughts popped into her head, thoughts she never had before.
"Benjamin, can I ask you something?" Daphne spoke up.
Benjamin, driving, replied, "You can ask me anything."
"Why are you so good to me?" Daphne asked, curious. "Aren't you scared that if we don't get married, all your efforts will be for nothing?"
The clothes, jewelry, bags, watches, and other fancy stuff in the villa were already worth a ton. Including the building and the star named after her, the investment was insane.
'Putting in so much effort, aren't you afraid you'll find out I'm not the one?' Daphne wondered.
"Are you kidding me?" Benjamin suddenly said.
Confused, Daphne waited for him to explain.
"Whether we get married or not, there's no such thing as wasted effort," Benjamin said straight up, sharing his true feelings. "Being good to you makes me happy too."
"But..." Daphne still had doubts.
Benjamin knew what she was thinking.
After mulling it over, he used an analogy from her world. "Feelings are like investment projects. When you find a project you believe in, even if there's competition, you'll go all out for it."
Daphne got it, but not completely.
In the end, she could only respond from a business angle, "If a project doesn't have at least a fifty percent chance of success and needs a huge investment, I wouldn't go for it."
She only invested in things she knew well and understood.
But the project Benjamin was talking about was people, who were unpredictable and full of uncertainties.
"Remember how you started HorizonTech Group?" Benjamin reminded her.
"That's different. I know it, and I understand it," Daphne replied. "So I'm willing to take risks for it."
Benjamin drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. Maybe his example wasn't spot on.
After thinking for a bit, he stopped at a red light and asked directly, "Then why were you so good to me at the beginning?"
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
