Xiran’s POV

Frila entered the room holding a small box in her hands. She was about to say something but then her eyes landed on Rivan and she presses her lips together and began staring at the floor.

"What?" I was feeling frustrated at her actions and was not in the mood to play the guessing game.

"Señor...umm..."

"Speak up Frila, Rivan is like my other half so speak freely." She slightly looked up at my words, and stepping forward she extended a small blue box towards me.

"Aselia sent this for you... it’s your birthday gift. She asked me to give it to you on her behalf." My head jerked at her words, my heart fluttered at the happiness it felt. Did she send me a gift? I couldn’t believe not I had ever anticipated that she would have thought about sending me a gift.

I quickly took the box from her hands and unfurling the ribbon opened its lid to reveal what lay inside.

A roughly folded note sat on top, I picked it up and opened it to read, my heart was beating so fast in excitement and anticipation of what she might have written in it. This was the first time she had sent me a note and so I was excited and felt like a teenager who had received his first love letter from his crush.

The first thing I noticed was her handwriting. It was small and the words were very delicately written, they slanted to the right side.

The note read: "Xiran, I wanted to give this to you personally, but you chose to be a di*k today so... Anyways, Happy Birthday Di*khead."

I read the note twice, and it quickly dissolved all my resolve to rush over to her room and wrap her in my arms, right that instant. But restraint was required and that’s what I showed. I neatly wrapped it up and placed it in my pocket, near my heart.

Then I diverted my attention to what lay below the note. It was a very elegantly designed platinum bracelet with my name written on the side of its flat surface. A diamond on the other side. It was simple yet so beautiful, just like her.

I could smell her blood, the name had been dyed red. Did she? A smile crept up on my face. Of course, she did and I was reminded of the way she had signed the contract. That was something only she could do, only she could think and pull off.

I took out the bracelet from the box and held it in my hand, then I opened the lock and slipped it into my arm. It felt cold against my skin but settled perfectly in my wrist. I loved it. Then closing the box and diverting my attention to Frila, I inquired:

"From where did she buy this?"

"I...helped her, we ordered it from Briaetly Jewels." Hearing the jewelers’ names annoyed me. Briaetly had unique designs and I always commissioned jewelry from him. But he charged too much, his jewelry was atrociously expensive. He had a knack to swindle the rich. I didn’t want her to spend a fortune to buy from him.

"Frila, why would you do that? Briaetly loots his customers, couldn’t you show her someone cheaper. How much did she spend on this?" I shook the box lightly to make my point.

Fear crossed Frila’s eyes and her shoulders slumped as she hesitated before answering in a low and meek voice: "She requested me to not tell you."

"Speak up Frila," I growled, my anger surging. "How much?" I glared at her not believing she would refuse to tell me.

"10K Corins," Corins was the currency of Druhias and 10K was a huge amount. An average person wouldn’t make that in a year and she spent a fortune on buying me a gift.

"WHAT? You let her spend 10K in buying me a bracelet. Frila have you lost your mind? This is supposed to be her savings." Frila trembled at my words, her head lowered.

"Señ...or, u...m" she couldn’t form words. I was sure she wanted the ground to devour her right now.

"Deposit the same amount back into her account and don’t you dare tell her, and I don’t want you helping her spending a dime on me, next time," I ordered her and she shook her head vehemently without looking at me.

"And you think that’s a good idea? How? Care to elaborate." Rivan spoke lazily from across the room, he had picked up the whisky glass from the side table and was sipping it.

"She is supposed to spend this money on herself and keep it secured for her future. Not waste it on me." I retorted, shifting my gaze to him.

"And how will she feel when she will discover later that you deposited the same amount of money in her account on your birthday, which she had spent buying you a gift? Is that the first gift from her?" Rivan pointed toward the box and my bracelet.

"Yes,"

"Looks fantastic, she has great taste. So, how do you think she will feel after finding out you returned the same amount she spent on your gift? Keep in mind that’s Aselia we are talking about." He took another sip, and a small smile crawled back on his lips.

"I will do it later on then," I announced, shrugging my shoulders.

"Xiran, keep the gift and let it go. Don’t try to control every single decision she makes. Remember the goal is to not suffocate her but to win her over and what you are doing right now is not going to help your case, at all." Rivan then focused his attention on the scared-looking Frila and said:

"Stop being scared of him all the time and give him some genuine advice when he is making such blunders. I can’t be here 24/7 to watch his every step." Frila lifted her head a bit and nodded lightly to Rivan’s words.

"Frila you also think it’s a bad idea?" I probed her.

"Yes, Aselia won’t like it." She replied in a soft tone, still not looking at me. She was close to Aselia so she understood her perfectly. Besides, she was a girl so girls know each other much better.

"See, no one likes to get paid back for a gift. Be generous but in a discreet fashion. What’s wrong with your brain lately, Xiri?" Rivan teased me again and I couldn’t help but sigh.

"Ok, I got it. I will think of something else. Frila make sure she eats something and stay with her. Today, she is drunk too." I instructed her and she nodded at me. Don’t know why but I had a feeling she was going to fall ill. Frila then took permission before leaving. I focused my attention on Rivan who had finished his drink and was getting up from bed and straightening his clothes.

"You are leaving?"

"Yes, I have early meetings tomorrow. Call or text if you get stuck with a decision. Seems like I am acting as your love guru now." We both gazed at each other and laughed so hard at his words.

"Yeah, you are probably right. I think I need all the advice I can get when it comes down to her."

I got up as well to see him off. He gave me a tight hug and said:

"Love is never easy just like everything good in this world. So if you feel she is worth it, then don’t let her go. We will deal with the world, together. Like we have always done." His words gave me so much confidence and filled my heart with a flicker of hope. Maybe just maybe, we would be able to pull this off.

"I have a feeling that we might be able to make it someday. I am not sure when that day will come but the future can’t be all dark." I smiled at my best friend, someone who had always given me hope in this hopeless world.

After Rivan had left I got changed and lay down in bed. Her bracelet jingled in my wrist and I pressed it to my lips. Feeling it as if I was feeling her close. The desire to go to her room took over and I became restless. But I needed to give her time, at least to get sober and some of her anger to dissipate before I would go and apologize to her.

I took out my phone and began to see the pictures I had taken of her at random times, especially when she was not looking. My favourite was the one when she was sitting on the beach being kissed by the rays of the rising sun. That was the day I professed my love to her and she rejected me. She looked like a fairy that day and I couldn’t help but stare at her for an eternity.