The Gift

Eve spaced out, and she had the urge to touch him again to make sure he was real. 

There was a stark difference between his current appearance compared to the last days of their marriage. 

Because she had caused him so much trouble, Ethan had a hard time focusing on his business affairs despite his resilient attitude. 

Slowly, he changed from a fine gentleman whom everyone admired to a grumpy drunk whom everyone was afraid to go near. 

"Eve!" 

He seemed to be calling out her name for quite a while now because his voice got louder, snapping her out of her reverie. 

"I said get ready, we're going to the ancestral mansion."

His anger had cooled off because he even addressed her the usual way he did. 

Without waiting for her reply, Ethan walked into the closet. 

The ancestral mansion....

The memory was as clear as day in Eve's mind. 

That time when she drugged Ethan, he'd asked her to follow him to the ancestral mansion the next morning, to apologize to his grandfather for leaving the party without letting him know.

And what did she do? 

She yelled and protested that she wasn't going to follow him anywhere. She even broke things in the house, until she remembered...

She remembered the kind of gift she'd presented to his grandfather. 

'Oh, no!' Eve's eyes widened at the remembrance of the gift. She couldn't let his grandfather see that gift, otherwise, what happened in her past life might repeat itself. 

Hopefully, she wasn't too late. 

Eve jumped out of bed and darted into the bathroom, forgetting the ache in her body. 

After taking her bath and getting ready, she left the bedroom and bumped into the house stewardess in the hallway. 

"G–Good morning, Ms. Maxwell,  I hope you slept well," Elena stammered while trying to hide the fabric in her hands behind her. 

That was Eve's dress. The one Ethan had ripped off last night. 

Seeing the Stewardess's expression, Eve's heart twisted in guilt. Not only did she make Ethan's life difficult, she also made his servants miserable. 

At that time when she saw her dress in the Stewardess's hands, she was reminded of the night before and that made her punish the poor woman by asking her to kneel outside from dawn till sunset. 

Smiling, she stepped forward and patted her on the shoulder. "Sure, I hope you slept well too, Elena. And can you please stop calling me Ms. Maxwell? After all, I'm Ethan's wife and bearing his surname."

"Huh?" The stewardess blinked at her. 

"In fact, just call me Eve. Let there be no formalities between us."

After saying that, Eve hurried off. She still hoped Ethan's grandfather hadn't opened her gift yet. 

In the past, she'd strictly warned all the servants to only address her by her family's surname, Evan included. So none dared to call her Mrs. Anderson, or Madam, or even Young Miss. 

Her phone rang and she brought it out of her purse to see Mia's name displayed on the screen. 

Eve's fingers curled around her phone and she gritted her teeth. Mia had surely called to feed her more lies and heartbreaking words to make her feel more miserable. 

Eve rejected the call and turned off her phone. 

Ethan was already at the dining table, waiting for her. The breakfast was already served and steaming hot.

 

"Eve."

As Eve gobbled up her food, Ethan called out to her, his brows creasing together. 

"It's not like we're in a rush," he said coldly. "Don't injure yourself."

Even though his expression didn't hold any warmth, Eve was now sane enough to know that he was genuinely worried that she could hurt herself. 

She flashed him a smile and slowed down her pace, and that made the frown on Ethan's forehead deepen. 

Eve sighed inside. She could swear that she'd never even smiled at him before. Her obvious agreement to go with him and obliging to his silent command must have taken him by surprise. 

She just hoped she would be able to stop those calamities from happening again and free herself of the guilt in her heart. 

Suddenly losing her appetite, she dropped the teacup in her hand and said, "Erhm, Ethan... Can we set off now? I want us to be there as soon as possible." 

"You seem to be in a hurry." The confusion in his eyes increased and he dropped his spoon. "Eve, what are you—"

"Please please please." She cut him off, cupping her palms together. "Please let's go now, Ethan. Besides, we're stopping by the antique store, so we must set out early in order to reach the mansion before the sun comes out." She stood up and went to his side then pulled him up. 

"The antique store?" Ethan asked and she quickly nodded. 

"What are you going to do there?"

"To buy Grandpa another gift." She gave him a desperate look. 

Ethan stared at her as if she'd grown two horns. "But you already gave him a birthday present."

Eve shut her eyes, biting her lips. 

That present was going to land them both in huge trouble. 

And she wouldn't dare to tell Ethan about it. 

She opened her eyes and curled up her lips, giving him her sweetest smile. "I– I just feel like I should give him another present. We left his place last night without bidding him goodbye, definitely, he must be mad. My gift will, in no doubt, pacify his heart." 

Ethan gave her an incredulous look. The more she spoke, the more skeptical he appeared. 

"So I must buy a very nice gift and I'll present it to him. You know grandfather loves antique collection. It will make him happy and we won't have to apologize for long."

She didn't give Ethan the chance to speak and she went on pulling him toward the entrance. 

When they got to the parking lot, she rushed the driver to get the car ready. 

As they sat in the backseat, Ethan didn't take his eyes off her.

The car was just about to leave the villa's gates when he said to the driver, "Stop the car."

Eve's lips parted in shock and her eyes snapped to him. 

"Eve." Ethan held her chin, staring into her eyes. "What exactly are you up to?"