Chapter 136: Parting Gift

"Oh…he asked me what I wanted to do with my life, you know, after the contract expires…" I said.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"And you said?" Hayden asked.

"I told him that I haven’t thought about it. In other words, I have completely no idea…" I replied, trying to sound carefree.

"That’s funny but it does sound like you," Hayden said, sounding amused.

"He did promise to continue paying for my grandmother’s hospital bills though. That was very kind of him. Maybe he’s not such a bad person…" I said, deep in thought.

"My father’s not a bad person…he just likes to get his way. That’s all," Hayden said.

"Haha…but don’t we all?" I said while laughing.

Seriously, if only I could have my way as well…

…

After that we drove back to the penthouse. I thought about what the boss said all the way back as I stared absentmindedly at the scenery that past by in front of my eyes outside the car’s window.

"Are you free when we get back?" Hayden asked needlessly.

Of course, I was free. I had nothing else to do and even if I did, I wouldn’t be able to concentrate on anything else anyways.

"Yes, I am…" I replied.

I wondered what Hayden had in mind. He hasn’t told me anything and at this point, I couldn’t guess and didn’t even want to bother guessing. He was just a wild card.

"Come over here…" Hayden called out to me when we entered the penthouse.

It was then that I realized that Hayden had walked off somewhere. Following the sound of his voice, I entered another sitting room that was smaller. We’ve never really used this room before simply because there was another and larger sitting room. The penthouse had too many rooms for Hayden and me to occupy and use them all.

"What is it?" I asked as I walked into the room.

Hayden was busy doing something close to the wall. I looked towards him in confusion as I wondered what he was doing.

"Come here and take this," Hayden said.

I went over to where he was standing near the wall before he handed me a large box. Is this a jewelry box? Taking into account its side, it would probably be more suitable to call it a tray than a box. I took the tray from his hand in slight confusion as I watched his hands and arm reach into the safe that was constructed in the wall and began pulling out more trays.

"What’s this?" I asked.

"Your parting gifts," Hayden said like it was supposed to be obvious.

Instead of getting excited at the word ’gifts’ like most girls would, my heart ached like it was about to break at the work ’parting’ and how easily it seemed to roll off his tongue.

Once the safe was empty, I had many trays in my arms and so did Hayden. Together we walked to the coffee table in the middle of the sofa set and placed them on the table. Sitting down on the sofa together with Hayden, I watched the two high piles of jewelry boxes and tray in a mix of amazement and discomfort.

"I don’t think…" I began protesting.

"Do you remember these?" Hayden asked as he opened a box and shoved it in my face.

"Yes…" I replied softly.

Of course, I remember. These are the blue sapphire jewelry that I wore after he took me to my first ever make-over before he asked me to act as his friend’s fake girlfriend. That seemed like so long ago. I wondered for a bit if they were still friends after what happened. I guess not…

"They look good on you. You should keep it," Hayden said firmly.

"I can’t possibly accept this…" I denied firmly.

"Yes, you can. Would you rather take these or the painting? If you can’t decide, I’ll help you by telling you that the painting is worth so much more…" Hayden said as he looked at me with serious eyes.

I just didn’t know what to say. At a loss for words, I just nodded my head slight at him.

"Good. Now these. Do you remember these?" Hayden asked once more as he shoved another jewelry set into my face.

Yes, I did. This is the emerald set that he bought for me too. I wondered why he was showing this to me as if he wanted to jig my memory. It felt wrong for me to accept something so expensive as a gift. Worst, it was a parting gift.

"Listen, Hayden…I think it’s best if I don’t take these with me. I’m happy that you want to give them to me, but I don’t think I should take them after all," I said.

"I insist that you take them. They may not have sentimental value to you, but I would feel better if you had them. If you ever need the money, I want you to sell them," Hayden insisted again.

"Huh?" I exclaimed in shock. I think I must have misheard what he said.

"If you don’t have money, just sell them," Hayden repeated in plainer terms.

Staring down at the sparkling jewelry in front of me, I couldn’t help but recall our times together and it just hurt deep inside. My chest felt tight, and the back of my eyes and my nose was starting to sting. I’m about to cry and I don’t want Hayden to see it. I tried to stop myself from blinking, fearing that the tears would spill over from my eyes if I blinked.

"These are some other that I ordered. Some are smaller and suitable for everyday use. I want you to wear them. Jewelry does look good on you. Oh, and if you don’t have money, just sell them. No need to worry or think too much over it," Hayden instructed as his hands opened up the other trays full of jewelry.

"Thank you. I’ll take them before I leave, so please keep it in the safe for now. I’m feeling a little tired, I’ll head to my room now…" I quickly thanked him and excused myself.

Everything was starting to get too much for me and my poor little heart to take. I felt sick as a lump formed in my throat. I controlled myself enough to walk casually out of the room. Once I rounded the corner, I began walking faster so that I could quickly get to my bedroom.

--To be continued…