Chapter 22: The Late Wedding Gift
From ten feet away, Frederick could clearly make out the black ink on the card attached to the gift box.
Rebecca’s handwriting.
Frederick’s bad mood hit pause.
With his long legs, he quickly crossed the room to the bed, picked up the card, and read the message.
"To Frederick: A belated wedding gift, hope you like it!"
"P.S.: Even though I used your card to buy it, I hope you can feel my sincerity! -----Rebecca"
Next to her signature, she had drawn a little smiley face sticking its tongue out.
His fingertips traced over the cartoon’s eyes and mouth, recalling the day she had failed to cash out and angrily went on a shopping spree.
She bought herself a bunch of things, but the most expensive was the wedding gift for him.
The anger that had been building up inside Frederick dissipated.
Inside the box was a new model of a Vacheron Constantin watch.
Even though he already had an identical one in the dressing room’s watch display case, at this moment, Frederick felt as if he was seeing the watch for the first time, picking it up and rubbing it for a long time.
Suddenly, his phone dinged with a message from Rebecca: "Frederick, I’m back at the dorm! Goodnight!"
"Goodnight!"
Feeling that a simple goodnight wasn’t enough, his gaze slid over Rebecca’s playful cartoon avatar, and Frederick sent another message: "Mrs. Windsor, I really like your wedding gift! Thank you!"
His phone lit up again, and Rebecca turned to see the message with "Mrs. Windsor."
She instinctively grabbed her phone.
She wanted to say “you’re welcome,” but considering she had used his money, it felt a bit distant.
Then she remembered Frederick wasn’t much of a talker, so Rebecca put away her phone and continued unpacking her suitcase.
Empire University’s dormitory housed four students per room.
The beds were on top, with desks and wardrobes below.
Although it was Sunday night, her three roommates were all absent, likely out on dates or at the library.
She hung all her clothes in the wardrobe.
The snacks she brought were divided into three portions and placed on each of their desks.
Looking around, the small room seemed untouched for the weekend, still carrying the disarray from their excited departure on Friday. Rebecca rolled up her sleeves and tidied up.
Her phone rang just as a thin layer of sweat formed on her forehead.
The call was from a girl she knew from the elite circles.
“Rebecca, you need to come quick, Mr. Johnson is in trouble!”
As soon as the call connected, deafening electronic music blared, mixed with the sounds of breaking bottles and people screaming.
The girl on the other end shouted, “Mr. Johnson said you guys broke off the engagement, and I don’t know who else to call. Rebecca, you dated him for a while, can’t you talk some sense into him? It’s better to part ways amicably! If this blows up, it’s bad for everyone, don’t you think?”
Rebecca was about to say, “Since you know we broke off the engagement, whatever happens to him has nothing to do with me,” but she heard Dennis’s distinct yelling amidst the chaos, “Which magazine are you from? Are you looking for trouble? Delete that crap!”
Rebecca’s heart tightened.
If it weren’t for recent events, she wouldn’t care what entertainment reporters or media wrote. At worst, it would just be gossip at school.
But now, she was Mrs. Windsor.
If her boss saw his employee constantly in the entertainment headlines, no matter how dedicated she was, it wouldn’t undo the negative impact already caused, right?
“I’ll be there right away!”
She threw out a quick response and hurried out the door.