Chapter 178 A gift

Chapter 178 A gift
The second the car doors slam shut, sealing us back into the air-conditioned quiet, I turn to Bastian. "Are you actually buying Vesper?"
"It appears that way," he says smoothly, putting the key in the ignition. He offers a casual shrug. "I expected far more pushback when I submitted the initial offer, but it turns out the board was already quietly looking for a buyer. It seems meant to be."
Before I can digest that, he shifts in his seat and leans across the center console. I brace myself, but he just reaches for my seatbelt, pulling the strap down and clicking the metal tongue firmly into the buckle. I watch him closely. He’s strangely fixated on this, always making sure I’m strapped in before the engine even revs. I wonder briefly if it’s an ingrained reflex tied to the car accident he told me about.
He finishes fastening it, but he doesn't pull back. He hovers inches away, his eyes locking onto mine with a sharp intensity. "What did he want?"
I think back to the strange, lingering interaction with the floor manager, then give a small shake of my head. "Nothing. He was just saying hi."
He nods slowly, taking that in, before adjusting his posture. "We have dinner reservations for tomorrow night."
"I have a shift," I reply automatically, and then the realization hits me. The deal we made. I’m supposed to get answers, supposed to be able to ask him anything without his usual evasive walls. I swallow hard around the sudden lump in my throat. "I'm sure I can get Ava to cover for me."
"I'll take care of it," he says softly, his thumb lightly grazing the edge of my jawline. "Don't worry your pretty little head over the schedule."
He slowly leans back into the driver's seat, resting his forearms against the leather steering wheel. "Actually...I've been thinking."
I instantly snap to full alert, turning my body toward him, waiting expectantly. Bastian stares straight ahead through the windshield, his brow slightly furrowed, looking like a man genuinely debating his next move. A rare look on him.
Finally, he turns back to face me, his tone softer and far more cautious than usual. "I think you should consider taking a break from Orphic. You should really focus on your modeling career, it's clearly where your passion lies. If you step back from the bar, you won't always be so exhausted. You'll actually have time to pursue the other things you love. Playing the violin, for instance."
A breathless, incredulous chuckle escapes me. I stare at him, trying to figure out if this is some bizarre joke, but humor isn't exactly in Bastian's operational handbook.
I scoff, leaning back against my headrest with a faint, amused shake of my head. "Right. And how am I supposed to make a living, Bastian? Let me guess..." I wave a hand between us. "...you're going to volunteer to handle it?"
He just watches me, his face unreadable. He turns his head, his gaze drifting past me out the passenger side window, staring up at the sleek, lit-up facade of Vesper.
"I was planning on getting you a gift," he says, his voice carrying a strange, heavy weight. "I was going to give it to you at dinner tomorrow night." He looks back at me, his eyes dark and unwavering. "Will you accept it, Kaden? Or am I going to have to force you?"
My pulse instantly skyrockets, hammering hard against my ribs. My voice comes out low and uneven. "What gift?"
Bastian reads the sudden tension in my face, a subtle, almost invisible smile playing at the corner of his lips. He lifts his hand and gestures casually out the window, pointing directly at the massive venue standing right outside.
"I want you to have it," he says simply. "Vesper is yours."
My entire body goes dead cold.
My breath hitches violently in my throat and my lips parting in shock. My head spins as my brain frantically tries to process the sentence, my eyes darting frantically between his deadpan expression and the massive building outside. I sit there, completely paralyzed, staring at him like he’s spoken a foreign language.
Bastian notices the frozen, absolute shock on my face. Before I can open my mouth to turn it down, he cuts in smoothly.
"Nobody has to know," he says, his tone entirely practical. "Unless you want them to. You don't have to announce it or change your public life. Just view it as a... safety net. Something solid underneath you."
I finally regain my voice, though it sounds thin and surreal to my own ears. "A safety net?"
He nods casually, resting one hand on the steering wheel. "So you can fully focus on what actually matters to you, without the constant weight of financial survival hanging over your head. I know that anxiety holds you back, Kaden. And no...this isn't an attempt to buy you, or diminish your independence, or keep you under my thumb. If anything, I know exactly how far you can go if you're given the freedom to build a life without constantly worrying about bills."
Silence stretches inside the quiet luxury of the car. I sit there, staring blankly out the window at the sleek, massive venue, completely paralyzed. My brain feels like it’s attempting to process a glitch in reality.
I turn back to him, shaking my head slowly. "That’s just... that’s not how the world works."
"It’s how my world works," he replies without a second of hesitation. "And you are in it now. Fully. So by extension, it's how your world works too."
"You can't just give me a club!" The disbelief overflows in my voice, sharp and high.
"Of course I can," he counters, entirely unfazed. "I can give you a great deal more than a club, Kaden. If you'd simply let your pride down long enough to accept it."
I shake my head again, leaning back into my seat. It’s incomprehensible. The sheer scale of what he’s throwing around like a casual gift is something I can't even begin to wrap my mind around.
"I want to take care of you," he says softly, his blue eyes locking onto mine with a heavy weight. "Let me do that. Isn't that what a relationship is supposed to be?"
"Not like this," I whisper, my throat tight. "It doesn't work like this."
"It does for me."
He reaches across the console, his warm hand closing gently over mine. He squeezes, holding my fingers firmly against the leather.
"I've never cared about anyone like this, Kaden," he confesses, his voice dropping into a rare, strikingly raw register. "Ever. I need to do this for you. It would be entirely unfair of you to deny me that."
A heavy sigh escapes my chest, the knot in my stomach tightening. It feels wrong. It feels like slipping into a golden cage wrapped up in the language of devotion.
"I don't want things, Bastian," I say softly, looking down at our joined hands. "I just want you to trust me enough to actually open up to me."
He holds my gaze for a long moment, his thumb slowly stroking the back of my hand.
"I will," he promises smoothly. "I will."
He watches my face closely, reading every ripple of hesitation. "If your concern is the operational burden, you won't have to worry about managing the place," he assures me, his voice smooth and steady. "My team will handle the infrastructure."
I stare at him, stunned by how thoroughly he's mapped this out. He's so determined to preemptively handle every single thing he assumes could possibly bother me. And... admittedly, it’s kind of romantic, in a terrifying, overwhelming sort of way. But still, this isn't right....right? My brain is screaming about ethics, moral compasses, normal human boundaries, and all the basic rules of functioning relationships.
"What are you thinking?" He asks softly, his thumb tracing the back of my hand.
I turn to face him, letting out a dry, breathy laugh. "A watch would have sufficed, Bastian. Or a pricy, sparkly bracelet."
"I can arrange for those as well," he replies without skipping a beat, entirely serious.
I give him a flat, deadpan look. He just laces his fingers tightly through mine, refusing to let go. I glance away toward the dashboard, trying to gather my scattered thoughts.
"I'm not gonna quit bartending," I say, my tone firm. "I can't just drop my life."
"But you're still accepting the gift?" he asks, an eyebrow arching slightly.
I know how this man operates. There will be no end to this conversation, no leaving this parking lot, unless I give him something that satisfies him for the afternoon.
"I'll think it through," I say, sighing. "We can come back to this another time. But Bastian... you seriously can't just go around doing things like this."
He tilts his head, his blue eyes softening just a fraction. "I can't spoil you, Kaden? I can't let you see how much you're valued?"
"There are other ways to do that," I tell him, holding his gaze fiercely. "Ways that cost absolutely nothing."
Silence lingers between us for a heavy beat. Bastian studies my eyes, searching for any give, before he lets out a quiet sigh and gives a single, curt nod.
"Think about it," he says. "And just so you know, saying yes will make me incredibly happy."
He reaches up, his knuckles gently stroking the curve of my cheek before he finally pulls back and shifts the car into drive.
I don't say anything else. I turn my head, looking back out the passenger window at the front entrance of Vesper. Standing outside on the pavement are two of the suit-wearing guys Bastian had been meeting with earlier, their backs turned to us. And right beside them, standing perfectly still with his hands tucked into his tailored pockets, is Joshua. He's watching our car pull away, his eyes pinned directly on me until we drive off.