Chapter 342 A Unique Gift
Sophia had been drinking, and her mind was a bit slow. It took her a while to understand what Finnley was saying.
She tilted her head and thought for a moment, then said, "Then I'm drunk."
"Good that you know you're drunk. Why did you drink so much?" Finnley asked helplessly.
Sophia paused, "You're not playing by the rules. When I say I'm drunk, it means I'm not drunk."
"Okay, you're not drunk. Shall we go back to the room and rest?" Seeing that she was really quite drunk, Finnley just went along with what she said.
Fortunately, when drunk, she didn't cry or make a fuss—she was even more well-behaved than when sober.
Hearing Finnley's words, she happily nodded and agreed, "Not drunk."
She had a really good tolerance for alcohol!
Finnley slowly stood up and reached out his hand to her, "Can you walk by yourself?"
"No."
Sophia looked up at him, slowly spreading her arms wide. The suit jacket draped over her shoulders slipped off onto the sofa with her movement.
She didn't pay attention to it, just quietly gazed at Finnley.
"Carry me."
"I really don't know what to do with you." Finnley tugged at the tie around his neck and bent down to scoop Sophia up from the sofa.
He had only seen Sophia drunk twice. The first time was when they first met—she threw herself into his arms, tears streaming down uncontrollably, accusing him of being away for so long.
The second time was today.
He looked down at Sophia in his arms, and as he lowered his head, he happened to meet her clear, bright eyes.
She pressed her cheek against his chest, her long curled lashes fluttering lightly, her slender pale legs swinging carelessly in the crook of his arm.
Sophia looked content and lazy.
Finnley struggled to look away, his eyes darkening slightly, his steps unconsciously quickening.
When they got back to the bedroom, Finnley hooked the door closed with his toe and strode to the bed.
He bent down to place Sophia on the bed, then prepared to stand up, but the hands around his neck wouldn't let go.
"Did you forget something?"
"What?"
"You actually forgot? Think about it yourself."
She silently turned her head away, looking like "don't bother me if you can't figure it out."
Finnley was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized, "You mean the gift? Wait, I'll go get it for you right now."
"Then go ahead." Only after seeing he hadn't forgotten did Sophia withdraw her hands.
Her legs dangled over the edge of the bed, swinging gently as she lay there waiting for Finnley to bring back the gift.
Finnley opened the closet and instinctively glanced back, finding Sophia lying there alone, playing with her own hands.
He took the gift box from inside the closet and returned to the bedside.
"Your gift."
Sophia's eyes lit up. She sat up from the bed in one swift motion and took the jewelry box.
"What else?" Sophia sat cross-legged, staring straight at him, her eyes full of expectation.
"What else? What is it?"
This was Finnley's first time celebrating someone's birthday, and he had no idea that birthdays required anything besides gifts.
Sophia hugged the gift box and laughed, "You're so silly. It's birthday wishes. You haven't even said happy birthday to me."
Finnley froze, then realized what she meant.
He raised his wrist to check the time and found it was already the next day. He felt somewhat annoyed, "Sorry, that was careless of me. Sophia, happy birthday. I hope you'll be safe and sound, carefree for life."
"Fine, I forgive you. But don't let there be a next time."
Sophia hadn't really been angry. It's just that everyone else's wishes couldn't compare to this one sentence from him.
Though it was a bit late, she was still very happy.
"There won't be a next time, I promise."
Finnley felt a bit uncomfortable inside, thinking he had been too careless to forget something so important.
He quietly made a mental note of this. From then on, every year on Sophia's birthday, no matter how busy or how late it was, he would rush back before midnight to say "happy birthday" to her.
"Open the gift first."
Sophia opened the jewelry box and found an extremely delicate and beautiful diamond necklace inside.
The pink diamond sparkled brilliantly under the light, radiating a dazzling bright glow, surrounded by tiny scattered diamonds.
But when she looked closely, she noticed there were still some small flaws at the joints.
Sophia's eyes darted around, and she asked, "Don't tell me you made this yourself?"
Meeting her bright eyes, Finnley responded somewhat uncomfortably.
He was the boss of Luminor Group, but he had never tried making jewelry with his own hands before.
Recently, every night he would have Chase drive him to Luminor Group to personally craft this necklace.
Though the necklace had some minor flaws, overall he was satisfied with it.
He concealed the anticipation in his eyes and asked with feigned composure, "Do you like it?"
When he first saw the design, he immediately thought it would suit Sophia perfectly. The finished piece was pretty much what he had imagined.
All day today, he had been imagining what Sophia would look like wearing this necklace.
It would definitely be beautiful, so beautiful.
Sophia took the necklace out of the box and examined it carefully under the light.
The pink diamond was of excellent quality, with almost no flaws, and the facets were perfectly cut, crystal clear.
"I love it, thank you."
Sophia clutched the necklace in her hand and threw herself into Finnley's arms, her heart feeling as sweet as if it were soaked in honey.
Finnley's spine stiffened slightly, a flash of dangerous light crossing his deep eyes.
He raised his hand and held her in his arms, feeling as if something had filled his heart, giving him an indescribable sense of comfort.
"I'm glad you like it." His low voice became somewhat hoarse.
He seemed to be restraining and suppressing something.
Sophia smiled and lifted her head from his embrace, handing the necklace to him, "Quick, help me put it on."
Suddenly holding a necklace in his hand, Finnley froze, afraid that the slightest force would break it.
He had attached each link of the necklace's chain himself. At first, he couldn't get the hang of it—the slightest force would break it, and he'd have to reconnect it.
He repeated this process several times before finally getting the chain assembled. He had his staff specially reinforce it before he dared take it out.
But remembering those earlier lessons, he instinctively lightened his touch.
He reached out to sweep Sophia's hair from her back to the front, revealing a stretch of pale, slender neck.
Whether from nervousness or some other reason, the necklace clasp seemed to have a mind of its own in his hands.
He tried several times, each time just barely missing getting it fastened.
During this, his rough fingertips kept accidentally brushing against the delicate skin at the back of Sophia's neck.
In just a few minutes, a layer of sweat had formed on his forehead.
Sophia turned her head and, seeing him in this flustered state, laughed unkindly.
"Finnley, you're so cute. It's just putting on a necklace. What were you thinking about just now?"
Finnley looked away, pretending to be calm: "Nothing."
He clearly was thinking about something. Didn't she know him well enough?
From just one small gesture, she could tell what was on his mind.
But knowing he cared about saving face, Sophia stopped teasing him after she'd had her laugh, though she was truly very happy inside.