Almost instantly, the rich lady broke into a smile. “Oh! I gladly admit that I’m indeed one step too late. He has good taste.”
That was a given, considering that the designer was Elliot’s very lover!
After the showcase, Anastasia decided to invite Felicia for a cup of coffee, but an employee approached Anastasia before she could even leave her seat. “Miss Tillman, please come backstage for a moment.”
Albeit slightly surprised by the request, she went backstage together with Felicia, only to be welcomed by the manager with a smile. “Miss Tillman, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I have a present for you.”
“A present?” While Anastasia was taken aback, the incisive Felicia had a vague guess of the situation.
The manager took out an exquisite white box before opening it to reveal a necklace. It was the one Anastasia had designed! She exclaimed, “This is my
design, though! Is it really for me?”
“Yes. Mr. Presgrave has specially noted that he wishes to give it to the woman he loves the most.”
A blushing Anastasia could not contain the sweet joy in her heart. Needless to say, the man had always been adept at giving surprises.
“Anastasia, it seems like there’s a good reason for President Presgrave to insist on using the best diamonds. He’s been planning to give it to you as a gift from the very start,” teased Felicia.
Anastasia could not help but grin from ear to ear. “So, you’ve known this beforehand? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“If I’ve done that, there wouldn’t be any
surprises and President Presgrave’s effort would’ve gone down the drain.” After looking at her own work, Anastasia told the manager, “Please send it to my place.”
“Understood.”
Anastasia left her address with the
manager before leaving. Right then, she
thought of the man she had been missing. “Have you received the present?” Elliot
chuckled with his low voice.
“Yeah. But why?” asked Anastasia.
“It’s our engagement soon, but you still need a set of jewelry. I think it’ll be meaningful for you to wear it at our engagement ceremony.”
She had nothing to rebut the ideal answer as she was equally pleased. “I think so too.”
“I’ll see you later tonight.”
“Okay. I’m still shopping, just so you know.” She was on cloud nine.
As the engagement ceremony was nearing, Anastasia had been busy these days. Just selecting six sets of gown alone took up a lot of time since she had to take the details into account as well.
Amidst the hectic days, Harriet was the happiest person of all. The future she had been envisioning was coming true at long last-Anastasia was going to be her granddaughter-in-law.
There was a pre-gathering at Presgrave Residence later that night and Anastasia could finally see Nigel, who had been preoccupied due to a business expansion. He barely had the time to catch a breath.
“Still, I can finally become your family as your brother-in-law.” He smiled.
“It feels kinda weird.” She tried to contain her laughter as she was only two years younger than him.
“Fine. You can marry me, then,” he said in undertone so that it would not reach Elliot’s ears.
She played along. “Say it out loud for your brother to hear.”
Suddenly, someone patted Nigel’s shoulder. It was Elliot, whose eyes had narrowed dangerously. “What did you just say?”
“Huh? Did I say something? I said nothing!” Nigel blinked his eyes several times at Anastasia, signaling her to not let the cat out of the bag.
“It’s nothing.” She was about to burst into laughter because of the funny outcome.
Then, Elliot excused himself to greet the seniors and Nigel patted his chest in relief. “I’ve been afraid of him since I was young. You can never imagine his stern face when he’s angry with me. Yet, he used to stand up for me whenever I got into trouble. I really admire him.”
“For real? Tell me more about his younger days! Did he do anything mischievous or embarrassing?” A curious Anastasia was all ears.
