CHAPTER 59: CHAPTER 59: SELF-DELUDED WOMAN

This surprised and delighted the sales assistant. She quickly packed and paid for the necklace, fearing he might change his mind due to its high price—she could earn a good commission!

Not far away, Ivy Jennings stood there, her heart warming slightly. Wasn’t that the necklace she had just fallen in love with but hesitated to buy because of the price?

Could it be that the CEO is planning to give it to her as a birthday gift?

As Ivy remembered that today was her birthday, she instantly felt elated and hurriedly turned away.

Whether to pretend to be surprised or not, she wondered. In previous birthdays, as long as the CEO wasn’t too busy, he would usually give her a small gift or grant her a day off.

Back at the company, Ivy buried herself in work as she always did.

She organized his schedule, prepared meeting materials, and prioritized urgent documents for him according to their importance.

She sliced fruit platters for him and made him coffee.

The entire day, Ivy eagerly stayed in Adrian Lancaster’s orbit, busy in the CEO’s office, yet he never uttered a word unrelated to work.

Gradually, she felt a bit disappointed and began to wonder if that necklace wasn’t for her after all.

"Happy birthday, Ivy!"

At two o’clock in the afternoon, Dustin Shepherd came in with a delicate cake.

Adrian Lancaster looked up at the sound, and Ivy turned her eyes towards him. Their gazes met.

Only then did she realize that the CEO had completely forgotten about it!

With Dustin’s reminder, Adrian suddenly realized something, "Happy birthday, Ivy," he echoed, and then fell silent.

Ivy felt a mix of emotions! She forced a smile and thanked them, though her heart was full of scars.

The whole day, Ivy felt a great emotional gap!

At the company, Adrian Lancaster didn’t find a moment to present the necklace, which remained in his car all day, unseen.

After work, returning home, he brought the necklace back with him.

Today was Friday, a day to take Faye Turner to his family’s old house for dinner, as was the agreement with his grandfather.

He had arranged with her to not go directly to the old house after work, but to return to Aqua Flora Residences separately and then head out together.

Faye took the bus back, so she was slower than him.

As she entered, she saw the man sitting on the sofa, seemingly waiting for her, rising with a bag in hand, "This is for you, just a little token of gratitude for helping me out yesterday."

Faye was fairly surprised, looked at him, and then stepped towards him, "What is it?"

"A necklace," he replied coolly, "just bought casually."

The girl stood in front of him, looking at him once more before reaching out to take the bag. It was exquisite, a luxury item from a boutique; she was slightly startled, "Did you pick it out?"

Meeting the girl’s bright eyes, the man frowned slightly, with a cooler tone, "Whether I picked it out or not, its purpose is just to thank you for helping out yesterday, so don’t read too much into it. I have no feelings for you and will not fall in love with you."

After speaking, he shoved his hands into his pockets and walked towards the balcony.

The girl, watching his back, stubbornly retorted, "No need to emphasize it; we agreed on this long ago. I won’t fall in love with you either!"

Saying this, she turned with the necklace and headed to the guest bedroom, leaving Adrian Lancaster a clean-cut view of her back, which darkened his gaze slightly, making him second-guess his allure.

Standing on the balcony, he waited for about five minutes. He had to admit, Faye was not a dawdling kind of girl.

Once she changed her clothes, her demeanor was instantly elevated.

She wore a French Hepburn-style chic little dress, fitted to accentuate her waist, particularly beautiful, and it was white.

"Ready to go!" Faye called to the back facing her.

When Adrian turned his gaze to see her, he was slightly dazed, scrutinizing her appreciatively, "You don’t have to go out of your way to please my mom; she won’t like you anyway."

"You’ve said that twice already!" the girl protested in dissatisfaction, "I’m not a banknote, so it’s normal if she doesn’t like me! I wear clothes I like to please myself; why would I try to please her? I’m already married to you; what does her approval matter?"

Adrian couldn’t help but give her another look, thinking this girl sure talks a lot!

But he didn’t argue with her, withdrawing his gaze, stepping forward, and Faye followed him, happily tagging along beside him.