Chapter 129 - Forgiveness

"Huh?"

Emily looked at him with surprise filling her eyes. It was like her mind was too busy to process whatever he was speaking.

Kaiden arched an eyebrow as he looked at her confused expression. The twitch that was already visible on his lips only increased but he somehow succeeded in keeping a calm exterior.

"Are you not going to give me any present?" He asked as he looked around the office to divert his attention a little bit.

"Oh! That....well...Daniel helped me in delivering the presents to your mansion this morning." Emily replied as she brushed away the loose strands of hair that were covering her face.

Kaiden turned his surprised eyes towards her as he walked closer to her while speaking in a warm tone.

"Really? That's good then. But since I can't really see your present right now, can you please tell me what gift you have exactly prepared for me?"

He could barely control his happiness and excitement after getting to know that she did not forget to give him a present. 

Emily could not find a way to avoid his question and since she had no other option than to answer him, she decided to defend herself as best as she could.

"Well....I-I don't really know about your likes to dislikes...so...I di-did not prepare anything unique...."

She looked away as she felt her cheeks turning bright red due to embarrassment. She pondered a lot about what she wanted to gift him but no matter how hard she tried, she could not find anything suitable.

In the end, she just gave up and picked the most normal thing as a present for him that she noticed.

If she had known that she would be facing such a situation then she would probably have asked for one of her brothers' or maybe Rylan's help to select a present for the Young Sullivan Master.

She felt Kaiden stepping closer to her and the next moment, she found one of his hands cupping her jaw as he made her lift her face and look at him square in the eyes.

His fingers grazed her cheeks very softly as he looked into her eyes with such tenderness that Emily felt like she was going to melt at any moment.

"It does not matter how simple your gift is. As long as it's a gift from you, I will cherish it as if it's my most precious possession." 

Even Kaiden could feel his heart beating loudly as he watched her twinkling eyes staring back at him in wonder.

He could sense the changes in her body at his closeness. Could she sense the same about him? As soon as the thought appeared in his mind, he wanted to pull away from her.

He could not let her know that she affected him just as much as he affected her, probably far more than that.

Though the bond between the two of them was still sleeping, he could feel that his spirit had already recognized his other half.

He took in a deep breath to calm himself down. It was not time for him to lose his cool and scare the girl.

Once he was under control, he looked at her with a soft smile as he stepped back a little to place some distance between the two of them.

His hand slipped away from her soft cheeks and he immediately stuffed it in his coat pocket to keep the warmth of her skin caged in his fist.

"So, what is the gift?" He asked in order to divert both of their attention.

Emily rubbed the tip of her nose with the index finger of her right hand as she finally muttered out a reply to his question.

"A greeting card and a box of saffron and honey cookies from the Golden Sugar Bakery." 

Kaiden found a smile appearing on his lips as he heard her answer. He was more than happy with the present that he had received from his angel.

However, his happiness was short-lived because her next words were like a bucket of cold water that left his heart shivering and trembling.

"......I have sent the same for Mr. Kim since I was also not aware of his likes and dislikes. I hope both of you will enjoy the sweets. They are actually good."

The poor girl had no idea that her words were like sharp knives that slashed the young man's heart into pieces. 

"What did you just say?" 

Even though Kaiden tried to stay as calm as possible, he could barely control the bitterness that was coating his words.

"Huh? Well......I said that....I-I hope you and Mr. Kim...."

Before Emily could finish, she found herself trailing off as she noticed the frown that had appeared on the handsome face of the man in front of her.

His icy blue eyes no longer looked as warm and affectionate as before. Rather, she could feel that there was something wrong with him and his mood.

Though she could not understand exactly what was going on but she could clearly tell that his mood had suddenly changed due to some reason.

Was he mad because she bought such cheap and normal stuff as a present for him? But the cookies were not exactly cheap. She could have enjoyed a complete buffet in the amount of money that she spent on just one box of those cookies.

"How.....? How can you gift me the same present as my Secretary? Are you trying to tell me that my position in your life is the same as Secretary Kim? You did not need to be this direct and cruel even if you wanted to tell me that."

Kaiden could barely keep his sadness at bay. It was a good thing that Secretary Kim was not present there with them. From the very first moment, his Secretary had successfully pulled his little mate's attention away from him.

He could feel something boiling inside him as he pictured taking revenge on that good-for-nothing secretary of his.

How could his angel gift that damn man the same present that she chose for her future husband?

Was Secretary Kim trying to snatch away his mate?

The thought only made him more furious and sad as he growled at the thought of that old dragon taking away his little angel from him.

"Kaiden....!"

The sudden soft and sweet voice entered his ears and started clearing the fog of jealousy that was surrounding his mind.

He did not even realize that he had closed his eyes and as his eyes fluttered open, the first thing that appeared in front of his vision was the beautiful face of his little angel.

He could feel all his dark emotions fluttering away as her eyes and sweet voice pulled him out of the ocean of fear that kept reminding him that he could lose her anytime.

He did not even realize what he was doing until he found his arms circling her tiny waist as he pulled her in his embrace.

Her familiar scent calmed him down and so did her racing heart that matched his own. It was like their hearts were having a competition of who would beat the fastest.

He felt himself completely relaxing as soon as he felt her hands on his back. She was soothingly rubbing his back as she kept asking if he was alright.

He did not reply as he just closed his eyes and snuggled his nose against her nape to inhale her natural scent.

He could feel his entire being calming down as he was filled with happiness to have his little angel securely wrapped in his arms.

"Kaiden, are you alright? Is everything okay?" Emily again asked him, this time a little bit more loudly.

To be honest, she was not really expecting him to answer but to her amazement, he replied with a small 'hmm' that made the skin of her nape tingle in a very wrong but exciting way.

"Are you angry because you did not like the gift?" She asked the question but immediately shook her head.

"Are you angry because I gifted the same present to both you and Mr. Kim?" She corrected her question and waited for him to confirm what he had already made very clear with his tantrum.

Kaiden nodded his head against her shoulder as he once again hummed in reply. His arms tightened around her as he pulled her even closer to his warm chiseled body.

"I'm sorry. It was not intentional. I barely know your Secretary but you are my friend. How can you both have the same place in my life?" 

Emily questioned as she kept rubbing his back softly while she continued.

"Since you have received an extra gift in the form of this rare and expensive hug from me, can you please forgive me for my stupid mistake?" 

She asked as a small smile bloomed on her lips. She had no idea exactly why she was playing along with him but for the very first time in a while, her heart wanted to give in and she decided to do exactly that.