Victoria took a deep breath as she looked at the bizarre ring in Greg's hand, then turned to leave.
"Hey, hey, hey! Don't go!"
Greg hurried after her and caught her wrist. "I was joking! Don't take it so seriously, Junior Fellow."
Under Victoria's murderous gaze, he pulled the real gift from his other pocket.
It was an exquisite silver-white ring shaped like a small flower in full bloom. Its layered petals were delicate and lifelike, with a tiny diamond set at its center, glittering brilliantly in the sunlight.
Greg held the ring out to Victoria. "Here. This is the souvenir I actually picked out for you."
Victoria's expression softened a little when her gaze fell on the ring, but then she looked up and asked:
"Then why did you buy that other sword-shaped ring?"
"Uh, that..."
Greg's mouth twitched.
He couldn't exactly tell her that while browsing the stalls, he had suddenly remembered that Ellie must still be sitting in the office from earlier, serving as its figurehead, unable to come out and enjoy the festival.
So Greg had thought he might as well bring her a little gift, to comfort her work-imprisoned soul.
That was why he had picked up the sword-shaped ring, intending to find a chance to give it to Ellie another day.
But how could he possibly say that in front of Victoria?
Mentioning another woman in front of a woman was the ultimate taboo.
So he answered without batting an eye, "I just... wanted to tease you!"
Victoria narrowed her eyes and stared at him for several seconds. Finally, she snorted. "You're always acting like an idiot."
"All right, all right. It really was my fault."
Greg held out his hand. "Then, as an apology, let your senior fellow put the ring on for