Irresistible Boss Succumbing to Your Touch (Maria Anita) novel Chapter 436

S3-Chapter 34

Manuela’s POV

I opened the small box and I was right - my father never skimped on my presents. It was a gold bracelet with rubies and diamonds. The gold work formed hearts studded with diamonds, and between each heart were heart-shaped rubies set in gold. It was beautiful, luxurious yet delicate. My father's card moved me - he wrote about how much he loved me, how proud he was of me, and that whatever path I chose to follow, he would always support me.

"Your father has an incredible gift and amazing taste, Manu. This piece is wonderful. Does he take orders?" I laughed at Rick's question.

"No, he only designs jewelry for me. Cam tells me he used to do this for his mother, who was my father's first wife - he would design jewelry and have it made to give her on special occasions. He never did this for my mother. But he does it for me, every year. This is the nineteenth piece in my collection."

"Wow! What an incredible gift. I'd love to see the others sometime."

"Come over to my place and I'll show you."

"Manu, that little treasure of yours should be in a bank vault," Rick warned me, and he was right.

"I've thought about that, but I'm not sure how it works."

"Just talk to Magellan. I'm sure Flavian would escort your jewelry to the bank."

"I'll do that. I couldn't bear to lose these pieces."

Following Rick's suggestion, I called the manager and we arranged for me to bring the jewelry on Monday - he would have everything ready for me. I was happy about this; my little treasure would be kept safe. But today, I would wear this bracelet.

Throughout the afternoon, I received calls from my father, my older brother, and Olivia. Every year, they were the only ones who remembered my birthday. Of course, my grandparents, my father's parents, used to remember too, but they weren't here anymore. But this year, I had a group of friends who cared about me and a handsome boyfriend, who had made my day special.

"Beautiful little one!" Flavian hugged me when I left the building. "How was your day?"

"It was great! Look at all the presents I got!" There really were many - I needed a security guard's help to carry everything to the car.

"You deserve much more!" Flavian opened the trunk and helped the security guard store everything.

"What about this small box and the flowers - aren't you putting them here?" He asked, seeing that I was holding onto the flowers he had sent me and the box my father had given me.

"No, these are special ones, I'm taking them with me." Flavian laughed, opened the door, picked me up, and placed me in the passenger seat.

"You're the special one, little one." He kissed me and walked around the car to sit beside me.

I told him the whole story about the jewelry and how I had to hide them from my mother. Until I came to live in the city, I had no idea how valuable these pieces could be, but then I knew.

"Your mother is, let's say, an insufferable creature," Flavian remarked while listening to me talk about the fights on my birthdays.

"Yeah, she makes things pretty difficult," I lamented. "You know, today was the best birthday of my life. I even had a cake and birthday wishes during lunch. I'd never had a birthday cake before." I commented with a smile, but watched his smile fade, making me instantly regret mentioning it.

"What do you mean never?" he asked, seeming to grow angry.

"My mother wouldn't allow birthday celebrations for me, only Julian could celebrate his birthdays. She said birthday parties were for important and relevant people, and I was just a silly little girl, nobody cared about me, and nobody would come to my party. She said I should only focus on learning to be a good housewife to please a husband. She wouldn't let me receive presents, saying gifts would make me think everything in life was easy. That's why my paternal grandparents opened an account for me and deposited a good amount every year. When my grandfather died, he left me a large sum that was deposited in the same account - the one my mother threatened to take." I replied, feeling tightness in my chest. I was saying these things without even realizing I was saying too much. "You know she didn't even call me today, not even to fight like she always does."

"Look at me," Flavian said firmly. "Your mother is a bad and petty person, and you shouldn't take to heart anything she says that diminishes you. And you shouldn't be sad that she didn't call."

"I know." I rubbed my hands on my thighs and looked down. "Flavian, do you think I'll be a bad person if I stop loving her? Because sometimes I feel a bit angry at her."

"My beauty, come here," he pulled me onto his lap. "If you stop loving her, it's because she doesn't deserve your love. That won't make you a bad person, and considering how she treats you, I'm surprised you're not angry with her all the time. I'm surprised that with the mother you have, you still turned out to be this beautiful, loving, and positive person."

I buried my face in his neck and reflected on his words. Maybe that was it, maybe I should ignore her existence and think of my mother as someone who no longer lives in this world. Maybe that would make me feel better.