Too Late Mr. White! I'm Married To Your Rival Now novel Chapter 254

Aria's POV

We pulled into the driveway at five o'clock. I watched as Aiden opened the back door of the car, and suddenly remembered the shopping bags I'd left there.

I instinctively reached for them, but Aiden caught my movement and raised an eyebrow. "Afraid I'll damage something?"

My cheeks warmed slightly. "No, not at all."

He flashed me that disarming smile. "What did you buy?"

I pointed to one of the bags in his hand. "A little gift for you, actually."

Feeling suddenly self-conscious, I added, "Just something small."

After all, I couldn't exactly afford anything extravagant for a man who had everything.

Aiden's eyebrow arched as he lifted one of the bags. "This one?"

He was holding two similarly sized bags - one containing a necklace I'd bought for myself (nothing expensive, just something pretty that caught my eye), and the other holding his gift.

I shook my head. "The other one."

"Let's open it inside." His warm fingers entwined with mine, tugging me gently toward the house.

"Okay." I nodded, suddenly nervous. Would he like the gift? Would he think it was cheap or thoughtless? After all the extravagant presents he'd given me over time, this was my first gift to him.

My mind raced with doubts as we walked into the house. I was so lost in thought that Aiden had to call my name twice before I realized I was standing there with one shoe on and one shoe off.

"Where's your mind wandering?" he asked.

My ears burned as I quickly bent down to remove my other shoe. I could hear Eleanor bustling around in the kitchen preparing dinner while Aiden led me upstairs.

We settled on the sofa in the sitting area outside the bedroom. Aiden set my necklace on the coffee table and pulled out the box containing his gift. I watched his face intently as he opened it, my eyes widening with anticipation.

He removed the tie clip from its box, his dark eyes flickering with an emotion I couldn't quite read. "A tie clip," he stated simply.

I nodded, searching his expression for any clue to his reaction. His face remained frustratingly neutral.

God, maybe he hated it. My lips pressed together before I added, "I just saw it and thought it might suit you, so I bought it."

I didn't dare admit I'd spent hours searching for something perfect, only to end up with something that now seemed inadequate.

Aiden examined the tie clip for a moment longer. "I love it, darling. Thank you."

I blinked, uncertain. "Really?"

He made a soft clicking sound with his tongue. "Why would I lie about that?"

"It's not that," I stammered. "If you don't like it, it's really okay. I know it's not anything special—"

"Anything my wife chooses for me is special," he interrupted, carefully returning the tie clip to its box. Then, to my surprise, he took out his phone and snapped a picture of it.

"Are you posting that?" I asked, curiosity piquing.

Aiden glanced at me with knowing eyes. "Doesn't my wife think I don't appreciate her gift?"

I looked away, caught in my insecurity.

Instead of pressing the point, he simply smiled. "Just watch."

Then he opened his social media app on his phone, his fingers moving confidently across the screen.

Aiden's POV

I stared at my phone as it suddenly lit up with notifications from our long-silent group chat. Ryan had commented on something. Clicking into the app, I discovered Thomas had posted a photo.

Ryan's message was just a question mark.

"Thomas, what the hell is that?" Ryan typed.

Ethan jumped in: "A tie clip?"

"Ha! Since when do you get excited about tie clips?" Ryan replied with obvious sarcasm.

I was typing a careful response: "Is today some special occasion?"

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