Chapter 13 It’s My Gift
Winford’s deep, magnetic voice made Ophelia’s ears tingle.
In the next second, she was stunned. “What gift?”
“A bouquet,” he said. “Graham told me it’s been delivered. It’s probably downstairs. Why don’t you take a look?”
Winford actually sent her flowers!
Ophelia was very surprised, her foul mood vanishing.
“Alright! I’ll go downstairs now!”
Sensing how joyful she was, Winford couldn’t help but smile, his expression softening.
With her phone in hand, Ophelia was about to go downstairs.
Opening the door, she saw Elva, who was going downstairs, too, with a beautiful bouquet in her arms.
Ophelia was stunned.
“Where did you get these?”
Elva smiled complacently, “Mr. Pruitt wants me to have them. They’re so pretty, aren’t they?”
“Winford wants you to have them?” Ophelia was very suspicious.
She thought, “Did Winford send both of us bouquets? Seriously?”
Immediately, she felt down again.
She walked past Elva and went downstairs, asking the servants, “How many bouquets were sent over?”
“One, of course.” Madeline realized something when she saw Elva, who had come downstairs, too. She smiled with disdain and said to Ophelia, “Mrs. Pruitt, don’t tell me you think it’s for you. It’s a gift from Mr. Pruitt to Elva.”
The other servants looked over either intentionally or unintentionally, thinking to themselves that Ophelia was no different from Winford’s previous wives.
After all, Winford sent flowers to Elva instead of her.
They secretly exchanged glances and were ready to see a drama unfold.
Upon knowing that there was only one bouquet, Ophelia was no longer upset. She turned around and extended her hand to Elva. “It’s not for you. Give it back.”
“Not for me? What makes you say that? Are you implying it’s for you?” Elva snorted and held the bouquet tightly in her arms. “These roses are from Ventura University. They’re Mr. Pruitt’s reward for me because I’m about to study there. You want these? Try getting admitted to Ventura University first.”
Ophelia scoffed, “I hate to break this to you, but I was accepted last year. The bouquet is for me. Give it!”
Elva’s heart sank.
She thought, “What?
“Ophelia is a student there, too?”
The other servants were stunned, too.
Tightening her grip on the roses, Elva had a bad feeling. Instead of letting go, she insisted stubbornly, “I didn’t see your name on the bouquet. Besides, Mr. Pruitt didn’t say it’s for you.”
No longer bothering to argue with her, Ophelia took out her phone and dialed the number from earlier.
Elva panicked. “Wait…”
Yet, the call was already connected.
Ophelia said to the phone, “Honey, is your gift for me roses from Ventura University?”
She put him on speaker.
In the next second, everyone present heard Winford’s voice. “Yes. Graham mentioned many students there wanted them, so I had a bouquet delivered. Do you like them?”
Madeline was slack-jawed.
Meanwhile, the other servants all looked at Elva.
Elva froze, feeling utterly humiliated.
“I do, but I don’t have them,” Ophelia answered while glancing at Elva.
Winford’s voice turned deeper, and she could even imagine him frowning.
“What happened?” he asked.
She said, telling on Elva without hesitation, “Elva has them. She said they’re a gift from you to her and wouldn’t give them back to me.”
“You…” Elva glared at Ophelia, having the urge to rush forward and cover Ophelia’s mouth.
At the same time, Winford said, “I’m coming back.”
Then he hung up.
Elva’s face turned slightly pale.
She knew Winford well enough to know he was mad.
Glaring at Ophelia with great hatred, she stuffed the bouquet in Ophelia’s arms rudely. “Here! I don’t want them anyway.”
Ophelia took a step back, not accepting the bouquet. “You don’t want them? But you were drooling over them a minute ago, weren’t you? Take them then. I’ll wait for Winford to come back.”
With that, she sat on the couch.
Elva was seething with rage.
Soon, Winford was back.
Hearing the door opening, Ophelia stood up. “You’re back!”
He nodded. The radiant smile on her face told him she hadn’t been bullied, which softened his expression a little.
Then his gaze shifted to Elva.
“Mr. Pruitt…” Elva stood in situ nervously. She had put the bouquet on the coffee table before he came back.
“What happened?” he asked.
“Beats me,” Ophelia snorted and walked over to push his wheelchair, and Graham sensibly walked aside. “I was thrilled when you told me you had a gift for me, and when I came downstairs, Elva told me it was hers. How come?”
Winford wanted to know the answer, too.
Frowning, he looked at Elva, waiting for her explanation.
“I … thought it was for me, Mr. Pruitt,” Elva said, looking aggrieved.
Winford said, “You thought?”
In the next second, Ophelia said, “For the sake of argument, let’s say you genuinely believed that at first. But you didn’t give it back to me after I told you it was my gift. Let me think. Oh, and you laughed in my face. Your exact words were, ‘Try getting admitted to Ventura University first.’ Right?”
Elva froze.
Then she glared at Ophelia with hatred and resentment.
Fuming, she thought, “It was just a misunderstanding. Why is Ophelia making a big deal out of this? Does she really have to corner me completely?”
Meeting Elva’s gaze, Ophelia smiled, though her eyes were devoid of any emotion.
If it had truly been a misunderstanding, she would have let it go. But Elva’s attitude was infuriating, and a lesson was necessary to make Elva respect her as Winford’s wife.
Elva’s eyes turned slightly red as she looked at Winford. “Mr. Pruitt, you promised you’d give me a gift…”
Seriously?
Hearing her words, Ophelia couldn’t help but cast a glance at Winford, feeling bitter somehow.
Winford was such an indifferent man, yet it seemed he cared about Elva a lot.
Sensing Ophelia’s gaze, Winford paused slightly before correcting Elva, “I never promised you any gift. When you received the letter of acceptance, you said you wanted a reward, and I agreed as a courtesy to Bertha. But you still haven’t decided what you want till now.”
Realizing it was a request from Elva, and he had never promised her any gift, Ophelia brightened again.
On the contrary, Elva felt embarrassed, her cheeks burning.
She thought, “Am I overthinking it? It seems Mr. Pruitt is eager to distance himself from me…”
“Well then. Tell me now. What do you want?” Winford continued in a flat tone, his patience wearing thin.
Glancing at Ophelia, Elva bit her lip. “I want a bouquet exactly like Mrs. Pruitt’s!”
The smile on Ophelia’s face vanished as she turned to look at Winford at once.
It was the first time he had given her flowers.
If he really gave Elva an identical bouquet, she’d be utterly irked!
She glared at Winford, looking half furious and half pitiful, as if saying, “Don’t you dare say yes!”
