Corporate Prince

Chapter 71: The Perfect Present

Ana spent most of Sunday in a daze. When did Seto get so bold? She'd blush every time she thought about the small make out scene behind the curtains. I'm going crazy! This would repeat over and over in her head. Her Sunday slipped by in this manner. On Monday, when Seto came to pick her up, she was already worn out. When she saw him, she felt unusually shy.

"Good morning." Ana tried her best to hide her feelings. This is ridiculous. We already talked and set boundaries. There's no need to feel this way.

Seto looked up from his phone and smiled at her softly. "Good morning."

Ana's brain felt like it shut down for a second. She quickly turned and headed to school. Seto took her hand without a word and Ana almost pulled away. No! Don't be weird about this. We hold hands all the time. Deep breaths, Ana.

Despite her solidifying her mental fortitude, the rest of the day, she still felt uneasy. Studying at his apartment was even worse. Sleep at night was impossible, and training was sucking the life out of her. This continued for a week and a half. When she woke up on Wednesday, she felt like she was going to die of exhaustion. Ugh, I'm so tired. Ana slowly made her way downstairs and was surprised to find Rina in the kitchen. She still wasn't used to her aunt freely coming and going.

"Good morning, Ana-chan and happy birthday." Rina smiled at her and handed her a package.

Ana paused, then looked at the calendar. It was indeed November 12th. "Oh, it is my birthday, isn't it?"

Rina sighed and shook her head. Ana went to open her present, but Rina's hand shot out, stopping her. She bent down and whispered in Ana's ear. "Open that when you're alone."

Ana eyed her aunt suspiciously but went to put the package up in her room. Hikari greeted her on the way out of her room and gave her a small present, too. Aiko said nothing to her, but a gift bag ended up outside her door that she suspected was from her. Ana expected her mother, father, and grandpa would give her something after school. Ana finished getting ready and quickly headed outside to see Seto.

He gave her that unnerving gentle smile she'd seen on his face for the last week and a half. "Happy Birthday."

Ana remembered her crappy present that she'd given him on his and tried not to cringe. "Thanks. I'd forgotten it was until I woke up this morning."

"Does that mean you're getting old?" Seto teased.

Ana rolled her eyes at him. "If I'm old, then you're ancient."

Seto glared at her, then pulled something out of his bag and handed it to her. It was a small black box that fit in her palm. Ana's breathing stopped for a moment when she thought it looked like a jewelry box, but she quickly realized it was metal and had small buttons on it. She almost breathed a loud sigh of relief.

"What's this?" Ana turned the box over in her hand.

"Your birthday present. I made it." He smirked at her.

Ana sighed and shook her head at him. "Did you really have to make it a competition?"

Seto crossed his arms and smiled. "There's no competition. My present is perfect."

Ana held up the tiny box a little higher and raised an eyebrow at it. "Perfect? What does it even do?"

"Press the button in the middle."