358 The heart-shaped chocolates!

The whole neighborhood dolled up in Christmas decorations.

From Christmas lights hanging on the balconies to fragrant garlands and bright wreaths pleasing passing by visitors, pine cones and faux skis, along with a display of a sled- all made a special appearance in few homes.

Most of all, the showstopper of the festival, the Christmas star, hung outside almost every building.

Not just this street, but every other street in the city is ready to embrace the joyous celebration. People stayed indoors, spending the holidays with family and friends.

Lillian lets out a loud sigh, disturbing Giselle, who was admiring the decorations.

"What happened?"

Lillian cried as she complained again about how people were able to identify her under such a bustling crowd and a convincing disguise.

"Don't fret, Lillian!"

Giselle tried to comfort again, but Lillian roared against the steering wheel. Since the two were alone inside the car, her voice resounded to frighten Giselle.

"I was planning to finish shopping soon so that we could enjoy more private time together, but-"

Her hands clenched against the wheel as she continued to grieve.

Giselle listened to her wail till it was enough to stop Lillian from blowing a fuse sooner or later.

"Well, since you revealed yourself to the media just recently, I guess the heat will be there for a while, especially for your readers!"

"Maybe you should ask Shane to assign you personal bodyguards!" she added teasingly at the end.

Lillian's icy glare sent daggers to Giselle for her sarcastic remark. She began to assume if it was only her who was feeling downcast from the turn of events because Giselle appears to be calm despite all the unforeseen happenings.

"Let me call Ethan to check if they arrived home!"

Meanwhile, Giselle informed Lillian to step outside.

'See! She could at least pretend to look disappointed!' Lillian mused to herself.

Nonetheless, she followed Giselle, and the two left their seats to get hit with a gust of the December flurry. Tasting its freedom along with the cutting coldness, after a jam-packed day, Giselle and Lillian still breathed through the crisp air, soaking in its cold quietness.

Of course, people were there, not to disturb these two but silently minding their own business.

Lillian saw Giselle occupied with calling Ethan. She left her space to move around, desperately looking out for a diversion to vent out her frustration.

Soon, she spotted some dirt on the ground, piled up neatly.

Lillian smirked, feeling mischievous to disturb its peace.

However, the leaning stance affects her spine, which had gone sore by now. Lillian's crazy lifestyle never lets her spend such a tiring day outdoors. Thus, experiencing it firsthand after a long time made her taste the stinging pain on her back.

Giselle, who was waiting for her call to get connected, sees Lillian vigorously doing stretches under the freezing breeze. Though the two wore thick jackets and layers underneath to protect themselves, still, Giselle got worried from watching Lillian behave strangely all of a sudden. She rushed to her side, inquiring if Lillian was feeling alright.

"Do you want to come inside and rest for a bit?" Giselle asked.

As tempting as it may sound, Lillian shook her head bitterly to decline, saving the offer for the future. She reassures Giselle not to worry as it was only her growing fatigue resulted from an active day.

Giselle's call finally connects to Ethan. Her attention swiftly changes to him, inquiring about their whereabouts.

It appears from the brief report given by Ethan that the father and daughter had visited the ice-skating rink and that the two had a great time together. They had just left the place to spot a nearby Chinese restaurant. Giselle could overhear the enthusiasm in Lia's voice as the little one was desperate in reaching to her mother about her ice-skating experience.

Ethan hushed the child to save it for later at the dinner table. Instead, he distracted the kid by handing over the menu card and telling her to pick whatever she fancies.

Lia's voice fades out to explore Chinese cuisine.

Giselle patiently waited till the two settled on an agreement.

She heard Ethan's voice now directed at her, asking if she has any craving for the Chinese takeout.

"Hmm, what about crabs?" she suggested.

Ethan went on a search, leaning down to match Lia's height as the father and daughter studied the menu card furiously.

"N- No- Giselle, there isn't! Would you like to eat something else?"

Giselle was slightly dejected since she has been craving crab meat for the past few days.

'So, Giselle likes to eat crabs, uh! Then, I should let her taste dad's Sri Lankan crab curry,' Lillian overheard to amuse herself.

Meanwhile, Giselle took some time to reveal her second choice.

Ethan began his search again, and this time he was able to find the dish to match her taste.

"They do have something called Fried shrimps with long-j-ing tea. Do you want to try?" he asked hesitantly.

Giselle agreed without a doubt.

Their call eventually ends as well.

Ethan informed Giselle that it might take some time for them to reach home. He asked her not to worry about Lia and rest to look forward to their return with delicious food.

**

"So, they are still out on their date?" Lillian inquired upon seeing Giselle return.

"Yes! It may take some time since they are getting dinner. By the way, do you know that they went ice-skating?" Giselle told Lillian.

"I'm sure at least they had a great time together!" she added in a low spirit.

The last remark about them having a good time together demolished Lillian's presumption. Until now, Lillian believed that their ruined date night did not affect Giselle. However, seeing how she was reacting now, it appears that it certainly did after all.

Lillian had no face to comfort but to apologize again, feeling guilty for wrecking their private time with an unexpected Christmas shopping and an unplanned fan meeting.

"Didn't I say it's alright! How long are you going to keep apologizing?"

"No, it was because of me-"

"And who said that we didn't have fun! I had a great time seeing you choose Christmas presents."

"Giselle, you are acting very mature now!"

"Aren't I always?" Giselle beamed with a cheeky grin and a playful wink.

Watching her smile brightly, Lillian couldn't help but overcome the regret and accept that their date did not get completely ruined. After all, the fact that Giselle assisted in the Christmas shopping without any objection sounds absolute victory itself.

The two shared a laugh to continue to admire the pretty decorations on the balconies, passing the time together.

Shortly, Lillian goes absent-minded. Images of Ethan, his relationship with Giselle, his affection for her, and his silent warning to Lillian- they all seem to conquer her mind.

Without hiding it any longer, Lillian chose to talk.

"Ethan, that guy-" she started shyly.

Hearing the name drove Giselle's attention spontaneously.

Lillian saw Giselle's face screaming with anticipation about what is going to come out of her mouth.

Glancing away from the pressure, Lillian proceeded to admit.

"That guy- he is a good friend!" she acknowledged boldly.

Giselle remained stunned to hear out Lillian, but unfortunately, her words ended abruptly.

"That's all?" she demanded.

"That's all. What were you expecting?"

"I thought- you were going to tell me what you two talked earlier!" Giselle exclaimed, feeling quite dissatisfied.

"I told you already that we discussed Lia's play, and that's all!" Lillian tenaciously declared.

"I am deadbeat, so let's not talk about him right now."

Shamelessly adding to express her plain disinterest towards Ethan, Giselle had no choice but to accept the defeat. There was no other go with Lillian stubbornly evading to address their conversation. In the end, it became pointless for Giselle even to try anymore.

She quit to quickly notice Lillian's state return to its old place, feeling jaded. Giselle wished she could uplift her mood. Besides, it was the perfect opportunity to unveil her secret surprise.

Reaching for her bag, Giselle removed a rectangular box. Without uttering a word, she handed it over to Lillian Grey.

"Hmm, what is it-" Lillian spoke casually before her eyes glanced at the extended hand, seeing what it held.

"It's for you," Giselle said.

Lillian initially suspected if it was her Christmas gift from Giselle. However, she couldn't confirm it assuredly. Nonetheless, she accepted the box, asking if she could take a look inside.

Giselle allowed without a doubt.

Lillian hesitated, carefully uncovering the cover to peek inside.

Her suspecting face soon changed to the sight of a sweet surprise.

"Shut up!"

"Shut up!" she lifted the box, moving around in awe.

"Shut up, Giselle!"

"I was only making a ridiculous request!"

"Are those heart-shaped chocolates? For real?"

"How- how did you find them?"

"Wow!"

A series of epiphanies left Lillian overwhelmed.

"I'm- I'm stunned!"

"How? When did you-"

Giselle explained how she had spent the idle time while Lillian was away with her fans. She explored the fair in search of dessert bars that could meet her demand. Thankfully, she was able to find one on her second turn going around the exhibition. It was an outlet that sold homemade chocolates, but the man who prepared them turned out to be an aspiring patissier. He had kept a few molds with him along with extra chocolate bars. With Giselle making an earnest request, the guy helped her in preparing these customized chocolates for a substantial cost.

Meanwhile, Lillian couldn't wait patiently to hear out Giselle anymore. She interrupted her right away, urging if she could have a taste test.

Giselle allowed.

"Do you like it?" she asked anxiously after seeing Lillian take her first bite.

Lillian got moved by Giselle fulfilling her silly request as promised.

"Tell me, Lillian, does it suit your taste?" Giselle urged.

Instead of answering correctly, Lillian promised never to speak of their conversation about Shane, reassuring Giselle, who had long forgotten the purpose of her deal. The tour to surprise Lillian Grey by gifting her heart-shaped chocolates made Giselle ignore the very intention that gave birth to this deal.

No longer did she demand a response. She saw Lillian go for another bite and even returned-

Lillian returned the box to her.

Startled, Giselle looked at Lillian, wondering if something displeased her.

"I will return this to you, Giselle," Lillian said.

"But- it doesn't mean I reject your kindness."

"It's- for Lia!"

Giselle couldn't comprehend Lillian's intention, thus remained speechless and unable to react.

Luckily, Lillian took the opportunity to explain. Having realized that she forgot to include Giselle and Lia on her list, Lillian still chose to buy them presents hurriedly. In her dire efforts, she was only able to get something for Giselle, leaving Lia's Christmas present.

"It would kill me if I only give your gifts and ignore the little girl," Lillian declared.

"Since you worked hard to find me these delicious chocolates, I would like to dedicate them to Lia. If she could enjoy this wholeheartedly, then it would make me very happy, as if I had eaten them."

"So, here-"

Lillian looked at the chocolate box missing its two pieces. She certainly couldn't present Lia with missing bites.

Giselle noticed her concern and decided to help.

"I- have some samples left!"

She said to scour through her bag and found a small pouch with few bites of chocolates in it. They had gone soft and did not look perfect like those inside the purchased box. Because they got clustered into this little sack, it's outer layers had several scratches and strokes.

Regardless, Giselle received the chocolate box from Lillian to carefully find decent ones from her pouch to replace.

Mostly she did her best, and it turned out better than expected.

"There you go! Please give it to Lia and tell her that it is from Lillian Grey," Lillian conveyed her message.

Still dumbfounded, Giselle expressed her stand by mentioning that Lillian shouldn't have returned her gift.

"Exactly! Since it's mine, I would like to share it with Lia as an apology for not able to get her Christmas present this year. I only forgot this time. From next year onwards, you both will appear first on my Christmas shopping list!"

Declaring such bold statements, Lillian snatched the little sack from Giselle's hands to share the remaining samples along with her. Giselle joined in tasting the bitter-sweet chocolate. Its texture was smooth like velvet as it glazed down the throat, sending more cravings with visible drooling.

Giselle had no time to react, but she was pleasantly stunned by Lillian's decision. After devouring the snatched sample pieces, it came Lillian's turn to surprise Giselle.