What had she done? Vera blinked. There was no way she was telling him.
Noticing her silence, Quill looked over and grabbed her wrist. "Hmm?" Vera replied in a mysterious tone, "It's a secret." "You'll know when the tcomes!" Seeing Vera being all mysterious, Quill naturally did not press on. Furthermore, he was in a bad mood that day, so the atmosphere in the car fell silent very quickly.
Vera could sense his bad mood as soon as he quieted down. She kept feeling something was amiss.
Because she had been focusing on the surprise, she hadn't wished him a happy birthday nor gave him a present. Thus, she began assuming if he was upset because of this.
But she could only keep it to herself and wait until they got to the restaurant. By then, he wouldn't be in such a bad mood anymore.
However, if Vera had known what would happen later, she definitely would not have thought about surprising him, nor would she have wanted to celebrate his birthday.
In the restaurant.
When the group of staff saw Vera bring Quill in, they couldn't help sighing and whispering to each other.
"My God, Miss Zais's boyfriend is so freaking hot. No wonder she's willing to prepare such a surprise for him. If I have such a hunk for a boyfriend, I'd be absolutely willing to prepare a surprise for him every single day!" "D*mn right!" "His boyfriend sure is a dreamboat, but Miss Zais seems very ordinary. Moreover, she's the one preparing the surprise in this relationship. It feels... Umm..." Although she did not finish the rest of her sentence, everyone present knew what it entailed.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtTheir manager interrupted them.
"Alright, that's enough. She is our client. Don't go meddling in other people's business. What we need to do is to serve our customers the best we can. Keep your opinions and judgments to yourselves. Got it?" "Got it." "I've booked a table. Their business is booming. I had to book way advance to get a table." Vera said to Quill when they entered.
Lost in thought, Quill only replied with a hum.
Vera held his hand as they went upstairs.
The surprise was awaiting them in the private room. They would feel the difference as soon as they entered.
When they entered, the private room was filled with sweet romance and heart-themed decorations. It looked absolutely dreamy. However, Quill didn't seem to notice anything. He thought it was just the room's interior design, so he didn't pay much attention to it.
Soon, the staff served the dishes. They didn't look anything out of the ordinary, so Quill didn't suspect a thing.
If his mind wasn't elsewhere that day, he would have noticed something was amiss. However, it had drifted far away.
Thus, when the staff switched off the lights in the room under Vera's cue, the sudden darkness surprised Quill, and he finally realized something was off.
In the darkness, Vera rested her hand atop his, tapping her fingers lightly. Quill thought Vera assumed he was frightened by the sudden darkness, so she took the initiative to comfort him. This silly girl.
He wanted to hold her hand and tell her he was fine.
Flick! Just then, the lights in the private room cback on, but it was different from before.
This time, it was dimly lit, and there suddenly happened to be a cake on the table. Vera was lighting the candles on the cake.
After the candles were lit, Vera's delicate face brightened under the flickering candlelight. With a bright smile on her face, she began to sing the birthday song.
From the moment Quill saw the cake, a memory he had kept buried surfaced, slowly drilling into his mind, corroding his ability to reason.
As the candle flames danced, it took a different form in Quill's eyes. Ablaze, the surrounding was covered in a massive fire, burning his eyes.
The birthday song ringing in his ears turned into a terrible cry.
The massive fire, accompanied by helpless cries, nearly tore the world apart.
Drips of cold sweat formed on Quill's forehead. He looked ghastly; even his lips becpale. Under the dancing candle flames, Vera's face distorted and returned to normal several times.
Quill's veins were bulging, and his breathing had becheavy.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"Happy birthday!" Vera finally finished singing the birthday song and sent him her blessings. It was also then Quill's last bit of reasoning snapped.
After that, she urged him to blow out the candle. With a sincere look, she encouraged him, "You need to make a wish before blowing out the candle. What wish would you like to make?" However, there was no response. Quill was deadly silent. His expression... seemed to be very strange.
"Quill?" Vera called out to him tentatively.
Quill suddenly raised his head and stared at her. His gaze was grim to the point one could feel chills down their spine.
"Wh-What's wrong?" Vera asked, quavering. She couldn't figure out what was going on. XJust when she was about to speak, Quill suddenly stood up and stared at her in silence. Seeing that, Vera followed suit. "What's going on?"
Quill was drowned in the horrible images, to the extent that he could hardly hear Vera's voice. She had never seen him look so sinister, like a cold blooded creature. For the first time, Vera felt a terrifying aura emanating from him.
What in the world was going on? Unfortunately, Quill did not give her an answer as he staggered out of the room.
When the staff outside saw him running out with a pale face, they were confused. Thus, they quickly rushed in.
"Miss Zais, what happened? Why did your boyfriend leave?"
Stood rooted to the ground for a long tVera was as baffled as they were. She couldn't figure out what she had done wrong. She merely wished him a happy birthday and nothing else. Could it be... even that was wrong? The more she thought about it, the more muddled she became.
One of the staff members asked, "Your boyfriend didn't look too good. Did you guys get into a fight? Or was there something wrong with our preparation?" The staff who hadn't agreed with Vera's plan earlier couldn't help saying, "Maybe he didn't need you to celebrate his birthday." X