too late for a second chance novel (Lila and Dorian)

Smiling, Lila clarified, "Well, I'm sure Kieran did that for Noah."

Nicole chuckled in amusement and patted Lila on the back of her hand. "You're still young. There are things you don't understand.

"So, that means Noah and Lila grew up together. No wonder they're close." Ruby set her eyes on the photo of Noah—a proud, defiant teenager with a bruised face and a frown.

Nicole pondered, "Noah has always wanted a little sister or brother. He was so excited about Lila joining our family. Before she arrived, he had spent his time preparing gifts for her, but only gifts that boys would like.

"His grandma advised him to get a bracelet, and he did. Lila is a thoughtful girl. Even when she no longer has any use for the gifts, she still keeps them around."

Lila was surprised that Nicole knew. She had indeed kept all the gifts from the Morgans, but she never told anyone about that.

A thought struck her. Perhaps, Nicole had discovered the gifts when clearing out her bedroom after she moved out of the Morgan residence.

"Is that so?" Ruby sounded interested. "May I take a look at them?"

Lila assumed that Ruby was the most interested in Kieran's welcome gift. She agreed, "Sure. Kieran bought me a dress at that time. I'll show you."

"Hm. Is that dress nice?"

Ruby's question confirmed Lila's guess. People were only interested in everything related to their crush.

However, Lila felt that the topic of conversation might border on indecency. After all, the dress was a gift from the opposite sex. In the past, Lila could have framed it as a gift from an older relative in the family. But now that she had married Kieran, the meaning of the gift seemed to have changed.

She was about to change the topic when Nicole answered, "Oh, Kieran has good taste. He basically vetted all the clothes Lila bought over the years."

Today, Lila showed up in a pink down jacket. She had taken off the jacket to reveal a white sweater paired with a black velvet maxi skirt. The skirt was plain but well-fitting, adding a touch of coziness to her appearance.

When Ruby looked at Lila, Lila immediately felt awkward. Lila began, "This is—"

Ruby chuckled softly. "Kieran does have great taste. Let's check out those gifts now."noveldrama

Lila nodded and dropped the topic, glad to see that Ruby remained quite relaxed and cool about it.

They went upstairs. Ruby stared at the dress from behind a dress designed for young girls-and nodded. "Kieran has good taste. Even now, the dress doesn't look old fashioned at all."

Lila responded with a faint smile and a nod without continuing that conversation. Thankfully, Ruby did not have more questions about the dress. Instead, Ruby's gaze had drifted to a small box.

She opened the box. "This is a bracelet from Kieran. It has lemon charms on it. He told me that it represented the saying: When life gives you lemons, make lemonade."

The lemons, made from gold, looked exquisite and cute. They were strung together with a red string with a few bright yellow sapphires for decoration.

"May I take it out for a look?" asked Ruby.

Lila nodded, feeling surprised at Ruby's interest in the bracelet over the dress.

Ruby checked out the bracelet before carefully placing it back. She commented, "I didn't know Kieran had already developed such good taste back then."

They checked out some other gifts and left for the first floor. Lila, noticing a vacuum flask that Nicole had packed, asked, "Aunt Nicole, are you delivering this to Uncle Alfredo?"

"Yeah. He's not in the pink of health. I don't want him eating outside food, so I'm sending some homemade food for him."

"I'll get it to Uncle Alfredo." Lila took the food from Nicole. "It's easier for me to deliver it in my car. You stay home with the guest."

Nicole glanced at Lila but did not decline the offer. "Drive safe, then." Nodding, Lila picked up the food and left. She drove all the way to Wilmer Tower. The front desk staff who recognized her immediately told her Alfredo's floor.

Suddenly, Lila turned around and asked the staff, "Is Mr. Klime in the office today?"