Alinea

"Then get me something from there…"

'There' was a tall, elegant building in the color of brown, bronze and gold. The huge name of the brand was attached above the sophisticated entrance.

"Cartier?"

Ara was surprised. She thought that as someone who liked traditional things, he would ask her to get something rare – something like a collector's item.

"Yeah." Ryuu simply nodded.

"Are you sure?" Ara confirmed. "I want to get you something for yuino, you know?"

"I know."

Ryuu then pulled her towards the shop, and Ara was not able to do anything but tag along. Seriously though, she wondered what's in the store that interested him. Cartier was a good and high-end store, but if it's an accessory or jewelry, there were other stores which were more compatible with his status.

Just like what happened in the previous stores they entered, the attendants immediately scrambled to assist them as soon as they crossed the threshold.

Kou asked to see the men's accessories and jewelries they had.

"You choose for me," he told her afterwards, before suddenly leaving her side.

"Hey wait – where are you going?"

"Going to look around."

Ara watched helplessly as Kou left her to deal with the items and the eager looking salespeople. Of course there were other attendants who followed Kou as he crossed the other side of the room where more jewelry was displayed.

Even though they had flocked around him, he was still hard to miss since he's very tall. Ara could see him eyeing the items on display seriously as the staff talked to him.

"Maám?"

Ara turned her attention back towards the attendants in front of her. They all had hopeful expressions on their faces, and she gave them a small, reassuring smile as she examined different items presented to her.

Ara was a bit upset that Kou left her here to choose alone. Although they had a good chemistry so far, and she could say that they're friendly with each other, she was embarrassed to realize that she didn't know a single thing about him except the obvious: he's handsome, he's the Homura heir, he's a genius, he's a Siberian husky, stern looking but gentle, he did archery – did she already say he's handsome? Oh, and he's handsome.

With a sigh, Ara decided that she'd just get him different items so he'd have more than one thing from her. The big pup just wanted something she bought, and didn't really care what she got, she surmised.

It's a good thing that Cartier had a lot to choose from for men. Kou seemed to prefer the color black, and so she decided to get him a belt, wallet, key ring, a pen, and a trinity bracelet of the hue. The latter was a simple black band with a gray gold ceramic link in the middle. Just imagining it on his wrist, she knew it would look good.

Among her purchases, it was her favorite for him – she liked it too much in fact, and so, when the lady told her that there's a version for females, Ara didn't hesitate to get one for herself too. Now, they had something that's matching. She hoped Kou wouldn't mind.

Seeing the sunglasses, Ara got Kou a pair as well. Then she realized, she hadn't given her brother anything yet, and so she got Aki some accessories as well, although something different from what she got for her fiancé.

Seeing her purchases, the attendants were so happy. Ara was happier to hand over her credit card to the assistant. Finally, she's able to use her own money to buy gifts. She had a separate card for her allowance that Aki made her use for her daily needs and other things she needed, and so she never really had a chance to spend her own cash.

"Done?"

Ara turned to see Kou had returned to her side.

"Yeah," she answered as she looked suspiciously at his face.

Koutaishidenka normally had a poker face on. But if one's able to bear looking at those pair of ice blue orbs, one would notice how expressive he really was.

Ara could see those blue spheres behind the spectacles dancing as if the owner was up to no good. She had no idea how she knew but she just did.

"What?"

"What did you do?" Ara prompted, and that blue gaze flickered again.

"Shopping," he answered truthfully, and so she let him be.

The two of them left the store and climbed in the Maybach which picked them up just in front. Ryuu would be taking Ara back to Denenchofu.

"Hand,"Ara said excitedly as soon as they were seated.

As always, Ryuu gave her his hand without questions, though his eyes were watchful.

Ara took an elegant box from the shopping bag, and opened it to reveal the black trinity bracelet. She took it from its bed, and put it around Ryuu's wrist. Afterwards, she held his hand up, admiring the bracelet on him.

"What do you think? It's nice, isn't it?"

"U-huh…"Ryuu answered in the affirmative, although his gaze was not on the item on his wrist, but on her proud, glowing face.

She looked totally pleased with her gift, that the prince couldn't help his lips from twitching on the side in amus.e.m.e.nt.

"I got you other stuffs too," she continued as she handed him the shopping bag. "I'm not sure if you'd like them. So if not, tell me so I can get you some other things, okay?"

As if remembering something, Ara showed Ryuu her own arm where a similar bracelet wrapped around her wrist. "Also I hope you don't mind, I got myself a similar bracelet. I really like the style, so we have matching ones."

Her last words were spoken very softly, as she realized that maybe Ryuu would mind. She should have gotten a different one, she thought, just as he suddenly took her hand again.

"Err…"

Ryuu's other hand removed his eyeglasses and tossed it on the side. Then he fumbled inside his pocket, where he took out a red velvet box with the boutique's name embossed in gold.

Huh? What's this set up?

Just when she thought she had started to become immune to Ryuu, with him staring intensely at her this time without his glasses on, her heart started going wild again. Heat crept up her face as she involuntarily tried to take her hand away, but Ryuu held it firmly.

"This is not your engagement ring, okay? This is just a temporary one while you're still studying,"Ryuu told her, his intense eyes boring down on her face, and she knew she looked like a chicken when she bobbed her head in the affirmative.

Koutaishidenka opened the box, and revealed a white gold ring with the popular design of the brand. He took it from the bed, and shifted it so Ara could see another ring inside in rose gold color with the word LOVE written on it.

It was Cartier's ring called "Secret Love".

Ara didn't know why, but seeing the ring made her suddenly feel a bit sad. She knew and understood about their relationship. First, it was not really a secret, and last but not the least, it definitely had nothing to do with love.