Chapter 258

Zinnia and Yannis stepped into the store and stopped at the nearest hair accessories section. Before them stretched a dazzling array of hair ornaments—clips, bands, and pins in every imaginable style, with Christmas-themed designs dominating the display.

Yannis stood protectively close to Zinnia, shielding her from the bustling crowd. Watching her dazzled eyes dart between the glittering hair clips, he leaned in and asked softly, “Which one do you like?”

“I love them all,” Zinnia sighed, her eyes darting between the dazzling array of hair accessories, completely overwhelmed by the choices.

“Then we’ll take them all,” Yannis declared.

The young couple next to Yannis nearly burst into laughter at his typical, bossy “romance novel hero” line—how cliché!

But then they took a closer look: those cufflinks were instantly recognizable, worth a fortune. The long black coat was clearly a bespoke luxury. And the watch on his wrist had a base price that was already astronomical, with the final tag undoubtedly much higher.

The couple fell silent, awkwardly pretending to browse the hair accessories to cover their embarrassment.

Just one of Yannis’s cufflinks could probably buy out the entire store—let alone his watch, which was worth even more. His entire outfit screamed old money. It was clear he wasn’t just making empty boasts—this guy really could buy it all if he wanted.

“Yannis, I must have read that bossy line in some romance novel,” Zinnia suddenly looked up at him, eyes wide in shock—she was actually witnessing the kind of overbearing behavior she’d only read about in romance novels.

The young couple nearby couldn’t help but stifle their giggles, leaning into each other’s shoulders to hide their growing smiles.

“Wait, no—actually you are a real boss,” Zinnia corrected herself when she saw Yannis’s expression darken. It wasn’t just bossy talk—he could actually buy everything. In his world, whatever he wanted, he got.

The young couple nearby felt another pang of envy and inadequacy.

Yannis chose not to argue. Instead, he gestured and said gently, “Pick whichever you like.”

Zinnia said anxiously, “I only want a few—don’t buy them all. If you really bought every single one, I’d never be able to wear them all, even if I changed hair clips ten times a day. Plus, my mom keeps sending me more hairpins.”

She was genuinely worried he might actually buy the entire display. They already had ten jewelry cabinets at home; if she brought back another pile, she’d probably have to buy a new one just to store them.

Every month, Yannis would have Zinnia’s entire collection of hair clips, scrunchies, clothes, jewelry, designer bags, and shoes replaced with new ones. Some of them she hadn’t even worn or looked at before he was already ordering a fresh batch.

Honestly, Yannis could be quite the extravagant spendthrift. Even though Zinnia was never short on money—and it wasn’t even her own being spent—it still pained her to see such waste.

Zinnia had never wanted for money growing up, but she wasn’t one to splurge.

These hair clips were all from niche luxury brands—each one was pricey, with the cheapest ones still costing a pretty penny. If she bought the whole collection, it would easily add up to a small fortune.

“Pick more of what you like. If nothing here catches your eye, I’ll have my custom jeweler design whatever style you want,” Yannis said gently, insisting when he noticed her modest selection.

As she picked out a few pretty hair clips, Zinnia muttered, “I’ve still got a whole wall of hair clips at home I haven’t even worn yet, and you’re still buying more? At this rate, I’ll never get through them all in my lifetime.”

Yannis was just like Jackson—he loved buying her everything in bulk. Even after Zinnia moved out of the Lynn residence, Sofia, Henry, her mom, and the rest of the family still sent her all kinds of gifts every month—designer clothes, jewelry, handbags, and cosmetics.

With everything Yannis bought for her on top of that, Zinnia was often so overwhelmed by all the options that she didn’t even know what to pick.

When Zinnia asked them to send fewer gifts, they all shook their heads in perfect unison.

“We have the money,” they insisted, “and we’re going to dress you up like a princess—so everyone will know you’re the Lynn family’s little princess, and no one would dare to mess with you.”

Yannis chuckled softly. “If you can’t wear them all now, that’s fine—we’ve got a whole lifetime ahead for you to wear them, one by one. There’s no rush.”

The young couple nearby thought, ‘Do we really have to be force-fed all this PDA? It’s Christmas, not Valentine’s Day!’

They wanted to leave, but the crowd was so packed that they were stuck right next to the couple, forced to listen to their casual show-off of both affection and wealth.

“This one’s for Lydia, this one’s for Maisie, and this one’s mine,” Zinnia murmured as she finished sorting through the six hair clips she’d picked out, feeling quietly pleased with her thoughtful choices.

As Zinnia finished picking out the hair clips, she tugged Yannis over to the wall of collectible figures and carefully selected two limited-edition figures. “This one’s for Ethan, and this one’s for Brian.”

Yannis walked beside her, carrying her purchases. As he listened to her thoughtfully pick out gifts for everyone else, he couldn’t help but tease, “What about me?”

“You like figures too?” Zinnia looked up at Yannis in surprise.

She thought, ‘After all this time with Yannis, I still have no idea what he actually likes. He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth—anything he wanted, people would flock to offer at the slightest hint.

‘But as for his real preferences? He’s never let them show. Genuinely, I’m still clueless.’

“I’ll like whatever you buy me,” Yannis said. He wasn’t particularly fond of figures, but if they came from Zinnia, he’d treasure them all the same.

“Then what kind do you like?” Zinnia nodded readily to show she would get anything he liked for him.

“You pick for me,” Yannis said, his lips tightening slightly. She knew what everyone else liked, but when it came to his preferences, she had no idea.

With so many options here, Zinnia had no idea what Yannis might actually like. She couldn’t pick something for him when she didn’t even know his preferences. After some thought, she tentatively asked, “Is there anything you particularly like? I can get it for you.”

“I’ll love whatever you buy for me,” Yannis murmured, lowering his gaze, his clear voice carrying quiet warmth.

‘Totally unhelpful,’ Zinnia thought with a frown. Suddenly, her eyes lit up when she spotted something and she tugged Yannis toward it. “Hey, what about this one?”

Yannis followed her gaze and saw a superhero with his partner. He recognized them instantly—their movie posters had been plastered all over the city recently. In fact, just the other day, he had accompanied Zinnia to see the film.

Noticing how Yannis had lingered his gaze on the figures, Zinnia thought he must be interested in them. So she waved a clerk over to take them down. With a gentle smile, she asked, “How about I get you these two?”

“Alright.” Yannis nodded—after all, these figures only mattered because of her.

“Then I’ll get this for you,” Zinnia said, taking the figure from the clerk and glancing at Yannis in mild surprise. She hadn’t expected him to like superheroes—Zinnia made a mental note of it.

Now that she’d found something Yannis liked, Zinnia didn’t want to stay in the packed store any longer—it was getting hard to breathe. With a relieved smile, she turned to Yannis and said, “Let’s go check out.”

As they reached the checkout counter, Zinnia set the two figures down first, then glanced expectantly at Yannis, waiting for him to bring over the rest of their items so she could pay for everything together.

But Yannis refused. He wanted these to be her gift to him. “Just pay for these two figures,” he insisted.