บท 42: **Chapter 42: A Dangerous Gift**
The next day, the weather was beautiful.
Bright sunlight flooded the streets and alleys of New York. Many people were out taking advantage of the warm day to stroll and shop. The parks and streets were bustling with lively crowds.
Around noon, Luca, dressed in a wool suit and holding a bouquet of Diana red roses, arrived at Lima's apartment.
Lima lived in downtown Manhattan, about a 30-minute drive from 76th Street.
The housing prices in this area were slightly cheaper than on the East Side. Kate had also rented an apartment here for several months before.
In 2001, when Kate made her first million, she took advantage of the fluctuating New York housing market and bought a luxury high-rise on 76th Street in the wealthy district using installment payments.
Now, with housing prices up 20%, many people praised Kate for her bold decision.
Lima and Kate had started their careers around the same time, and their net worths were about the same. However, Lima didn't spend a fortune on a luxury home after making her money.
Her family lived in a remote village in Salvador, Brazil. With seven or eight family members needing her support, she couldn't be as carefree as Kate, whose only relative was a good-for-nothing brother.
Lima had only bought a small apartment on the West Side, though it was still worth seven or eight hundred thousand dollars.
**Ding dong ding dong~**
Luca rang the doorbell twice.
He waited for a while but there was no response.
"Lima!"
Luca knocked on the door. He had called her the day before to tell her he'd be coming over at noon to play video games, so she should have been home.
He pulled out his phone, just about to call her.
*Click.* The door opened.
"Ahh~ Luca, you're here!"
Lima yawned, covering her mouth with her hand.
She had just woken up, no makeup, her hair a mess. She lazily rubbed her head, making her hair even messier, far from the supermodel look.
But Luca didn't mind. After spending some time together, he'd gotten used to this side of Lima—carefree and sometimes a bit oblivious.
"Lima, these are for you!"
Luca handed her the roses.
Lima blinked her blue-gray eyes. "Didn't we agree to just hang out like before? Why did you buy roses?"
"The flower shop downstairs had a big sale, so I grabbed some."
"Haha, liar!"
Lima hugged the flowers and kissed him on the cheek.
Inside the living room, Lima handed the roses back to him.
"Put these in a vase for me. I'm going to nap a bit more."
With that, she flopped back onto the sofa. Her beige silk nightgown slid up her thigh, revealing a bit of cleavage, but she didn't seem to care at all. She placed an arm over her forehead and let out a contented sigh.
Luca sighed softly, feeling a bit of sympathy.
New York's Fall/Winter Fashion Week was approaching, and both Lima and Kate had been extremely busy, spending each day either on the runway or rehearsing.
Lima had spent most of the previous day rehearsing in the white tent at Bryant Park. It had been cold and tiring, not easy at all.
Luca took off his jacket, grabbed some scissors, and trimmed the rose stems, placing them in a vase.
The room was a bit of a mess, with food bags, cosmetics, and clothes scattered all around.
Luca smiled helplessly. The last time he was here, it had been the same. He had helped clean up for half the day, and now, just a few days later, it was back to chaos.
"What a lazy woman!" he muttered.
He rolled up his sleeves and started tidying up again. He also found a blanket and covered Lima with it.
"Luca, come sit down!" Lima called, half-opening her eyes and waving him over.
"I need to clean up the room."
"Come sit!"
Lima pouted.
Luca wiped his hands and sat on the sofa.
Lima shifted her body lazily, resting her head on his lap. She hugged his waist in a comfortable position, murmuring, "It's so nice having you here."
Luca smiled gently and patted her shoulder rhythmically—once, twice, three times.
The room was quiet. A gentle breeze fluttered the curtains, and sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating the vase of vibrant red roses, which bloomed passionately, filling the air with their fragrance.
Before long, Luca drifted off to sleep too.
**Ding ling ling~**
It was unclear how much time had passed when the sound of a phone ringing woke him up.
Luca slowly opened his eyes and pulled his phone from his pocket.
"Kate, what's up? The gift? Uh… I haven't given it to her yet. Lima's still napping. Okay, I'll give it to her."
"Mmm~"
Lima stirred from her sleep, the phone's ring having woken her. She turned over and smiled at Luca. "What gift?"
Luca kissed her on the forehead and smiled. "I told you yesterday that I made some money and got you a special gift. I picked it out just for you."
"Where's the gift?" Lima asked, blinking with interest.
"It's in my jacket pocket. You'll have to get up so I can get it."
Luca was about to stand when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his lower back.
"What's wrong? What's wrong?" Lima quickly sat up, looking at him with concern.
"It's nothing. I just sat for too long, and my muscles got stiff."
Luca shook his head. It wasn't his spine that hurt, just a muscle cramp from poor circulation.
"You should lie down on the sofa and rest. I forgot your back hasn't fully healed," Lima said, a little guilty as she helped him.
"Lima, I'm fine. It's just a muscle pull. Totally normal."
"You shouldn't take it lightly. You lie down, and I'll get the gift myself."
"Alright."
Luca lay down on the sofa. "It's in the left pocket, a rectangular box."
"Got it!"
Lima took his jacket and pulled out a one-foot-long gift box.
The pink box had no labels or pictures on it.
"Luca, what's this?" Lima asked, curious.
"Emmm~"
Actually, Luca had no idea. Kate had said she spent a lot of time picking out this gift, and it was meant to be a surprise for Lima. Luca wasn't supposed to know in advance.
"Go ahead and open it. I'm sure you'll love it," he said, trusting Kate's taste.
"Alright."
Lima sliced open the box with scissors. When she saw the gift inside, she paused, then smirked and asked, "Did you personally buy this for me?"
"Yeah, of course!"
Luca wasn't foolish enough to admit that Kate had picked it out. That would seem too insincere. He leaned on the sofa and asked, "Do you like it?"
Lima fluttered her long lashes and smiled. "I like it a lot!"
"As long as you like it."
Luca breathed a sigh of relief. Kate really knew her stuff when it came to buying gifts.
"Do you want me to put it on and show you?" Lima asked playfully, holding the box.
"Put it on?"
Luca was confused. Was it clothing? Could such a small box hold clothes? Or had Lima mixed up the words?
"Wait here!"
Lima smiled mischievously and sashayed into the bathroom.
Luca raised an eyebrow and took out his phone.
"Kate, what exactly did you buy?"
"Haha, didn't Lima open it?"
"She did. She went to take a shower without saying a word."
"Really? Haha~ Luca, your moment has come. Don't disappoint me!"
*Beep beep.*
Kate hung up.
Luca stared at his phone, speechless. What "moment" was Kate talking about?
After a while, the bathroom door opened.
Amid the steam, a curvaceous woman, her long wet hair hanging down, sashayed out, her hips swaying seductively.
Luca froze, eyes wide in disbelief. The lyrics to a song echoed in his mind: *Dangerous, dangerous, the girl is so dangerous…*
"Well? How do I look?" Lima licked her plump lips and asked in a sultry voice.
*Pfft.*
Before Luca could answer, two streams of blood spurted from his nose.
Kate, is this the gift you prepared?
Could you be any crueler to your little brother?
*Hiss~*
My back hurts!
(End of Chapter)
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