Your Boyfriend Has Good Taste

Early the next morning, the sun barely filtered through the expansive windows of the villa. Hazel emerged from her designated room wearing a simple, understated faint green maxi dress she had snagged from a clearance rack the previous year. Standing amidst the refined, ultra-modern luxury of the villa's architecture, she looked radically and undeniably out of place. Making her way downstairs, she found Gideon already waiting in the foyer, dressed impeccably in a custom-tailored suit that practically radiated wealth.

They exited the heavy oak doors and walked toward the waiting car in tense silence. The financial sting of last night's text message weighed heavily on her mind. Unable to hide her grievance, Hazel slid into the passenger seat and mumbled carefully, her voice barely above a whisper, "I lost my full-attendance bonus because I took the day off to visit your grandfather."

Gideon paused briefly, his hand resting on the steering wheel, and cast a mildly dismissive glance her way. "It's just a thousand," he replied, his tone dripping with the casual indifference of a billionaire who made that sum in seconds.

Hazel crossed her arms, aggressively sulking over a sum of money that could easily cover her entire monthly living expenses. As the engine purred to life, Gideon's deep voice suddenly cut sharply through her bitter thoughts.

"Make grandpa happy today, and I'll compensate the bonus to you."

The promise acted like a jolt of electricity. Hazel's eyes lit up instantly, her previous gloom evaporating as the prospect of recovering her lost funds took center stage.

However, as the sleek car glided through the city streets, Hazel quickly realized they were heading in the wrong direction. Instead of pulling up to the towering, sterile facade of the city's premier hospital, the car smoothly parked in the VIP bay of an ultra-luxurious, high-end shopping mall.

"Aren't we going to visit your grandfather?" Hazel asked, her brow furrowing in genuine confusion.

Gideon turned his head, his sharp eyes sweeping slowly and critically over her faded maxi dress. With a harsh, uncompromising critique, he stated, "If grandpa sees your outfit, he'll probably think that our company is going bankrupt soon. Otherwise, why would my wife's outfit be this old?"

Rendered speechless by the blunt insult but not daring to refute the man who literally held her father's life in his financial grip, Hazel kept her mouth shut. She obediently followed him as he strode confidently into an exclusive, impossibly high-end boutique.

Without waiting for her input, Gideon casually and rapidly selected a massive pile of designer dresses, tossing them over her arm. Obediently, she carried the heavy load to the lavish fitting room, her hands moving with extreme caution as she handled the delicate, gossamer fabrics, acutely aware that the price tags dangling from the seams cost exponentially more than her entire monthly salary.

After an exhausting, seemingly endless parade of try-ons that continually failed to satisfy the exacting standards of the boss waiting outside, Hazel finally pinned her desperate hopes on a stunning, perfectly tailored faint green maxi dress that hugged her curves elegantly. Stepping out, she drew the immediate attention of the boutique staff.

"Miss, your boyfriend has good taste. You look graceful in this dress," the lead saleswoman praised with a warm, professional smile.

Hearing the sudden compliment, Gideon slowly looked up from the glowing screen of his smartphone. His dark eyes caught sight of her slender, perfectly defined waist reflected in the massive floor-to-ceiling mirror. Catching his gaze, Hazel turned around slowly, squeezing a hesitant, fragile smile onto her fair face. "Is this okay?" she asked softly.

"Yeah," Gideon replied, the single syllable carrying an undeniable weight of approval. He stood up smoothly and began picking out a few pairs of exquisite, matching designer shoes. Turning to the hovering staff, he commanded, "We'll take the dress that she's wearing and all that she tried just now."

Dumbfounded by the sheer, reckless extravagance of the massive purchase, Hazel felt a deep flush of red creep up her neck. She stepped quickly toward him, tugging shyly and desperately at his pristine suit sleeve. "We don't have to buy all of them," she whispered frantically. "Just the one that I'm wearing is enough."

Gideon's brow instantly furrowed into a deep, intimidating scowl, and he cast a freezing, entirely unyielding cold glance down at her. "Do you plan to wear the same dress every time we visit grandpa?" he demanded sharply.

Tongue-tied and thoroughly defeated by his ruthless logic, Hazel could only stand back and silently follow him as he casually swiped a black card to pay the astronomical bill.

Immediately after, he led her directly into a glittering, high-security jewelry shop next door. Before she could even begin to fully grasp his intention or object to further spending, Gideon efficiently and emotionlessly selected a pair of platinum couple rings. With absolutely zero romantic interaction, he unceremoniously dropped the smaller ring directly into her open palm and smoothly slipped the larger, matching band onto his own finger.

Waiting awkwardly at the polished glass entrance while he finalized the payment, Hazel could vaguely hear the impeccably dressed shop staff whispering and gossiping furiously among themselves.

"Oh my gosh, they're such a perfect match!" one gushed.

"Yeah, but I bet her boyfriend doesn't love her," another replied cynically. "He chose the ring with minimal effort and didn't even bother to put it on for his girlfriend."

Overhearing the brutally accurate assessment, Hazel let out a small, silent smirk. *Indeed, your guess is perfectly right,* she thought to herself.