The CEO's Mischievous Little Bride
Chapter 123 Ripples in the Heart

"Darling, close your eyes."

The moment Patrick saw Vera appear from behind, he was in a daze.

"Vera, are you here to see me?"

"Come on, close your eyes, darling," Vera said playfully.

Patrick hung up and put down his phone, a doting expression appearing on his face. He listened to Vera and closed his eyes.

Vera slowly brought the bouquet of roses from behind to her chest, took a step forward, stood on tiptoe, and gently kissed Patrick on the cheek.

Her kiss was light, like a feather brushing over a calm lake, but it stirred ripples in Patrick's heart that wouldn't fade.

Patrick's Adam's apple bobbed as he slowly opened his eyes.

In front of him was a bouquet of vibrant roses, their color beautiful and their fragrance intoxicating.

Behind the roses stood his wife, Vera, smiling more radiantly than the flowers in her arms.

Once again, she left Patrick stunned.

He had faced many challenges and could handle them all with composure. After getting married, he found that many things caught him off guard, and they were all related to Vera. A bouquet of flowers, placed in front of him, was from Vera.

"Darling, you've probably never received roses before. Now, you have," Vera said, handing him the flowers.

When Patrick took them, he felt a sudden warmth on his palm.

He had actually received roses from Vera.

Holding the flowers in one hand and wrapping his other arm around Vera's waist, he bent down, leaned close to Vera's cheek, and asked, "The romantic date you mentioned this afternoon, is it with me?" "This is a surprise for you."

She hooked her arms around Patrick's neck, looking into his eyes, which shone like gemstones.

Patrick's Adam's apple bobbed. "Close your eyes."

Vera obediently closed her eyes, and what followed was the warmth on her lips.

Jack was planning to report to Patrick when Sophia stopped him in time. "Mrs. Olteran came to see Mr. Olteran with a bouquet of roses. If you're not afraid of Mr. Olteran blaming you for interrupting their intimate moment, go ahead." The other employees in the CEO's office had long lost their focus on work. The sudden appearance of a bright red color in the monotonous office seemed to awaken a bit of change in their dull lives.

Jack made a quick decision and immediately joined the dozen female secretaries to discuss what had just happened.

"Tell me in detail, what happened just now? I can't believe I missed such a big event! Mr. Olteran received flowers for the first time, right?"

"Ever since I joined Olteran Group, I've never seen anything red around Mr. Olteran, let alone roses, which symbolize love."

"Mrs. Olteran is so romantic. How did she come up with this?"

Usually, it was men who gave flowers to women, and everyone thought that was normal. When Vera suddenly broke this conventional thinking, holding a bouquet of flowers and running to the company in front of everyone, it greatly changed their perception of her.

Sophia said, "For Mr. Olteran to be won over by Mrs. Olteran, she must be different from others."

"Ms. Miller, I think the prerequisite for Mrs. Olteran to give Mr. Olteran a different feeling is that they are mutually attracted. Ms. Tooker used to have a crush on Mr. Olteran, but whenever she came to the company without a legitimate reason, Mr. Olteran wouldn't see her."

"Mrs. Olteran is different. No one stops her when she comes, she can use Mr. Olteran's private elevator freely, and Mr. Olteran doesn't say a word."

Sophia sighed, saying, "It really depends on the person."

Patrick dotes on Vera, not any other woman, and that was an unchangeable fact.

Indoors, Vera stood in front of Patrick, who was holding a bouquet of roses. She twirled around. "Darling, do you think there's something different about me today?" "You're wearing your wedding ring," Patrick said, his eyes filled with affection.

He watched her twirling under his gaze.

"Is it that obvious? How did you know?" Vera asked excitedly as she approached Patrick.

Except for their wedding day when he put the ring on her, she had taken it off and left it in a box after they got married.

This morning, while getting ready, she suddenly noticed the sparkling ring. She looked at it for a long time before finally putting it on her ring finger.

During class today, she kept glancing at the ring on her hand while writing.

She asked Mia and Randall, "Do you think there's something different about me today?"

"Your status has changed, from the campus belle to the principal."

That was Mia and Randall's observation.

When she showed them her wedding ring, she said, "Look, this is what's different about me today."

"A ring?" Mia was a bit surprised. Instead of being shocked, she asked, "Vera, you didn't wear it before?"

Vera shook her head. She had been very excited when she first asked the question. However, seeing their lukewarm reaction, her excitement faded.

She asked Randall, "Have you ever seen me wear it at home?"

"Who has the time to look at your hand all day?"

Randall hadn't noticed either.

Vera responded with a hint of disappointment.

Wearing the wedding ring meant something significant to her.

It meant she was ready to take her life with Patrick seriously.

To her, the wedding ring was a sacred symbol.

Wearing it meant that Patrick was slowly making his way into her heart.

However, her best friends Randall and Mia didn't understand this.

Maybe because they were still single, they couldn't grasp the special sentiment married people have for their rings. Vera comforted herself with this thought. She didn't continue to show off her ring.

However, when she stood in front of Patrick, he immediately noticed the wedding ring on her hand, reigniting her excitement.

"Darling, no one else noticed I was wearing the ring today, only you. How did you notice?"

Patrick didn't answer but instead asked, "Are you wearing this ring just for today, or are you planning to keep it on from now on?"

Vera, holding his arm confidently, shook her head.  "I'm not taking it off."

Patrick reached out, smiling, and pulled her back into his arms.

At 6.00 p.m., it was time to leave Olteran Group.

Patrick, holding the bouquet of roses in one hand, walked out of the office hand in hand with Vera.

Sophia congratulated him. "Congratulations, Mr. Olteran, on receiving the roses."

Vera playfully said, "You should thank me. If it weren't for me, he wouldn't have any roses."

"Mrs. Olteran, when will you give us some roses too? We're envious of the ones in Patrick's hand." Jack teased. Someone was trying to take his roses. Patrick shot a sharp look at Jack.

Jack felt a chill around him and quickly retracted his smile when he saw Patrick's eyes. "I'm not envious anymore."

Vera, unaware that Patrick was jealous, said to everyone, "If I were to give you flowers, it would definitely be something else. Roses are exclusive to my husband. I can't give them to you."

Her exclusivity made Patrick extremely happy, and the cold air around him naturally dissipated.

A curious secretary asked about the bouquet in Patrick's hand, "Mrs. Olteran, how many roses did you give Patrick?"

"Twelve."

Instantly, the secretaries in the CEO's office all teased. "Twelve roses."

They laughed mischievously. "What did we find out the meaning of twelve roses was?"