37 Chapter Thirty-Six: Brothers' Presents

"Another one...it's acrylic...."

"What about this one?"

I looked up at the black kit that Crist was holding in his hands.

I took it from him and opened it. Inside the kit were dozens of different paintbrushes in all shapes and sizes.

"Oh my! Why I never knew that there are so many types of colors in this world? When did they discover all these?" 

Leo had been staring at the items that kept coming out of the box that he gifted me as my birthday present.

This time I was the one who threw myself at him as I hugged him tightly.

"Thank you! Thank you so much! This is...." 

I could not speak anymore as I found my voice becoming shaky as tears started forming in my eyes.

It took all my willpower to not start crying as my heart was too overwhelmed after receiving such a beautiful gift from Leo.

I had always loved painting. As far as my memory could go, so had always wanted to explore this gift of mine.

But then my life took a sharp turn and I could barely afford to continue with my desire of painting.

Though I still continued sketching every now and then whenever I wanted to skip the reality. But I was never able to buy the expensive art equipment and other required supplies.

That's why looking at the dozens of different variety of drawing sheets, hundreds of colors in different forms and textures, pencils, brushes, and the other items, I was left completely overwhelmed. 

"Does it mean you like my present?" Leo asked as he runner my back lightly as I kept hugging him tightly.

"I love it! Thank you so much." I replied as I pulled away from his warm embrace and looked at him with sincerity in my eyes.

"Now I'm feeling bad for not coming up with this idea first. Just look at how happy she truly is. Not fair, definitely not fair!" Crist said as he shook his head from left to right while staring at me and Leo who just chuckled in return.

"Move, it's my turn," Simon said as he walked in front of me and stood there looking at me.

I had no idea how to respond so I just stood there like a statue, waiting for him to give me the present.

"Here." He said while pushing a box wrapped in a golden gift packet into my hands.

It was heavy and my instincts already knew what I would get after opening the box.

Just sd I predicted, it was a smartphone. One of the most expensive and brand new models. 

"This..."

"You will need it since your senior year is about to start. The phone also has a GPS in it and it will help us to make sure that you are always safe. I have already downloaded the apps that I thought will be useful for you. Of course, you can download more if you want. Also, I have saved the numbers of the six of us, Sam, Jackson, Mrs. Wills, Mr. Harris, and Mr. Park, Domenic's Secretary. Remember that you are only supposed to call Mr. Park when you can't reach the rest of the ten people. And..."

"Thank you." 

And just like that, the entire bedroom was suddenly filled with silence as Simon stared at me with surprised eyes.

"What?" He asked as he kept gazing at me in shock.

"Thank you. Thank you for worrying about me and doing so much just to make sure that I won't face problems. That's way more than what I was expecting, to be honest. But I'm happy." I replied as I smiled softly at him.

Finding myself smiling was just as surprising for me as it was for the six Young Masters of the Alessandro Empire.

"Damn! The competition level is increasing. Why did we start with Leo? Can someone please remind me?" Daniel asked as he looked at the dumbfounded expression of Simon who just hurriedly nodded his head and scurried back into the far corner of the room.

Next was Crist who gifted me a laptop. It made me look at him with raised eyebrows as I heard his explanation.

"You will need it for your homework and stuffs like that. You can thank me later." He finished with a wink while giving Mark a little shove towards me.

The room filled with dead silence as we all waited for Mark to say something. 

However, he only dropped a small box in my hands before scurrying out of the room.

I just let out a sigh while Daniel and Leo gave me encouraging nods. As I opened the box it had a beautiful bracelet watch in it. It was beautiful and I knew that it would cost a fortune.

"Nice one! A watch is also an important thing in a student's life. You should always pay attention to the time." Crist said in support of Mark's gift.

Daniel's gift was actually a voucher for sculpture classes.

"I heard you talking with Jackson that you are having some problems with sculptures since you never got a proper chance to learn it. There will be a six-month coaching going on near Sam's hospital. If you want, you can join it." Daniel told me and his kindness brought another soft but sincere smile to my lips as I nodded my head in agreement.

And then everyone was looking at Domenic as it was his turn to give me my birthday present.

To be honest, I was not that eager about receiving gifts from them but after realizing that they had chosen the best gifts that they could give me, I was actually happy.

Leo coughed softly to pull Domenic's attention towards the matter at hand.

"Leave us alone." 

Domenic's order made the rest of the Alessandro brothers start complaining.

"That's not fair. You can't do this to us."

"Yeah! I wanna see it too."

"Why are kicking us out?"

"..."

"RIGHT NOW!" 

As Domenic's commanding voice ranged into the room, I watched as the four Alessandro brothers immediately disappeared from my bedroom.

And now I was facing the Leader of the Alessandro Empire as he stood in front of me.

Just how wrong I was!