Excluding Shane from the list

Lillian drove her car, without talking much, only focused on getting to their destination while Giselle sat next to her, staring through the window quietly.

The moving panorama of the city at night was enchanting for Giselle to take her eyes away, especially since it's all dolled up for the upcoming festival.

Not a while after, noticing how they were driving longer than expected, Giselle dared to ask Lillian where they headed out for the evening.

Lillian's smooth face suddenly smirked as she let it remain a sweet surprise.

Lastly, reaching the place, Giselle recognized it quickly as she recently toured the site for work.

Lillian arrived straight at the Grand Central Terminal.

"Are we going somewhere by train?" Giselle asked concernedly.

"No- we are going to the Grand Central Holiday Fair!" Lillian answered.

Passing by the entrance, she drove around to the nearby valet garage to park their car before heading inside.

Lillian chose this place for various reasons; One being- since they don't feel like facing the cold after spending the entire day outside. Also, the Grand Central Holiday Fair presents a diverse mix of products in an elegantly decorated ambiance. Hosted in the warmth of Vanderbilt Hall, this enduring holiday fair draws shoppers to booths featuring artisans, jewelers, and home goods vendors- all beneath the iconic Beaux-Arts chandeliers. It is easily the most enjoyable place to visit in general.

Giselle and Lillian walked back to enter the station, to get completely thrown off by its incredible aesthetics as if they traveled back to the old times.

It was quite crowded at the moment since Christmas Eve was nearing. Even if they had an option to explore the place for fun, it wouldn't be possible with people bustling around, going from one booth to another.

Giselle resigned wearily.

"Go on!" she said.

Under the roof of architectural beauty, Lillian had forgotten her purpose in visiting here.

"Your- Christmas- shopping-" Giselle reminded, enunciating every word at the blinking face, finally letting Lillian realize.

"Ah- Yes! Of course. Hmm..."

Lillian took a quick glance at the busy fair. Handbags and Holiday ornaments, followed by Art and Designs and Harlem candles, including pet accessories and Craftspring for children. There were just too many on display, too much to categorize or even consider.

"Okay. Okay. Okay- so, what should I buy?" Lillian panicked, mumbling to herself from the plentiful models.

Looking at her in a confused state, Giselle wished to lend a hand.

"Who are you buying gifts? Your father? Shane? Probably, Jenna? Oh- Anna and Jake, too, right?"

Giselle began to list out names she could think of when Lillian interrupted her halfway.

"You missed Diego- We can't forget him. He's been moody these days- I have to get him something decent..." Lillian exclaimed to continue mumbling to herself, exploring the passing booths curiously.

Giselle paused, walking. She saw Lillian going ahead, on her own, alone, still remembering to keep her closest friend closer.

As long as Diego stays by Lillian's side, no matter how strong her feelings, Giselle won't be able to express her love freely. Rather than Lillian Grey, it should be Diego, whom she should focus on handling. However, it will not be an easy feat to achieve.

Lillian quickly realized that Giselle was falling behind, wondering if something went wrong. She turned back to look out for her.

"What happened?"

Giselle brushed off to join, requesting Lillian to take control of the list as the two walked together, continue exploring the stalls one by one.

The diverse range of the items impressed the ladies, especially Lillian, yet she suddenly exclaimed, reporting to exclude Shane Ricardo from her list. The reason being- discovering his gift in this fair seems nearly unlikely.

Giselle troubled herself to inquire if Lillian had already decided what to present Shane.

"Yeah! I'm going to get him the latest gaming gears-" Lillian shared.

Even though distracted by her sight full of the colorful display, she still had her focus fixed on choosing a proper present for her friends and family.

Giselle gaped at hearing what Shane is going to receive from his friend for Christmas.

"Oh! There is no need to exclaim! Since I'm going to destroy all his current games for toying me with you."

Lillian's casual remark startled Giselle to stop again at her pace. She couldn't believe what she heard, turning to Lillian, demanding an explanation.

Lillian's decision wasn't something recently birthed. It has been a long-standing grudge that she had held against her dear friend, Shane Ricardo,

the man who was the brain behind Giselle's return, and also the guy who pulled a dangerous prank on Lillian.

His genuine effort into bringing back Giselle was acceptable, but teasing Lillian by making Giselle work at the same place without revealing a grain of his intention made Lillian plot this revenge from a long time ago. The seeds of it appeared when she met Giselle at Shane's place for the first time.

"I'll pulverize his games to get even and replace it with brand new ones," Lillian added vehemently.

"Revenge- you say-" Giselle grumbled.

"Don't get me wrong! I am beyond happy that Shane returned you to me!" Lillian confessed brazenly.

Her shameless promotion slightly aroused Giselle, yet she remained reserved.

"However, the fact that he never talked to me about it is what angered me. If he had already found you, then I would have stopped Jenna from-"

Lillian paused abruptly, swallowing the rest of the sentence, not intending to expose herself.

"Still- I wanted to scare him a little for going behind my back when he knows how much you mean to me!"

Giselle found herself forgiving Lillian, finding a soft spot on her. Still, her course of judgment remains troublesome.

"Well- breaking his toys doesn't seem like scaring a little. It appears to be going overboard. You cannot play with Christmas gifts. So, why don't you only buy him brand new games-" Giselle suggested.

'Buy him brand new gaming gears- without punishing him for hiding you from me- oh, Giselle-'

'I shouldn't have told her!'

Lillian thought, biting her tongue in disapproval.

Nonetheless, to please Giselle's heart, she ends up agreeing to her terms.

"But, wait- Giselle- did you now call Shane's hobby as toys?" Lillian pointed out.

Giselle's face flushed from the bold accusation, realizing how it was her boss that she spoke casually.

Meanwhile, Lillian burst into roaring laughter, imagining how Shane would react if he had heard it, which resulted in taking this rare opportunity to use with a purpose. She fished out her phone to make a random call. Alarmed, Giselle inquired, finding out that Lillian was trying for Shane.

"What? Wait- no-"

"Lillian! No, stop- playing- don't-" Giselle rustled.

"What's up, Grey?" Shane had already picked up the call to answer.

Hearing Shane's voice through the receiver made Giselle beg and plead desperately.

Lillian enjoyed all the accidental contacts, savoring their limited skinship whenever it occurred. Consequently, she also cut the call without responding a word to Shane. Lillian did it sneaky by hiding her phone behind her back, away from Giselle's line of sight.

At first, she did want to tease Giselle but seeing her getting anxious, Lillian no longer played and cut the call secretly.

Poor Giselle had not learned this yet and kept imploring Lillian closely.

..

Having begged sincerely and still haven't heard Lillian yield, Giselle was now releasing fumes of irritation.

"If- if you tell him- then I- I will leave right now. I won't talk to you again!"

Despite not being able to believe herself for uttering such childish things, Giselle acted as if she intended to act it out if Lillian keeps pressing her.

Lillian stared hard at Giselle for a few seconds, reading her crestfallen face continuing to look away to glance back often to glimpse at the hidden phone.

"As if you could do that- Not talking to me- you sure are exceptionally hilarious today, Giselle," Lillian remarked.

"However- I can't let this one go. You have to bribe me for shutting my mouth if you don't want me to tell Shane," Lillian added, beaming in bliss.

"What do you want?" Giselle immediately approached to make a deal.

Watching Lillian's grin widen, a state of worry spread within her. She warned Lillian that her request should be nothing inappropriate.

As expected, Lillian's grin never died, still flourishing even after seeing Giselle's worried reaction.

"Were you expecting something inappropriate then?" she remarked teasingly.

Giselle's eyes grew red from the endless tease.

"Alright- don't hit me-"

"Giselle-"

It took a while before Lillian revealed what she would like to receive as a fee for sealing her lips about Shane's toys.

"Chocolates!"

Giselle's anticipation dropped dead already.

"What?" she grunted sharply.

"Heart-shaped chocolates! I prefer the dark ones."

"It is not Valentine's, Lillian!"

"I know!" Lillian smirked.

The red eyes kept flaring and twitching from getting played by this person as Giselle's blush grew darker, not from the teasing but from watching Lillian have her fun.

"What I meant to say was that I don't think they sell those things here," Giselle stated bitterly.

Not shaken by her sore response, Lillian still asked Giselle to look for it. If she comes across such treats, then she shall buy the chocolates for Lillian, which should secure their deal.

"If not?" Giselle interrupted.

"So eager! If not, then it's up to you. But, you have to buy me something sweet-" Lillian decided.

"Fine!"

The two shook hands to reach a settlement.

Just then, they passed a home decor vendor displaying unique products like paddle type hand-cranked butter churner, traditional Haitian mortar & pestle, Chinese soup dumpling kit, Mexican hot chocolate set, and so on.

"Hmm... this seems like my dad's area of interest-" Lillian stopped to check out the products.

Giselle remembered hearing from Lillian about Edwin's passion for cooking. She joined to look at the displayed items readily.

"By any chance, do you guys sell heart-shaped chocolates?" Lillian asked abruptly, startling both Giselle and the person assisting them.

Giselle gave a sharp nudge as Lillian pretended to wince from it.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. We don't sell them!" the poor guy guiding the ladies responded.

Lillian groaned under breath in disappointment.

"Lillian!" Giselle called out sternly.

"I was only trying to help you-"

"Stop it-"

"Alright!"

After securing the deal, no longer was Giselle allowing Lillian to have her muse over finding ways to tease her. Seeing her on alert, Lillian, too, followed, shifting her attention on choosing a gift for her father, Edwin Grey.

..

"What about that?" Giselle quickly pointed at a tableside raclette melter with sturdy concrete and copper grill.

Lillian scrutinized to reject it later. She was planning to buy him something with which he could experiment and that her gift shall not serve a single purpose.

Giselle agreed, keeping in mind as she expanded to explore more pieces.

They spent a few more minutes before Lillian eventually chose her Christmas gift for Edwin Grey. When Giselle saw it, she seems to correspond to it happily. Satisfied with her selection, Lillian paid, and the two left the booth together to continue their journey.