My First Love Died, Now My Step Uncle Wants Me-Chapter 117: Not Nearly Enough

Caleb Rhodes stroked her hair, his gaze darkening slightly.

’This little thing... she’s this happy over half a million?’

’It seems the things I got for her before weren’t good enough. I’ll have to get her more!’

In the days that followed, Nina Wynn seemed to become obsessed with online shopping.

At first, she just bought inexpensive little things, like a pink notebook and paintbrushes with Totoro designs. She bought a whole pile of them.

Later, she bought lots of little bells for Roy, followed by a random assortment of skincare products in cute packaging that only a young girl would use.

They were all inexpensive but very cute-looking items.

Because of the sheer quantity, Warner Zimmerman had to clear out a small room just to store all of Nina’s miscellaneous purchases.

Gradually, her purchases started getting a bit more expensive.

Sometimes she would buy a newly released pair of headphones, other times a cute little pink speaker.

On two occasions, when she was in a good mood, she even bought Caleb Rhodes a pair of teddy bear cufflinks and a mug with a teddy bear print.

When Caleb Rhodes received these gifts, he showed no expression. He simply had Warner Zimmerman put them away and never mentioned them again.

His cold attitude was like a bucket of ice water, extinguishing Nina’s enthusiasm. After that, she stopped buying him gifts.

She did, however, give Warner Zimmerman two small gifts later on.

One was an iris-shaped brooch, and the other was a pair of soft lambskin gloves.

Although they weren’t very expensive, it was clear she had spent a long time choosing them. Warner Zimmerman had even seen her lying on the sofa, comparing dozens of different shops.

Warner Zimmerman quite liked them and even wore the iris brooch to a banquet once.

As time went on, Nina’s purchases continued to multiply, but Caleb Rhodes gradually stopped asking about them.

’Little things that cost a few dozen or a few hundred,’ he thought, ’she can buy as many as she wants. If worst comes to worst, I’ll just buy the house next door and turn it into a warehouse for her.’

And so, when Nina later bought a new phone and a new SIM card, no one paid any attention. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

「About a month later」 Nina’s hand seemed to have healed.

Aside from not being able to use a paintbrush or chopsticks as deftly as before, she was more or less back to her old self.

As the weather grew colder, Nina seemed even more reluctant to go out.

Before her injury, she would go out almost every day, no matter how cold it was. But after getting hurt, she had barely left the house.

Along with that, she didn’t seem as fond of Roy as she used to be.

Ever since this injury, she hadn’t petted Roy in a long time.

But to say she didn’t like him anymore wasn’t quite right either. She bought Roy many little bells, and sometimes, in the middle of the night, Caleb Rhodes would find her sneaking into Roy’s little room and staying there for a long time before coming out.

He attributed all this to her feeling that since she was injured, she was afraid of dropping Roy if she tried to hold him.

At first, Caleb Rhodes was still a little wary, always feeling that something was off about her. But as time went on and she remained the same, he stopped paying it much mind.

However, something rather interesting happened during this time.

Once, Caleb Rhodes went to Elysia for a week.

He had originally planned to be gone for ten days before returning to Elysian City, but he couldn’t stop worrying about Nina, so he cut his trip short to seven days.

He didn’t tell Nina when he would be back, but when he got off the plane, he saw her waiting for him at the airport.

He was surprised, and also pleasantly so.

At the time, the younger sister of a friend was also on his private jet, catching a ride back to the country with him.

The young woman had grown up abroad, and though she looked as delicate and slender as Nina, she had a typically bold Western personality.

She had clung to Caleb Rhodes for the entire flight, chattering away, and had even brazenly declared that she was only interested in pretty girls. Even after they landed, she stuck by his side, talking nonstop.

But Nina seemed to have misunderstood. When she saw the pretty young woman next to him, she first froze, then tried to hide in a nearby room.

It wasn’t until Caleb Rhodes’s face darkened and he pulled her out, asking what she was hiding from, that she looked at the other woman and asked, "Is this your new friend?"

Her tone was tart, like a wife who had just caught her husband cheating.

Caleb was actually a little pleased. Nina had been so distant lately that his heart had been in a constant state of suspense.

Now, seeing her act jealous, the anxiety he’d been feeling finally subsided.

He didn’t explain, only said she was a friend, and then left with Nina.

The young woman, however, tried to follow them a few times, seemingly wanting to get Nina’s number, but Willson Lawson blocked her each time.

But in Nina’s eyes, this painted a different picture: Caleb Rhodes had spent a few days abroad with his new young girlfriend, and upon their return, the girlfriend was unwilling to leave, only to be driven away by his bodyguard.

Caleb, reveling in the afterglow of Nina’s jealousy, naturally didn’t notice what she was really thinking.

After they got home, he wasted no time. As soon as he’d washed up, he pinned Nina down on the bed.

This time, he was much gentler, doing his best to restrain the emotions that were constantly on the verge of spiraling out of control.

Nina, for her part, seemed more pliant than the last two times, trying her best to open herself up and accommodate him.

In the end, they managed to get through it without any further issues, but Caleb felt he hadn’t had nearly enough.

’She’s just too sweet.’ He found himself regretting more and more that he hadn’t taken her with him the moment she came of age.

After that, everything seemed to fall into place.

When it came to intimacy, Caleb found it difficult to suppress his desires. Mornings and nights were a certainty.

But because Nina always seemed to endure it with great difficulty, sometimes even getting hurt, things didn’t always go smoothly.

Fortunately, for the most part, she had at least stopped hiding from him.

Because of this, he let his guard down, never even noticing when Nina got a new phone.

Later, she was being particularly well-behaved. Once, after they had been intimate, Nina said she wanted to see her little box.

Caleb had had his fill that time, and Nina’s performance had been exceptionally good. He felt she deserved a reward.

So he gave the little box back to her.

Sometime later, Caleb asked her where the box was. Nina just said she had put it back at the old house, and he didn’t press the matter.

The days grew colder, and Caleb became even busier.

The project in Aethelburg had started, so he was constantly running back and forth between Aethelburg and Elysian City. Sometimes he would only come back once every day or two, and his supervision over Nina grew more relaxed.

This went on for about a month or two. On the night before the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the big project in Aethelburg, Nina, having heard a rumor from somewhere, told him that she had never been outside Elysian City and wanted to see Aethelburg.

She said this just after they had been intimate. Her face still held an alluring afterglow as he held her captive against his chest. Her voice was a little hoarse. "Can I go to Aethelburg with you tomorrow?"

Caleb hadn’t had enough earlier and was just thinking about how he could get another taste. Hearing her words, he lowered his head and nibbled her earlobe. "It’s not impossible for you to go. Depends on what you’re willing to trade for it."