{"id":113200,"date":"2025-02-17T00:21:41","date_gmt":"2025-02-16T17:21:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/writehorizon.com\/?p=113200"},"modified":"2025-02-17T00:21:41","modified_gmt":"2025-02-16T17:21:41","slug":"for-months-i-kept-receiving-gifts-from-a-secret-admirer-but-the-truth-i-discovered-on-valentines-day-sh0cked-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writehorizon.com\/for-months-i-kept-receiving-gifts-from-a-secret-admirer-but-the-truth-i-discovered-on-valentines-day-sh0cked-me\/","title":{"rendered":"For Months, I Kept Receiving Gifts From a Secret Admirer, but the Truth I Discovered on Valentine’s Day Sh0cked Me…"},"content":{"rendered":"

For Months, I Kept Receiving Gifts From a Secret Admirer, but the Truth I Discovered on Valentine’s Day Shocked Me \u2014 Story of the Day\n

I never cared for romance. It always seemed like a fantasy, something that belonged in movies, not real life. But then the gifts started arriving\u2014flowers, chocolates, even books I had wanted. No name, no clues. Just a secret admirer who knew too much. Someone was watching. But who? And why?\n

To be honest, I was never the romantic type. It had always been that way. Ever since my teenage years, I never understood why everyone was so obsessed with romantic comedies.\n

The grand gestures, the dramatic confessions, the over-the-top happy endings\u2014it all felt staged, unrealistic.\n

Love didn\u2019t work like that in real life. At least, that\u2019s what I believed. Yet, someone decided to prove me wrong.\n

One day, I arrived at work, juggling my coffee and bag, only to freeze at my desk.\n

A massive bouquet of flowers sat there, bright and overwhelming. A note was attached.\n

My heart pounded as I unfolded it, hoping for a name. But all it said was, “Your smile brightens my days.”\n

“Did anyone see who brought this bouquet?” I asked, holding up the note.\n

$\"\"$ \n

Robert looked up from his computer. “No. I was the first one here. It was already on your desk when I arrived.” His usual warm smile made me trust him.\n

Robert was my favorite coworker. He was kind, thoughtful, and always had my back.\n

“Wow,” Brian said from across the room. “Someone actually noticed you exist.”\n

I rolled my eyes. Brian was my least favorite coworker. Brian never missed a chance to annoy me.\n

Since my first day at the office, he had made it his mission to get on my nerves.\n

“Do you have to be like that?” Robert asked, shaking his head. “Jealous the bouquet isn\u2019t for you?”\n

Brian smirked. “Oh, look at our knight in shining armor.” He walked off before I could reply.\n

“Thanks,” I said to Robert.\n

“Always happy to help,” he said, winking.\n

I smiled, pushed the flowers aside, and turned on my computer. Work had to come first.\n

The thing was, Robert, Brian, and I were each working on a project for the company, but only one of us would receive funding.\n

Winning meant recognition, respect, and career growth. Losing meant months of effort wasted. I figured that was why Brian had been even more unbearable lately.\n

He thrived on competition and loved getting under my skin. This was a battle, and in battles, anything was fair game.\n

I couldn\u2019t let him\u2014or even Robert\u2014win. I was one of the only women in the company, and I had worked hard to get here.\n

If my project got funded, it would prove I belonged, that I was just as good\u2014no, better\u2014than the men.\n

But then, there were the gifts. The gifts from my secret admirer didn\u2019t stop\u2014they kept arriving almost daily.\n

At first, I didn\u2019t mind. A bouquet one day, chocolates the next. Then, candy and books\u2014ones I had wanted but never mentioned aloud, at least not that I remembered.\n

That\u2019s when it stopped feeling sweet and started feeling\u2026 unsettling. I wasn\u2019t the kind of person to daydream about romance.\n

I didn\u2019t swoon over mystery admirers. I analyzed, questioned, doubted. How did this person know so much about me?\n

Someone was watching. Someone knew my habits, my preferences. I wasn\u2019t flattered. I was scared.\n

“You must be happy to have a secret admirer,” Robert said one day, leaning back in his chair.\n

“Honestly, it freaks me out,” I admitted.\n

Robert raised an eyebrow. “Oh, come on. It\u2019s sweet.”\n

I shook my head. “Not so sure about that.”\n

Brian, who had been eavesdropping, smirked. “Right. It\u2019s probably some psycho who\u2019s going to be waiting outside the office one day to get rid of you.”\n

I grabbed a pencil and threw it at him. “Only a sick idiot like you would do that.”\n

Brian dodged it easily. “Touched a nerve?”\n

I turned back to my work, pushing away the anxious thoughts. My head was already spinning from this project.\n

I just wanted to get it over with. The presentation wasn\u2019t until February 14th. Ironic, wasn\u2019t it?\n

Brian wasn\u2019t done. He strolled over and glanced at my computer screen. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”\n

I turned the monitor away from him. “Stop snooping. You probably just want to steal my idea.”\n

“My idea is way better,” Brian said, crossing his arms.\n

$\"\"$ \n

“Sure,” I said, dripping with sarcasm.\n

Brian rolled his eyes and walked away.\n

I sighed and reached for my paper cup, but it was empty. “I really need to buy a water bottle. I\u2019m tired of constantly running to the cooler,” I muttered to myself.\n

The next morning, when I arrived at work, a sleek new water bottle sat on my desk.\n

A note was attached. “So you don\u2019t have to keep running to the cooler.” I froze.\n

What the\u2026?\n

Someone had overheard me. Someone from this office.\n

“Want to grab lunch together?” Robert asked, appearing beside me.\n

“Yeah, sure,” I said, distracted.\n

“Nice bottle,” he said, pointing at it.\n

“Yeah,” I murmured, picking it up.\n

“You don\u2019t seem too happy about it. Didn\u2019t you want one?” Robert asked, watching me closely.\n

I nodded, but my mind kept racing. Something didn\u2019t feel right. Then, it clicked. It was Robert. Robert was my secret admirer.\n

He sat next to me every day, close enough to hear my offhand comments. He knew my favorite things.\n

He had always been kind, always supportive. Who else could it be? It made perfect sense.\n

I wanted to ask him about it, to confirm my theory. But the presentation was too important.\n

I couldn\u2019t let myself get distracted now. My focus had to stay on my project.\n

On February 14th, we finally presented. The conference room was packed, tension filling the air.\n

As the discussion began, I listened carefully. Robert\u2019s project came up first.\n

Then Brian\u2019s. Executives asked questions, debated ideas. But no one mentioned mine. Not once.\n

“You\u2019ve talked a lot about Robert\u2019s and my projects, but you haven\u2019t said anything about Leslie\u2019s,” Brian suddenly said, his voice steady.\n

“You think it\u2019s worth discussing?” our boss, Paul, asked, barely glancing at my report.\n

Ouch. That stung.\n

Brian sat up straighter. “I think it\u2019s the most deserving of the three. It\u2019s obvious Leslie\u2019s project is the best.”\n

I had to stop my jaw from dropping. Brian, of all people, was defending me?\n

“I don\u2019t think so,” Robert cut in. “I still believe mine is the best, or at the very least, Brian\u2019s. Men are better architects than women.”\n

I felt like I had been slapped. Robert, who I had thought was supportive, had said that?\n

One of the executives finally looked at my project. He flipped through the pages, nodding slowly. “Actually, I think Brian is right. Leslie\u2019s project is the strongest.”\n

A heated debate followed. People argued back and forth, numbers and strategies thrown around. I held my breath, waiting for the final decision.\n

Nearly an hour later, we walked out of the conference room.\n

I had won.\n

My project had been chosen. Relief and pride flooded through me. I knew I had earned it.\n

“Thanks for speaking up for me,” I told Brian as we walked down the hallway.\n

He shrugged, hands in his pockets, then kept walking.\n

I shook my head and turned to Robert. My excitement was quickly fading. “You were acting weird during the presentation. Especially considering how you feel about me.”\n

Robert frowned. “What do you mean?”\n

“I know you like me. You\u2019re my secret admirer,” I said, crossing my arms.\n

Robert blinked. “What? Where did you get that idea?”\n

“Everything fits. Plus, you\u2019re always nice to me,” I said.\n

Robert sighed. “I\u2019m just polite. I have a girlfriend.”\n

“Oh…” My stomach dropped.\n

“Yeah. And I still think my project should have won,” he added.\n

I shook my head. “Learn to accept defeat,” I said and walked away.\n

If it wasn\u2019t Robert, then who was it?\n

Now, my secret admirer scared me even more. What if he had some kind of listening device at my desk? How else did he know everything?\n

That evening, as I left the office, unease settled in my stomach. Brian\u2019s words kept replaying in my head\u2014that one day, my admirer would be waiting outside.\n

When I stepped out and saw a figure standing by the door, my heart stopped. I panicked and screamed.\n

“Oh my God, Brian! You scared me!” I yelled, my pulse racing.\n

“Sorry,” he said, shifting on his feet.\n

“What are you doing here?” I asked, eyeing him suspiciously.\n

“Waiting outside the office to get rid of you,” he said, his tone unreadable.\n

“What…?” My confusion deepened.\n

Brian sighed. “Remember when we talked about your secret admirer, and I said that one day he\u2019d be waiting for you outside?”\n

I interrupted him. “Yeah, but what does that\u2014” I froze. My mind pieced it together. “Wait… it\u2019s you?”\n

Brian nodded.\n

Only then did I notice the large bouquet in his hands. Tulips. My favorite.\n

“But why all of this?” I asked, staring at the flowers.\n

“I figured you needed to see a different side of me. Not just the Brian who teases you,” he said, shifting awkwardly.\n

“You could have just stopped acting like a jerk instead of scaring me half to death,” I said, narrowing my eyes.\n

“Yeah… it didn\u2019t go exactly as I planned,” Brian admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.\n

“So… you like me?” I asked.\n

Brian covered his face with his hand. “I\u2019m not good at talking about this,” he muttered.\n

“I\u2019ve noticed,” I said, smirking.\n

“…Yeah. I do,” he finally said, avoiding eye contact.\n

I smiled.\n

“Well, happy Valentine\u2019s Day,” Brian said, turning to walk away.\n

“Hey, that\u2019s it?” I called after him. “No invitation to dinner?”\n

Brian hesitated. “You\u2019d actually want that?”\n

I walked up to him and took his arm. “Well, I do need to get to know this other Brian,” I said.\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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