Aselia let out a sigh and muttered: "This man will be the death of me," before moving forward towards the glass cases which held mannequins clad in magnificent dresses in various sizes and shades.

"Ma’am, anything you like? Anything, in particular, you are looking for? Or any preferred colour?" Roxie inquired as she explained the textures and materials to Aselia of the various dresses in front of her. Which were either too revealing or too flashy for her taste.

"Any colour other than black will work," Aselia responded while skimming through the dresses, "and nothing too flashy, something simple but in good taste would suffice."

"I understand, let me show you some of my elegant designs. This way, please," she led Xiran and Aselia a little bit further into a different section.

Gowns and dresses in this section had lighter tones as compared to the previous one. Colours ranged between Sky Blue, Apple Green, Lime, Beige, White, Grey and Silver. Materials comprised of silk, net, fur and chiffon.

There was an apple green net and chiffon dress that caught Aselia’s eyes but its neckline reached the naval of the wearer and Aselia was in no mood to show her naval to anyone other than the man that stood beside her.

She admired these tones and styles but then a particular sleeveless silver gown with a beaded V-neck, embroidered bodice, and a pearly waistband holding the pearl-embedded a-line skirt with a small slit in the left leg, caught her attention.

"This one, can I have a look at this one?" Aselia inquired from Roxie before glancing towards Xiran who reassuringly nodded at her.

"Sure ma’am, this piece has just been finished by Señor Rivan and me," she offered them a smile as she called an assistant to bring out the dress.

"Would you like to try it on?" And Aselia nodded her head at the girl.

"Come with me, please. We have changing rooms just ahead. Señor, can you wait here till then?" Roxie indicated toward the loungers on the other side so Xiran could sit down.

"I will wait. Make sure she likes it," Xiran instructed and Roxie slightly bowed before guiding Aselia towards the changing rooms.

An assistant had brought the gown and they wanted to help Aselia to fit in it, but she wanted to try it on her own and refused their help.

Taking the beautiful gown she made her way to the changing room. Stripping from the former attire she put on the silver gown, which seemed to flow on her body and hug her in all the right places.

She stepped outside to show it to Roxie whose eyes flew open in amazement as she went and tied the belt behind Aselia and checked the fitting from every angle.

While Aselia thought it fitted perfectly, Roxie knew the gown needed fixing in several places.

"It looks gorgeous on you but I need to fix the fitting according to your size, I will get it done in a few hours, in case you want this one."

Aselia gazed at herself in the floor-length mirror that had been placed there and loved the look of the silver gown. It would compliment her newly dyed hair plus the man who was to accompany her.

"I would like to have this but first I want to show it to him," Aselia told Roxie.

"Sure, ma’am, please go ahead."

Aselia picked up the dress from both sides so she could walk with ease, thankfully the materials used were lightweight and she didn’t feel suffocated in it.

Reaching Xiran; who was busy on his phone while sitting with his infinite legs crossed one over the other, she twirled a bit and nervously questioned: "How does it look?"

He lifted his long eyelashes and peeked at her from head to toe as a smile tugged on the corner of his lips. The dress hugged her curves perfectly and he didn’t want to peel his eyes off her. He could sense she was anxious as she waited for his answer.

"It looks beautiful but only because you are wearing it," Aselia almost rolled her eyes. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

’Always the charmer,’ she mumbled in her head.

"Should I get this?" Aselia asked.

"If you love it, then yes. If you find it ok-ish, then we have plenty of options here," he said with a smile.

"I like it, it’s easy to wear and doesn’t itch for now," Aselia replied while looking down at the dress.

"Then go for it," Xiran then turned his focus to Roxie who stood beside Aselia and inquired:

"Will it be ready by tomorrow?"

"It will be, I will send it over by tomorrow morning along with matching heels, clutch and jewelry," Roxie added with a reassuring smile.

"Perfect, we will look forward to it then, and I will need a matching mask as well, make sure it’s specifically designed," Xiran instructed Roxie, who nodded before guiding Aselia back to the changing room.

Once changed Aselia handed over the dress to Roxie and made her way to where Xiran was sitting and slumped beside him. He peeked at her over his shoulder.

"This is exhilarating, do I really have to wear heels and jewelry as well? I don’t even know how to walk in heels," she looked at him with a tired expression.

"Just for tomorrow, but if you prefer I can always carry you. I don’t mind," he gave her a meaningful smile.

"No, thanks. I will prefer to wobble instead," she shook her head at him.

Meanwhile, Irlana had brought refreshments and asked them to eat but Xiran instructed her to pack the food, and he would take it along. Xiran didn’t want anyone to see her.

"Sure, Señor," Irlana added politely while hiding the disappointment in her voice. She wanted to see the girl under the mask.

Xiran and Aselia soon left the building in their car while Irlana sent the following text to someone.

[He was here with a girl and the way he held her and protected her identity with a mask, depicted he is close to her. I couldn’t get the girl’s name or see her face. He was very discreet about it. But he is bringing her to the Winter Gala tomorrow.]