Page 30 of Velvet Chains

“I didn't want to say anything until it got serious, but the tabloids got the better of us.” I parroted the lie that Vincenzo and I had agreed on and she nodded.

“So,” she started as she looped her hand through mine and pulled me into walking down the street. “This is a good street. When you said we should go shopping, I was thinking something along the lines of a regular mall.” She continued, and I laughed uncomfortably. She was right, regular malls were my style, but I didn't get to choose today.

“Vincenzo insisted on this place, and I was curious.” I finally managed to say.

We stepped into the first store and I was immediately stunned by how exquisite it was. It was decorated with lush vibrant colors that made me feel more energetic just by looking at them. The clothes hung on the mannequins were all beautiful, from a pretty little black dress, to a purple halter dress with cut outs on the side. As I looked around, Sarah did the same. She seemed like a bundle of energy as she went from one side of the store to the other.

“They have some really good stuff here. Oh, that's pretty. You have to try it out!” Her voice went from excited to over the moon as she turned over the price tag and we were greeted with a five-figure sum.

We shared a look. I wanted to tell her I didn’t feel comfortable wearing a dress that nearly costed my yearly salary. But I was annoyed to see that she wasn't as concerned as I was. Every time I managed to forget just how rich she was, something like this would remind me.

“Yes, sure…” I said shakily, and at the thought of possibly damaging it, I immediately stopped touching the dress.

Although we had tried to keep our voices down, the store was quiet enough that a nearby saleswoman heard us.

She turned to sneer at us as she gave us a once over. Her eyes looked like searchlights, lingering on my casual sandals and summer dress. She didn't have to say a word, her disdain was strong enough to be felt from just her look. I could tell she thought I was in the wrong place and couldn't afford the clothes here.

I felt my face grow warm and one glance at Sarah showed that she felt the same.

"What's your problem?" Sarah confronted the woman. The woman looked mildly amused by that, but she got over it fast.

"It's not a problem, I just think you and your assistant would be more comfortable in a store with more… American styles." The condescension practically dropped off her tone. I felt myself grow angrier as I realized that she thought I was Sarah's assistant. That did it for me, enough was enough.

“Let's go. I’m not going to spend money to have someone give me nasty looks.” I said in a loud voice before I took Sarah's hand and pulled her out of there.

“Why are we leaving? I thought you liked the dress,” she asked, a bit out of breath.

“I didn't like it that much and I hated the way she looked at us. There are so many stores around, I'm sure we can find one that doesn't have mean saleswomen.” I responded, still annoyed about what happened back there.

We visited other shops, and although I found some gorgeous clothes there, I didn't find anything that really appealed to me.

It wasn't until I entered a little store wedged in between two bigger stores that I finally found some dresses I liked.

It almost seemed like we had stepped into a fairyland. There was soft classical music playing in the background and there were clothes all around us.

The mannequins had several different styles on, from summer dresses to evening gowns. Everything looked stunning.

The first thing that caught my eye was a silk dress, it was champagne color and looked like it would fit me just perfectly. The dress felt soft to the touch, and once I put it on, it outlined my body in a deliciously sultry way. However, it was completely backless, with the back of the dress only beginning close to my butt.

I turned around to show Sarah and she giggled.

“I can practically see your butt crack. It's a pretty dress, but are you sure?” She asked, and I shook my head.

The hunt of dresses continued with Sarah bringing me an emerald dress. The fabric felt silky smooth to the touch, and the dress was a deep shade of green and had thin shoulder straps. It had a slit at the side and it looked beautiful.

“This one is gorgeous! Try it on, you'll look like a queen in this.” Sarah insisted and I went along with it.

She was right, the dress looked stunning. Once I took it to the dressing room, I hung it on the door so I could unzip it without wrinkling the fabric. The fabric felt soft against my skin and the dress fit me like a glove. However, as I stood in front of the store mirrors, I couldn't help but feel like something was missing. The dress made my pale skin look even paler, and something about it just didn't click for me.

“Can we put this in reserve? Just in case I don't find anything better?” I asked Sarah.

“Of course, there are so many dresses here. I’m sure you'll find one you like more than this.” With that, she left me in the changing room and went back to going through the clothes.

We continued picking out dresses and trying them on. Sarah also tried on some htings, we helped each other with the zippers and chatted with the soft classical music and complimentary champagne helping the time just fly past.

Speaking with Sarah helped distract me but it also made me thing about another dilemma that I had been avoiding. I hadn’t wanted to think about it before, but I had to make a decision about Mark.

I think Sarah noticed because I caught her giving me an inquiring look.

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