Chapter 17: Lilith Out and About
After spending the whole night catching up, Jade and Riley decided to invite themselves to a sleepover.
They also took it upon themselves to ask my cousin to let me have the next day off in order to prepare for the event Alexander had invited me to.
"Do you really not know what the small gathering Alexander is taking you to is?" Riley asked, tilting her head to the side as I drove us to the mall.
Grandpa and Lex had offered to send a chauffeur to take us, but over the past three years, I've learned to be more independent.
I preferred to drive myself everywhere since my return, enjoying the control and freedom it allowed me.
"Nope," I shrugged as I parked the car.
"You've been gone too long," Jade chuckled as she hopped out of my car.
I couldn't help but sigh and shake my head.
They had asked me repeatedly if I knew what the gathering was and I had given them the same answer every single time, I really didn't know.
"Come on," Riley pulls me as I get out of the car. "If you have no idea what the event is then you really need our help. Where to first?"
"She needs a dress, we need to get her measured for one first," Jade said as she dragged me through the mall.
We walked through the mall relatively unnoticed. One of the conditions I set with my Grandfather and cousin was that all my bodyguards were to remain hidden, keeping their distance from us.
"There is this new designer, it was Alexander who helped facilitate her entry to the country, something about her husband and him being friends," Jade giggled as she pulled me into a minimalist storefront.
"We have an appointment with Madam Celia," Riley informed one of the attendants who quickly asked for our names and then led us to a VIP room.
"Celia!" Jade said as she greeted the designer, a petite woman who looked to be in her early twenties.
"Jade, Riley, always a treat to have you here," Celia said in a mellow tone as she smiled at my friends.
"Celia, this is the person Alexi wanted you to meet," Riley said as she pulled me forward.
I was relieved when I didn't trip over my own feet with the force she pulled me. For such a tiny person, Riley was quite strong.
Celia gasped as I gave her a crooked and awkward smile.
"You're his fiancée, the illusive Lilith Durfort!" Celia said, practically squealing as she walked over and offered me her hand. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you. I'm guessing you came for a dress."
"Nice to meet you as well, you will have to excuse me though, it's the first time I've learned about you." I prided myself in keeping tabs on what was happening with my old world and keeping myself updated on the latest trends in the market and not once did I come upon Celia's name.
"I'm the best-kept secret," she told me with a wink. "Now, I don't have the time to sew a dress for you, but I have a few that I can alter to fit you perfectly and one that I think will leave Alexi so stunned that he won't be able to utter another word."
"Alexander rarely speaks," I shrugged.
"To us, but not to you," Riley added, making everyone in the room laugh.
"Let's just get this over with," I grumbled as I let a smiling Celia pull me through another set of doors.
She made me fit ten different dresses, each more luxurious than the next but, none of them exactly felt right, it was only when she took out an eleventh one that I managed to find the perfect dress.
"Perfect dress to re-introduce yourself," Celia said, grinning from behind me as I slowly turned around, watching how the dress accentuated my every curve, highlighting my features.
"It's perfect," I said.
"Let's show the girls then I can make some minor alterations and send it over to Durfort Manor," Celia said as she led me out of the dressing room.
As expected, Riley and Jade fell in love with the dress just as I had.
I tried to pay for it with Alexander's card, but Celia refused to accept it.
"My husband and I owe your fiancée a favor, and I like you, so this one is on the house," she said with a wink as she pushed us out of her store telling us that we would hang out another time when she was less busy.
"Where to now?" I asked feeling a little bit happier with an extra spring in my step as we walked through the mall.
It had been years since I last got the chance to shop without caring about price tags or how Jason would criticize me for spending so much money. I couldn't help but revel in this restored freedom.
"Shoes, bag, accessories, then jewelry," Riley said as we made our way through the row of high-end shops.
No expense was spared as we tried to get Alexander's card denied, but it seemed that this one was a bottomless pit.
I even asked Riley and Jade to charge their purchases to the card.
As we neared the end of the shopping trip they quickly steered me toward a jewelry shop.
"This is the Harris family's jeweler," I pointed out, hesitant to go in.
"And you are Alexander Harris' fiancée, you're supposed to shop there especially using my cousin's card," Riley pointed out.
"I don't know," I said hesitantly as I tried to find an excuse not to go to that particular shop. "I feel like I'm cheating on the Durfort jeweler."
It was a stupid excuse, probably one of the dumbest I've ever thought of, but I had no other option.
"You just don't want to risk running into Alexi," Riley scoffed. "My cousin never shops for his own things, I'm pretty sure his assistant Taylor does all his shopping."
"Now that one has an eye for fashion, I should ask Taylor to join us next time," Jade added.
I felt my heart clench at the mention of Alexander's assistant.
Wait, was his assistant male or female? And why did it even matter?
I couldn't be—
Could I?
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone