chapter-33: Frantic Shopping
Aria Anastasia
��Oh, my God. I need to buy a dress. Oh, no, I also need compatible shoes. Zaiden, what am I going to do?�� I cried out.
I was going to meet Zaiden's family tomorrow, and I had no idea what I was going to wear. I wanted to strangle Zaiden for forgetting to inform me beforehand.
By now, the shopping malls and stores were already closed. I would need to choose a nice dress from my closet now.
I was tapping my foot out of anxiety when Zaiden pulled over the car near a shopping district although the lights of most shops were out. He came over to my side and opened the door.
I glared at him. ��Why are we getting down here?��
��Just come,�� he said and pulled me out of the car by my wrist. Once we were standing in front of a shop, he let out, ��Where is he?��
Soon enough, another car pulled over near us and Daniel came out. He gasped for breath as he approached us. ��I brought the keys,�� he breathed out.
��Great. Now, open it,�� Zaiden ordered.
��Do you know the shop manager was about to throw utensils at me for disturbing him so late at night?�� Daniel complained and started unlocking the store in front of us.
��I will give you a bonus,�� Zaiden simply said while I wondered what they were doing.
��Please make it double. I was in the middle of a date with Yana,�� Daniel added.
Zaiden rolled his eyes. ��Fine.��
Daniel finally opened the door and entered the shop to turn on the lights. Once the lights were on, I could see the name 'Storm' gleaming on the banner.
Zaiden brought me to our company's showroom.
A big grin formed on my face. I stood on my tiptoes and kissed his cheek, murmuring, ��You are the best.��
��I know.�� He winked at me playfully.
The two of us entered the showroom, hand in hand. I gasped at the beauty of the high-quality items there. I couldn't believe that it was the product of our hard work.
Daniel handed the keys to Zaiden and said, ��Put the dresses you like on the counter. I will pay for it with your credit card in the morning and bring it to Ma'am's place. Don't forget to lock the doors, Sir. I'm off now.��
��You want me to do all that?�� Zaiden let out and I suppressed a chuckle.
��Sir, Yana is waiting for me. Bye!�� With that, Daniel ran out.
Zaiden sighed and looked at the keys. There was no one else except us in the whole place, so someone else would need to pack the things we purchase in the morning.
��Don't worry. I will put the things on the counter. It's not like we will buy the entire shop.�� I let out a short chuckle. ��First, let's check out the dresses,�� I said and started looking around the big showroom.
All of the dresses, shoes, bags, and accessories were gorgeous and elegant��clearly the best of the best.
But the more I looked, the more anxious I got. Because I couldn't choose anything in particular. I loved almost everything.
��Zaiden, I can't choose anything!�� I cried out again.
��Just try anything. I'm sure you would look great even in a rag,�� he said.
��I'm not going to wear a rag to your family's get-together.��
��I was joking.��
��It's no time for a joke. It's a life or death situation,�� I exaggerated.
��How is it a life or death situation?�� He arched an eyebrow.
��What if your family doesn't like my fashion sense? Then, what if they decide to remove me from your life along with the company because they didn��t like my fashion sense?�� I gasped at the thought of it and started looking for a dress even more frantically.
��Trust me, they won't judge you based on your outfit.��
Zaiden's words were making no sense to me anymore. I was too perplexed about my outfit. I heard him exhale a breath. Then he shoved a dress in my hand.
��Go and wear it,�� he said calmly.
I looked at the white dress reluctantly then looked at him. Sighing, I went into the trial room and put on that dress that reached up to my knees.
��How is it?�� I asked after coming out.
��You look stunning,�� he said and handed me a bunch of dresses. I gaped at him in shock. ��Try them all. We are going to choose the best, after all,�� he shrugged.
Usually, I would be too busy or lazy to try on so many dresses, but this time, I was determined to look my best. That's why I tried on every dress that Zaiden gave me which was a lot.
In the end, he was even more confused than I was. I shot daggers in his way through my eyes.
��Not my fault. You look breathtaking in everything,�� he said with a confused pout and I glared at him harder.
He was about to put all those dresses on the counter but I stopped him. ��That's not where you are supposed to keep them. Put them somewhere or they will think we want to buy all these.��
��But we are buying them, aren't we?�� He furrowed his brows in confusion.
��No, there's no way I can afford all these expensive dresses,�� I pointed out.
��But I'm paying for it.��
I put my hand on my hip and said, ��No, you are not.��
��Why not? I want to.��
��You won't.��
��I will.��
��Why do you want to?��
��Because I love doing it for you. Please let me.��
I looked at his puppy eyes for a few seconds before averting my gaze. He was too cute and stubborn to reject. ��Okay. Just this once.�� Maybe one time wouldn't be that bad.
��Great! Let's buy everything then,�� he said and marched towards the shoe sections.
Nope, I was wrong. Even one time is bad.
��Oh, my gosh! Why did I agree just now? Am I stupid?�� I groaned and ran after him to stop him from going crazy with his shopping spree.
After many more trials, we finally decided on a simple yet elegant knee-length black dress which fitted my upper half perfectly and flowed towards the end.
We spent another half an hour choosing the perfect pair of shoes for it. We ended up arguing over two pairs of stilettos, even though they both looked pretty much the same.
By the time we were done, it was two in the morning.
After locking the showroom, once we were settled in the car, I couldn't help but let out, ��What took us that long?��
��A certain someone freaking out,�� Zaiden responded nonchalantly.
��Now, I am going to have dark circles.�� I sank in my seat due to being upset. I felt so stressed about the whole thing. At the same time, I couldn't wait to meet his family.
��Aria,�� he called out softly and I looked him in the eyes. He shifted closer to me and placed a hand on my cheek. ��I told you that there's nothing to worry about. Whatever you wear, you will look flawless in my eyes, and that's what should matter to you. And don't put too much into trying to impress my family, okay? I'm sure they will love you just the way you are, just like Dad and I liked you at first sight.��
He was right. Maybe I really was overreacting. But it's just that I didn't want his family to ever feel like Zaiden made the wrong choice by choosing me, even though they wouldn't voice it out.
I formed a smile on my face and said to him, ��Thanks. I hope I won't disappoint you.��
He smiled sweetly and replied, ��You will never disappoint me.��
All of a sudden, I was feeling confident as if everything would go perfectly. I hope it does go that way.
After all that, everything went by in a flash. Before I knew it, it was already the evening of that day and I was standing in front of the gigantic white and golden mansion that was owned by Kael.
Zaiden held my hand in his and flashed me an assuring smile. ��Shall we?��
I swallowed the lump in my throat and tucked a strand of my messy bun behind my ear. Forcing a smile on my face and clutching his hand tightly, I breathed out, ��Here goes nothing.��