Episode 16: A Cream Coloured Dress For Lily

After a while, the group of girls walked away with obvious frustration in their face. They eyed Lily with distaste, yearning to be sitting in her place instead. Alex turned slightly towards them as they walked away. He looked very stern, somewhat annoyed. Lily watched all this, slowly piecing out the puzzle. So that was the reason for the jacket, she thought.

When the girls were no longer in sight, Alex moved his gaze towards Lily. She was sure that he was going to remove his jacket from her now. But to her greatest surprise, he didn’t. He slowly walked to her side and took the space beside her on the bench. Lily patiently waited for his next reaction, trying hard to avoid eye contact with him. He shifted his eyes slowly, scanning the cheerful view surrounding the square.

“I don’t think this is a great place for fresh air.” He uttered. Lily kind of shuddered, not really expecting that kind of reaction, but quite thankful as well. At least he acted normal despite the fact that they didn’t seem like sworn enemies now.

“Who cares?” she replied bitterly. “Nowhere is a great place for fresh air whenever you’re around.”

Alex smiled wryly to her words. He knew it would be no use trying to tell this girl the opposite direction. All this while, she had been disagreeing with him and telling him off all the time. She would probably die rather than be in terms with him.

“The party starts at 6 o’clock in the evening tomorrow. I’ll send you a dress I rented, so I guess it wouldn’t bug you that much. And I’ll pick you up half an hour before 6. Make sure you are ready on time.” He said bluntly, his voice sounding straight and toneless.

Lily stared into the brick pavement of the square, not knowing what else to say. The more she thought about it, the more it felt like she was being sealed with a death contract. She let her mind wander freely; trying to assure herself that everything was going to be just fine. Just one month, she thought - one dreadful month. Just because of a mere scratch on his sports car, she has to pay with a whole months spent as his fake girlfriend. Lily felt the dark clouds settling on top of her head again.

“I think we should return to the concert.” Alex said finally when he was sure that Lily wasn’t going to say anything else. He stood up with poise, undoing the wrinkles on his black long-sleeved t-shirt, and glanced towards Lily. The girl stood up slowly, her face looking very sour and unhappy. Without a word, they both walked back towards Alex’s car, and they were soon headed back to the concert grounds.

Daisy slept soundly in the back seat on the way home from the concert. She seemed very excited when they arrived. No wonder, she must have been shouting and cheering and singing-along with all her might. She even made Lily sit at the passenger seat in front just because she wanted the back seat all for herself.

So there was more silence in the car later that night. Lily gazed outside through the dark tinted window of the car all along the way, letting her mind wander off again. Even though she didn’t take part in all the fun at the concert, she was tired as hell.

They arrived by the doorstep of Lily and Daisy’s place at about 11 o’clock in the evening. Daisy didn’t forget to give a weary thank you to Alex before he left. By then, she didn’t even manage to notice that her sister was still wearing Alex's jacket. Lily stood there, still as a pole, not even looking towards him as the car sped away across the darkness. The sisters entered the entrance of the apartment with haste, yearning for a bath and a comfortable bed to rest their tired souls. When Lily entered her room to change her clothes, only then did she notice that she had forgot all about the jacket.

"Oh, damn it!" Lily mumbled to herself. She threw the jacket onto her bed and stared at it with mixed feelings.

*

A parcel wrapped in brown paper arrived in front of her doorstep the next morning. Lily opened the parcel anxiously, even though she was sure it was the dress Alex said he rented for her last night. And true enough, it was. A beautiful cream-coloured evening dress, laced around the chest part with fine embroidery, was folded neatly inside the box. Lily admired it with awe, holding it above her head to get a better look of the whole dress in front of her. It was too pretty for her – too much to be worn by a lowly girl like her.

“Oh my gosh, that’s such a pretty dress!”

Daisy’s voice clearly entered her ears from behind. Lily quickly lowered her arms and turned her head around. Her sister rushed by her side and gazed admiringly towards the dress, her mouth forming an O showing how surprised she was.

“Is this from Alex? It’s so beautiful. Oh, you’re lucky to have a rich guy as your boyfriend!” She said, pressing the dress against Lily. Lily felt uncomfortable, worrying Mother might hear them. She had been thinking about what Mother might say once she knew that her daughter was dating the son of a businessman, the heir of a billion-dollar corporation. She never discussed matters of this sort to her mother ever before. As a matter of fact, she had never been serious about it after seeing what her father did to them, and how he had treated their mother. The thought just never crossed her mind, nevertheless to be discussing about it with Mother. But then there was Danial. Lily sighed to her own sorrowful thought. Danial was just something that happened beyond her realization, she kept telling herself. Just another chapter in her life that came and went, she thought.

“It’s beautiful, I know. But it’s not mine. This is rented for tonight.” Lily replied.

“Where are you going tonight? Let me guess, he’s taking you for dinner somewhere exclusive, isn’t he?” Daisy asked excitedly.

“No!” Lily shook her head vigorously. “I’m just accompanying him to his friend’s party. I don’t know how to tell this to Mother.”

“WOW! That’s very sweet.” Daisy giggled. “I’m sure Mother will be glad. I can tell her for you if you’d like?”

“No! Please, no. I’ll tell her myself.”

But even though she said that, deep inside, Lily felt like her stomach was churning with nervousness. Even if Daisy was the one to tell Mother, sooner or later she would have to confront Mother herself. What worried her most was the fact that this was a fake relationship that she was going through.

*

To Be Continued...