Chapter 169: Prepping The Masterpiece [II]
I felt like I had been in here for hours which technically isn’t a lie. Every gown felt like it was trying to mold me into someone I wasn’t, and Ruth was the strictest designer imaginable, deconstructing each piece with surgical precision. But there was something oddly comforting about the process.
As the last gown—a dramatic sapphire blue that shimmered like the night sky—was brought in, I caught a glimpse of Adrien in the mirror. His eyes were locked on me, not in the usual way. No, this was different. There was something... raw. Hungry. Almost like I was a meal he couldn’t wait to devour.
Wait. Did he just look at me like that?
Why does it suddenly feel like I’m the one being sized up? Is it hot in here, or is it just me? I could swear I just saw him shift from strawberry to bitter kola. Is that even a thing?
I mentally shook my head. Focus, Isabella. Focus. I tried to breathe normally, but my heart was thudding like someone had cranked up the volume to an uncomfortable level.
And then, without breaking his stare, he said it: "You look like something out of a dream."
It wasn’t just the compliment. It was the way he said it. Like he was seeing me for the first time in a way that made everything else fade into the background.
Ruth, seemingly unaffected by the look in Adrien’s eyes, dismissed the gown with a flick of her wrist. "Not enough mystery," she muttered. "We’re almost there, but not quite."
The room buzzed with restless energy as the last dress was wheeled in—a black dress, simple yet undeniably striking. Ruth’s eyes lit up as she saw it.
"Now we’re talking," she purred, as if we had finally reached the apex of her vision. She gestured for me to try it on, and I moved behind the screen once more, hands trembling with a nervous excitement I couldn’t entirely hide.
I didn’t know a room could fall quiet that fast the momnt I stepped out from behind the screen in the final gown, it felt like all the air had been sucked out of the suite. Ruth stared. Marco covered his mouth. Julian actually teared up.
I couldn’t blame them.