6

LEXI'S POV

"Hey, you haven't told me what happened yesterday! Give me an update!" Savina asked excitedly.

As usual, she visited me at my office since it was already five in the afternoon. I had been avoiding her all day because I wasn't in the mood to share yet. I was sure she'd go after James if I told her, and I wasn’t ready to talk about it yet.

"Let’s talk about it tomorrow, Sav. Okay?" I asked her. I tried to sound cheerful, hoping she wouldn’t notice that I was feeling down. I’d rather like she thought everything was fine with James so she wouldn’t press me further.

"That’s unfair! We agreed you'd tell me everything. And don’t smile, Lexi. I know you too well," she said sternly.

I sighed. No matter how much I tried to pretend, I couldn’t hide the truth from my best friend.

"Sorry. I’m just not ready to talk yet," I admitted.

Savina gave a small smile. "I know. But when you’re ready, just text or call me, okay? Right now, I’m already furious with James. As for him, we're not friends anymore," she said, which made me smile a little.

Just then, my office phone rang, and Savina lightly tapped me on the shoulder.

"Okay, I’ll go ahead. Just call me, alright?"

I nodded as she walked away. I then turned my attention to the phone and answered it immediately.

"Hello, This is the Finance Department. How may I help you?"

"Ma’am Lexi, someone’s here to see you downstairs. She said she is your sister," the security guard said.

I rolled my eyes. "Okay, thanks. I’ll head down now."

It was the first time Shiela had come to visit me at work. I had been avoiding them last night and this morning. I made sure to come home last night after everyone was asleep, and I left early this morning at six, so I wouldn’t run into Shiela. But unfortunately, she was downstairs. I didn’t want to face her or talk to her, but I didn’t want to cause a scene either.

I quickly gathered my things and went downstairs. When I got to the lobby, I saw her sitting there patiently waiting for me. I shook my head and walked toward her.

When she saw me, she stood up and raised an eyebrow.

"You didn’t answer James last night. You just left him and made him pay for food he couldn’t even eat," she said sharply.

I smiled. "Your dog’s a fast tattletale, huh?"

Shiela looked surprised by my response. This was the first time I had raised my voice to her. For years, I had just let her insult me, but I had never answered back. I preferred to stay quiet because I didn’t want to escalate things.

"And now you’re answering back? Feeling brave?" she said, grinning.

"You don’t really care about me, do you? So why don’t you go comfort your FRIEND instead?" I snapped.

"Comfort? He doesn’t need that because he wasn’t hurt by what you did," she said proudly.

Her words felt like a needle piercing my chest. She was right. James probably wasn’t hurt at all. In fact, the situation probably worked out better for him—he didn’t have to pretend to love me anymore.

"Looks like you’re the one who needs comforting. You still haven’t learned, have you? I told you, you'd never be happy because you’re a huge mistake," she said coldly.

I didn’t respond further. I just stared at her without emotion. I wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of seeing me cry.

"I’m just here to warn you. Don’t you ever tell this to Papa. Whatever you say, I can always turn things around. In the end, you’ll be the one looking bad. So just stay quiet," she said with a sneer before walking out of the building.

As soon as she was gone, the tears I had been holding back began to fall. I wanted to tell Papa everything, just to feel like I still had parents. But Shiela was right. No matter what I said, I knew he would side with her and her mother. He never listened to me.

I quickly wiped my tears when my phone rang. I frowned when I saw an unknown number. Though hesitant, I answered the call.

"Lexi!"

I immediately pulled the phone away from my ear because of Chelsea’s loud voice. I knew it was her because of the many stories she had shared with me last night.

"Chelsea," I said, my voice soft.

"Where are you? I’ll pick you up," she said energetically.

"Wait, why?" I asked, confused.

"I’m going to fix you up because tonight is your date with my brother."

"W-What? Tonight? Your brother agreed so quickly?" I asked in disbelief.

I had agreed to go on a date with her brother, thinking he wouldn’t actually agree, but now it seemed he was okay with it. I mean, what guy would agree to his sister’s request to set up a date with someone they barely knew?

"Wait, I’m outside your building. But it’s already past 5 PM. Have you gone home yet?" she asked seriously.

I pressed my forehead in frustration. "I’m still here. Hold on, I’ll be right down."

I walked out of the building and saw Chelsea standing across the street. I quickly walked over to her.

"Have you been waiting too long?" I asked.

"Not really. I just got here," she smiled and answered.

"Wait, how did you get here? Did you take a taxi?" I asked.

She had a car last night, so I knew she had a driver, but I didn’t see her car parked anywhere.

"I had my brother drop me off. But he left right away. I told him you’d meet later at the restaurant."

I hesitated but held her hand and led her to the parking lot. Once we were in my car, I spoke up.

"Look, Chelsea. I really thought you were just joking, and I didn’t expect your brother to agree. So this is a bit of a shock," I said calmly.

"Don’t worry, Lexi. I’ll take care of everything. Let’s go to the mall," she said, smiling.

I sighed. "Okay, Chelsea. I’m giving you this one time because you asked. But just this once, okay? You know my heart is still broken, and I’m not ready for any kind of relationship, alright?"

"Okay!"

I nodded, still feeling uneasy. Even though Chelsea agreed with what I said, I couldn’t shake the feeling of nervousness.

When we got to the mall, she immediately pulled me into a dress shop. I hesitated because the prices there weren’t cheap.

Chelsea quickly picked out dresses without even looking at the price tags. A sales clerk followed us around, holding the dresses Chelsea picked out.

"Chelsea," I called her attention.

"Try this on, Lexi. Let’s see which one looks good on you," she said.

I turned to face her, looking straight into her eyes. She paused for a moment, a bit startled.

"Chelsea, I have dresses at home. I’ll just go home and let you know where we’ll meet your brother," I said seriously.

She immediately shook her head. "Lexi, I’m the one planning this date. Let me take care of getting you ready. Please, let me do this. This is my way of thanking you for helping me last night."

I sighed. Why was it so hard to say no to Chelsea? I had no choice but to try on the dresses she picked.

After several changes, Chelsea still hadn’t chosen one. We had been there for half an hour, and I was already starting to feel embarrassed in front of the sales clerk, but she didn’t seem to mind. In fact, she looked like she was used to Chelsea shopping here.

"Alright! We’ll buy this one, Miss," Chelsea said happily when she saw me in one of the dresses.

It was a simple body-fitting light pink dress, just above the knee, with half sleeves.

"Perfect, Ma’am. It also comes with a pair of heel-toe sandals. What size do you need?" the sales clerk asked, smiling.

"Size 8," I replied.

Chelsea paid for the dress and sandals, then took me to a salon. I didn’t protest because I knew I couldn’t say no. I would just go along with what she wanted. I was sure this would be the last time she’d ask for something like that.

"Lexi, do you want to try contact lenses?" Chelsea asked.

I wore glasses because my eyes were still a bit swollen from crying earlier that morning. I preferred to wear glasses so no one would notice my puffy eyes.

"I’d rather keep my glasses on," I said softly.

Chelsea smiled at me. "I like that too, Lexi."

After half an hour, I was done with my makeover at the salon. They just did light makeup. I didn’t want them to fix my hair, so I kept it loose. When I was done, I got dressed and showed Chelsea my appearance.

"Oh my god, Lexi! You look so beautiful!" she exclaimed.

"Stop flattering me," I replied playfully.

Chelsea immediately shook her head.

"I wouldn’t be surprised if my brother proposed to you right away, Lexi Ann."