Cinderluca (Cinderella but make it Edluca Brainrot)

Chapter 3: Nair's Lair

When they arrived at the boutique, Luca was greeted by a familiar silhouette He couldn't quite recognize her until she lifted her black veil and looked at him in awe. 

"Oh my, are my eyes deceiving me, darling?"

"Not at all. It's really me, Luca Balsa in the flesh. It's been a while, hasn't it?" Luca gave her a lopsided grin as she sat him down in one of the velvety seats in the lobby. Luca took notice of the changes in her shop - both about Vera and the place itself.

Vera was just the same as Luca had remembered. She was as graceful as ever and adorned her short, brown locks with a mesh black veil and purple flowers. She still seemed to wear the same white gown albeit covered in faint splashes of perfume. The white was a nice contrast to the purple floral pattern that danced around the gown's tiered hems and black ruffles. He could recognize the aroma of roses emanating off her as she moved around (roses were always a personal favorite of Vera's from what he could remember).  

Her fashion sense seemed to be the same but her demeanor was different. He remembered Vera being a rather lonesome person - she was always lost in her thoughts and spent all her time working on Euphoria. She was now much more radiant and seemed to have a smile on her face compared to the glum look she had previously. It was refreshing and Luca was happy for her although he was curious about what caused the change in the first place.

As for the shop, it was much more extravagant than before and seemed to be bustling with customers. There were more employees attending to their needs and Vera had opened a new tailoring department. Combined with her perfumes and beautiful designs, the shop was an indisputable success. Luca was proud of her, to say the least.

"A lot seems to have changed in two years. I'm happy for you, Vera! We'll have to catch up sometime. At the moment I've got my hands full..."

"Don't tell me you got into trouble again, Lu." She knitted her eyebrows together in concern and Luca felt a tinge of guilt for what he was about to tell her. He viewed Vera as a mother figure and much like Tracy, she was also there for him during his times of need. He didn't know how he could tell her their plan without her spiraling into a worried mess. 

"I didn't get into trouble but I'm about to." He sighed as she glared at him and placed a hand on her hip. He jolted and decided to rephrase his previous sentence. "N-not legal trouble, of course! Just something that I may or may not regret..."

"And that is?"

"Welllll...."

"I'll handle this."

Tracy shoved Luca as she took up the majority of the space on the seat. Luca was sitting dangerously on the edge of the seat and listened as Tracy began to enthusiastically retell Luca's trials and tribulations to Vera and their ultimate plan. Vera seemed speechless at the end of it all and simply looked like a goldfish with her mouth agape. Luca found it quite funny but wasn't ready to say that to her face, especially when he knew her temper. She turned to Luca and huffed angrily before grabbing his ear. He yelped as she dragged him to the backroom with Tracy following in close pursuit. He knew he was in for a lecture and he was not ready for it. Did she really have to grab his ear, though?! It hurt a lot. He was sobbing internally as he felt his impending doom approaching him.

- - -

Vera slammed the door shut as she ushered her companions into the backroom. Tracy was giggling as she watched Luca rub his ear, whimpering a bit as he realized how numb it felt. Vera apologized profusely before crossing her arms and returning to the topic at hand.

"So you're telling me you plan to sneak Luca in there despite the legal ramifications the two of you could face? He doesn't have an invite! They are sure to ask him. Even if you bring him as a guest, they'll still ask!"