Earn My Trust

Chapter 24 - Sewn in Love

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Sewn in Love was the most expensive looking bridal and evening wear dress shop that Hannah had ever walked into.
The whole shop was a brilliant, crisp white from the walls to the lush carpet, as well as the huge U-shaped, modern sofa. The ceiling was adorned with extravagant diamond chandeliers, which cast tiny slithers of rainbows over the whole room, giving little glimpses of colour and making the place all the more magical! In the corner, beneath the biggest of the diamond chandeliers, was a slightly raised circular platform surrounded by a semi circle of mirrors, each with their own spotlight over the top.
The dresses were located down a narrow corridor that had framed pictures of celebrity brides lining the walls. All of them had chosen their bridal gowns from the shop, and they were proudly displaying it.
As soon as they entered, a young girl, barely in her twenties, approached in an all black suit.
"Good afternoon, sir. Madam." She smiled kindly as they walked to the centre of the room.
Hannah was bowled over by how clean it all looked. It made her feel extremely guilty for wearing her dirty shoes on the white carpet.
Ethan, however, began to feel sick. Dejavu was hitting him hard and it wasn't a good thing.
"Afternoon." He curtly greeted the girl. "We have an appointment booked."
The girl nodded, keeping her warm smile in place. Hannah found herself growing to like her, and they hadn't even done anything yet.
"Yes, I took your booking, sir. A charity gala gown in preparation for Thursday. Hopefully, we will find the perfect gown that doesn't require any alterations, madam." Her smile grew as she addressed Hannah.
Hannah smiled widely back. "That would be great, thank you."
"You have made the appointment for four people, though. Are we expecting more to arrive?"
"Ah, yes. We're a little earlier than expected." Ethan winced, looking uncomfortable. "We have two more coming."
"Not a problem. We can get started on what you're expecting while we wait." She gestured to the large sofa for Hannah and Ethan to sit down, which they did. "Would you like anything to drink? Champagne? Tea or coffee?"
"Coffee, please." Hannah requested politely.
"Tea, please." He said emotionlessly, picking up a magazine to flick through in a desperate need for distraction.
The young lady whisked away and left the couple alone in the vast room.
"She is lovely." Hannah whispered at him, smiling excitedly as she took another look around. When he didn't respond to her, she tried looking at the magazine he was looking at. "What are you doing?"
"Seeing what dresses have been used recently." He replied in a monotonous voice.
"Why?"
"You don't want to be seen wearing the same dress as someone else."
She frowned at his change in demeanour but took his word for it. He knew more about this than she did.
The girl returned with their beverages just as Lisa arrived.
"Oh my god, this place is amazing!" Lisa exclaimed, looking around in awe. "Don't look at the price tags, Hannah."
Hannah laughed and was about to reply when Una walked in, almost bumping into Lisa, who was still spellbound by the shop.
"Oops, sorry." Una winced.
"Ohhhh myyyy..." Lisa was now shamefully gawking at the popstar.
"Una. I'm glad you could make it." Ethan said in the same distant tone, getting up and going to greet her.
"And miss my little catwalk model getting her first dress? Not likely!" Una giggled, kissing both his cheeks and turning to Hannah. "You have no idea how grateful I am! My clothes have started to sell!"
Lisa, who had crash-landed back into the room once she remembered her manners, grinned at her friends.
"I can't wait for this! Shall I get mum and dad on the phone?"
"Yeah, let's get started." Ethan agreed, turning back to the magazines and picking one up, still not sharing in the girls' excitement. "Una, what was the colour scheme this year?"
"Pastel colours." Una replied, moving to the side of him and looking with him. "I've gone for lavender. For Hannah, I'd suggest a pale blue? Or maybe a pink?"
"I was imagining a red dress." Lisa commented, standing next to Hannah.
"So was I." Her friend agreed, giggling.
"Oh no, hun." Una looked around Ethan and stared at the college friends. "Red is not a colour anyone should wear to a charity gala. It's seen as scandalous."
Hannah and Lisa winced at their lack of knowledge for these kind of things.
"Sorry." Lisa murmured.
"It's OK, you didn't know." Una reassured her, coming closer to them. "You'll learn these things as you go along, right, Ethan?"
She looked back at the billionaire, but Ethan had a sour look on his face.
The resurfacing bad memories felt like they were suffocating him, and he just wanted to get out of there. Now!
"Yeah... listen... I'm going to leave you girls to it, ok?" He said distantly, chucking the magazine back on the sofa.
"Ethan?" Hannah asked, worried.
"Sorry, baby. I... I can't..."
He quickly flashed a stretched, very fake smile and moved to make his leave.
The girls stood in stumped silence, all bewildered at his sudden change of mind.
Hannah, however, knew exactly what he was thinking. She recognised the pained expression he got whenever Bianca was mentioned and correctly guessed what was running through his head right now.
He got outside and breathed a heavy sigh, finally feeling like he could breathe!
Being back in that shop reminded him of the last time he'd been there, and he was feeling sick as his mind forced him to relive that moment.
Bianca had been wanting his approval on the dress she'd chosen for their wedding, a beautiful ball gown with a huge statement bow at the base of her spine. Every single millimetre of the dress had been coated with pearlescent beads, from the bottom hem of the wide, tulle heavy skirt to the cuffs of the lace sleeves. The veil she'd chosen had the same tiny beads along the bottom of the long chain headdress, with a sparkling diamond tiara to ensure it was held in place.
The dress had been about to set him back two hundred and fifty thousand, the veil had been six thousand, and the damn sandals she'd wanted to wear with it costing five thousand just on their own!
It had been her entire attitude during the appointment. What was supposed to be an intimate moment where the groom got a glimpse of the bride in her dress before the big day had been spoiled when the bride decided to throw a tantrum because the bow wasn't as big as she'd wanted.
To Ethan, the bow was a ridiculous, unnecessary addition to an otherwise beautiful dress. It was so huge that it took up most of her back and stuck out at the sides. Bianca had seen it as a fairytale detail she adored. He had seen it as helicopter blades ready to take off.
When the store clerk and personal designer had tried to advise against making it bigger, due to how much it was already getting in the way with her walking and balance, she had screeched at them, threatening that Ethan would take them to court and sue them for not giving her creative freedom when it came to her wedding dress.
When he sided with the shop and tried to reason with her that, at the end of the day, they knew best when it came to designer wedding dresses, she had completely broken down. Collapsing in the dress and looking like she'd sunk into a pit of quick sand.
She told him he was always trying to suffocate her dreams, stopping her from achieving her ultimate goals and humiliating him in front of the assistants.
His face scrunched up as the pure hatred and regret threatened to break him down, walking aimlessly down a quiet side road in an attempt to avoid anyone.
"Ethan, wait!"
He carried on walking, ignoring Hannah's calls in favour of some time alone. He closed his eyes and tried to calm himself, taking deep breaths through gritted teeth. His heart was booming hard in his chest, so much it felt like it would break through his ribcage.
Hannah caught up and quickly swerved herself in his tracks to stop him, her hands cupping his cheeks and her eyes filled with worry for the man she loved.
She saw his tormented expression, the way he had his eyes closed in a vain attempt to hide it from her but failing.
"Ethan..." she breathed, stroking his cheeks with her thumbs to try and ease him into speaking to her. "Talk to me, baby. I'm here."
He shook his head. "I should have chosen a different store." Was all he could say, not wanting to share his last experience there so he didn't ruin it for her.
She shook her head. "It's not the store that's the problem." She whispered knowingly. "It's the last memory of there."
She pulled him closer to her, looping her arms around his neck and holding him close.
"I won't ask what happened. It was a long time ago and will be forgotten about one day." She continued, her lips caressing his cheek as she whispered into his ear. "But I don't want to choose a dress for the Gala without you there with me."
His face scrunched up more. "I can't..."
It was too painful, too humiliating, and it still felt so fresh, like it had only been months, not years ago.
"Don't you want to try replacing that memory with a new one? One that will be special for us?" She coaxed gently. "We can make this so memorable together that the one that's torturing you will be thrown out completely." She pulled back and looked at him, glad he had finally opened his eyes so he could see how sincere she was being. "Let's make it our place, not hers."
Seeing her eyes filled with determination to help rid him of the haunting past experiences encouraged him.
He fought with himself as he tried to push the sour memories out of his mind so he could focus.
She was right, after all.
Bianca had tainted so many happy places for him that he'd spent the years avoiding.
Hannah, however, deserved to be in those places. He yearned to take her to those places. They were the kind of places she would appreciate and enjoy, as long as she didn't look at the prices. She had earned her right to be in them!
"Ok..." he whispered, reeling in his emotions and bracing himself to face this head on. "I'm sorry, it's just -"
"Don't apologise." She soothed, smiling at him. "It's us now, not her. Not Jake. Just us."
He nodded and took her hand, pulling his lips up to reflect the same loving smile back at her.
"If anything, you deserve this." He told her, pecking her on the cheek and leading the way back.