"Ready," I declared, walking out of my room. I was wearing a cream-coloured dress that reached a little below my knees.
Aaron was already waiting for me. Dressed in a white t-shirt, denim jeans and a casual sky blue coat, he looked as handsome as ever. He watched me intently as I went and stood in front of him.
"What?" I asked when he didn't say anything and just kept staring at me with a frown on his perfect face.
"You know, it should be a crime for someone to look that beautiful," he pulled me towards him with my hand and wrapped his arms around me.
"That is so cheesy, Aaron. Never expected something like that from you," I made a fake hurt look. He simply shrugged. I could not hold back my laugh any longer.
He was about to say something but I took his hand and pulled him along. At least I tried to. Even with all my strength, I was unable to make him move even an inch.
I looked at his face after my little struggle to find him grinning at me, amused by the act. I dropped his hand with a jerk and started to move away. He followed, still chuckling about it.
"You're adorable, Caroline," he said, falling in step beside me.
Our suite was on the top floor. Since it was the only suite on the entire floor, I deduced it must be the presidential suite.
The hotel lobby was beautiful, eye-catching and luxurious in every sense. As we walked towards the exit, a butler came forward to hand Aaron a bunch of keys and speak to him about something in Italian.
Aaron took the keys and my hand as we moved out of the hotel. A shiny white sports car, reflecting the warm rays of the sun, was waiting for us at the entrance. I shook my head at the ridiculousness of what I was witnessing. Aaron definitely knew how to travel in style.
"You never settle for anything but the best, huh?" I nudged his arm as he opened the door of the car for me to get in.
"Never," he pulled me to him by my waist and kissed my earlobe, making me turn red.
We both sat inside and he drove through the beautiful streets of Milan, while I looked around in awe of the gorgeous structures and buildings, the cool breeze fanning my face as he pulled the sunroof away.
I didn't know where he was taking me, and I didn't even bother to ask him about it. Wherever we go it doesn't matter, as long as he was with me. This was my first trip, so far away from my home and I was glad it was with Aaron. Around him, I felt more at home.
I looked to my right, at the man who had changed my life. Whether he knew it or not, he had changed my life and made it worth living. There was a time when I feared I was going to be stuck with my father all my life. I had thought that I was going to go through the same things that my mother went through. I used to think happiness was not for me. I remember Nadia's words where she had told me—assured me—that it was going to be better with him. I was going to have my share of happiness. She had always said that my share of happiness was stacked away somewhere and that someday I was going to find it and never look back at the pain in the past. I smiled looking over to my side. Indeed. I did find it. It also had a name: Aaron Woodwords.
"Caroline," Aaron called my name in a sing-song way, making me come out of my thoughts.
I hummed in response then realized that he had stopped driving. He got out of the car and I followed him out.
He had stopped outside an elegant boutique and he took my hand to take me inside.
Two women and a man came forward as soon as we went in. They welcomed us with cheerful smiles and pleasant greetings. Since I didn't know Italian, I had no idea what they were talking about, but they were smiling when they spoke so I did the same.
"Come posso aiutarti a Signore? (How may I help you, sir)," the man said to Aaron.
"Mostra alcuni dei migliori vestiti per la signora qui (show me some of the finest dresses for the lady here)," Aaron replied. He was speaking in fluent Italian, while I stood there dumbly, not able to understand even a word.
The man nodded to whatever Aaron said. Then a woman standing behind him came towards me, watching me intently from head to toe. I frowned and looked over at Aaron, confused.
"Sono Liliac. Hai un corpo meraviglioso, renderai giustizia ai miei vestiti. Seguimi," she said, then turned around and walked away.
I looked up at Aaron, maintaining confusion on my face. He finally translated it for me. "Her name is Liliac and she said you're beautiful and will do good justice to her dresses. Now go with her for the trials," he said with a wink.
"You brought me here for shopping?" I frowned. When he had said he was going to show me the city, I was not expecting that he was going to take me to a boutique with gorgeous dresses to buy.
He turned towards me, tilting his head to a little right. "We're in Milan, Caroline. People die to come and shop here for once, you're getting the opportunity and.... You really amaze me," he said, chuckling at the end.
"I'm not a big fan of shopping," I said, biting my lower lip, making a puppy face. He had asked me to start complaining. This was a start. I thought, smiling internally.
"You're unique," he sighed, gesturing with his hand for me to go behind the woman named Liliac.
Liliac walked inside a big room to her right and I followed her. Once we were in, I stood there amazed seeing the wonderful dresses that covered almost every part of the room. The mannequins traced the length of the walls, adonning the breathtaking dresses. They were like pieces of art, designed with great hard work, taking care of even the smallest details.
"Dovresti provarti questo (you should try this one)," she said, coming with a nice ocean blue dress in her hand, forwarding it to me. I looked behind me to search for Aaron, but he wasn't there. He really left me here alone when I don't know a word of Italian?
She wanted me to try that dress, I could assume that much, but as I was debating how to converse with her further when Aaron entered the room, along with the man whom we had met outside.
He came to my side and looked at the dress in Liliac's hand.
"No non questo," he told her, then looked around, "how about that one?" he said, pointing towards a mannequin wearing a stunning red gown. It was extremely beautiful to look at, but the deep neck made me skeptical of it. It was too revealing for my taste.
"Try that one," Aaron told me and as soon as he said that, the two women went near the mannequin taking off the fabulous dress for me.
"No. Not that," I said, making all four of the heads turn in my direction.
"Why?" Aaron asked with a deep frown.
"Umm... you know, well, it's just too... not my type," I tried to convince him. He looked at me confused, not understanding why I was refusing to try it. "Atleast give it a try, Caroline."
"No," I stated simply. I was not the sort of person who said 'no' frequently to people, most people find it offensive, but since it was Aaron and I trusted him enough, I felt comfortable enough to voice my opinions to him.
"What's the problem in just trying it for once, Caroline?" He asked, genuinely.
"It's too revealing. I won't be comfortable wearing it outside," I told him, honestly. For some reason it made me shy and I looked away.
Aaron stared at me intently, as he finally understood my concern. He nodded, taking several steps towards me. "You're not going to wear it outside, Caroline." His voice was husky, making my heart skip a beat. I was pretty sure if I looked into a mirror right now, my complexion would be competing with the shade of the dress he was telling me to wear.
He took the dress from Liliac and offered it to me. As I was too embarrassed to speak and too weak to protest, I simply took it and rushed inside the trial room.
I looked at my reflection in the mirror, turning to get all the angles of the dress draped over my body. If I was totally honest, it did look good on me. Though it showed a little of my cleavage, it wasn't as much as I had assumed it to. Even after all this, I could still not fight the uneasiness that came over me at the thought of going out wearing this.
You're not going to wear it outside. Aaron's voice echoed in my head and I placed a hand over my beating heart, trying to calm myself.
Finally, after a good mental fight I stepped out of the changing area. The room was empty, with Aaron being the only person sitting on the couch in the middle of the room. His eyes took my appearance in such surprise that I wanted to turn around and run back inside the trial room.
"You're taking this," Aaron said, his voice much softer and huskier. The way he was looking at me, made my heart beat like crazy. There was something in his eyes, something strange, that made me blush.
I nodded and rushed back in. Liliac and the other man were back by the time I stepped out wearing a dress that I chose earlier. I spent the next whole hour trying one clothing after the other, until we had a pile of shopping bags to take home. I wonder how much it all would cost him, as he didn't let me take a look at the price tags.
"Go and sit in the car, I'll pay and come," Aaron said, and I was about to go out when a pair of stilettos caught my eye. They were placed near the entrance, behind a glass case. It was a sin that my eyes had failed to notice them until now.
I went to have a closer look at it but turned around and started to move out after looking at the price tag. €5700 for just a pair of shoes!
Aaron joined me in the car after a short while. Our next stop was an art gallery. Too excited to go inside, I jumped out of the car when he stopped it near the VIP entrance.
"Never gets old," Aaron chuckled as he took my hand and led me inside. I raised my eyebrows at the comment. "The way your eyes light up with unfiltered joy whenever you look at the things you love," he explained. His eyes stayed on mine for a brief moment, but whatever he saw in them made him smile to the fullest. I took his hand and we went inside.
We spent most of the day in the art gallery, where I had once again taken the job of sharing my interpretation of every painting with him. Not once did he appear to be even slightly uninterested about me sharing my love for art. Infact, Aaron would push me to talk more if I went silent for longer than a few minutes.
'I love to hear you talk' he had said.
Those words alone had put all the pain of the past, and the insecurities that had been born out of it, to rest. And I had talked. Talked like the girl in my past never would. She was scared of her father to never dare utter a word of defiance against him. The fear was still there. But the girl in the past had already lost everything. Now I had something to fight for. And as I walked back to the hotel after spending the whole day in Aaron's presence, I knew even if the fight would maim me, I'd still choose to do it for him. In a heartbeat.
- Analia