Bethany 

I'd changed into jeans and a long sleeved T shirt. I was strapped in the back seat of Emilio's car, with Isabelle talking to me animatedly over the Spanish music Emilio had played.

I nodded along as she told me about how Emilio had once spilled a can of juice on his head, then smelled like apples all day.

Emilio pulled in in the parking lot of the largest mall I had ever seen. When we walked in, it became clear that it was a place for the rich and powerful, and I instantly felt out of place.

Emilio had made clear that I wouldn't ever be getting any money of my own, and that he'd be making all the payments I needed.

Isabelle dragged me into a large store, telling me that she bought all her clothes from here. Emilio followed us silently.

"Hey, Clide!" Isabelle greeted the guard at the door. Clide smiled at her, then his eyes

shifted to me.

"This is my friend, Beth." Isabelle introduced, and Clide nodded at me. I gave him a small smile back.

Her friend.

We moved ahead. Emilio snickered, looking at Isabelle. "You make friends with everyone, girl." He muttered, giving her a large smile.

Isabelle said something funny in return, and Emilio laughed. But I was too nervous to exhibit any emotion.

A woman with crimped hair, wearing the standard salesgirl uniform, appeared in

front of us.

"Hey Izzy!" She said. Isabelle grinned at her. "Chlo, we need a lot of clothes for my friend, here. This is Beth. Beth, this is Chloe. She's awesome."

"Hi." I squeaked. Chloe sized me up, then smiled. "Come on."

Isabelle and I went on collecting jeans, T shirts, cotton dresses, and pyjamas, with Isabelle and Chloe selecting the stuff, and me just nodding along. She had pretty good choice, but a few of the clothes she chose were a little too provocative for my liking. I didn't say anything, not wanting to piss her off.

"Okay," She said finally. "You can go try this stuff while Chlo gets more clothes."

I stared at the clothes in her arms, then nodded slowly.

She led me to the changing rooms, and Emilio pulled up a chair and sat down in front of one of them.

"I'd like to see all the clothes you try on." He told me.

I first tried on the jeans, Emilio giving his nod of approval to three pairs. Trying out the clothes for him, and only buying what he liked made me feel like I was shopping with a lover. Except that a man like him could never be my lover.

I tried on a crop top next. When I showed it to Emilio, his eyes narrowed on the

scars on my stomach. Slowly, he shook his head. "No."

He approved a few graphic T shirts, a flannel shirt, and a few jackets and

sweatshirts.

Isabelle handed me a bralette top and a pair of shorts. "You have awesome legs. They're gonna look so good on you." I gulped at her words, but proceeded to put them on.

I stepped out to show them to Emilio.

His eyes narrowed.

Say no, say no, say no.

Emilio's eyes grazed over me. "Yes." He said.

No, Jesus! Couldn't he see how ugly I looked with all those scars on display?

I turned to Isabelle. "I-I don't like it. I don't want to wear this stuff." I told her softly. She frowned. "Oka-"

"Bethany." Emilio pronounced, cutting her short. "You'll wear whatever the hell I want you to wear."

I gulped. His eyes were blazing with a feral emotion. "Y-yes, sir.S-sorry.

When we left the store, Emilio had a lot of bags in his hand. I was then dragged into a shoe store where we bought some sneakers, a pair of slippers, some flats, and two pairs of heels.

Thankfully, Emilio didn't want to see the underwear we bought from Victoria's

Secret. He'd seen me naked, but it would have been embarrassing.

I was exhausted by now, but Isabelle walked into a cosmetics store, promising that it was the last.

She bought me makeup, even though I didn't use any. Then some soap, and shampoo.

Emilio took one look at the soap and shampoo, then replaced them with others.

Isabelle and I looked at him curiously.

"What?" He snapped.

One thing I had noticed was that Emilio Rivera became cranky when shopping.

"I don't like the scent of strawberries." He said.

"So? Beth does." Isabelle retorted.

Emilio's gaze swept over me. I kept my eyes downcast. I really didn't care what the scent of my shampoo was.

"I really don't give a shit." Emilio said simply. "If I want her to smell like lavender, she'll smell like lavender." Isabelle muttered something about how the Rivera men were just a bunch of cavemen and I had to stifle a giggle.

"I'm hungry." Isabelle announced when we were finally seated in the car. "Let's go get burgers."

Emilio's eyes drifted to her. His head was thrown back as he drank water from a bottle, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down. When he finished drinking, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Sure." He said, then turned to me. "Do you want some water, Bethany?"

I nodded slowly, and he handed me the bottle he'd been drinking from. I stared at it. His lips had been on it just moments ago.

Shaking my head, I pressed it to my lips. I was grateful I was getting any water at all. Isabelle coughed. "You guys just kinda kissed."

My eyes widened.

Isabelle laughed. "You know, you exchanged saliva, yada, yada."

When Emilio drove in in front of a drive thru, both he and Isabelle ordered a cheeseburger, and Isabelle also got fries and a milkshake.

Emilio turned to look at me. "What would you like?" He asked gruffly. I'd been picking at the hem of my shirt, and when he asked me what I wanted, I was more than startled.

"Me?" I squeaked.

He looked at me expectantly. "Yes, what will you have?"

"I-I... Wh-whatever y-you please."

He sighed. "Fine," then proceeded to order me a cheeseburger and a strawberry milkshake, too.

"Th-thank you." I said when he handed me the food.

"You're welcome." He told me.

I stared at him in awe for the rest of the ride.