Chapter 7

Mary waved her hands before Belle, who insisted Mary take the spare vehicle in the garage, but Mary reassured her it made more sense to take a rideshare back home.

"Then let me pay," Belle insisted.

Mary held up her hands. Belle was sweet, but she was hard-headed when determined.

"Fine, fine. But please take this." Belle pulled a small envelope from her cardigan.

Mary eyed it before lifting the fold and pulling out the slip of paper. She took a double-take and rounded her mouth at the check. Belle raised her hand, "It's an advance paycheck."

"Six thousand?" Mary read.

"Nathan and I agreed to add a compensational apology from your first night," Belle whispered.

She was thankful and held her emotions together. Her eyes roamed beyond Belle. For once, she wanted to see Nathan and smile. Freya's daughters arranged her bed and eased her onto the padded mattress. Nellie put her hands on her hips and looked down at their dreary mother.

Mary stopped arranging the prescriptions and saw her sister.

"I hate seeing her like this."

Mary reassured, "I know. But she'll get better."

"Yeah. The doctor said it might take her a little longer to get back on her feet because of her age, but she did well during the examinations."

She put her hand on her sister's shoulder. "How are you doing?"

Nellie folded her brows but smiled. "Honestly, it's really weird not having you around."

"I miss you every day too."

"In that beautiful house?"

"Yes!" Mary nodded exaggeratedly.

They left the room but cracked the door. "You said things are better, right? He's not–"

"He still drinks," Mary admitted.

Nellie shook her head, and a low growl rumbled in her throat. She fixed her sister's hair behind her ear. "You shouldn't stay there."

"I'll be okay. He's not as bad as I thought." Mary looked around, remembering popcorn and dinner from the night before. "Only when he's upset."

"That's not familiar?"

She pressed her lips together. Nellie was right. It was too familiar. Nellie gave her a long and tight hug. "I'm serious, be careful around that wealthy asshole."

There wasn't much Mary could do to defend his character, but she pulled out the small envelope from her purse and hand it to her sister.

Nellie covered her mouth for a moment. Her voice shook, "This isn't real."

Mary held her face and smiled.

"I thought three thousand a week was crazy, but what is this? It's only been a few days."

"It's another apology."

Nellie kicked her head back and said, "Well, I'm glad they're sorry. This isn't to keep you quiet about discrimination or anything like that, you think?"

She bit her inner cheek and looked away in thought. "No. I don't think so."

"Good," Nellie sighed before reexamining at the check.

Nellie stretched to return the paper, but received rejection.

"Take it. We can cover the bills and relieve some of the credit card debt."

Nellie fell back onto the couch and propped her head against her fist. Mary fell beside her and leaned on her. Not since Buddy was born had they sighed such a breath of relief. They put on a soap opera and leaned into the dramatics. Mary's phone chimed just before a commercial break, and she motioned for Nellie to check it while she checked on their mother and Buddy.

When Mary returned, she slowed her pace at her sister's perplexed expression. Nellie read the text out loud. "'Don't call for a car. We will come and pick you up in an hour'... from Belle?"

Mary rushed to reread the message. "Why?"

"This seems like a friendly gesture," Nellie mumbled.

"Belle tried to pay for my car this morning."

Nellie leaned back and thought aloud, "Don't let me soften up to these rich people."

Mary left her apartment. Nathan said a few words to the driver before he exited the passengers' side. She held her purse close, watching him open the back door for her.

She signed, "Thank you."

"You're gonna have to teach me how to say 'you're welcome'," he smirked.

In the back seat, Belle waved with a brilliant smile. Before Nathan shut the door, Mary looked up at the fourth floor. She saw Nellie peeking through the metal bars.

I saw him! He's more handsome in person! I still obligated to hate him, though! :D

Mary smiled while putting her phone away.

Nathan turned his head back and asked. "How's your mom?"

Mary mouthed 'OK' and signed 'medicine'.

Belle wore concern on her face and asked what happened. Mary started typing, but Nathan interrupted.

"You can tell us," he said, glancing at her hands.

She wrinkled her nose and signaled it was faster if she used her phone.

"Let her express how she wants, Nathan," Belle quietly complained. "And sit properly in your seat."

Mary held her smile, watching him frown and turn around. Belle returned a scowl until her attention rolled to the phone.

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry–"

"What happened?" Nathan spun again, urging for Mary's phone.

He read the long message confessing how her mother fell down a short flight of stairs, fractured her hip, underwent surgery and was an in-patient for a week until this morning.

"I'm really sorry to hear that, Mary." He handed the phone back to her. Before she turned off her phone, she saw more text than she wrote.

Let me know if there is anything I can do to help.

She turned off her phone and put it in her front pocket. She didn't know what to make of the message Nathan left on her phone, but she couldn't take him up on his offer. Her family needed help, but she didn't want to become a charity case.

They drove out of Sandy Hills and through the Business District. The radio was on a channel discussing politics and a teacher's strike. Belle expressed her upset about wages provoking the driver to chime in about his mother being a teacher. Nathan turned again, and Mary passionately explained how she was angry about how the teachers throughout the country paid for their own supplies for their students.

It happens here too! Mary finished.

Finally, they rolled to a stop and parked curbside in front of a two-story boutique. It was a shop Mary had seen in passing for years but never held the intention to enter it. Now she followed them inside, but not before Belle gently pulled her back and explained they were there to tailor the tuxedo for the gala he'd attend with Karina.

In awe, she looked around the pristine storefront. But she gasped when they walked to the back.

They entered a large, bright and well-decorated room where Abraham greeted them. "Yay! You're here."

"Where's Cici," Nathan asked.

"She's in the back." Abraham looked behind him to Belle and waved his fingers. He finally caught Mary and quickly eyed her up and down. "Got the entire entourage here today? Everyone but–"

"You know it would be faster if she wasn't here." Nathan interrupted confidently. He turned, signaling for Belle and Mary to sit down on the round ottoman in the center.

Cici barged into the room. "He's correct, but we all know she has the final opinion."

Nathan handed his phone and wallet to Belle before walking to a standing mirror and unbuttoning the cuffs to his shirt. Mary's attention followed him. It wasn't until that moment she recognized a profound attraction to a man undoing the buttons around his wrists. Her eyes drank in his physique until he caught her staring in the reflection. She looked away and clicked her heels across the tiled floor she wished would open up and swallow her.

Dressing him for the gala, Nathan raised his arms and turned whenever Cici commanded. He looked incredible in the black tuxedos, though Mary couldn't understand what he didn't like about them when he looked amazing.

"He's smaller," Belle complained. "He's not eating enough."

Nathan's cheeks burned, matching the color of Mary's face when caught before.

"Belle, please," he huffed.

"Hush, höpönassu (silly face)," she returned, before leaning to Mary and whispering what she just called him.

Mary covered her smile. Nathan faced them and another complaint was on the edge of his lips before Cici interrupted.

"Nathan, come!" She gestured with the wave of an arm. "This is the last tux I have available before you force me to order something."

Nathan disappeared, but not without tossing his chortling entourage a final disapproving glance. His playful nature wasn't missed by Mary. She circled her thumbs and tapped the heels of her feet.

His stylist returned with a big smile. "Ladies, finally he found the tux." Nathan returned, strutting back out into the room and posed. Mary gasped, but when he put his hand in his pocket, she felt the heat rise in her.

He approached the ottoman and asked, "What do you think, ladies?"

"You look wonderful, Nathan," Belle answered. "It's the smile that perfects it."

Nathan winked at Belle before he looked at Mary. He raised his brows.

She looked away from the glint in his eyes and reexamined the tuxedo. She gave him two thumbs up.

"Then it's perfect," He murmured. Mary averted her eyes and scratched her temple. She didn't know what she would do if he made a habit of hanging his focus on her face.

For once, Abraham saved her, returning from his phone call. "Karina wants you to look at the dresses."

"Fine, where is it?" Nathan frowned.

Cici and Abraham rolled a large rack with four dresses hanging from them. Nathan had proven he had a taste so refined he would be difficult to please. He made it imperatively clear that he hated all four dresses.

"I'm not surprised. I'll be back with more," Cici said, but Nathan stopped her.

"Are there any gray dresses?"

"Gray?" Cici and Abraham questioned in unison.

"Yes."

"That color is not in this season–"

Nathan turned frosty. "I want to see all the gray dresses you can find. Please bring them out, Cici."

"What are you doing, Nathan?" Belle contested. "You know Karina will have a fit."

The particular man remained quiet until Cici finished making her rounds back and forth from the back.

"The left half is couture."

Mary leaned on the ottoman behind Belle, watching Nathan carefully examine with a meticulous eye. The room carried on with a lull of silent confusion.

"Do you know what you're looking for, Nathan?" Cici asked.

Nathan pulled one dress from the rack and analyzed the shiny fabric carefully. "Mary, could you come here, please?"

She perked up and looked at Belle who shrugged. Mary lifted off the cushioned seat and approached him. He turned to face her and finally lifted his daggering gaze. He looked into her eyes. "This is the one."

She swallowed once. He couldn't have done what she thought. She had no time to unpack the possibility when he tilted his head and asked, "Could you try this on?"

She stepped back and waved her hands. The flush returned to her cheeks.

"Oh, wouldn't that be fun, Mary?" Belle cheered.

She shook her head. She pressed her palm into her chest, backing away more.

"Why not honey, this might be the only time you'll be able to do this," Abraham remarked.

Nathan's eyes jerked to his publicist. He didn't take kindly to the remark but held his tongue towards Abraham.

"Come, come," Cici urged, taking the dress from Nathan and putting a hand on Mary's back.

Minutes later, they returned to the brightly lit dressing floor. She kicked her bare feet under the long silk hem and hung her head low.

"Lift your head," Cici demanded in a gentle whisper.

Mary glanced at her reluctantly before raising her chin. It was then she did a double-take. Nathan's eyes were wide and his lips parted. He looked her up and down. Under his eyes, she appeared a heart-catching sight.

"Wow!" Belle exclaimed, standing to her feet and clapping her hands.

Nathan sped to guide Mary into the center of the room by the hand. He turned her around once and caught a glimpse of a dark mark running down the center of her back. She faced him quickly, reaching over her shoulder, touching where the scar began.

Cici and Belle immediately chimed in, reassuring her the scar took nothing away from her appearance. She had no room to protest when Nathan pulled her close, with no more than an inch between them. Looking down into her eyes filled with surprise, he grinned and rested his hand on her lower back. "It's fine."

Suddenly, he asked the room. "Does it look good when we're dancing?"

He swayed with Mary and chuckled when she revealed she didn't know how to take his lead through choppy steps. She looked over at Belle, who watched them with a simper. Her eyes returned to Nathan and shook her head. Her shoulders shook as she laughed at herself.

Abraham answered, "There won't be any ballroom dancing at this event, but yes, the dress is a good look. I'm just not sure it's Karina's style."

"Keep your eye on me," Nathan whispered to his shy dance partner. "And take a step back with your right."

He spun her. She was so surprised she let go and covered her smile with both hands. He tilted his head. He looked into Mary's eyes and said. "It's my style."

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A/N: You've made it to the end of the the excerpts, but if you want to read more, you can find the rest of the manuscript (plus the original version) on my Patreon! Thank you so much for reading! I appreciate you <3 -Mayen