In the end, we ended up at the most upscaled mall in the city. Hayden held my hand as we walked along the strip in the mall lined with the most expensive branded boutiques. I glanced up at his face as he stared into the shop windows with interest. Considering what had happened, I was very surprised that Hayden could act like nothing really happened.
Sure, he was super aggressive and agitated the night that we came back. However, there wasn’t any trace of that today. While Hayden checked out the shop displays with interest, I couldn’t help staring at him with interest. Whatever that seemed to trouble Hayden yesterday must have been resolved some way or somehow. Either that or he had made up his mind about something.
I guess I’ve made up my mind to. By striking the deal with Hayden I had decided that I will not be returning to Ethan. I wasn’t sure if I’ve completely come to terms with what that actually meant.
"Seriously, you’re just using this as an excuse to skip work, aren’t you?" I asked as I looked at him suspiciously.
"What makes you think that?" Hayden asked, acting all innocent and good.
"You’re not even going to deny it..." I murmured.
"Anything caught you eye?" Hayden asked a while after we’ve been walking around.
I snapped out of my thoughts and started blinking rapidly. Right, I hadn’t been paying attention to anything in the shop displays.
"Umm...no..." I replied.
"Are you even paying attention?" he asked.
"I was spacing out a little...I guess..." I replied admittingly.
"If you don’t choose something for yourself, then I will," Hayden stated firmly.
"I’ll leave it to you then..." I replied without a care.
"Really?" Hayden asked and I felt his eyes on me.
I nodded in response. He was the one who seemed dissatisfied if I were to turn up to see Amelia in shirt and jeans so he might as well pick whatever he thought was appropriate.
"People tend to pick out the dress first before the jewelry, but I sort of like to do it the other way around," Hayden said before grinning mischievously at me.
"Aha..." I mumbled.
"I don’t think you need to buy these..." I said, sounding very stubborn about it.
"Choose," Hayden replied, sounding impatient.
"It must be expensive. There’s no need for this..." I said once again.
"Don’t worry, I’ll be adding everything to your tab of debt," Hayden said.
"What?!" I exclaimed in shock.
"I’m joking..." Hayden said before pointing to the jewelry.
"Regardless, this is definitely over the top," I mumbled.
"You say this because you’ve never been to Amelia’s house," Hayden said with a small laugh.
"We’re going to her house?" I asked. That’s a little unexpected.
"That’s where she prefers to receive guests these days," he replied casually.
"I see..." I replied softly.
While we were talking, Hayden’s hands had been busy placing the various necklaces around my neck and inspecting how it looked on me through the mirror. I was too absorbed in our conversation to pay any attention on the jewelry though.
"What about this set? The emeralds suit you well. They make your eyes sparkle..." Hayden said once he’s made his decision.
"If you say so..." I replied. Honestly, I couldn’t care less...
...
Morning arrived much slower than I had hoped for. After purchasing jewelry, dresses, and shoes yesterday, it was finally the day where Hayden would take me to see Amelia. I could still recall the feeling that I felt when I first saw her photo. Her beauty was breathtaking for sure but what really caught my attention was the happiness that I could feel from her joyous smile.
I wonder what she is like...Amelia...
--To be continued...