They were going full throttle Stockholm in their efforts. Because after they fed me and I drank the most amazing coffee, they told me what they had planned for the rest of the day. A part of which I tried to draw the line at when they told me they were planning to take me shopping.
But something I was quickly discovering about them both was that, not only did they not like being told the word no, but they also tag-teamed in their efforts to ensure the word yes was used instead. Hence why after showering and changing into my own pair of jeans and a burgundy top that had white tie dye hearts on it, I found myself in another limo. Oh, and let’s not forget the convoy of security that followed us to none other than Fifth Avenue, Midtown Manhattan.
A place I did not want to be.
The second the car stopped, I started shaking my head, trying once more to use that word they hated.
“Oh no… no way.” Something they promptly ignored, which was another tactic of theirs.
No matter how much I folded my arms and refused to get out of the car, it did nothing to deter them. Not when Victor’s hand came into view as he threatened,
“You walk in there with your hand in mine, or your body thrown over my shoulder, your choice, Nessa.”
The threat made me quickly slap my hand to his, doing so harder than necessary, and making him chuckle as he pulled me from the car. The overcast clouds made the day darker than usual, as if it was just begging for the storm to join my personal hell.
“I really don’t want to do this,” I said again as he walked me to the expensive shops, the ones where most people would only glance at the window displays and dream.
“Come now, surely you won’t deny us the pleasure of buying you a dress, after all, it was your suggestion we date,” Victor was quick to point out.
“Yeah, I was thinking something like going to the movies and a hotdog, not somewhere fancy enough that it needs Gucci,” I argued, making Tal lean closer and say,
“Why can’t we do both?”
I shot him a wry look and said, “Because I am not made for that world.”
I emphasized this by tossing a hand out to the closest expensive shop they were trying to make me go in.
Victor stopped dead before facing me, placing his hands at my shoulders.
“That might be so, but you were made for ours and, in it, we want to spoil you and shower you with luxury.”
I looked up at him and argued softly,
“But I don’t need it.”
“It’s not about needing it, Nessa. It’s about us wanting to give it to you. Now are you going to continue to deny us this wish and go back on our bargain?” he tested in return.
“Yeah, about that…”
“Not backing out are we, Little Peach?” Tal asked with a raised brow, challenging me.
“No, it’s just that I didn’t know it came with…all of this,”I said, waving my hand once again at the line of designer shops.
“It comes with whatever we want to lavish you with, now stop stalling,” Victor stated and, this time, his tone was one that brook no argument. And in all honesty, I didn’t know why I fought against it so hard. I mean, if they wanted to waste their money on me, why was I fighting it?
Because you didn’t like owing people any more than you had to, that was why,my inner voice reminded me. And with them having paid off all my debts… well, I knew that I would only end up owing them so much more than I could ever hope to repay. Not that they would likely ever let me pay them back. But it just didn’t sit right with me knowing this. Because in my life, it had not once been gifted with handouts. The closest thing to a handout had come from Stacey, who had literally saved me from being homeless. And, honestly, I didn’t even want to think what would have happened to me had it come to that. But even then, I insisted on paying my way, even if it came heavily discounted.
And now here I was, feeling like a complete fish out of water and gasping for air as Victor walked me toward a luxury shop front. Valentino wasn’t a name I recognized but then again, why would I? I dreaded to think of how much one of their dresses cost.
As for Victor and Tal, they walked inside as if they owned the place, and the fancy, immaculately dressed assistants knew it. It was as if they could smell the money dripping off them like blood in the water. A fact that became very apparent the second the manager approached.
“I want the shop closed and everyone helping our girl here to find the perfect dress,” Victor ordered before she even had achance to open her mouth. Even I didn’t have time to speak as he led me over to a seating area, where it soon became all hands-on deck. Starting with a tray of champagne being brought over, while another assistant started asking me questions that Victor knew I wouldn’t be able to answer.
He ended up telling them my sizes, making me question how he knew. He also started telling them the different occasions I would need dresses for… like gallery openings, cocktail parties, the opera, some expensive sounding restaurant I had never heard of that included a rooftop event.
My mind was spinning.
In the end, I even found myself drinking the champagne way too fast, just to try and calm my nerves. It was like, any minute, they would call me out as being a fraud and I would be escorted from the building with a bag of shame over my head.
