NOVEL NEXT Chapter 95: Stare All You Want
Days flew by and it was already June 23rd, the day of the Charity Gala.
It was a Saturday and Katherine had just finished taking a shower when she stood in front of the mirror and stared at her own reflection. She couldn't help but feel nervous that she was going to walk the red carpet later with Damien Park. Was this really okay?
She glanced to the side and saw her phone. Grabbing it from the dresser, she checked the last message that she received from Damien the night before.
[King Damien: This meeting is going to take a while. You need to sleep early tonight, so I'll see you tomorrow and pick you up after lunch.]
Reading the message for the nth time, she wondered where he was at the moment as she hadn't heard from him since.
Placing her phone back on the dresser, Katherine grabbed a shirt and jeans and changed into them. Just as she was done, she heard the doorbell rang and her face brightened.
She hurriedly skipped towards the main door and opened it but the happy expression on her face turned into a confused one when she saw that it wasn't Damien who was there.
"Good afternoon, Katherine," Caleb greeted with a gentle smile on his face like he always does.
"Mr. Yoo… Caleb?" Katherine responded. They agreed that they could call each other by their first names outside of work. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to pick you up on behalf of Damien."
"Huh? Where is he?" she wondered.
He inserted one hand in his pocket and answered, "He's currently… busy with something. He sends his apologies but you'll see him in a few hours."
Katherine was starting to get suspicious about this whole thing. She trusted that Damien wasn't going to do anything stupid but why was he suddenly being elusive?
Staring at Caleb who maintained a smile on his face, Katherine asked, "Where are we going?"
"I'm going to drop you off at the Crown Hotel in the northeast where you will start getting prepared. It's near the venue so there wouldn't be any problems with traffic."
She glanced at the wall clock and her brows furrowed. "It's like five hours until the event. Why do I need to go this early? Just how many hours does it take to prepare?" she questioned, making Caleb chuckle.
"Come on, Katherine. Damien prepared this for you. You don't want to put his effort to waste, do you?"
"Oh, that's not fair." She pouted and sighed before grabbing her bag from the console table. "Fine," she said as she walked out of the door and followed Caleb to the elevator.
They rode in Caleb's car to the Crown Hotel on the other side of the city. When they arrived, she followed him to the top floor where the penthouses were. She watched as Caleb pressed the doorbell and soon enough, Ava opened the door for them.
"Good afternoon, Ms. Miller, please come in." Ava gestured for her to go inside the penthouse and as she stepped inside, she noticed that Caleb didn't follow her in.
"Oh, you're going now?" Katherine asked, suddenly getting worried that he will leave her there.
"I need to go home. I'll see you tonight?" he said before slightly peeking past her shoulder.
Katherine followed the direction of his sight and her gaze landed on a familiar-looking gown that was worn on a full-length mannequin. The moment she saw the piece, her mouth fell open and she was in a daze for a few seconds before her head snapped back to Caleb who met her stare.
"Oh no, no, no, no… no!" She panicked. "There is no way I am going to wear that!!!"
Katherine started to walk towards the door of the penthouse but before she could reach it, Caleb flashed her a smile and waved his hand as he closed the door at the same time that Ava and another woman whom she didn't know stopped her from going out.
"Ms. Miller, we need to start." She heard them say.
"What? No! I'm not going to wear that…" Her voice trailed off as she looked at the gown again and her heart fluttered. It was too pretty... extremely pretty, but she just didn't have the guts to wear it!
Mr. West came out from one room and walked towards Katherine. "Is there something wrong with the gown, Ms. Miller? Is it not to your liking?" he asked politely, maintaining a neutral expression.
"Oh, Mr. West." Katherine slightly bowed. "I apologize, it's not what you think. Your creation is very beautiful… but… I don't think I can wear something so… exorbitant." She told him while remembering the first time that she saw the gown from the shop and learned its price from Ava.
"Don't worry about it, Ms. Miller. You define the clothes you wear. It's never about the price. You find it beautiful, so you should wear it." Mr. West did not wait for her to respond and signaled the team of five to start with the preparation.
Katherine was somewhat in a daze while they started to work on her. She didn't know how she survived the hours while she had a facial treatment, her hair & makeup done, and changing into the gown. She didn't have to do anything but to patiently wait for them to finish.
She was sitting on the sofa while waiting for her make up to set when she found the chance to pick up her phone and send a text to Damien.
[Katherine: You are dead.]
She didn't wait for his response as she did not expect to receive one either. Katherine realized that Damien must have been avoiding her because of this.
Damien knew that she was going to protest and he was afraid that he would be weak against her pleas not to let her wear what he prepared for her which was why he planned to see her only when she was all dolled up and ready to go.
After what seemed like forever, Katherine was finally allowed to look at herself in the mirror.
Standing before a floor to ceiling mirror, she saw a woman wearing a Marian blue ball gown with a deep V neckline, the cut stopped on her midriff. The top part was detailed with tiny rhinestones and glitter lace that sparkled under the chandelier while the soft skirt made of gossamer fabric also had some shimmer, making the entire gown look so elegant and magical.
"We didn't apply much color on your face and chose to go for light makeup instead. I can see that you really took care of your skin, so we didn't need to do much," Ava told her.
Katherine was speechless just looking at her own reflection especially when her mind brought her back to the time when Damien let her "imagine" what she was wearing using his and her hands.
She placed her hands on the details, feeling the texture of the beads and laces. 'Is this really me?' she asked.
Just as she was lost in her own thoughts, a gentleman in a classic black shawl tux walked up to her from behind.
"You look… breathtaking." Damien took her hand and kissed the back of it.
Katherine was mad at him just a while ago but after finally seeing him that moment, all she wanted to do was hug him. Thus, she did just that.
"I'm still going to get back at you even though you look really dashing tonight," she said, making him chuckle.
…
Katherine was very nervous as she sat inside Damien's Aston Martin. They were about to reach the venue and she couldn't help but worry.
However, when the car stopped several meters away from the entrance, she could see many celebrities and socialites were dressed to the nines - it was an array of colours, vibrant and dark. There were eye-catching outfits that looked elegant and there were some that just looked strange and weird, made from unusual materials.
Noticing the expression on her face, Damien asked, "Are you okay?"
She softly chuckled, "I'm nervous… but… I guess I can just fit right in." Katherine thought that maybe she was worried for nothing when she saw many bizarre gowns.
"It's a gala, Kitten. You should try to enjoy." Damien smiled at her before getting out of the car and opening her door to help her out. "Ready?" he asked as he extended his palm out for her.
Curling her lips upward, she placed her hand in his and alighted the car. "Ready."
Katherine hooked her arm in his and the two of them sauntered towards the red carpet. Damien rarely allowed interviews so they walked straight into the event hall without a pause in their steps.
Just as Katherine was starting to feel somewhat comfortable, she noticed the heads of some socialites and female celebrities turning towards her.
"Why is everyone looking at me like that?" she whispered.
"Don't mind them. They're all just jealous of your beauty," Damien said as he urged her to start walking. "Let's go find Nana."
Despite feeling bothered by the way they were looking at her, she chose to ignore them. 'Fine. Stare all you want,' she said in her thoughts as she walked with Damien with her back straight and her chin up.