Chapter 8 THE PREPPING.
8.
KIMBERLY'S POV.
Maybe I didn't notice earlier when I came in or they were just not there, but there are now a pool of people outside, waiting for me, probably.
Some are dressed in uniforms, different hangers where clothes are hung and a high chair placed in front of a vanity mirror, they're mostly women.
"Rafael..."
"Chill, they're just here to get you prepped up, we will be going there to make a lasting impression on everyone and it starts from your appearance." He explains in a mild tone.
He suddenly grabs my hand and pulls me to the hair stylist.
"Prep her hair and give her what suits her face."
"She's stunning." The middle aged woman grins at me, I offer her a small smile nervously. Gosh, it feels like I'm getting wrecked from inside.
"Don't cut my hair." I blurt, grabbing the long ends to me protectively.
"They dare not." Rafael chips in, eyeing the woman.
His reply threw me back a bit. Does he like my long hair or is this part of us pretending to be a romantic couple?
"We won't, it just needs a little dressing."
"Good." He mumbles before disappearing into one of the rooms on the first floor.
Settling down on the high chair, I let them touch and do whatever they want with my hair because I never got to have a professional do it for me, Mom was too broke to take me there so my hair was always handled by her and most of the time, the results are always horrible.
After what seems like a long time, they round up the final touches and hand me a mirror to check their work.
"Wow." The word slips out of my mouth. "Ummm...thank you." I mutter, suddenly feeling like crying.
This is probably how the privileged people feel when their hair is done and their face is beat up with makeup.
"Well, you're welcome."She shrugs, smiling proudly and the make up artists proceed with their work. It's a very light and almost unnoticeable glam which I totally love.
"It's time for the dressing." The stylist and her crew who has been waiting patiently announces.
They wheel the hanger in front of me, there are five dresses there which look like they will fit me, How did they know of my size?
"You can go inside the curtain and get changed."
"Sure,thanks." I mumble, grateful that I don't have to be naked in front of them.
After putting off my clothes, one of the staff hands me the first clothes on the hanger, the stylist steps into the drawn curtain with me, helping me with the complicated part of the dresses.
It's a shimmering black armless dress laced with stony diamonds and crystals, it's quite gorgeous but it shows a lot of skin.
"I don't think I will go with this."
"Oh, your husband will decide that."
The word feels so foreign to me, my husband, crazy how I couldn't sleep overnight because I was too happy about the thought of renouncing the inheritance, who would have predicted that the day will end with me becoming Rafael's wife?
"Is that necessary, I..." Suddenly, the metals around the scrunched part of the curtain produce a harsh sound, Rafael tucks his head in and I gasp.
Jesus, this dick. What if I was naked? I feel like giving him a good scolding but the people around would probably call me a weirdo for getting angry at my husband for walking in on me.
He grins after studying the expression on my face, he knows what he did and he's not fucking apologetic about it.
"Change this into a long but armless dress." He orders snapping his hand hurriedly at the woman, his hair is already done and beard trimmed.
This dinner must be very important for him to be this amped up about it.
The woman brings out an exact dress that matches his recommendation and surprisingly, it's so much better than the first one, just that my boobs are more exposed and my hips are more pronounced.
"I like this better, your husband definitely knows what looks good on you." The woman commends, slipping my heels on, I walk out of the dressing room steadily, my hair packed up, leaving negligible strands that add to the already perfect look.
"Ummm, better." Rafael claps behind me, the make up artists walk up to me and spray some oil on my chest and neck.
She rubs it on my boobs and even it out to my upper part.
I feel like I'm a project that everyone is trying their best to make it have a better outcome.
Rafael is dressed in a wine tux, his full hair tussled out intentionally but in a beautiful way, his jacket undone, showing his ripped and toned chest, his long pants dangling just right over the shiny shoes.
"Woah. I feel so objectified right now." He grunts, grabbing the small of my back closer to him, my eyes widen and I give him a warning glare but he only shows off his perfect dentition, smiling furiously.
"Or we should go back to the room?" He says it a little bit loudly.
Numerous 'aw' and 'Oooo' flow across the room, my cheeks heat up immediately, suddenly feeling self conscious.
I should be angry at this man for putting me out there and flirting with me without my consent but I can't find myself getting mad at him.
Fuck me.
Slowly, he prods me out of the building, matching my pace while they cheer us up, my mind drifts to Cora briefly, she is definitely dying of crippling anxiety right now.
Soon, we are settled in the car while the driver ignites the SUV back to life.
"What is your favorite food and wine?" Rafael suddenly asks.
My brow lifts as I glance at him in confusion.
"Huh."
He sighs."We need to know the tiniest details about ourselves."He clarifies.
"Uhmm, I love any type of dish with beef." I answer, my body suddenly tickles with happiness. It's been a long time since I had beef, we only get to eat it when the cook does a bulk purchase and that's once in four months.
"What about wine?"
"Uhmm, I don't know." I stutter, we don't get to have wines in Frederick's Rollers house, that man was a total miser.
"These are what you should know about me. Master them." He hands me a paper.
How the hell am I supposed to memorize this before I get there?
"Are you not going to know more about me?" I ask, feeling quite insulted since I have to read a whole page of documents about him.
"The focus will be on me tonight, just act...okay." He says in a smug tone.
"Right." I snap. I don't even know why I am angry about this whole thing.
"What do you plan on doing? Do you have anything you want to do or...." He trails off, offering me a side glance.
He's right, I should have something in mind I planned to do besides being his fake wife?
Right?
But to be honest, I don't know, I just want to live like every other person but it's not a suitable answer.
"Get a job." I sigh."Probably."