Chapter 45 You Look A Dream

Chapter 45 You Look A Dream
Melanie's POV

“Best friend? I thought I was your best friend?" Ross pouted.
“You are. William is now my best boyfriend." My eyes widened at the same time as hers, “I mean,..boy and friend. You know, best friend who is a boy." I chuckled nervously.
She raised a mocking brow, “Mmhmm. Sure.”

I rolled my eyes, "You know what I meant.”
Ross walked over to my closet to retrieve the dress," Yeah. He is now your other best friend."
" My first friend at Dalderia!” I squealed.
" Not to mention,your mate.” She drawled.
" I told you, we're trying……"
“To break the mate bond, yeah yeah," She held up the dress, “And I'm sure the bond will immediately shatter once he sees you in this."

I must've taken the dress out of my closet to stare at it more than ten times between last night and now but I still hadn't gotten used to seeing it. It was an ankle length,Royal blue, side slit, off shoulder dress that shimmered in the light. When Peggy, the personal shopper, had seen it on me at Jolene's, she'd gasped and proclaimed in a breathy voice, "This is the one.”
I felt it deep within me as well. It was the perfect dress. I'd never seen myself look that beautiful before and that was without hair and makeup done.

“Isn't it just gorgeous?" I sighed, walking over to touch it in reverence.
“Absolutely. I can't wait to see William's reaction to it." She quipped.
“You mean Conner's." I stubbornly corrected and she rolled her eyes.
“Come on, we've got to start getting dressed. The stylist will be here soon."

The stylist was a stern looking woman who seemed to be in her late fifties. She clutched an enormous suitcase in one hand and a handbag that looked like it cost more than our annual rent in the other. Hanging from her lips was a thick cigar and she popped it out of her mouth to ask in a bored tone,
" Which one of you is my client?”
" That would be me. Hi.” I answered nervously. I stretched a hand but she didn't take it.
She grunted and walked past us into the living room, pausing to take in the state of the house slowly. If she had any thoughts about how miserable my living conditions were, she didn't say or show it. The bored expression remained fixed on her wrinkly face.

“Where do I set up?" She asked, staring directly at me.
I led her to my bedroom where she opened the large suitcase and began to pull out products and equipment. She had everything in there, right down to foldable tables and chairs.
“She's quite intense." Ross whispered as we stood idly by and I nodded.

The lady went to work immediately. All efforts to draw her into any sort of small talk proved futile so Ross and I just talked to each other instead. She worked fast, and with a hundred percent focus, only pausing to take a drag from her never ending cigar every five minutes or so.
I watched her transform my wild mess of curls into silky shiny strands that obeyed her wishes. Then she went to work on my face, patting and dusting and tweezing and plucking.
The entire session lasted about two hours.

By the time I slipped into my dress and stared at myself in the mirror,I couldn't recognize who was staring back at me. I blinked at my reflection in awe. Behind me, I heard Ross choke back a sob.
“Oh my God Mel," She gasped with a hand to her mouth, “you….you look so…."
“I know….”I gasped as well, my face heating up from tears about to spill.
" Don't you dare ruin my hard work with tears, young lady.” The stylist snapped but I caught a smile at the corner of her lips. It was the first time her face had shown any emotion all afternoon.

I turned to the mirror again, unable to stop staring. The off shoulder sleeves accented my long arms and the dress clung tightly to my waist, the material folding into three elegant side pleats before draping down. The slit on the right rode high, halfway up my thighs, making my legs appear longer. We'd gotten silver strapped heels and silver jewelry to go with the dress. My hair,now held back from my face in an elegant ponytail was adorned with tiny silver beads. My deep brown curls spread out from the middle of the ponytail, full and lush, silver earings twinkling from within them. The stylist let tendrils fall at the front so it framed my face. She'd attached tiny fake lashes to my eyes that made them look fuller and darker.
I looked breathtaking. I felt breathtaking. I couldn't wait to see what William thought about my new look.

And Conner. Of course.
No doubt he was going to eat his words. He would begin to see me differently from today henceforth.

“Are you girls done in here?" A deep voice called from the hallway with three quick knuckle taps on the door.
“Dad? You're home early?" I exclaimed as Ross opened the door.
“Hi, Mr Sinclair. We're just about done." She gushed excitedly.
“I couldn't very well miss coming to see you off on your first high school party…." He chuckled as he walked into the room fully and then paused when he saw me. His eyes widened and his mouth fell open.

“Hey, Dad." I blushed.
" Oh my,...Oh my doll…” His voice cracked and he took off his cap to clutch in his hands. He'd come in straight from work and still wore his dusty overalls. I walked to him but he took a step back.
" No no, I'm scared I would ruin it if these grimy hands touch you.”
" Aww, Dad..” I held my hands to my chest and fought to keep the tears away.
“You look a dream, Sweetie. Just like….You look just like your mum." He was struggling to hold tears as well.

“Oh my God." Ross held a hand to her mouth and turned away so she wouldn't make me cry but there was no point. The tears had already fallen.
“Now you've gone and done it." The stylist snapped but there was no bite to her voice any longer. Her eyes remained dry but her features had softened. She came over and dabbed at my face with some wipes. “Let's try and keep your face tears free for at least the next five hours, ok?"
I nodded, losing the ability to speak for a moment. Dad stood there, cap in hand, staring at me with so much love and affection I had to turn away so I wouldn't cry again.

The stylist dabbed at my face with some powder and blush and then started to put away her things.
" I presume I would be sending my invoice to The Prince?” She asked and Dad widened his eyes in shock.
" To who?” He asked.
I muttered a curse under my breath. I hadn't told him who paid for all of this. I'm sure he would've asked eventually but didn't want to ruin the moment just yet. Or maybe he thought I'd gotten stuff on credit and he would have to pay for it later. It was how we handled major expenses in the house.

“Um,..the dress and hair and ……well all of this was a gift from Prince William Rivenhall. He's my date tonight.” I shrugged sheepishly.
" Date? I thought you said it was a birthday party?”
" Yeah. But it's a formal party and we could bring in plus ones…."
“And you chose to go with the prince?" He looked angry now.
“Well,...he got me the dress…”
"And you let him?”

I stuttered a response. I knew how Dad felt about the ‘’rich bastards' . I was attending Dalderia because I'd gotten a scholarship and no matter how much he hated the ruling class, it didn't beat not having to struggle to pay for my education. Besides, it gave him a sense of pride to know his progeny was handing the spoiled brats their asses in academic work. I hadn't quite brought myself to tell him just how serious the bullying was or the fact that I wasn't the best in class. I was a top student sure,but Dalderia had no scarcity of those.
" Dad, can we not do this?” I said instead, " Not today. Please?”
He opened his mouth to say something but shut it with a grunt. He replaced his cap on his head and nodded, “Alright then."

“William just pulled up. In a freaking limo!" Ross exclaimed with her head pressed against the window.
I groaned at the very shitty timing.

“I'll guess I'll go welcome him. Maybe give a royal bow at my own front door." Dad said, his lips set in a firm line.
Oh no. “Dad,... Please don't say anything rude ok?"