CHAPTER 35

"Aunt, why did you invite them?" Dave asked.

"Why shouldn't I invite them?" His aunt was confused.

"It's OK, Dave, we just informed your aunt about me." We told his aunt to call me Rie because I was disguising myself in school. Because some of our friends didn't know about it yet. (That's what Dave and I thought.)

Mrs. Victoria Smith Dave's aunt grabbed me to ask a question.

"Arien, how many secrets do you have?"

"Madam, sorry for the trouble. I will tell you everything in private next time." I said to Madam, and she agreed with me.

"OK, no problem. Let's prepare ourselves first." Mrs. Victoria said.

"Prepare?" I asked.

"Yes, because we will dine at a luxurious restaurant." Mrs. Victoria stated.

"Dave didn't tell me to bring a gown or anything." I said.

"Don't worry about that. We have a fashion designer here and a make-up artist from a brand shop." Mrs. Victoria said.

Mrs. Victoria grabbed me and took me to her room to change. While Dave went to a male room.

A few moments later, we were done and ready to go. I looked in the mirror to see my reflection. It stunned me when I saw my appearance.

"I looked beautiful. A Black Empire waist short dress without straps, black high heels four inches high, an elegant braided updo hairstyle, a black handbag with gold lining and a black scarf to cover my back." In my mind,

"I can't imagine myself wearing this, but today I feel like I was dreaming." I whispered.

"Wow, Arien, you look fabulous. I did not make a mistake by choosing you as my model. I'm excited about working with you soon. Let's have one photo first today." Mrs. Victoria and I took a selfie.

"You're beautiful, Arien. I will post this on social media to gain fans for your debut." Mrs. Victoria excitedly posted our photo and wrote a caption, "Support my new baby for her upcoming debut."

We went out of the room to meet Dave, who was waiting for us after Mrs. Victoria posted our photo.

It astounded Dave when he saw me. And her aunt snapped at him to get a hold of himself.

"OK, let's go now and others are already at the restaurant." Mrs. Victoria stated.

We arrived at the restaurant. When we got off the car, people's eyes stared at us.

The inside of the restaurant went silent when we entered. And the people stopped eating, and they just stared at me amazingly.

My friends were astounded to see me in an elegant dress. When I spotted Cassy and Nicole, I waved at them excitedly.

"Ops! Sorry, I forgot we were in a luxurious restaurant." I lowered my head because I was embarrassed.

"Hahaha! It's OK, you still look beautiful, Arien." Dave giggled.

Meanwhile, Zion stared at me intensely when we were approaching the table.

When we got closer to the table, Zion's heart beat so fast that it was like he was in love with Rie. The way his heart beat for Arien was the same beat when he saw Rie now. Zion touched his chest to calm his heart. When we were at the table, I sat in front of Zion. When I looked at Zion, he stood up abruptly and became restless. Everyone wondered about Zion's reaction.

"Bro, are you OK?" Jake asked.

"Yes, I'll go to the comfort room first." Zion excused himself.

"I think Zion fell in love when he saw Rie. Hahaha!" Joked by Lawrence.

Everyone was talking about my changes and how beautiful I am today.

While Zion was still calming himself in the restroom.

"Why does my heart beat for her? We will need to avoid contacting our eyes. I can't betray Arien. I'll check her first before going back to the table." Zion mumbled, and took out his phone to call me. When I checked my phone, I giggled because he put his name on the contact list as "My Man".

I didn't answer his call, instead I sent him a message, "My Man, sorry I am still busy. Please enjoy your dinner with our friends and take care of yourself, My Man." I giggled and put my phone back in my bag.

Zion was giggling after he read my message and went back to our table. He asked Jake to change their seats.

"What happened to my baby Zion?" Mrs. Victoria asked him.

"Nothing aunt, I feel uncomfortable in my chair." Zion responded.

"That's a given since Rie was exquisite tonight. Are you falling for her baby Zion?" Mrs. Victoria teased him.

"Aunt! Stop spouting nonsense. I have a girlfriend and I love her so much that I am happily content to be with her. And no matter what happens, I will always and only love her." Zion informed us. Everyone was shocked, and I suddenly choked and spit on my food when Zion pledged his love for me, and my face turned red and explained how happy I felt when I heard him.

"Rie, are you OK? Here, drink this water." Dave asked.

"Oh! Zion got a girlfriend? And what is her name? Don't tell me that your girlfriend was Jessica." Mrs. Victoria continued teasing Zion.

"No aunt, my girlfriend was very beautiful and her heart was very kind." Zion praised me. And my face was getting more red and hot.

"That's great because I don't like Jessica's personality. Now, tell me your girlfriend's name." Mrs. Victoria questioned him.

"She's A..." Zion stopped his sentence when I suddenly stood up.

"I'm sorry. Please excuse myself." I headed to the restroom. Cassy and Nicole followed me. I'm sweating cold because of nervousness. I was very restless thinking if he spit my name at them.

Cassy and Nicole knock on the restroom door.

"Friend, open the door. I think there was something you needed to tell us? I opened the door.

"I'm sorry. I don't want to keep this as a secret, but I don't have a chance to tell you both. Tomorrow let's have a private lunch exclusive for girls only and I will tell you how it happened." I stated. Nicole and Cassy went out first to the restroom. They left me alone to calm myself down.

When I opened the door to go out, I saw Zion approaching the male restroom. And our eyes met. I immediately closed the door again. Zion tilted his head and wondered about my reaction.