Beautiful in Red

Ayana could hear Irene nagging from the gap at the door. The woman thought that Luca made her cry and she needed to reapply her makeup. Ayana's eyes caught Nicolaus who seemed to realize what happened, but did not correct Irene and looked down on his shoes.

Ayana sighed at the situation. She didn't know whether to feel relief or angry at the woman's assumption. On one side, she didn't want Irene to think that she was weak and a cry-baby. Although on the other side, she was relieved that the woman didn't think that there was a possibility that they were kissing or doing something lewd inside the car. She would have the same reaction as the woman if she didn't experience Luca's harassment earlier.

It is more convincing to say that Luca made her cry or even killed her rather than kissed her.

She can see Irene and Nico's sympathetic gaze toward the passenger seat from outside the window. Ayana felt a little awkward since she knew that they misunderstood her situation.

Ayana raised the small mirror in her hand to take the last look. Everything seemed okay. She knew how to do her own makeup. She befriended some women who are good at makeup in Zone B. She even learned a few tricks to disguise herself with simple makeup

Ayana took a deep breath before she pushed the door open.

"Finally. Dear, I am really sorry for ….." Irene did not finish her words when her eyes caught Ayana's figure. Her sympathetic expression totally went away the moment her eyes landed in Ayana's dress.

The woman did not need to say anything since Ayana understood the look on her face. She was displeased with the dress or maybe her.

"Dear, why don't you wear the dress I prepared for you?" Irene asked in a calm tone, but everyone could hear a bit of irritation there.

Ayana frowned. She was stumped when she heard Irene's question.

"Aren't you the one who sent this dress for me?" Ayana asked in bewilderment. Then the realization hit her as she turned her head to look at Luca, looking at the man with disbelief and surprise.

It was a spontaneous thought, but she was not stupid to not take a hint about the amusement in his eyes when he saw her and especially the matching handkerchief. He did not look surprised when she came wearing the same dress with the colour of his handkerchief. Last but not least, there was no one who dared to mess with her except him. 

Irene also did the same thing after hearing Ayana's answer. She looked at Luca with a clear annoyance like the man was the sole perpetrator of this situation.

There was no doubt in her eyes. Luca was the only person who could do such a thing.

"You,,,," Irene felt the headache hit her like a wave. She was speechless since she did not know how to vent her frustration.

She did not mind if they were the only ones at the dinner, but some guests also came this time.

"Why?" Irene looked at Luca after she calmed down a little.

"I think the grey dress you chose was too plain for my beautiful wife, so I changed it. It is the same problem with the suit with the grey tie and handkerchief. It is so lame that could not even look at it more than a minute. She looked more vibrant in the red dress. It also matched with my tie and handkerchief," Luca said innocently.

The dress Irene chose in the boutique has a grey colour and did not have many complicated designs. It was a simple long dress. Irene chose the dress, so Ayana will appear modest and humble. The dress will not make her ugly since she has a natural beauty.

Irene sighed. Just when she just convinced herself that everything just okay and this happen. It just started to go downhill after Luca made the girl cry. 

The red dress Ayana was wearing now shouts majestic and luxurious aura. It was a sleeveless dress with several diamonds decorated around the high neck. Some gold lines around the dress made the red dress seem gorgeous. The high-slit dress also displays Ayana's smooth long legs when she takes a step. With this dress, Ayana's beauty radiated to the maximum, even though her makeup and hair style were simple.

"She was supposed to wear the plain dress since she will be meeting her in-law for the first time. Do you want your mother to hate her?" Irene said as she sent a death glare to Luca.

"You don't need to worry about that. Mom is not that petty," Luca said as he swung his hand around several times.

"Can you borrow some clothes for me?" Ayana tried to voice her opinion. She actually wanted to go back and change her outfit, but they would waste so much time. They could not make everyone wait for her for the first meeting for the in-laws.

"I don't know, dear, it doesn't seem possible now," Irene said as she looked at her watch.

Ayana's face became darker every second. She regretted that she ignored her own instinct when her eyes landed on the dress.

"My dear wife, I am sorry if I ever make you angry," Luca said with a voice full of regret, but Ayana knew better not to believe his words since she could see the smile in his eyes.

"Can we go inside now?" Ayana said as she looked at Irene, ignoring Luca. Now she just wanted to finish this dinner quickly.

"Yes, dear, let's go inside," Irene said as she hooked Ayana's arms and walked inside. Luca was followed behind them closely with a cherry smile.

Ayana never felt this tried to attend a dinner before, especially since the dinner didn't start yet.

She didn't have a slight idea of what Luca thought or wanted. When she thought she got a hint of the man's goal, she must be disappointed because the man would do a whole different circus next.

She really hated this kind of fight where she couldn't predict the enemy's movement. She preferred meeting the cleverest enemies with a plan rather than an enemy with a spontaneous plan or no plan at all.