Chapter Nine — Frustrated

Brian

"Doesn't this dress just suit her perfectly, Mr Huxley?" Catalina's squeal-like voice asked and I looked away from my phone to finally see the dress that she had picked out Emerald.

As soon as my eyes were met with the tight-fitted dress on Emerald's body, I froze for a few long seconds, unable to take my eyes off her at that moment.

I've never really taken the time to look at Emerald properly or even stare at her figure in any way but seeing her dressed in such a tight-fitted dress that brought out her figure to the max was very shocking for me and I couldn't deny to myself that the lady was absolutely beautiful.

"Oh, Mr Huxley, I know you're the groom and all but you don't have to stare at her like you can't wait to pull the dress off her. That can wait till after the wedding, can't it?" Catalina teased and I immediately cleared my throat before looking away from Emerald, who I'm guessing already caught me staring.

"I don't find this dress comfortable, miss Catalina. It's way too tight and revealing," Emerald complained and for the first time, I agreed with her and the fact that this dress just wasn't it.

"I agree, Catalina. It's a little too much for me 'cause I wouldn't want the guests at the wedding to constantly have reasons to stare at my wife and make her feel uncomfortable," I added and even though Emerald might think I'm only making an excuse, I meant what I said.

A lot of investors and partners of mine would be at the wedding and knowing how most of them are, I wouldn't want Emerald to be in that dress because it would only call a lot of unwanted attention from the many perverted men that would be in attendance.

"I don't know why you guys don't like it though. I think it looks absolutely fabulous on you, Emy," Mia, Emerald's chatty friend, spoke from beside me where she was seated and I almost threw her a dirty frown but Emerald beat me to it.

"I wouldn't want any kind of uncomfortable attention at my own wedding if you know what I mean. So, I'll have to pass on this one," she responded before walking back into the fitting room with Catalina following behind her.

I knew exactly what I was getting into when I decided to book the appointment and come with Emerald for her dress fitting but I wasn't very used to doing things like this so I was getting bored very quickly and I wanted to be anywhere else but here in the next half an hour.

"Does dress fitting usually take this long?" I asked Mia.

"Well, I wouldn't know since this is my first time coming for a wedding dress fitting but if I'm to judge based on how long it takes for me to do my personal shopping, then yes, I can tell you that this usually takes really long and since you decided to come along, you should prepare to stay put for about two hours or more," she answered and my face fell.

"Two hours? How difficult can it be to just choose an appropriate dress?" I wondered out loud.

"The perfect dress needs to be chosen and most importantly, the dress needs to fit perfectly to avoid any mishaps on the wedding day," she explained and I almost rolled my eyes.

After waiting for about half an hour, Catalina and Emerald finally came out again and I already prepared my mind that whatever dress she comes out in would be the perfect dress so that I can get out of here as soon as possible.

"What do you think of this one, Mr Huxley? It's a lot more moderate than the first one but it's also sexy and I'm pretty sure you'll be just as excited to take it off after the wedding is over," Catalina chirped excitedly and I couldn't help the irritated look that formed on my face.

"I would like you to refrain from making such comments, Catalina. My wife is very shy and she doesn't feel very comfortable when such comments are made so suddenly," I calmly warned her not just because I found it distasteful but also because the look on Emerald's face showed that she was extremely uncomfortable with Catalina's comments.

"My apologies, Mr Huxley and pardon my use of words, dear," Catalina apologised and Emerald smiled dismissively.

"So, Mr Huxley, what do you think about the dress? Yay or nay?" she asked.

"Is this comfortable enough?" I asked, looking up at Emerald to get a confirmation on whether or not she liked the dress.

"It's perfect," she answered tiredly and I could tell that she didn't really care about how the dress looked.

"Is it a perfect fit? I mean the size," Mia asked.

"No dear but I've already taken the necessary measurements and I'll have the dress fixed to perfection before the wedding," Catalina answered.

"Can't I get changed now?" Emerald drawled tiredly and I didn't like the fact that she had such an unenthusiastic look on her face because it only made it obvious that our marriage wasn't a love marriage and the last thing I wanted was for people to start gossiping about the reason for our marriage.

She hurried back to the dressing room to change and I had a brief discussion with Catalina about how perfect everything concerning the dress should be. She assured me that she wouldn't disappoint and I decided to take her word for it since I'm not very familiar with anything that has to do with wedding dresses.

"Since you've already made certain that I picked a dress that's to your liking, I'll be on my way now," Emerald said as soon as we got out of the building and I frowned.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked and she furrowed her brows in confusion.

"What do you mean what's that supposed to mean? Is there anything else we need to do besides the dress fitting? If you were thinking of taking me back home, you don't have to concern yourself with that. I'll hang out with Mia for a bit and then I'll go back home by myself," she responded and I sighed.

"Unfortunately, you can't run off just yet, Missy," I informed her and her frown deepened.

She sighed. "I already took the time out of my day to pick a dress just like you wanted so what else do you need from me?" she asked.

"It's not like I also don't have better things to do with my time Emerald but fortunately for you or should I say unfortunately for you, my mother chose today as the best day to meet you and she wants us to have lunch with her," I told her and her face fell.

"W… what are you talking about? I thought I wasn't going to have to meet your parents until the wedding day. What's with the sudden change of plans and why didn't you inform me much sooner?" she hissed, trying to control her temper.

"If I knew we were going to be having lunch with my mother, I would have certainly informed you sooner, Emerald," I replied frustratedly.

The very last thing I wanted to deal with was a dramatic woman and that is the main reason why I hated the idea of getting married but since this was a situation I could not avoid, I just had to go with the flow and endure every frustrating conversation that I'd had the displeasure of having with Emerald.

"You should have still told me immediately you found out or better still, why couldn't you just refuse and come up with an excuse to avoid it? Aren't you a busy man? Shouldn't your work be a good enough excuse?" she snapped at me and if there's something I hate very much, it's when someone doesn't obey me immediately and chooses to argue with me instead.

"You know what Emerald, I don't care about what you think or how you feel about this. You're coming with me no matter what and you better remember that you don't have a choice here so the best thing for you to do is just obey without complaining. If you're so desperate to hang out with your friend, feel free to bring her along but you better make sure she can take the heat," I fired back at her and proceeded to walk back to the car but she stopped me.

"What's your mother like?" she asked.

"I can only respond to that question depending on its context. So, what exactly do you want to know?" I asked, even though I pretty much had an idea of what exactly it was she wanted to know.

"You know exactly what I mean, Brian. How is she? Do I have to act a certain way in front of her to avoid pissing her off or can I just act naturally without having to do too much?" she asked and I chuckled.

"Just as long as you wipe that ugly frown you have on your face, you'll be fine," I replied, knowing very well that the frown wasn't the only thing she needed to wipe off her face.

If Emerald thinks I'm rude, well, she's about to meet the woman who taught me how to be rude.