Chapter 169


    That night, Aaron seemed preupied with something. Instead of pestering me nonstop before bed


    like he usually did, he squeezed me close to him like a pillow all night.


    I’d rather be Aaron’s pillow than have him folding me up like a pretzel in various sex positions, so I


    didn’tin. After all, Cinder and I were nning to go skiing the next day.


    But to my shock, during breakfast the next morning, Cinder suddenly announced, “I’m a little tired


    today, I don’t want to ski.”


    She blinked over at me. “Olive, why don’t we go shopping instead?”


    I’ve never really liked shopping, and there was a big financial gap between me and Cinder, so I couldn’t


    shop at a lot of the stores she liked. But when I looked into her expectant face, I couldn’t say no. I was


    guessing she wanted me to follow her around and carry her bags while she shopped, so after thinking


    about it for a while, I nodded and agreed.


    My attention waspletely focused on Cinder, so I missed the way Aaron’s fingers were trembling,


    and the way his eyes lit up when I nodded.


    After breakfast, Cinder hurriedly dragged me straight out of the


    house.


    She drove fast, and in less than half an hour, the two of us were in the city. But instead of driving us to


    a shopping mall, she took us to a luxury spa in a fancy, ornate building.


    I was a little taken aback. Why did Cinder bring me here?


    Cinder had already gotten out of the car. She walked around to the passenger side and knocked loudly


    on the door. “What are you staring at? Get out of the car!”


    What did she want me to do? I pushed open the door, confused. As soon as I got out of the car, Cinder


    grabbed my arm and charged ahead into the building.


    She snapped her fingers briskly at the blonde woman who approached us as we walked in. “We’ll get


    your best facials, and we’d like our hair and makeup done, too.”


    We? Cinder’s wording only confused me even more. “Why do I have to do it too?”


    Something seemed off about Cinder today. Ever since the moment she decided she didn’t want to go


    skiing, she’d been acting really strange.


    I was about to ask what was wrong, but Cinder pulled me into the spa treatment room before I could


    get a word in. She rolled her eyes and said matter-of-factly, “I paid good money to get us a team of


    beauticians from L.A. If you don’t do it, you’ll be wasting my money.”


    I could only go along with it in a daze as Cinder dragged me through a series of expensive treatments.


    After my hair was done, Cinder circled me with her arms folded, stroked her chin, and inspected me


    carefully from head to toe. “I think her lipstick color isn’t dark enough. And the eyeliner needs to be


    more natural to entuate her eye color.”


    After hearing that, the makeup artist immediately came over to touch up my makeup.


    Cinder stared at me intently in the mirror, and I felt goosebumps pr*ckling on my arms.


    I didn’t usually spend much time on makeup. When I looked at my borately made-up face in the


    mirror, I was so dazzled, I almost


    had to look away.


    I wondered if Aaron would be surprised to see me like this when we got home.


    When I thought of Aaron, my mind started to wander. I still didn’t know what he’d been talking about


    While I was lost in thought, Cinder patted my shoulder lightly. “You pretty princess, now it’s time to pick


    out your outfit.”


    I nced over to find that Cinder had also had her makeup done. Butpared to my look, her


    makeup was much more understated and subtle.


    As Cinder brought me into another room to pick out my clothes, I tugged at her hand. “Wait, Cinder…


    What exactly are we doing here?”


    She paused and gave me a cheeky smile. “Well, actually, I have a family reception I want to take you to


    tonight. I can’t get out of it, but I figure it’ll be more fun if we go together, right?”


    I had apanied Cinder to simr receptions before. Those kinds of events were usually just a


    bunch of strangers mingling and making small talk about business, which was always boring for me.


    But Cinder didn’t wait for me to agree, just dragged me straight to the dressing room.


    She picked out a casual pink dress for herself, but chose an elegant, flowing gauzy white gown for me.


    I shook my head as she held it up to me. “Cinder, I can’t.”


    At this kind of reception, I always preferred to stay on the outskirts.


    of conversation. I never wanted to get everyone’s attention, so I usually chose the drabbest business


    attire I could find.


    I had never worn such an extravagant dress in my life.


    But Cinder pushed me into the dressing room and started tugging at the clothes I was wearing. “Your


    makeup matches this dress the best. Trust me, you’ll definitely be the most beautiful girl today.”


    I shook my head even harder. I didn’t want to be the most beautiful, I just wanted to fade into the


    background so no one would notice if I made a mistake.


    Cinder clicked her tongue disapprovingly and brought up another point I couldn’t argue with. “Don’t you


    want to see Aaron’s reaction to you in this dress? I think he’ll be very surprised.”


    That was enough to make me pause for a moment.


    Of course I wanted Aaron to see me in such a beautiful outfit. I figured, for Aaron’s sake, maybe I could


    try the dress.


    Seeing that my resolve was wavering, Cinder breathed a sigh of relief, then quickly helped me put on


    the white dress.


    “Oh my g*d, you look stunning, Olive!”


    Once I was wearing the dress, Cinder circled around me several times, unable to hide her surprised


    expression.


    I touched my face, a little curious to find out what I looked like.


    But Cinder didn’t give me the chance. After changing my clothes, she checked the time on her cell


    phone, dragged me out of the spa and back into the car, and immediately mmed on the gas.


    Cinder drove extremely fast, and all I could see was the forest of


    tall buildings quickly receding behind us, fading into a series of swooping valleys and snow-covered


    hills.


    I was a little surprised that the family reception was going to be held out here in the middle of nowhere;


    This content provided by N(o)velDrama].[Org.


    I thought events like that were usually held in fancy hotels.


    Just then, Cinder mmed on the brakes. She parked the car and opened the passenger door for me,


    like a knight escorting a princess to the castle.


    She leaned against the doorframe and winked down at me mischievously. “We’re here. I can only take


    you this far. Just go down this road.”


    After I got out of the car, Cinder quickly got back in the driver’s seat and drove away, like a messenger


    who hadpleted her mission.


    I waspletely at a loss. Wondering what Cinder was up to, I walked down the road with my skirt


    bunched in my hands.


    Lost in thought, I followed the gravel road around a corner and stopped in my tracks. In front of me, the


    snow-covered road was covered with ayer of bright red rose petals.


    I looked up. At the end of the road, I could see Aaron dressed in a formal suit, holding a bouquet of


    flowers and gazing intently back


    at me.