No Love For The Villain - Chapter 49
The overworked pencil lead snapped with a sharp crack. Unable to draw any longer, Sierra looked toward Eli, who stood waiting by the window. He was facing the window, his suit jacket draped over one arm.
Sierra set down the sketchbook and rose from the bed. She approached the window. Looking over Eli’s shoulder, she saw what he had been watching.
A shadow stirred in the building across the street.
“Someone’s watching.”
The moment she realized it, Eli drew the curtains. He placed the jacket he had been holding over Sierra’s shoulders.
“We need to go buy clothes.”
Eli spoke as if there had been no one outside the window. But Sierra had clearly seen it.
Who could it be? Why were they watching us?
Questions arose, but the moment Eli took her hand, her attention shifted. By gripping her hand firmly, Eli drew Sierra’s thoughts back to himself. He made sure she could think of nothing else.
***
After walking through the snow-covered streets, the two arrived at a dress shop where elegant mannequins stood in the display window.
Eli opened the door and let Sierra enter first. A staff member in a suit greeted her warmly, “Welcome.”
“A piece of clothing. Something warm.”
The man who bluntly asked for warm clothes had clearly never bought women’s clothing before. The experienced staff member, unflappable, responded with a kind smile.
“Your wife has such a beautiful face that any outfit would surely suit her.”
Silence fell over the dress shop.
Sierra expected Eli to correct the staff member’s misunderstanding, but he let it pass unchallenged. Before the staff member could become flustered by the cold man’s silence, Sierra spoke up.
“Thank you.”
At Sierra’s reply, the staff member beamed and led her toward a mannequin dressed in a gown.
“How about this dress? A cut like this would suit your figure very well. You’re as slender as a model, after all.”
While the staff member spoke, Sierra stood awkwardly before the elegant, delicate dress—something she had never worn before.
Eli, with one hand tucked into his pants pocket, wore an expression so cold it could have embarrassed even the mannequin.
He pointed at the dress’s deeply cut neckline with his fingertip.
“Is an outfit that bares so much of the neck considered warm?”
His gaze toward the dress, which would leave the neck fully exposed, was sharp.
It seemed that making the wrong recommendation to him could lead to serious trouble.
Sierra glanced between the staff member and Eli, then spoke up.
“But it’s pretty.”
Sierra’s words brought life back to the staff member’s expression.
“If you like it, wearing a coat over it would look lovely too. And it would be warm, just as your husband wishes.”
Sierra nodded.
“Alright.”
“I’ll show you a coat. Just a moment.”
The staff member quickly returned with a coat, draping it over the mannequin and watching Sierra’s reaction.
“It’s lovely.”
At Sierra’s compliment, the staff member broke into a bright smile. Then their gaze shifted to Eli.
“It suits her well, wouldn’t you say, sir?”
The man who was not Sierra’s husband looked at the mannequin with an expression unchanged. Then he turned his head and looked at Sierra instead.
Sierra, not understanding why he was looking at her rather than the clothes, quietly met his eyes.
“If it pleases my wife.”
At his composed words, Sierra wore a blank expression. My wife. His lie sent ripples through her chest, stirring an unsteady commotion within.
Sierra looked away. Her darting gaze landed on the staff member, who was beaming warmly.
“Your husband is so full of love.”
But Sierra thought that if she had to pick one word that least suited the man with the indifferent eyes, it would be love.
Caught between the staff member’s misunderstanding and the whimsical man’s lies, she felt unable to move one way or the other.
Standing there in silence with her lips pressed together, Sierra was gently asked by the staff member,
“Would you like to try it on?”
Eli removed his jacket, which had been draped over Sierra’s shoulders.
“Go try it on.”
The oversized jacket, too large for her, returned to its owner. But Sierra’s now-bare shoulders hunched forward.
The reassuring weight of his garment was gone in an instant. As she stood still, looking at Eli, he settled onto the sofa and said,
“I’ll be here.”
She trusted his words. Even if she came back wearing new clothes, he would still be sitting there in that same spot.
Enduring the growing emptiness that expanded the farther she moved from Eli, Sierra followed the staff member.
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