"A custom-made gown, you say?" Milly asked Greyson with a grin on her face, so he promptly nodded his head to confirm that he really wanted a dress that only Cassandra could wear.
He knew that it would cost him a lot since Milly was one of the most famous seamstresses and fashion designers in New York and her shop was truly top tier, but he was willing to go all-out for their wedding since it would only happen once in a lifetime. Besides, he thought Cassandra deserved it since she was kind enough to go with his craziness.
Cassandra couldn't help herself but meddle with their conversation knowing that he was trying to spend a lot of money just for her. "I don't think that's a great idea, Greyson." She said, shaking her head left and right.
"Why do you say so?" He asked with his forehead creased.
"These dresses right here are already too beautiful and elegant. They are already top of the line and I can wear one of them, so don't go for a custom-made one. It's not practical." She told him in a firm tone, but she was still trying to be cheerful.
He gently held her on her waist, looking at her straight in her eyes, and said, "Don't worry about the money, Cassy. I let you go here so everything is on me. You just have to let Milly take your measurements so she could start making your wedding gown. Is that fine?" His voice was so soft and low as he was trying to make her agree with him.
She just paused and stared at Greyson, thinking thoroughly of what she should do. She grabbed Greyson's hand and pulled him out of the shop in an instant. "We'll be right back, Miss Milly. I'll have to talk to Greyson for a while." She told her in a slightly raised voice before they finally got out of the shop.
"What do you want, Cassandra? Can't you just do this for me? Do we really have to talk about it thoroughly?" Greyson exclaimed and he was starting to get annoyed.
She shook her head once and clicked her tongue. "No, you don't understand me. Don't you think you're being too much? Your efforts about the wedding will be useless after this because our marriage is a big fat lie. We won't be communicating with each other after."
People began to stare at them, but they didn't seem to care at all. Cassandra wanted to voice out what she really had in her heart since the fact that the person in front of her was a billionaire still seemed unrealistic.
He continuously nodded for an instant. "You're right. We won't really be seeing each other after, but if we can just let Milly create a stunning dress for you for the wedding, then we can at least have a memorable one. I'm sure you'll look good on it." Greyson was so serious at this time; he really wanted Cassandra to wear something nice, but she wouldn't let him.
"As I told you, the dresses that Miss Milly presented are already too much. If I would be the one to choose, I'd rather choose the ones in the boutique than the dresses that Milly created." She scoffed, then looked at the shop and back again at Greyson. "Those dresses are out of my league, I'm just a simple civilian yet you took me to her shop. I'm fine with it, Greyson, really." Her voice began to drop the tone and she couldn't look at him in his eyes anymore.
Greyson brushed his palm on his face; he was only holding back not to argue with her too much, but he couldn't restrain himself.
"I understand you're concerned about the price, but I can afford it. You're not required to pay for it, okay? Just follow my orders since I am your boss right now. You need the money for your university tuition, right? I am paying you after the wedding, so just do as I say," he said, his calm tone giving way to a truly menacing tone, which startled Cassandra.
Cassandra didn't know how she would respond to it, but she felt as if her ego had been thrashed over. She felt like her good intentions of not spending a lot of money for her were being looked down on because of the money.
Her eyes began to build up tears and her hands began to tremble. As she looked at Greyson who seemed unbothered, she also tried her best to act normally. Cassandra heaved out a deep sigh and looked at him in his eyes. "Look, I just want things to go smoothly, don't try to go for a custom-made gown because it'll be too costly. That's all I want."
"Then why can't you–"
"However, if you're too close-minded to take suggestions from me, this will never work out." The tears she had been holding back were finally falling down her cheeks like a waterfall. She tried to dry those tears away, but they still kept coming.
"H-Hey, stop it. Why are you crying?" Greyson tried to wipe her tears, but she didn't let him touch her again.
Cassandra sobbed, wiping her tears, then she looked at Greyson while the whites of her eyes turned red. "I just want you to not spend too much on a fake marriage, but I can't let you just say anything you want. Yes, I need the money, but I am not that desperate. I have made up my mind, Greyson. Let's just terminate the contract right here, right now. I can still find a lot of ways on how I can continue my studies." She told him in a firm tone of voice, then turned her back on him to ride a taxi.
Fortunately, a taxi stopped in front of her right away and she was able to flee the place, leaving Greyson standing outside the Narcissus. He was so clueless about what just happened; he thought their conversation ran too fast and couldn't explain himself in a way that Cassandra could understand.
"Fuck! What just happened?!" Greyson screamed in annoyance, kicking on the ground.
He got inside the shop and told Milly that they should just come back the other day. Cassandra already left him, but he didn't tell her about it.
"I need to go for now, Milly. I'll call you again for the next appointment if there is. Thanks for your service." Greyson told Milly and gave her a cheque as payment for assisting them today.
"Come back anytime, Greyson. My shop is open 24/7 for you." She said as the door closed since Greyson was in a hurry.