Kilin clutched the hangers given to her by Mrs Ainsworth feeling ill at ease. She hadn't asked the kind-hearted woman's name but when she heard that she was surnamed Ainsworth she suddenly had a sneaky suspicion that this must be Wyatt's mother.
She honestly didn't know how to feel as she looked at her with a blank stare. She suppressed her emotions and tried to act as normal as possible.
"... You should go and try it out and let's see how it looks," said Maira and Kilin nodded her head before heading to the changing rooms.
Luna who stood there frozen for a moment felt resentment in her heart. She was fairly certain that Kilin had no idea who the person in front of her was yet she was the one to whom Mrs Ainsworth picked clothes. She was so jealous of her that she almost couldn't suppress her feelings.
Her jealousy simmering beneath the surface, she cast a glance at her mother as though asking to be introduced. Everyone in their circle knew that if you wanted to tackle the big hill you had to conquer the small hill first. Wyatt was very hard to get to but his mother however was an easier target and in turn, she would influence her son. She longed for Mrs. Ainsworth's attention, yet, here she was, being overshadowed by Kilin. That had never happened before.
Scarlet, ever the opportunist, attempted to redirect Mrs Ainsworth's attention towards Luna, pointing out how stunning her daughter was. "This is my daughter Luna. She goes to the same school as your son," she said and Maira who hadn't shown any interest before was a little intrigued.
"It's a pleasure to meet you. Which year?" she asked curious to find out what her son was like at school. She was rarely home but when she talked to him on the phone his vocabulary was limited.
It was always en, uh huh, mn and sure. If she didn't know any better she might have thought he was inarticulate but at his grandfather's birthday, he gave a speech in front of everyone his demeanour like a chairman making a business proposal to board members.
"Senior year class one," replied Luna and Maira's eyes shone with interest.
"And the young lady just now?" she asked. Luna felt irritable but she didn't show it in her face. Before she could reply, her mother interjected,
"Oh, she is my late brother-in-law's child. She goes to the same school," she said and Maira was a little surprised. She heard that the Branson family had twin boys. One was the current head of the Branson company while the other hiked all around the world. The other twin fell to his death on one of his adventures but no one knew he had a child. He wasn't even married when he passed.
"And her name is?" asked Mrs Ainsworth curious to know.
"Kilin," replied Scarlet reluctantly. Usually, when she introduced her daughter no one cared about the others as her daughter was a beacon shining bright. Smart, beautiful, kind, you name it. She was the epitome of perfection.
"Which year is she?" Scarlet was about to open her mouth to answer when exclamations of praise filled the room.
"Wow young miss you look stunning."
"That colour makes your eyes pop."
"Gorgeous."
The store attendant and manager couldn't help but admire Kilin's transformation.
Kilin's confidence had slowly begun to revive after wearing the dress Mrs Ainsworth picked for her. It seemed tailored specifically for her, accentuating her best features and making her feel like a princess. She was used to people praising her on the livestream and showering her with gifts but she found that she was very shy when praised in person.
Luna felt very uncomfortable with every compliment Kilin received. She was used to being the center of attention but in that moment, it was Kilin who held the spotlight. The feeling was surreal.
Mrs Ainsworth was quite pleased and complimented her several times. While Kilin was in seventh heaven blushing profusely her mood suddenly dropped and she fell out of the clouds. It was because Mrs Ainsworth had asked, "Kilin, do you know my son, Wyatt."
Kilin, "..."
Knew him? She wanted to kill him. Fine, killing him was a bit excessive. She wanted to beat him up until he apologised but since she couldn't do either of those as it was against the law she could only imagine her killing him in her head several times. That wasn't illegal, right?
Seeing how distracted she was, Maira touched her shoulder and asked if she was okay. Kilin immediately snapped out of it and said, "No, I don't know him," but anyone who knew her well could tell she was a very bad liar.
As they left the boutique Kilin was absent-minded Scarlet was curious to know why she lied. Luna however was very happy. It was because Wyatt's mother turned her attention to her and asked about Wyatt. From Mrs Ainsworth's tone, she seemed very impressed with her which is exactly what Luna wanted. The three women were so occupied with their own thoughts that they didn't notice Wyatt standing outside the boutique.
As soon as they disappeared, Wyatt entered the store and found his mother sitting on the couch with shopping bags around her waiting for him.
"You know you have a lot of people to help you with this but here you are sitting there waiting for me," he said as he sat next to her.
Maira's eyes brightened when she saw her son. She reached over and tucked away a stray strand of his hair while saying, "But I want my son to help me."
Wyatt sighed before getting up. "Let's go," he said and Maira happily got up with the store attendants carrying most of the bags.
Their car drove off soon after and while she had her son trapped in the confines of the car she said, "It's your uncle's birthday tomorrow. Don't you have a plus one you want to bring along?"
Wyatt glanced out the window looking at the passing traffic before answering her, "I can bring Myan."
Maira chuckled softly before saying, "You know what I mean."
"Do you mean those girls you were talking to," he finally said trying to steer the conversation in that direction so he could find out what Kilin told his mother.
"Oh ho, so you came earlier and chose not to enter. Why? Is one of them your crush or something?" she asked her curiosity piqued.
"No, I just don't like talking. Why are you more interested in my love life than in my school work?" he said and Maira was a little taken aback. Her son rarely spoke so much but today he was a chatterbox. It was simply unbelievable.
She decided to take full advantage of this and suggested to have dinner together.
Wyatt who still wanted to know what she talked about with Kilin agreed. Once his father was in the picture he wouldn't stand a chance. Her attention would gravitate towards him and they wouldn't be able to have a full conversation.
Five minutes later, President Ainsworth who had hastily ended a meeting so he could go home to his wife received a message and his heart sank.
Wifey: Having dinner with Wyatt. Sort yourself out tonight.
President Ainsworth, "..."