“Win, in your opinion, which dress looks better on me?”
Veronica seemed to be in a bit of a dilemma as she tried to choose a dress to wear to her father’s company birthday party. She had pulled out almost her entire collection of best dresses from the wardrobe. Deliberately, she laid them out. She even asked Darwin to help her decide.
“Should I go with the black Sabrina-style one? The off-shoulder broken white? The mermaid cut, or just the cocktail dress?” Veronica asked once again, showing each dress to Darwin, who was standing there struggling to button his freshly worn white shirt.
In the midst of the barrage of questions, Darwin momentarily turned to look. Furrowing his brow, he then responded.
“Up to you. They all seem suitable for you.”
Veronica pouted. That’s often how it goes when seeking advice from men. They always play it safe, and sometimes avoid trouble by giving the ‘up to you’ answer as a final word. Yet, Veronica really hoped her husband would offer advice and assistance.
“How unhelpful!” Veronica complained as she walked back to the walk-in closet.
It wasn’t clear what she was doing in there. After a few minutes of silence, when she emerged, Veronica was already wearing the dress she had chosen.
Darwin, who was in the process of tying his tie, initially appeared nonchalant. But once he got a clear look at the style of the dress his wife was wearing, he immediately reacted.
“Are you serious about wearing that dress? To the company birthday party?”
Veronica nodded casually.
“Yeah. What’s wrong?”
“Change it!” Darwin ordered promptly.
“Why change it? This looks good. I’ll look stunning in this outfit.”
“It does look good. But, it’s quite revealing. You might catch a cold, Ve.”
“I won’t. I’ve worn even more revealing dresses before and been just fine. Besides, if I wear this dress, I’ll definitely get a lot of attention.”
“Yeah… including attention from your ex-boyfriend, right?” Darwin teased intentionally. Even though Veronica wasn’t talking about Sean at the moment, her husband often intentionally brought him up. It was just his jealousy talking, but he was too proud to admit it.
“Oh, come on, Win. Why bring up Sean? We’re not talking about him.”
“It’s just that. Not only Sean, but other guys will also enjoy seeing you in that sexy outfit, Ve,” Darwin complained. Then, there was an audible sigh of exasperation followed by the next command. “Alright, enough. Hurry up and change. I’m not going to accompany you if you insist on wearing something so revealing.”
“That’s why I asked for your help in choosing. But, you just said it’s up to me.”
Darwin sighed once again. Now, he was being blamed for not helping his wife choose a dress for the party.
“Alright, where are the dresses? Let me choose.”
Finally, Veronica smiled happily. Taking Darwin’s wrist, she led her husband into the walk-in closet. She showed him a few dress options for him to pick from.
“Among these four, which one do you think suits me?”
Darwin cast a glance at the dresses Veronica had neatly laid out. Squinting, he observed each one carefully, weighing his options. Which one would fit her well and be appropriate for her to wear tonight?
After a thoughtful look, Darwin raised his index finger and pointed to the glittering black Cocktail Dress in the back row.
“Just go with this one. It suits your body type. Besides making you look slim, it’ll also make you appear taller. Plus, the color matches my suit for tonight.”
Veronica nodded in agreement.
“Yeah, we’ll sort of be dressed as a couple. Thanks for helping me pick. In that case, let me change.”
As Veronica changed her dress, Darwin opted to sit on the couch while putting on his shoes. After waiting for about 10 minutes, Veronica finally emerged and immediately showcased her appearance to Darwin.
“How does it look? Is it good?”
Darwin looked up. Gazing intently, he was captivated for a moment by the beautiful sight Veronica presented. Undeniably, his wife looked stunning in the dress she was currently wearing.
“Beautiful,” Darwin murmured almost in a whisper. His eyes remained fixed on Veronica, who was standing right in front of him.
“What? What did you just say?” Veronica inquired to confirm.
“Huh? W-what?”
“What did you say, Win? I didn’t hear you. And how does my appearance look? Is it good?”
Darwin immediately nodded repeatedly.
“Good. Really good, actually. This suits you better than the previous one.”
“Am I pretty, then?” Veronica deliberately teased. She was just curious about the kind of response her husband would give.
“It would be a blatant lie if I said you weren’t beautiful, Ve. You’re gorgeous in every outfit.”
“Of course,” Veronica replied with a playful smile. “Darwin Walters’s wife has always been beautiful. It’s just you who realized it a bit late.”
Darwin scoffed and shortly after, he couldn’t help but smile. His ears perked up as he heard what Veronica had just said.
“Alright, hurry up and finish your makeup. After that, we’ll head straight to the event.”
Veronica didn’t argue. Right away, she applied her makeup quickly on her beautiful face. She tidied her hair once more. After ensuring her appearance was absolutely perfect, she rushed over to Darwin, and together they set off for the event.
Upon arriving at the Avenue Convention Hall, the invited guests were already seen arriving one by one, filling the venue. Along the way in, Darwin and Veronica were constantly greeted by colleagues and business associates in turn. They stopped occasionally to exchange greetings and even had short conversations with the colleagues present.
“I swear I didn’t expect the party to be this lively. So many invited guests have come,” Darwin whispered as they walked slowly toward Darius, who was standing not far from the event stage.
“Of course it’s crowded; all staff from various branches were invited to attend. That’s why this event is held at the Convention Hall, not the Ballroom as usual.”
“And it’s awkward, many of them seem to be watching you, Ve.”
“Oh, really?”
Darwin nodded.
“Even Sean seems quite captivated by how beautiful you look tonight,” Darwin remarked, indicating Sean’s presence across from them.
“It’s probably just your imagination, Win. Sean is usually friendly and smiles at me anyway, right?”
“Exactly. He’s so cheeky, smiling at his boss’s wife.”
“Come on, just admit that you’re jealous.”
Darwin turned to look at her. He then sighed in a lazy manner.
“I’m not jealous, alright?”
“Not jealous, but you’re jealous. Just so you know, that’s the risk of having a beautiful wife.”
Darwin groaned. Continuing their steps, they finally reached the spot where Darius was standing. Seeing his daughter and son-in-law had arrived, Darius immediately greeted them and gave them a welcome hug.
“I thought you two might not come tonight,” he said after releasing the hug.
“Of course Veronica and Darwin would come, Pa. This is an important annual event.”
“Thank goodness. Besides, there are many business acquaintances that I want to introduce you both to.”
After that, Darius truly showed what he meant. He proceeded to introduce Veronica and Darwin to each of the important colleagues and associates who were present that night, adding to the vibrancy of the event.
Once the introductions and conversations were done, Darwin and Veronica decided to continue mingling. In the midst of their walk, Darwin was so surprised that he stopped in his tracks momentarily.
“Darwin.”
Right in front of him stood a figure he knew well. Gazing deeply, without hesitation, she spoke his name gently. The person before him was none other than Vivian, Darwin’s ex-girlfriend, who happened to be at the birthday party that night.