“Oliver? What the fuck does he want with you?” Tony asked, his expression hardening as he saw the texts on Lily’s phone.
“Oh, it’s nothing. He’s just checking up on me since he didn’t see me at work. I have been helping him out at the hospital.” Lily explained innocently.
“Can I see?” Tony asked and Lily freely handed him her phone for him to go through their texts.
As Tony read through the messages, he realized that Oliver had been keeping tabs on Lily without her knowing. He used normal questions that wouldn’t look fishy to keep track of her activities and Lily who was as naive as a child kept giving him the information he needed.
“What’s wrong?” Lily asked when she saw the angry look on Tony’s face. She wondered what he had seen on her phone that made him angry.
“This Oliver guy. I have a feeling that there’s more to him. You need to be careful around him.” Tony warned and Lily frowned, taking her phone and pocketing it.
“Don’t tell me you’re jealous of him, Tony.” Lily sighed. “We are friends and coworkers. I don’t see anything wrong with him checking up on me.” She said and moved closer to Tony whose expression had changed to an angry one at the mention of him being jealous of Oliver.
“I understand your worries but, I think Oliver is a nice guy. I don’t have a lot of friends, especially at the hospital so I think it’s nice having him around.” She explained, her eyes begging him to understand.
Tony’s expression softened. “I know how much you want to have friends, Lily but, I don’t think Oliver is that friend. You should be careful with him. There’s something about him that feels…off.”
Lily sighed loudly and shook her head. “Oh, Tony. I think you’re wrong about him. He is so nice.” She said, grinning widely and Tony rolled his eyes.
“Nice guys do not send heart emojis to ladies that are not their partners.” He retorted, scoffing dramatically.
“I know what I am saying. I have this gut feeling. Soon, you’d realize that I have been correct all along.”
Lily shook her head, still convinced that he was just being jealous because there was another guy around her.
As they continued to walk around the boutique, picking out more dresses, a figure lurked in the shadows, taking pictures and videos of them at intervals.
*
*
The Next Day
At exactly 2 pm, Lily sat in front of the vanity mirror as a makeup artist hovered over with a makeup brush. Tony had brought in an entire team as per Rachael’s request.
She wanted this to be an experience for Lily as she knew that something like that was strange to Lily.
“You’re going to steal the show tonight.” Rachael praised with a grin as the makeup artist added the final touches to her look.
“My brother isn’t going to know what’s coming his way. I doubt he’d be able to take his eyes off you for the whole night.” She added causing Lily and the other women in the room to giggle.
“I’m not so sure about the first one but, the latter is a given.” She joked and laughed again.
“I’m done.” The makeup artist announced and as Lily stared at the finished work on her face, she held in tears. She could barely recognize. The person she was looking at was not from the lower class like her, this person was different.
“Don’t you dare cry, Lily? You’ll ruin your makeup.” Rachael warned as she saw her teary eyes. Lily nodded and pushed the tears in before taking off her robe so she could change into the red dress for the night.
She was helped into the dress by some of the ladies in the room and when she stood before the full-length mirror, her jaw dropped. The red dress and the makeup complimented each other so well, that Lily thought she was a celebrity.
“Wow,” She whispered, admiring her reflection in the mirror.
“Told ya! Now, come on. Let’s go knock Tony off his feet.”
In the living room, Tony adjusted the cuff of his suit impatiently as he waited for Lily. He repeatedly glanced at his watch until he heard the sound of footsteps echoing from the stairs.
When he looked up, his breath seized.
Lily walked down the stairs gracefully, the well-lighted living room giving her red dress a perfect glow. He moved his eyes up to her face and his mouth parted when he saw how beautiful she looked.
“You look…. incredible…” His voice cracked, his usual confidence faltering. “I don’t even think incredible does enough justice to how you look.”
Lily smiled, a blush making its way to her face. “Thank you, Tony. You look stunning yourself.” She said truthfully.
He was dressed in a back tuxedo with his hair sleeked to the side. In a nutshell, he looked like he came out of a men’s fashion magazine. Well, technically speaking, he did come out of a magazine.
His face was on a lot of entertainment magazines.
“I told you she’d be perfect! Now, off you go! The world waits for you both!” Rachael beamed and shooed them away.
Tony helped Lily get into the car before taking his seat beside her.
As the car pulled up to the venue, Lily’s nerves spiked. She began playing with her fingers in an attempt to calm her nerves.
“Hey,” Tony called out softly as he noticed her trembling.
“You’re alright, Lily. You’re with me. Just focus on enjoying the party, okay?” He said and placed his hands on her thighs.
Lily nodded and took a deep breath.
When the car door opened, a flash of cameras hit them immediately and the reporters present hurried to them, attacking them with questions.
Lily who was new to things like this, immediately hid behind Tony, shutting her eyes to protect them from the camera lights.
“Dr Martinez! Who is the woman beside you?”
“Who is she to you, Dr Martinez?”
“This is our first time seeing you with a woman. What happened?”
The reporters were relentless with their questions, making Lily tense up.
She wasn’t Tony’s girlfriend or wife so, she was deeply bothered by their question as it was putting Tony in a tight spot.
Tony turned to the cameras confidently, his face calm and collected. “This is Lily Arnold.” He said. There was pin-drop silence as everyone waited to hear what came next, including Lily.
Tony turned to her and flashed her a smile before squeezing her arm softly, reassuring her that all would be well.
“This is Lily Arnold.” He said again and finally turned to the reporters.
“She is my girlfriend.”