Chapter 12

The workday finally ended, and Gabriela followed Aubrey out of the building, the weight of the luxurious gift box tucked under her arm.

Aubrey's endless curiositybubbled over as they walked, peppering Gabriela with questions about her so-called boyfriend.

Heat crept up Gabriela's cheeks.

Was Brenden even her boyfriend? He was a notorious flirt, not exactly boyfriend material. All they were doing was scratching each other's backs. The only reason he'd sent that extravagant SK Elite Boutique dress was because he needed her to play the perfect date at some fancy banquet.

Realizing Gabriela wasn't in the mood to share,Aubrey let the topic drop, though her eyes still gleamed with mischief.

They reached the bus stop and settled in to wait.Suddenly, a bright red BMW slid up to the curb with a showy squeal, horn blaring in rapid bursts.

Both women turned, startled, just as the tinted window slid down. Phyllis lounged in the passenger seat, her smile bright and insincerely sweet. "Are you on your way home,Gabriela? | can give you a ride."

Before Gabriela could respond, Phyllis gave a theatrical little gasp and pressed a hand to her chest."Oh, silly me! With your new wealthy boyfriend, I'm sure regular cars aren't good enough for you anymore."

Gabriela barely spared her a glance, lips pressed in a thin,unimpressed line.

Noticing Gabriela's chilly silence, Phyllis's grin only sharpened. Clearly convinced Gabriela was bluffing about her boyfriend, she pressed harder. "If your boyfriend's so loaded,why isn't he here picking you up?Why are you standing around waiting for a bus?"

Gabriela's voice was flat and steady as she answered,"He's got work. He's busy."

Phyllis let out a smug little laugh. "Naturally-men that important must have a million people to meet every day. I guess there's no time left for his girlfriend."

As she finished, Phyllis angled herself so Gabriela and Aubrey had an unobstructed view of Dustin behind the wheel. "Not like Dustin. He always drops everything just to pick me up after work."

Dustin's grip tightened on the steering wheel the moment he spotted the SK Elite Boutique box in Gabriela's hand.

Gabriela stood quietly beside Aubrey, her beauty impossible to ignore-velvety skin, legs impossibly long, the kind of looks that made strangers stare. She could have stepped right off the pages of a fairytale Even after their breakup, Dustin couldn't shake the old feelings. Some part of him still wanted her-resentful as he was.

But Gabriela appeared to have moved on from him.She had barely ended things before flaunting a new boyfriend, and if Phyllis was right, this guy was rich-probably middle-aged,maybe even older.

What kind of young billionaire handed out gifts worth a small fortune just for fun?

The more Dustin mulled it over, the more bitter he became.He shot Phyllis a sidelong glance, voice laced with contempt. "She doesn't even appreciate it.You're wasting your energy picking her up. Seriously,you're way too soft. Just let her fend for herself."

Dustin's sneer only made Phyllis feel more pleased with herself, though she managed to mask it with a syrupy apology. "Oh, Gabriela, don't mind Dustin. He's just brutally honest. He doesn't mean anything by it."

Gabriela didn't so much as blink. "It's fine. When someone's working with such a tiny processor upstairs,it's only natural that whatever he says bypasses his brain entirely. Why would I waste my energy arguing with someone like that?"

Aubrey also leapt to Gabriela's defense. "That's right!Honestly, you two are a match made in heaven-one struts around like royalty, and the other cruises in a screaming-red BMW like it's a trophy. But here's the thing-Gabriela's SK Elite Boutique dress probably costs more than three times the price of your car. lf you're here to put on a show, you're just making fools of yourselves."

Aubrey's barbs hit harder than Gabriela's.

Phyllis's face went ashen, and Dustin's jaw clenched in rage. "Gabriela, I can't believe you've turned into such a bitter, petty person-and your friend is just as vain as you. I'm really disappointed in you."

He wrapped an arm around Phyllis and pulled away,leaving the sting of his words behind.

Aubrey blinked in disbelief, momentarily caught off guard and speechless.

"Seriously, your cousin's something else, Gabriela. So,that guy she is with-he's actually your ex? Were you always this bad at picking men, or did dating that clown scramble your standards?" A sudden heaviness pressed on Gabriela's heart.

How had she ever fallen for someone like Dustin She'd tried a hundred times to untangle the reasor but every attempt just made her mood worse-so thi time,she let it go.

Seeing Gabriela's mood suddenly drop, Aubrey waste no time to cheer her up. "Ugh, who cares about tha loser? You've totally leveled up. Let's just forge about him and focus on the real win-SK Elite Boutique! That's what I want to talk about."

She dove right in, regaling Gabriela with animatec stories about the boutique's wild popularity, anc insisted she take a million photos at the banquet to share later.

A bus rumbled up to the curb. After a round of cheerful waves, Gabriela boarded, swept into the evening rush.

By the time she made it home, the house was quiet-no sign of Phyllis. Instead, she found Josh pacing the living room

The second he spotted her, he hurried over. "Gabriela How could you suddenly leave and head back to work while you were on a blind date? And you didn't come home or pick up your phone all night! Rhys was furious.Phyllis claimed he complained about you a lot after coming home."

Gabriela steadied herself, then announced, "Uncle Josh,I have a boyfriend now."

Josh stood there, momentarily stunned, his mouth opening and closing as if searching for words. Then he snapped back to life, rattling off questions, "What's his name? What kind of work does he do?"

Just yesterday she'd been fussing about a blind date,and now she suddenly had a boyfriend? Was she just making up storiesto dodge the whole thing?

Gabriela calmly replied, "I'll bring him to Phyllis's wedding. You'll get to meet him yourself then."

That seemed to finally put Josh's suspicions at ease -at least for now.

Once she'd escaped his interrogation,Gabriela slipped away to her room and lifted the lid of the gift box.

No matter how many times Aubrey had warned her about SK Elite Boutique's jaw-dropping prices,Gabriela was still stunned when she finally saw the dress up close.

The gown was a breathtaking shade of deep blue,falling to her knees, with rows of tiny, real diamonds glittering around the hem. Wearing it was like being draped in a patch of sunlight sparkling on the ocean. She might not know much about designer labels, but even she could tell this dress cost an outrageous fortune.

A jittery thrill swept over her, quickly edged out by a prickle of anxiety she couldn't quite shake.

Once she slipped into the dress, Gabriela hesitated for a moment, then reached out to "NotASaunders" with a text. "Mr. Saunders, it's just a banquet. Did you really have to go all out on a dress like this?"