-Evangeline-
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"Where here, Mrs. Winters," Donny says as the car parks.
I watch Donny get out of the car and open the door that Hunter sits next to. I take a deep breath as I get up from my seat, exiting the door while feeling the gaze of Hunter and Stephanie staring at my ass.
I inhale the fresh air like it's the cleanest air in the world.
"Any particular reason why we're at a jewelry store?" Donny asks as I stare at the sign lit by the sun above.
"Getting something for Winty," I say as I walk my sore legs into the building as Donny follows.
"Hello! Welcome to K-Jewlery. How can I help-"
A woman with neat black updo hair and wearing a black dress suit- as a normal jeweler store worker would- stops mid-sentence as I look at all the lined-up jewelry on the clear glass display counters.
"Hello, there. I'm looking for men's wedding rings," It isn't until I look at the woman that she stands there, staring at me with a paralyzed expression in her wide brown eyes.
"Is there a problem? Do I have something on me?" I say, confused as I look out my crinkled skirt and over long Mr. Winters's suit jacket.
I look back at Donny, wondering if the answer appears to him, but all I see is his worried look.
"UH- Uh- No, ma'am! We- we- we have a fine selection of men's jewelry in our men's collection. If you can follow me, I- I can show you," She wipes the palms of her hands on her skirt as thin droplets of sweat appear on her forehead.
She walks out from behind the counter and walks to the left side of the room, and I follow her, "Here we have the men's watches and men's..," she clears her throat, "Rings!" She spits out with nervousness.
"Are you okay?" I ask, looking at her hands shaking and looking like she's about to faint.
"Is everything okay, Mrs?" A blad man dressed in a black suit and shiny dress shoes that you can see your reflection in asks. I suppose he's the manager since he's better dressed and groomed than the other workers.
"Oh- yes!" I abruptly respond, "Uh- Cindy here was just showing me the men's selection of jewelry. She's doing a fine job at showing me around," I say, glancing at the woman's name tag, not wanting to get her in trouble.
"Hmm, yes. I think Cindy is doing a fine job, too, but I can take it over from here. We wouldn't want any misunderstandings while you're trying to pick out a jewel for your husband," He says with a too-friendly smile.
Husband? How does he know-
Reality strikes in me, and I look at Cindy.
Does she know I'm about to marry Mr. Winters? Is that why she's so nervous?
I clear my throat and turn behind me to Donny, "Donny, can we go somewhere else? I don't feel comfortable here," Donny nods, and I start walking towards the door with my arms loosely crossed, feeling uneasy.
"No! Wait, ma'am!" The manager says with urgency, "Don't go!" I turn back.
"And why not?" I answer with a stern look.
"Please, ma'am. I'm sure you can find an adequate selection of jewelry at our store," He says with a desperate tone, almost as if he was begging me to stay, but why?
There's that word again.
Adequate.
"Alright, I'll shop here, but only on one condition," I look at Cindy, "Leave me be and let me shop with my ORIGINAL helper, Cindy," I say, pointing at her.
"I assure you, if I'm bothered again by your presence, I won't hesitate to leave this time," I stare at the man, "Am I clear?" He swallows nervously and smiles fearfully.
"Yes... ma'am," He bows, and I watch him walk away, back into the back doors of the store. I take a deep breath, finally free from his presence.
"Shall we resume, Cindy?" Cindy smiles at me in a more calming way.
"Of course, ma'am," She says more confidently with a smile, "Is there any certain type of jewelry you're looking for?" She says with a beaming smile, showing her pearly white teeth through her cherry red lips that harmonized with her caramelized skin perfectly.
"I'm looking for a ring," I say while scanning the watches, amazed they have so many different kinds and expensive brands.
"Right this way, ma'am," Cindy leads towards an island counter full of different colored and over-expensive rings.
I rub my tired eyes, pulling my hands away to see it covered with makeup, "Tell me, Cindy, do I look terrible?" Cindy looks at me with wide eyes.
"Oh, no, ma'am! You look absolutely gorgeous! Any woman would want to be you right now," I roll my eyes.
"Why would they want to be me?" I say, looking into the mirror, and grabbing wipes out of my purse.
"Because you're famous," I suddenly look up from the mirror, mid-wiping the tear and hand-smeared makeup off.
"What do you mean by famous?" Cindy gives me a bewildered look.
"You're the latest news. You're all over every social media platform," I quickly throw the dirty makeup from my bag and grab my phone, looking at every social media platform I have.
"Where?" I ask, seeing myself nowhere.
Cindy pulls out her phone and pulls open the first social media app she has, showing me a post of me and Mr. Winters walking next to each other after getting food with the big headlines.
"Mr. Winters is ENGAGED!! See the latest news on page 1."
"I must say, it's a big honor to meet you, Mrs. Winters. I've never met someone famous before," Cindy says with an excited smile.
Why the hell was nothing showing on my phone? I was famous, and I didn't know it. My mind thought about every single thing that could have happened until one name who caused all of this to pop into my head.
August.
"Me either," I mumble, "Uh- I'm sorry to say, Cindy, but I don't see-" My eyes stop at a ring at the end of the line. It spoke to me.
It says Mr. Winters all over it.
It's a beautiful curve of dark silver outings with a thick, bold black line going straight down the middle of the whole ring. It's perfect.
It's the perfect wedding ring for him.
I walk towards the end of the counter, looking at the ring.
"Do you see something you like, Mrs. Winters?" My eyes blink from looking down at the ring to the other side of the counter at Cindy.
"I- I like this one," I point my finger at the silver and black ring without trying to leave a fingerprint on the glass.
"Let me show it to you," Cindy takes the keys off a hook in her pocket, unlocks the lock, and slides the white reflecting wall, revealing the back opening of the case.
She grabs the grey box -which the ring sets in- inside soft black cushioning, and sets it on the glass for a closer inspection.
"This ring is one of our collectors and looks very expensive, but is only for a low price of five thousand dollars," She says with pride. My heart drops, and my eyes widen while I look at the ring.
It's five thousand dollars. Even if I wanted to get it, I couldn't. Who the hell has five thousand dollars lying in their bank accounts? I barely have six hundred, let alone five fucking thousand.
I look my eyes from the glass counter and smile at her, "Uh- I don't suppose you have any cheaper rings?" Her smile drops to an annoying look.
"All of our rings are over the price of a thousand dollars, ma'am," She says with a lazy tone.
"What's wrong?" Donny whispers in my ear from behind my shoulder. I turn my head to look at him.
"I don't have enough money to buy this ring. In fact, any ring in this store," I say in a low, disappointed tone.
Donny pulls out his wallet and hands me a silver card, "Use this to pay for it," I give Donny a concerned look.
"But-"
"No, but's. Just do it," I grip the card tighter as I hold it out to Cindy. I run my finger across the name as I recognize something.
I pull the card back and read the cursive engraved name.
C. Winters
"Donny, why do you have his card?"
"Hm?" He says, trying to act confused. I turn around and look Donny in the eyes.
"Why do you have his card?" Donny swallows nervously.
"Well, he gave it to me to buy whatever you want," My eyes squint as fury rushes through my blood.
"You mean this whole time, he has been buying me everything?!" I say through my teeth. I take a deep breath and calm my anger.
"I'll deal with it later. I don't want to use his card because he can see the transaction, and I want this gift to be a surprise," I say, making sure not to use Mr. Winters's name because apparently it's a trigger word for the management.
"I'll just use my card then, and you can pay me back," Donny says as he pulls out his card. I smile.
"Thanks, Donny. You're the best. Do you mind if I keep his card? I have a lot of questions to ask him when I get home," Donny chuckles as I put Mr. Winters's card in my wallet.
"Not at all. It might as well as be your card anyways," I smile maniacally, thinking of all the questions I'm going to yell at Mr. Winters.
"Great! Oh, before we pay for it, I have one thing I want to customize about the ring."
****
I stare at the bag on my lap with the ring inside, proud of what I've made. It may have cost an extra thousand for the customization I had to it, but it was worth the final product. However..., it still questions me as to why he wouldn't tell me.
****
I set the tray holding a bowl of homemade chicken noodle soup -that I made even though I'm angry at him- crackers, and a glass of water on Mr. Winters's lap.
"What's this?" He says with a smile and sitting up in bed. I ignore him while I set his gift on my dresser, not taking it out of the bag.
I set my keys on the dresser while I sigh. I turn to look at him and toss his card at him.
"You want to explain this?" He grabs the card and looks at me with narrow eyes.
"I'm going to murder Donny," He says as he sets the tray to the side, throws off his covers, and gets up.
"Oh no, you don't! You're not going anywhere until you answer me and finish your soup!" I walk in front of him, blocking his way.
"Get out of my way, Evangeline!" He tries to go around me, but I block his way on every step he takes.
"You're not going anywhere until you answer me and eat," Every ounce of me courages up, keeping a stern look, not giving in to his threatening look.
Eventually, he backs me up to the door, and I hold my arms out, holding the doorframe with each hand as I block his way.
"You know, I can easily peel you off the doorframe and leave the room," I take a deep breath, imagining him lifting me up again.
"Do your worst," He cocks his head, thinking about what I've just said, and rubs the light stubble on his chin.
"What if I don't want to finish the soup?" He says with an unholy smirk.
"There's a lot of things I can do to you, to not make you leave this room until you finish that soup," My eyes look him up and down as sinful things come uncontrollably to mind.
Damn it, libido. Get out of my head! This isn't the time.
Mr. Winters gets closer as he towers over me and leans down, close to my face, as if he can read me all over, "Then show me."
I lick my top lip and daringly look him in his smokey-blue eyes, "I- I would, but you're still sick, remember?"
"Suddenly, I feel better. Now, show me what you would do."
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-End Of Chapter 70-
Thank you sooo much for reading Chapter 70 Of CRASHING DOWN INTO GLORY! <3