Chapter 24

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Crystal's pov

"Great timing" I heard Dante's whispering slowly and my eyes widened in shock.

I looked back at Sarah who was still smirking but soon her smirk dropped and she looked at me up and down.

"Oh my god Crystal, you're looking so pretty" Sarah said making her way towards me.

"And different too" She added and twirled me. I giggled at her.

"Now I understand why Dante was.." She stopped as Dante glared her. She smirked at him.

"What were you guys doing before?" She asked and I gulped and looked at Dante who was looking at Sarah with bored expressions.

"Oh.. He was saving me" I said suddenly to which she narrowed her eyes at me.

"Saving you? From who?" She asked raising her brows.

I heard Dante chuckling at Sarah's question. Of course.

"Um.. I was about to fall so he caught me" I muttered looking away from both of them.

"Oh, you're so clumsy" She commented to which I glared her hard and from the corner of my eye I saw Dante smirking at me.

Moron.

"But what are you doing here Dante?" Sarah asked and I sighed.

At least now I'm away from the spotlight.

"Mom called me here" He said to which she nodded but I saw her smirking slightly at Dante's statement.

Soon Mrs Knight came and as soon as she saw me, her eyes widened.

"Oh my god, look at yourself Crystal. You're looking like the most beautiful creation of God" She said and I blushed.

"Thank you Mrs Knight" I said to which she nodded, still looking at me.

"You are natural beauty. Without any hint of makeup, you are totally slaying this look" She said and I blushed more.

"You better keep this one" Sarah almost warned me to which I laughed at her and nodded.

"By the way mom, why did you called Dante here?" Sarah asked smirking. Mrs Knight too smirked at her question and looked at me and than at Dante. I was confused.

"Yeah mom, why did you call me here?" Dante asked and frowned.

"Oh nothing. I just wanted your opinion on something but now I got it" She said smiling to which Dante looked confused.

"Ok ok. Let's shop. Dante is here to carry our bags" Sarah said giggling and ran away as if knowing that Dante is going to blast on her for that statement.

I laughed at them to which Dante glared me hard. I instantly stopped laughing and went back to trial room.

Once I entered inside, I again laughed but soon I blushed remembering the moment I shared with Dante.

Dante is doing something to me. Something good if I say.

Keeping aside my thoughts, I decided to get rid of this beautiful dress. Once I changed into my earlier clothes, I left the trial room and went towards the bill section.

"I'm buying this. Bill please?" I said to the women who was in counter. Listening to me, she looked at me in shock.

What? Can't I buy a dress?

I looked at her confused.

"Um.. I said I want to buy this dress" I said again to which she came back to her senses.

"Miss, Amelia ma'am said you are a family and her family don't need to pay for dresses here" She said and I was shocked.

She called me family? Me? Her family? Am I dreaming?

I lightly pinched myself and to my shock I wasn't dreaming.

I again looked at her and decided to pay for this dress. I'm a temporary person in their family. I shouldn't take advantage of that.

"No, please. I can't take this for free" I said and she shook her head.

"No miss. I can't take money from you" She said stubbornly.

"But-" I was cut off by mrs knight voice.

"What's happening?" She asked looking between us.

"Mrs knight, she wants to pay for her dress" That women said and mrs knight shook her head in disbelief and turned to me.

"Crystal, you are a family and being a family you don't have to pay for taking something which is yours" She said and I shook my head.

"But mrs knight I can't take your advantage" I sighed.

"You are not taking my advantage, Crystal" She said and asked the women to pack the dress nicely.

"Mrs knight please.."

"No Crystal, please. Don't do this" She said with authority.

"No Mrs knight, not this time. Everytime I do what you say but not this time. I will either pay for this dress or else I will not take it" I said and she looked at me in disbelief.

"Fine" She said but I could see sadness in her eyes.

"Mrs knight I'm sorry for denying you but I really don't want to take advantage of your hardwork. I'm just a temporary member in your family and not permanent. So I can't take this" I said to which she nodded.

She looked deep in my eyes before hugging me "I'm so happy that you're here. You're the best thing happened to us" she said and caressed my cheek and left.

I smiled at her retreating figure and turned towards the women in bill counter. After paying for that dress, I turned around only to see Dante standing a few meters away from me, looking intentionally at me. But this time his eyes weren't soft like before instead they were hard. It looked like he was angry. I shivered looking at his eyes and quickly turned my back to him.

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After buying dresses and other stuffs, Mrs knight and Sarah were now buying accessories. Me and Dante were just following them.

All this while, Dante has not for once talked to me. Forget talking, he hasn't even looked at me. I should be happy that he isn't bothering me but for some weird I felt bad. I really wanted him to talk to me or atleast looking at me for once but he didn't.

Sighing I kept following them and sometimes looking at the stuffs.

When I was wandering around, my phone ringed. It was of my college friend so I picked it up. We were taking about some assignment when suddenly Dante pulled me to himself. I looked at him shockingly and that was my biggest mistake because he was looking really angry. His jaw was tightly clenched and his eyes was all red.

"I know you are irresponsible but try to be careful sometimes. You were about to slip from the stairs which of course you didn't notice as you were busy in your phone" He whisper yelled at me and went back to Mrs knight who was happily talking with Sarah.

I looked back at the stairs and then at Dante. But as soon as I saw his back to me, my eyes filled with tears.

He was never this rude to me before.

"Hello Crystal. You there?" I heard my friend's voice from other side to which I wiped my tears and cleared my throat before replying to her.

After few minutes of talking, I dismissed the call and decided to roam alone. I don't want to see that arrogant man face.

When I was roaming around, again my eyes filled with tears.

I know you are irresponsible.

His words has hurt me a lot. It's not like, someone has been rude to me for the first time. I have heard worst before but I didn't thought that I would hear something like that from Dante.

Maybe I was expecting something from him. It's my fault anyways. I should have stayed away from him before only. But no worries, from now on I will stay away from him. I will not talk to him.

"Arrogant jerk" I muttered under my breath and roamed around.

When I was roaming around, I bumped with someone.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry" I chirped almost immediately.

"It's okay miss. No worries" A man who I bumped said to which I finally looked at him. He was a handsome man in maybe his twenties, wearing a white T-shirt along with a black leather jacket and a black jeans and shoes. He had blonde hairs and a piercing in his left ear which was giving him bad boy look.

"Once again I'm really sorry" I said again and he nodded giving me a big smile.

"You don't have to thank me miss. It was me who bumped with you" He said smiling sheepishly to which I smiled back at him.

"By the way I'm Oliver King" He said and forwarded his hand towards me.

"Crystal Collins" I said and shook my hand with him.

"Beautiful name for a beautiful girl" He said and I smiled shyly at him.

"Thank you" I blushed a little.

"Were you crying?" He asked all of a sudden and I looked at him shockingly.

"Your eyes are red and your face is little tear strained" He said to which I looked away in embarrassment.

"No.. Actually" I was speechless.

"It's ok. I know I'm stranger so you might be not comfortable sharing your problem with me" He said with a small smile looking so damn adorable.

Aww.

"Actually I failed my exam and I'm scared to break this news to my family. That's why I was crying" I didn't know why I lied to him when I had the option of staying silent.

"That's it? Just go to your family and stand in middle of them and say 'I tried my best to ace the examination but that teacher was a bitch or maybe an asshole who failed me just because he/she wasn't fond of me' as simple as that" He said and I looked at him weirdly.

"That's the worst way to defend yourself. Even a kid will give better excuse" I said making a face to which he laughed.

"But this always works for me" He said making a serious face to which I giggled.

"Seems like you have done that a lot of time" I said to which he proudly nodded at me. I was amused looking at him.

But before we could have talked some more, Sarah called me and told me to meet her in food corner. I bid adie to Oliver and started walking towards the food corner when suddenly someone pulled in a corner. I was about to scream for help but that person closed my mouth tightly. Scared I looked at the person but it was Dante.

He removed his palm from my mouth and glared me. Now what I have done?

"What were you doing with that man, huh?" He asked angrily.

"Which man?" I asked confusingly to which he looked more angry.

"The one with whom you were laughing" He whisper yelled angrily.

Oliver?

"We just bumped accidentally and I was apologising to him" I said in bored tone.

Just few minutes back I was thinking of staying away from him and here I'm giving him explanation. Great. Just great!

"Apologize? You were talking with him for almost five minutes. And no one apologize for so long. So cut the crap and tell me the truth" He said angrily to which I looked at him weirdly.

"You were keeping an eye on me?" I asked to which he looked away for a moment but then again glared me.

"I asked you first so answer me" He said stubbornly.

"I'm not answering you" I said and started walking away but he was fast enough to catch me again.

"You will not go unless you will answer me. Tell me why were you shaking hands with him and laughing with him?" He asked angrily to which I looked directly in his eyes.

I'm not expert in eyes reading but somehow I saw jealousy in his eyes.

"I bumped with him so I was just apologizing to him and had a little conversation with him, that's it" I said angrily.

"Why didn't you just apologized to him and leave? What was the need of talking and laughing with strangers?" He said angrily to which I glared him hard.

"Because he was sweet to me and he didn't called me irresponsible for bumping with him" I almost yelled at him and unknowingly my  eyes became teary.

Soon his angry eyes turned soft. He wiped my tears and pulled me close to him.

"I'm sorry" He said and I looked at him in shock. He looked genuinely sorry.

"I was angry but I shouldn't have talked with you like that" He said and I nodded.

"You were rude" I sniffed to which he smiled a little.

"I know and I'm really sorry for that. I promise I will never use that tone again" He said and I smiled.

And here I myself broke my promise of not to talk to him again.

"But why were you angry?" I asked to which he stiffened and looked away.

"Dante?" I called his name to which he clenched his jaw angrily.

"Nothing" He said angrily.

"Da-Dante?" I once again called him. This time he looked at me. I gasps looking at him. His eyes were red like before.

"I heard yours and mom's conversation" He said and I gave him a confused look.

"What conversation?" I asked and he glared me.

"When you called yourself temporary member of our family" He said and I looked away for a second before looking at him again.

"Am I not temporary? You and I, we both know that I'm in Knight mansion for just few months. The day all these mess will be clear, I'll leave. We will get divorce and will probably never cross each other's path after that. I'm in your place for few months only. I really don't want go get habituated with new things which will not last long. It hurts me when someone close to me leaves, that's why I don't easily accept someone's presence in my life. Specially the one who are temporary. And mine and your family connection is temporary. I don't want to get habituated with you all that's why I called myself temporary member of your family, Dante" I said to which he looked at me with soft face.

"I-i'm sorry Crystal. I'm really sorry" He said to which I shook my head.

"No, I'm sorry" I said even though I had no idea that why I said sorry to him.

"You miss your family, Crystal. Your loneliness is hurting you" He states. Doesn't ask but states.

"One day you will have your own family, Crystal" He said with determination.

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