The Miracle of You

As the days approached, nearing the date of the masquerade event, Camille was getting increasingly anxious. The text that she received from Michael a few nights ago didn’t help, either.

First off, what did he mean by ‘see you soon’?

Was he implying that he knew she was going to attend the masquerade event?

Or maybe he was gonna pay her a surprise visit somewhere?

It was too vague. She needed answers.

She had an internal debate with herself that night whether she should reply to him or not.

In the end, she decided not to and abided by her decision.

If she was ever going to face him at the social event, then she had to prepare for all possibilities beforehand.

‘As long as I avoid him at the party, I’ll be fine,’ Camille assured herself as she stood in front of the dresser mirror, drying off her hair.

The days had flown by and now it was time. It was the day Christian planned to introduce her to his ‘friends’ and partners. Thanks to the mask, her identity would be hidden. Although it irritated her, she had no choice but to stay at Christian’s side the whole night. That way, no one would be able to bother her.

But what if that sadistic bastard decided to leave her in the middle of the party to fend for herself in the den of wolves? She could imagine him doing that just to see her squirm. It wasn’t like Christian was the one who had much to lose if her identity ever came out.

In the end, Camille was the one who would lose a lot.

‘I need to prepare myself for tonight,’ she thought as she dressed in casual clothing and arranged her things. ‘If I can just get through this hurdle, I can get myself more time.’

Her personal mission was going quite well so far, but not exceptionally well. In fact, it was progressing very slowly, because there was no way that things were going to be that easy.

Right now, the most important thing was that she hadn’t been caught yet.

And she hoped it would stay that way until the time was right.

***

Christian had arranged for a hair salon, manicure and pedicure, and for the maids to make Camille look her best before the party. Since the event was being held in a large, luxurious hotel later in the evening, there was plenty of time.

Camille was very annoyed by all this. “Why go through all this trouble?” she asked as she was forced to eat breakfast together with the bane of her existence. “They won’t be able to see my face, anyway.”

“Still, I will be introducing you to a lot of people,” Christian said with a smile. “You need to look your best.”

“That kind of thinking is very superficial.”

“Well, isn’t it a superficial world nowadays?” Christian remarked. “Men and women alike all want the same. You can’t tell me that attraction doesn’t start with physical appearance.”

Camille glared at him, but chose to say nothing.

“You say all these noble and seemingly wise words, but in the end, people are the same. We’re superficial, we’re selfish, and we do things to pursue our own satisfaction and happiness. I’ll continue to abide by this kind of thinking until you solidly prove me wrong.”

Christian leaned back against his seat with a smirk.

“So, even if you don’t care about how you look, other people will,” he continued calmly. “It’s a requirement in the society that we live in. You know that very well, don’t you?”Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

“No,” Camille said curtly before finally finishing with her meal. “I’ll be taking my leave now.”

Christian waved a dismissive hand. “Goodbye, Miss Parker.”

‘Figures. He never reacts emotionally to whatever I say,’ she thought bitterly as she stood up from her seat and washed her own dish. She was never really comfortable with the idea of the maids cleaning up after her mess, so she tended to do things herself. ‘He’s like an emotionless robot who only gets vicarious satisfaction from torturing people.’

When she left the house, she went straight to the appointments Christian had arranged for her. It was a pain to go through all the styling, but Camille kept telling herself that it was just for today.

The hours flew by and before she knew it, the time for the masquerade party was fast approaching.

“You look quite elegant for once,” Christian remarked when Camille walked into the living room. After the maids had finished tending to her, she left the room as quickly as she could, feeling suffocated by the preparations.

It wasn’t that she despised makeup. In fact, she wore it to work every day.

But she found heavy makeup to be uncomfortable. When it got to the point where she had to put on false eyelashes, foundation, and eye shadow, it was already too much for her. After all, she used to be a simple girl who went to school bare-faced every day.

Standing in front of Christian like a little dress-up doll, she felt angry and self-conscious at the same time.

But she had to admit that his efforts had not been in vain.

She had already seen her appearance in the standing mirror earlier, so she thought everything looked pretty good. In fact, it was as if she was a completely different person.

She wore a beautifully flowing jade-green silk gown that cascaded to the floor and complemented her figure. The delicate lace bodice revealed a tantalizing glimpse of her collarbone while maintaining an air of modesty.

The neckline, on the other hand, was adorned with emerald ivy leaves, and a silver ribbon cinched her waist, accentuating her hourglass figure.

In her hand was the mask she would be wearing to the party. If she had to be honest, it was like a work of art. It had a silver filigree pattern that resembled delicate lacework.

‘Hearing him compliment me like that is a little weird,’ Camille thought.

Suddenly, Christian took a step towards her with an unreadable expression on his face.

She watched him, feeling slightly nervous for some reason.

The next thing she knew, he was reaching out towards her, fingers ghosting against the skin of her cheek.