Mr. Styles made Evangeline feel like a princess.
For the next few days, Mr. Styles took the teenage girl out to buy an entirely new wardrobe. He would’ve already had done it, if he didn’t know what she liked, and if he didn’t know what size she wore.
Evangeline quickly fell in love with the colors of dresses; to her, life was in merely black and white, but Mr. Styles was showing her a new world. So she chose dresses of every color, along with more casual clothing and pajamas and under garments. He took her to restaurants she didn’t even know existed, and he even took her to see the opening of the Empire State Building in New York on the 1st of May; Evangeline was in amazement of the gigantic size of the building. She felt as though it reached the clouds. Mr. Styles was a very generous man; he bought her everything she liked, without question. She did feel guilty for him spending so much money on her, but her guilt was soon overshadowed with happiness as she realized her former life was no more.
She loved her new life.
“Daddy, how does this look?” Evangeline asked as she pulled up a beautiful collared necklace. She felt as though it brought out her neckline and collarbones. She peered into the mirror in the shop, seeing Mr. Styles’ green eyes meet hers in the reflection.
“I think it looks beautiful on you, darling,” He replied honestly. “Do you want it?”
“How much is it?”
He chuckled, “That doesn’t matter. Do you see anything else you like here?”
They were in a jewelry store, and Evangeline still felt that wave of guilt as she realized how expensive the necklace must be. She had no idea what it was made of, but she knew it was real.
“I don’t really need this, actually,” She mumbled, putting it back on the mannequin.
“Nonsense,” Mr. Styles disagreed quietly, taking it off the mannequin. “Do you like it or not? If you like it, then we’ll get it. No further questions asked.”
Her cheeks slightly flushed from his attentive gaze, “Are you sure?”
“Of course.”
The two ended up purchasing the necklace, and Evangeline wore it throughout the day. It felt a little tight around her frail neck, but she liked it nonetheless. They stopped at an outdoor cafe for lunch before heading back home.
Bernard helped Evangeline carry in all that she bought for the day, and she took her time putting all her new clothes and accesories away. She hummed lightly under her breath; her bedroom window was open to let in the fresh air.
Mr. Styles tended to work quite often. He mostly worked during the nighttime, while Evangeline was fast asleep. But he was always there when she woke up; however, sometimes during the late afternoon, he would stay locked up in his study. She still had no idea what his work study was, but he seemed like a busy man, so she never asked. She figured that she would have to find out eventually. She would just have to be patient.
For the past days, Evangeline had also further explored her new home, which she was quickly growing accustomed to. The staff were all so nice, and she made acquaintances with a maid, an elder woman named Judy, who had the kindest blue eyes Evangeline had ever seen.
But Evangeline spent a lot of time in the pool in the backyard. The backyard alone was large, with a tall, iron fence surrounding the perimeter, and the gardener evidently worked hard to keep the grass a lush, green color. The pool was a simple rectangle, and there were lounge chairs lined up along the sides. However, since she had rarely ever been swimming, she didn’t know how to swim, so she was forced to stay in the shallow end of the pool or she may drown.
