Poisoned Love

33. Dresses and Exes

Lydia's POV **

"Let's do something to kill the time." I say in hopes that Ace wants the same. He smirks and pats his lap, beckoning me to sit on it. I gladly do.

The door is being opened and I swear my face turned into an unearthly shade of white. I jumped off of Ace's laps and my feet were glued to the ground.

Sure enough, it's my mom and Cara. My chest was rising and falling. They couldn't have possibly saw us but we were so close to getting caught. Not to mention, they ruined my moment. I pouted.

"Later." Ace nods and mouths through a smile. I couldn't help but smile too. He's so charming.

"Ace!" My mother squeals. It's so obvious how excited she was to see him here. I'm not sure if she didn't see me or if I was completely invisible because she didn't glance in my direction once. Not that I care. Who am I kidding, of course I do. I'm just glad she doesn't suspect anything.

Cara already headed upstairs after waving at Ace and I. I can tell she doesn't like Ace much either. They both secretly despise each other and I'm the only one who knows it.

"You wanna have dinner? I can make some chicken and pasta." My mom offers with glistening eyes. "Lydia, did you not offer Ace something to eat?"

A disappointed expression rested on her face but quickly disappeared when Ace flashed her a smile and gestured over to our empty, yet syrup-stained plates.

"I'll clean those." I huff.

"Okay, good." My mother claps. "Do you wanna stay in the night? I know how stressful the ride must be from here to your house."

"Mother." I say through gritted teeth. Her desperation has officially taken over her. She ignored me and raised a curious eyebrow at Ace while I facepalmed myself. If I'm not crazy, I can notice Ace smiling and slightly chuckling from the corner of my eye.

"Thanks, Jenna." He says and my mother grows happier at the usage of her name. "I need to go, though."

"That's disappointing to hear..." she pouts in a childish manner. "I guess I can see you tomorrow?" She says and it sounds more like a question rather than a statement.

"Yeah sure..." he says and looks over to me. "I'll see you and Jenna tomorrow." He smiles. I can't stop my cheeks from the heat that's growing in them. Ace dismissed himself and headed out.

I do remember about the promise I made to Tori about going shopping with her tomorrow. Hopefully by the time we choose a dress it won't be too late so I can meet up with Ace afterwards. I hope Tori understands me and doesn't judge me more than she already has. I have already lost enough people.

**
I woke up and did my daily routine and headed downstairs once I was dressed. I made sure to wear shoes with no laces so I can try on some heels in the mall too. Tori's car was already standing outside and I hopped in.

"Hey." I say and flash her a small apologetic smile.

"Hi." She says in a barely hearable voice. I already miss her cheery voice.

"Can we talk about this?" She asks and I suck in a deep breath but nod anyway. I know my words will either solve this or worsen it, there's no in between and there's no going back.

"What do you wanna talk about?" I ask, knowing damn well what she's about to say. She turned her whole body around to face me.

"Look, Lyd. I just wanna say that I won't judge you anymore and I won't hate you even if you continue to do what you do just because you're my best friend. Just be careful okay? Don't get your feelings hurt by him." She talks like she knows him.

I instantly forget everything she said and focus on her last sentence. My first instinct is to defend Ace but I know that would make matters worse so I shut up.

"Okay. I promise." I say and smile. There was a moment of silence between us but Tori returned my smile and started driving to the mall.

We reached there and visited a few shops. We ended up choosing to go to a fancy-looking shop that sells profoundly expensive and ridiculously overpriced dresses. I guess I can borrow a dress as a rental. We both scan through the dresses and place it over our bodies to see if it looks good or not.

"Did you find a dress yet?" I asked Tori. She shakes her head from side to side and sighs.

"I really wish their prices were a bit lower than this." She chuckles.

I know Tori well to know that her family is loaded with a shit ton of money, buying a prom dress shouldn't be much of an issue for her. I chose to let it go anyway.

"Can I help you?" A lovely looking woman approached us and asked.

Her hands were crossed behind her back and she wore a warm and welcoming smile. She looks fairly young, I can tell she's still in her early twenties. Tori nodded and informed her that we both need a prom dress.

"Make sure it's catchy. I want every single guy's eyes on me when I enter that hall." Tori says in a joking manner and the woman laughs with her. I looked over at her tag and it said, Anne. Her simple yet lovely name matches her sweet personality.

"I'll make sure of it." She says and leaves us to go grab some options.

"Should we match?" Tori says and seems to actually think about it for a second. "Nah, that would be horrible. I mean you're blonde and I'm a brunette so not all dresses will look good on us both."

Tori was fairly pretty. Her chestnut brown hair complimented her emerald green eyes perfectly and she had a desirable hourglass figure. Her features were very beautiful and envy-worthy. I don't see how any man could ever turn her down.

"Your body compared to mine is-" I begin to say.

"Shhh." She cuts me off. "You're gorgeous, Lyd. I don't see why Ace wouldn't go for you. I mean, every man out there eyes you like you're a barbie doll." She chuckles.

The lady comes back with plentiful of dresses in her hands. I liked that they had a variety of different options. I spotted a red dress with a slit and no straps. That could be the one. We tried a couple of dresses on and Tori ended up choosing a dress after almost thirty minutes of deciding.

Her gown was an elegant blue and mint-green. It was shortsleeved with a v-neck and the gown hugged her body smoothly, expressing her toned curves. It was backless and I can picture her hair up in a braided crown with this dress. I was happy for her. I found my dress too and it wasn't as hard for me to choose as I thought it was going to be, thanks to Tori and Anne's help.

My gown was strapless and black. The top was made of an elegant silk and an exquisite lace complimented the bottom. It was backless and it showed some of my cleavage. Initially, I refused to get this one but after a handful of convincing from Anne and a little nagging from Tori, I found it to be very gorgeous and breathtaking. I looked better in the dress than what I deserve. I've never worn something so...sensual. It made me feel beautiful for some reason and I couldn't wait anymore for that prom night. I don't even know how I changed my mind about it so quickly. I mean, Tori can be very persuasive and so do these stunning dresses.

Tori bought her dress and I was about to rent mine but Tori snatched it from my hand and bought it for me. We bickered once we left the store but she assured me that I can pay her back later. I know she didn't mean it though. I hate but love her for that.

We sat down and ate some ice cream in the food court while gossiping. I actually enjoyed this takeaway shopping day, it made me forget about all my life problems, except the one and only, Ace. I hated the fact that he always pops on my mind, it's like there's no escape from him.

A few minutes later, we got up and got ready to leave. I spotted a familiar figure from a distance but I wasn't sure if it was him or not. Tori's face expression assures me that it was him.

It was Ryder. A girl was nuzzling her head in his shoulder and they were both talking and laughing. I should be happy for him but I somehow feel...confused?

I approached him and I know damn well that I shouldn't have. But I did anyway and I can hear the clicking of Tori's heels as she follows me.

"Lydia?" Ryder says, finally recognizing my presence.