Santiago led Cynthia to his car after they emerged from the Moore family residence. He drove back to his house first. By then, it was already noon.
Santiago was not a fan of how Cynthia was dressed that day. While she looked pretty, it also made her look distant, high above the rest of the world.
Hence, he brought Cynthia to the mall to buy her a new outfit. Cynthia tried it on, standing in front of the mirror, and looking at herself from every angle. Although she was not used to wearing clothes like that, she did indeed look more youthful.
"Let me see." Santiago eyed Cynthia, who remained standing there. She asked him, "How do I look? Do I look alright? I'm not accustomed to dressing up like this. Do you think these shorts are too short?"
Santiago glanced at her shorts and replied, "No, they're not. You should stop wearing high heels. They're bad for your spine. Let's get you some sneakers."
Santiago turned around and looked at the shoes displayed nearby. He picked a pair of sneakers and handed it to Cynthia. Her feet instantly felt more comfortable when she put them on. Santiago paid for the clothes and shoes, and together they left for another store, where Santiago bought her two more outfits. After that, he brought her to a hair salon.
"Mr. Santiago, what would you like me to do to her hair?" The hairstylist stood behind Cynthia as she inquired. With his legs crossed, Santiago sat behind them and peered at Cynthia's hair. Then, he said, "Give her a hair treatment, but leave her hair color alone. Trim the ends. That's all."
Cynthia let out a sigh of relief. Her long hair was one of the assets she was most proud of. She was a little worried that he wanted her to chop it all off.
The process took an entire afternoon. Cynthia rose from the seat and turned around to get Santiago's opinion, only to find him asleep on the couch with a fashion magazine on his lap. It seemed that he had lost interest and had fallen asleep quite a while ago.
Cynthia watched his sleeping face for a moment before she called out, "Santiago."
Santiago slowly opened his eyes. He put aside the magazine, smiling at Cynthia as he praised her. "You look very pretty."
Santiago got up and glanced at the
hairstylist. "Alright, good work today."
Santiago led Cynthia out of the salon, upon which they got back into his car and headed to a jewelry store. Santiago bought a set of emerald jewelry for Cynthia there.
Cynthia had seen many things in the Moore family, but frankly, she had never seen such luxurious jewelry before.
"I can't accept this. I know you're helping me, but this is far too expensive." Cynthia refused Santiago's gesture.
Santiago raised an eyebrow. "What are you afraid of? A little jewelry won't kill you. The way a woman dresses will reflect on her husband as well. Plus, the money that I'm spending is my brother's."
"Then, that's all the more reason I can't accept it." Cynthia insisted as she pushed the items back. Santiago opened the box, took out the emerald necklace inside and put it on her. Cynthia looked down and saw the necklace glimmering around her neck. Was there a woman in this world who didn't like jewels?
Santiago picked up the matching earrings and helped Cynthia fasten them. He then helped put the bracelet on her wrist. All of this happened before Cynthia's eyes unwittingly.
Cynthia was about to take them off, but Santiago stopped her. He reached out for her left hand and slid the ring onto her finger.
"I've given all of these to you. If you don't want them, then you can throw them away, but I'm sure there are many who would fall over themselves to snatch them up."
"From now on, you are my girlfriend, so you must look good in public."
"Everything here is paid for using my brother's money. I won't be well-off in the future, so it's fine if I use a fraction of his money today."
While Santiago was speaking, the manager at the store was sweating profusely. What was Mr. Santiago doing that day? How was he going to explain to Mr. Jepherson that his brother had spent ten million dollars? He was being too frivolous.
Cynthia looked at the jewelry and then back at Santiago. She asked, "Do you really think that it's alright? Won't your parents reprimand you?"
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