Chapter 3 Heaven to hell

"Ding ding ding." The abrupt iPhone alarm almost gave me a heart attack. I reached over to the bedside to find my phone. The display showed it was only five in the morning. Damn, why did I set an alarm for five o'clock? It was still dark outside. Did I make a mistake? What was I supposed to do? Whatever, I thought, turning over and falling back to sleep. I lost consciousness and slipped into a dream.

In the dream, I was walking on a beach when a massive shark suddenly emerged from the sea, biting me and trying to drag me into the water. I screamed in fright, and upon closer look, the shark's head had morphed into the face of the man from the bathtub, biting my arm and smiling wickedly. I struggled desperately but was gradually pulled into the sea, submerged by the water. Just when I felt I was about to suffocate, a beam of righteous light came down, and a superhero carrying a large hammer appeared. He was tall and heroic, smashing the shark into a fish cake with one hit. Then he picked me up from the water. Looking into his deep, affectionate eyes, it was Locus, my destined fiancé. His handsome face leaned in closer to me, and I closed my eyes, just at the moment of our impending kiss...

"Ding ding ding."

The damn iPhone ringtone pulled me back to reality in an instant again. I grabbed the phone, and it was Charlotta. As soon as I answered the call, her anxious voice came through.

"Babe Mia, don't you remember you have to try on your engagement dress today? We had an appointment at six, and it's already nine!"

Oh right, I suddenly remembered that it had been exactly a week since the charity banquet, and tonight was the engagement party. I was supposed to have prepared the dress for the engagement banquet a few days ago, but my procrastination led me to put it off until the last moment.

"I'm on my way, I'm on my way! I'm sorry!"

I leapt out of bed, hastily put on my clothes, and got up. After a quick wash and makeup application, I grabbed my bag and headed out in one swift motion.

All the way, the driver was speeding, and we finally arrived at a high-end club at half past nine. The second floor of this club is dedicated to custom tailoring for VIP customers. As a regular here, Charlotta is familiar with the environment. She had sent my measurements to the designer in advance, and several dresses for the engagement banquet had been custom-made.

"Babe Mia, let me tell you, the designer here is very good at making dresses. They can perfectly highlight your figure, and I guarantee that Locus won't be able to take his eyes off you." Charlotta pulled me into the elevator.

Ding dong. We reached the second floor and the elevator doors slowly opened. Unlike the simple and understated decor on the first floor, the decoration on the second floor was extremely luxurious and intricate. The entire hall was decorated in shades of blue, pink, and white. The walls were adorned with colorful amber and glass mosaics, and one wall was entirely made of real flowers, each a flawless white rose. The white cloud-patterned marble floor reflected the soft glow of the crystal chandelier, and there were candles with a faint scent lit on several crystal candlesticks.

"Wow," I couldn't help but exclaim, "this place is even more beautiful than your house." Charlotta's mother was a famous designer and model before she got married, so her taste in fashion is top-notch. Charlotta's home is also exquisitely refined under her mother's care, like an art gallery. But coming here, I was still a bit surprised.

"This must be Miss Thompson." A man dressed in a grey silk suit came out to greet us. He was handsome, with a cool demeanor, and although he seemed to be smiling, his smile had a sense of distance. His brown hair was a bit long but clearly well-groomed, with a lock obscuring a part of his eyes.

"Yes, Daniel, please bring out the custom dresses for Mia to try. This is going to be the future mistress of the Miller family," Charlotta said, winking at me.

"Of course, please take a seat," Daniel gestured for us to sit on the nearby sofa and then left. Soon, two uniformed ladies came forward respectfully with tea and coffee served on exquisite silver platters.

I picked up a piece of pastry and was about to put it in my mouth. I had been in such a rush this morning that I hadn't eaten anything, and now I was starving.

"Hey, hey, don't just focus on eating, the dresses are here for you to try," Charlotta took the pastry from my hand and placed it back on the plate.

Two more ladies in the same uniform then came pushing two mobile racks. Each rack had three dresses hanging on it. I stared at the dresses, absolutely amazed. Each one looked like a princess dress from a fairy tale. Some were adorned with feathers that fluttered like waves, and some were iridescent like a mermaid's tail.

"They're so beautiful!" Charlotta and I exclaimed in unison.

"Go and try them on!" Charlotta told me.

I picked up a long purple dress with heavy embroidery.

"Follow me," Daniel led me into the fitting room.

After changing, I stood in front of the mirror. Wow, do I look like the winner of the Miss America pageant! I'm too beautiful. Charlotta was right, this dress made me look so good, even my skin seemed more luminous.

I pushed open the fitting room door to go out and get her opinion.

The moment the door opened, I collided with a man in a black shirt. My face solidly hit his chest. I looked up, a face both strange and familiar.

I quickly stepped back and apologized immediately, " I'm sorry, I didn't know there was someone at the door."

"Hmm," he replied with a slight hum.

Such a familiar voice.

I took another careful look, the next second it seemed like an alarm was ringing in my ears.

Bathtub man!

"Can't recognize my face after a few days?"

"I can recognize you when you're naked, who can recognize you when you're dressed?" The next second I realized I had said the wrong thing and hastily covered my mouth. "What are you doing here?" Feeling embarrassed, I tried to change the subject.

"Hmm, of course, I'm here to try on clothes."

"Charlotta said this place only serves VIPs, it seems you are also a VIP."

"The owner is my friend, I come when I want," the bathtub man still had his arrogant attitude. I hadn't settled the matter from last time, but I was about to marry Locus, we would be family, it's better to avoid unnecessary trouble.

I waved my hand to signal him to move out of the way.

"Hey, what's this attitude?" He raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean by this attitude? I let go of the incident at the hotel last time, do you want to cause trouble again? Move away quickly, don't block my way, I have important things to do, I don't have time to chat nonsense with you."

The bathtub man frowned, his eyes sharp, "Last time I saved you, how come you were still caught by your parents?" As he said this, he suddenly chuckled softly.

"You dare to mock me, I..." Anger rose from my heart, I glared at him, then remembered that I was about to marry into the Miller family. Calm down, don't get angry, beauties never get angry.

"Forget it, I'll let you off the hook this time," I said, trying to slip away.

"What do you mean let you off the hook? You wanna run?" He grabbed my wrist in one swift movement, lifting it up, almost hoisting me up like a duck.

"What are you doing?"

He lowered his head and gestured with his eyes. Only then did I notice, on his black shirt, a flesh-colored foundation face was reflected, only the eyes and nose were black, there was even a lipstick mark! It turned out that when I bumped into his chest earlier, I had smudged my makeup onto his shirt.

"... I'll buy you a new one to compensate."

"This is custom-made, there's only one on Earth."

I felt his hand gripping my wrist tighten a little more.

"What exactly do you want, bathtub man, I'm warning you," my voice was shaking with nervousness.

"What if I misbehave?" He suddenly came very close to me, pinning me against the wall. His warm breath from his mouth and nose hit my face.

"I, I, I, I'll get someone to teach you a lesson."

"Hmm," he chuckled lightly.

"Don't you dare not believe me, I, I, I, I'll get..." Yes! I took out my phone with my other hand, fumbling to dial, "I'll get my fiancé! He's also from the Miller family, his status is higher than yours, he's very powerful, he..."

Ding, ding, ding. At that moment, the phone in bathtub man's pocket rang.