Chapter 756

 756:
In disbelief, Dustin stared at him. “Are you serious? I spent forever putting this look together!”
Without much sympathy, Collin let his eyes drift to the excessive jewelry around Dustin’s neck and fingers. “You’ve got too much going on. There’s no focus. Honestly, you look like someone trying too hard to show off.”
In a flash, Dustin yanked off the necklaces and muttered under his breath, “Here I was thinking I looked good… guess I look like a mess instead.”
With a look that carried more weight than his words, Collin asked, “What’s gotten into you today?”
The question caught Dustin off guard. His face stiffened, then flushed with embarrassment. “Dolores asked me to be her companion.”
Relief flickered across Collin’s face as he heard that. “Did you finally tell her how you feel?”
Dustin nearly choked on his own breath. “W-what? Who said anything about me liking Dolores?”
His face turned a deep red. “Stop spouting nonsense, Collin!”
Instead of answering, Collin tilted his head and looked past Dustin toward something—or someone—behind him. “You sure about that?”
Suddenly at a loss for words, Dustin fumbled for a reply, saying, “I-I just…”
A slow, almost bored voice called out from behind them. “Seriously, Dustin? Why are you talking like that?”
𝓛⍺𝕥𝒆𝕊𝓽 с𝒉αρ𝐭𝓮𝓇𝓈 gⲁⅼ𝓷𝗈ν𝓮𝗅𝗌﹒с𝑜ｍ
The sound hit him like a shockwave. Dustin stiffened, spinning around with a startled look. “H-how long have you been standing there?”
Without so much as a blink, Dolores closed the distance between them, her face unreadable. “Long enough to hear you blurt out, ‘Who said anything about me liking Dolores?’”
Words tumbled in Dustin’s throat as he tried to recover, but nothing coherent came out.
Before he could pull himself together, Dolores waved him off and spoke with a casual shrug. “Come on. You think that would bother me? You don’t like me. I don’t like you. No need to turn it into some dramatic scene.”
Dustin opened his mouth as though to say something but quickly shut it again.
The look on his face as he stared at Dolores was one of sadness.
Finally, he opened his mouth and began, “You…”
Dolores, however, didn’t let him finish. Not sparing Collin a glance, she pulled Dustin away, saying, “Come with me. I have something urgent to talk to you about.”
Dolores had to keep a close eye on Dustin and ensure he didn’t leave her side.
Linsey was attending the banquet as the designer Aurora. Neither of them was sure if Collin would actually be able to recognize her. However, Dolores decided to take preemptive steps to ensure Dustin wouldn’t connect the dots.
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.
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