"Ma'am, dinner's ready" Cherry murmured to me after Damon left. I nodded and got up to head to the dining room. After dinner, I took a bath and went straight to bed, not wanting to do anything else. Since I had to accompany Sofia to pick out gowns tomorrow, I needed to rest well. Just then, Lisa sent me a message, listing names of two or three dozen traditional herbs. She said, "Eliana, please send someone to buy these herbs according to the list, then boil them into a soup with hot water. Have Damon take it twice a day for half a month." I was suddenly wide awake, "What's this for?" Lisa replied, "It's to boost a man's virility. I think there must be something wrong with Damon. If we don't treat this early, how long will we have to wait to see our grandchildren?" I was about to refuse outright, since there was nothing wrong with Damon's health and he wouldn't listen to me anyway. But I hesitated for a moment and finally agreed, "Alright, but I'm not sure if he will agree to take it." Lisa sent me a big gift, and said, "Don't worry, you just need to prepare these herbs. Leave the rest to me." The next day, I sent Cherry to buy the herbs. Looking at the long list of mysterious names, she asked me in surprise, "Ma'am, are you feeling unwell?" I shook my head with a smile, "This is for Damon, Lisa wants to have a grandchild soon." I didn't hide anything from Cherry. That way, when she saw Damon and Ariel together in the future, she would remember me, the wronged wife. "Ma'am, I have a relative who specializes in herbal medicine. He knows a special formula. Shall I ask him for you?" Cherry kindly suggested.
"Really? That would be great." I pretended to be surprised, "If it really works, I'll give you a raise." "You're too kind, ma'am. I'll ask him today." Cherry was a bit embarrassed. I responded, "Alright. I have something to do today, so I might not be back for lunch."
After that, I left. I arrived at the bridal shop that Sofia had mentioned promptly at eight. Sofia was already there waiting for me. Seeing me, she waved, "Eliana, come over here!" Once inside the bridal shop, the saleslady served us warm water and prepared some snacks. The bridal shop wasn't big, and the prices for the wedding gowns were very reasonable. Given Sofia's status, she should have chosen a high-end bridal shop to customize her wedding gown. However, she told me that Ace couldn't afford such expensive gowns and didn't want to rely on her, so she decided to choose a moderately priced bridal shop. "Ms. Sofia, please come try on the gowns." The saleslady said to Sofia. Sofia got up to go to the fitting room, while I walked around the shop. Looking at those beautiful wedding gowns, I felt a bit bitter. The wedding gown is significant to a woman, yet when I was choosing mine, I was belittled by Damon. Just as I was reminiscing about these painful memories, the door to the bridal shop opened. Ariel and two other girls walked in. They were chatting happily, their voices cheerful and crisp. "Eliana?" Seeing me, Ariel's eyes widened in surprise, "What a coincidence! What brings you here?" At that moment, Sofia came out of the fitting room and asked me, "Eliana, how's this one?" She was wearing a dark red embroidered gown. It was very elegant, dignified and beautiful, but the color was a bit too dark. I thought for a moment, "Do you have anything a bit brighter? This one makes you look a bit old." The saleslady quickly responded, "We do. Ms. Sofia, you can come with me to see other styles." Sofia nodded and followed the saleslady to continue choosing gowns. I then turned to Ariel, "I'm helping a friend choose a gown. What about you guys…" The other two girls were about Ariel's age. The three of them were arm in arm and looked very close. "We're putting on a play in our drama club. My role requires a wedding gown, so I brought my roommates to help me rent one." Ariel replied with a beaming smile. "Alright. Go ahead and choose." I said softly. "Okay!" Ariel and her two friends then went to choose their gowns. I sat on the sofa, flipping through a bridal magazine, while keeping an eye on Ariel.
After a while, Ariel and her friends started asking the saleslady about the rental price for the gowns. Upon learning that it would cost a hundred dollars to rent for a day, the three of them looked at each other, seemingly unable to accept it. Ariel asked, a bit embarrassed, "Can it be a bit cheaper? We only need to rent it for two days. We promise we won't make it dirty or damaged!" "Please understand us. We're all students and we're renting this gown for a play. But the drama club's funds are really tight." One of the other girls also pleaded. This put the saleslady in a difficult position. Since she wasn't the owner of the shop and couldn't make the decision, she could only politely suggest that Ariel and her friends pick a cheaper one. But Ariel was set on this one and didn't want to switch. Seeing the three of them reluctantly put the gown back, I got up and walked over, "Ariel, just take this one. I'll pay for it later." "No, you don't need to do this, Eliana!" Ariel shook her head immediately upon hearing this, "We'll just choose a cheaper one!" "If you like this one, go for it. No matter what you replace it with, you'll still feel regret. Some things, once chosen, can't be changed." I said with a cryptic smile. Not just gowns, but people too. Once you meet your true love, no one else can replace that person. Ignoring Ariel's objections, I paid for the gown and asked the saleslady to wrap it up and give it to her, "You can pay me back when your club has enough funds." Ariel's two roommates were stunned by my generosity and kept thanking me. Ariel blushed, her eyes full of embarrassment. She said quietly, "Thank you, Eliana. I'll pay you back." "It's no big deal, don't worry about it." My smile deepened. After Ariel and her crew left, Sofia finally picked out a dress she loved. It was a bright red, sleeveless, long dress, the hem of which reached about midway down her calves, showing off her slender ankles. The dress was designed to be very fitted, which made her look elegant and attractive. It had an overlay of thin gauze, but it looked like it was of average quality.
Sofia gave herself a spin in front of the mirror, "What do you think? I think it looks pretty good!" "Very nice, the color suits you!" I was complimented. "Great, I'll take it!" Sofia decided immediately and then asked me to take a photo of her. She sent the picture to Ian. Two minutes later, Sofia looked at her phone and a happy smile spread across her face. Then she excitedly told the salesperson, "Could you wrap this up for me, please?" Our dress shopping adventure came to an end. Sofia insisted on treating me to dinner, so I picked a Japanese restaurant, the same one where Ariel had a dispute with the owner last time. Once we were in the restaurant, Sofia looked at the sushi, sukiyaki, and sashimi that were served, her face fell a bit, "Why did you think of coming here to eat? I don't think the ingredients are very fresh…" This was a cheap place where the average cost per person was tens of dollars, so it's unrealistic to expect them to serve food of a hundred-dollar quality. I couldn't help but wonder, would Damon ever bring Ariel here for a mea!? There's no way she could transform from an ordinary person to a luxurious aristocrat, right? "I saw this place was quite busy, so I thought I'd give it a try." I picked up a piece of sushi and put it into my mouth. It actually tasted quite good.