Previously: Hilary met an old friend (boyfriend); Kai apologized for something he doesn't neccessarily think he needed to apologize for (but it made her feel better); Romero

When plans go astray

"The light! Watch the light," Romero demands, stomping across the grassy knoll to the crew erecting scaffolding. I'm not entirely sure of the reason for the scaffolding or the lights, but Romero and Mariah insisted they were necessary.

It's five o'clock on Friday afternoon and for the second week in a row, I find myself sitting in Giancarlo's chair with the same two girls pulling at my hair. This week I've managed to learn their names. Bianca and Rosette. And they're only half as bad as I originally thought. They still hand out insults like breath mints, but I don't think they're intending to be mean. It might just be how they speak.

After lunch on Tuesday, Romero laid out his plan. First, the engagement photos. Something to send to the news outlets as a formal introduction to us as a couple. The goal is to get the public to like me so that the Hiwatari's have a harder time disputing the relationship.

"If you're the public's princess, they'll hate anyone else who tries to get in between."

Next, an engagement party. We'll invite everyone who's usually on the Hiwatari guest list, which includes big names in business and celebrities alike. This is to establish me in their world. It's one thing to have the public on my side and another to have actual power behind me.

After that, it's just planning.

"What kind of wedding have you always dreamed of, Hilary?" Romero asked, taking a bite of his smooth wild berry cheesecake.

"Well," I hesitated, eyes darting to Kai.

"Oh, come now. I know you've thought of something."

"I always wanted something in the spring. White, with soft pink accents."

He leans on one hand, eyes blinking dreamily at me. "Uh-huh. Go on."

"It would be early morning on a warm day, outside preferably. I'd have a ribbon in my hair and a simple dress."

"That's great. Truly beautiful." Romero nodded, sighing softly. "We'll do none of that."

"Oh," I replied. "I'm confused."

"Wouldn't it be horrible to give your dream wedding, only to tear it down days before?" He shudders. "The horror. Anyway, I'm thinking a ball gown or maybe something with a cape."

Along with planning, I'd be doing my best to be seen by the public and in the most positive light. Volunteering, charity events, whatever I could get my name on and it was viewed as a good thing, I am to go after it full force. This feels familiar. Whenever life would get stressful, my response was always to put in the extra effort in school. As a result, I was usually ahead in all my classes.

"When you leave Kai, he'll be devastated,"

I looked at Kai again. He wasn't even listening to the conversation. Devastated, indeed.

"And if his grandfather tries to push another woman on him at that time, it won't go over well."

"What would he care what the public thinks?"

"Well, the Hiwatari's are a business. It's not just the company, the name itself carries weight. To ruin that would be to ruin everything he's built in his life. Soichiro would think better of it and try again another day."

Kai put his phone away, tucking it into the pocket inside his suit, close to his chest. "If he has another day,"

I remember clearly the knot that settled in my stomach at Kai's response. I spent the rest of the week distracting myself with Romero. I dragged Mariah along in hopes of keeping some semblance of sanity. I'm not sure if that was the smartest move. She was even more into the planning than I was, which should have ment everything went smoothly. Oh, how wrong I was. They argued and clashed, each trying to get their own way.

I look over at the lights that are set up. They definitely didn't hold each other back.

Bianca rotates my chair to face the mirror that's been set up in the middle of the field. Dusty pink color coats my eyelids, to compliment the soft pink gloss along my lips.

"Looks great," I say. What else is there to say? They've never made me look ugly.

Rosette comes around, leaning into my face for a better look. "You know, the more I look at you, the more I think there's something beautiful in brown eyes."

I frown. "Um, you have brown eyes,"

"Yeah," she smiles softly. Before anything else can be said – like maybe some clarification on what she means – she turns away and starts packing up the tools they used.

"Come, Hilary, I need to make sure everything is perfect," Olivier pulls me from the chair towards a small tent that's meant to be a changing room. "Though who am I kidding, of course it'll be perfect."

He hands me a garment bag and shoves me into the make-shift changing room. "I'm not a doll," I protest weakly.

"Of course not. A doll would have better proportions."

With a huff, I unzip the bag a little. Pink tulle explodes from the slight opening. Intrigued, I unzip it further. Romero had the dress commissioned and since Olivier had my measurements, he had no need to consult with me.

The first word that comes to mind when I unzip it fully is 'princess'. The bodice is fitted, detailed with delicate flowers climbing up one side and around the bust. A thin layer of tulle wraps to wrap around the arms, cutting off at the shoulders and giving ample exposure to my neck and chest. As detailed and simple as the top half is, the bottom blossoms into layers and layers of tulle all the way to the ground.

I step into it carefully, aware of how delicate it is. "Olivier," I call gently when I encounter a problem.

"What is it, mon chere," he sounds distracted.

"I need some help."

"What now?" There's no mirror in here and I'm facing away from the entrance to preserve some dignity since this dress leaves no room for any type of bra. The back hangs open while I try to support it in the front. When he opens the flap, I hear a chuckle. "I see,"

"I think the zipper got stuck or something," My arm swings around to try and identify the problem.

He bats my hand away. "There's a bit of fabric in the way, nothing to worry about."

I feel him rustle with the zipper, correcting its course and finishing zipping it up. Turning me around, he makes the final adjustments, his hands fluttering around my chest. "Yes, perfect."

"As always," I agree. "You're becoming my personal costume designer."

Olivier pinches my arm, chastising me. "These are not costumes,"

"No, I just meant, like how a superhero changes into their uniform to save the city," I try to explain feebly, following him out of the tent. "I feel like every time you show up, I'm transformed into someone different. I can save the day, but only in an Olivier Bouhringer original."

He fluffs his green bob, smiling smugly at the praise. His face falling is my only indication that something is wrong until Romero rushes up and swings me around by the shoulders. I hear Olivier complain about the dress, but it's drowned out by Romero's urgent words. As the day wore on, his tone had become increasingly stressed. "Where is that man of yours?"

"I don't know. What time was he supposed to be here?" I push his hands off.

"An hour ago, and now he's not even answering his phone."

"Did you try Spencer? Or Rick?"

"Did I try Spencer or Rick?" Romero mocks. "Why no, Hilary. What a grand idea. Just let me call the people who are always at his side and see where he's wandered off to."

Romero's way of communicating has taken some getting used to. He definitely has a flair for the dramatics. I bite my lips as my patience runs low after two and a half days of him. "Do you want me to try?"

"You must be a genius,"

"Yeah, right," I say as lift the base of the dress so that I can walk without tripping.

"Shoes!" Olivier snaps, jumping after me with two strappy pink heels dangling from a finger.

"Not of the grass," Romero dismisses. "They'll get dirty before the shoot."

"Are you not worried about her feet getting dirty?"

"The heels will sink into the dirt and be ruined. Her feet will be fine."

I make it back to the chair with the bickering duo a step behind me. The longer they go on, the thicker their accents get and the harder it becomes for them to understand each other, which leads to more arguing. Pulling the phone from my bag, I watch their back and forth as it dials. Spencer answers on the first ring.

"Romero finally get to you?"

I laugh. He's familiar with the process too. "Well, I'm dressed, looking like a puff pastry, sitting in the middle of a park with AJ Topper trying to sneak past security. There's only one thing I'm missing."

"A meeting is running late. We'll be heading to you as soon as it's out." His words are measured, trying to keep a neutral tone with me. Behind that, I can hear an undercurrent of irritation. My guess is that he's had more than one phone call from Romero this afternoon and it's starting to get to him.

I open my mouth to respond. As I do, Romero's head snaps towards me. "Is that him? Did you get him?"

Words aren't even out of my mouth before the phone is taken from my hand.

"Listen here, Hiwatari, I know you think the world revolves around you and your schedule, but the sun, in fact, does not. It will not hold its light so that Kai Hiwatari can have his engagement photos taken during golden hour, despite it being ten o'clock at night. So either get down here now or Hilary will be taking the pictures alone." He rattles off. Then, his face pales. I hear the muffled words coming from the phone, however, Spencer's voice is so deep that I can't distinguish what's being said.

Looking ill and jittery, Romero hangs up and passes the phone back to me. "I need a coffee," he mutters, wobbling away.

"Drink some water!" I yell after him.

Seconds later, he's off lecturing someone else about something else. As crazy as Romero is, I'm grateful for his presence. It's not like I would have the know-how to arrange a complete photo shoot with a world-famous photographer in the middle of a beautiful city park.

Careful of the dress, I plop down in the chair my bag's off of. I'm useless until Kai gets here so it's best to stay out of everyone's way. Bianca and Rosette are still packing up their things, talking about the night they have ahead of them. They'll stick around in case either me or Kai needs a touch-up, but after this, they're heading downtown to the club scene.

My phone buzzes in my hand.

Mariah: Pictures

I smile at the small demand. The day before, as we were getting our nails painted per Romero's request, Mariah said that she'd been spending so much time with me, Rei was starting to feel neglected. From the soft expression, I got the feeling it was more of her missing him than the other way around. Since she wasn't needed on the shoot, I told her to stay home. The only thing she's miss is Romero ordering people around and she's had her fill with that already. She did make me promise to document everything. I've been a bit lax on the reporting. As I try to angle the phone so that it can capture the pink beast in all its beauty, and struggling to do so, Rosette steps forward with a small smile. "Do you need some help?"

I shrug sheepishly. "It's just for a friend,"

"If I looked as good as you do, I'd be taking a billion!" She waves her hand and takes the phone. Standing over me to get the right angle. "Tilt your head this way," she motions, taking another when I do. "Perfect. Your friend will love them."

I thank her when she passes the phone back, looking through all the images she got. She has a real talent, and I tell her so gratefully.

"All those years of selfies before going out really paid off! Maybe this is my calling," She giggles. "Did you like going out when you were our age?" she asks as she winds the blow dryer cord up and puts it away in the case. The way she says 'when you were our age' ticks me off, but I let it go since she is being so nice. It's not like I'm that much older than her.

"No, I didn't get the chance."

"Oh." They both nod in understanding. "Yeah, it's not everyone's scene."

"I just worked a lot."

Bianca looks around, motioning to their set-up. "We're working right now. Later, we'll be dancing. It's all about balance."

"Well, I wanted to go places in my job. I didn't just want my work to mean nothing."

They share a look like they know the punchline to a joke I missed. Bianca flicks her blonde hair over her shoulder as she busies herself with the generator they brought for their tools. Rosette bags the dirty brushes for cleaning.

"What?" I ask, knowing there's something they're not saying.

"It's nothing," Bianca says. "Just an inside joke."

"Are you – " I break off, looking between the two of them. "Are you making fun of me?"

"No, not of you." Rosette answers quickly, her voice gentler now that she senses I'm getting upset. "Just people."

Bianca breaks in, hand on her hip. "It's like this. People look at us and they see two pretty assistants. We're here to hold Giancarlo's brushes, but at the end of the day, we're no smarter than two blow-up dolls, right? Wrong. Giancarlo is one of the most sought after artists. Brides plan their weddings around his schedule, just to have a chance to work with him."

"Okay," I say slowly. Mostly, I'm thinking about how Kai managed to get a man of this caliber to be at his beck and call.

"Do you think Giancarlo would trust his business to two idiots? No. Do you see him here? Also, no. Because we're not just his floozies. We're trained, certified artists, who've put in the work, and now work under the best in the business. Look at you -" She turns my head to the mirror. "How can you say our work means nothing?"

I snap my jaw shut. There's no retort I can make in my defense. "I didn't mean it like that," I finally mumble, looking away from my reflection.

"Yes, you did. You look at us the same way most people do. You see our pretty faces hear our conversations about going out partying and flirting and hooking up and think you know who we are. But you don't. And that's fine," Bianca nods knowingly. "Because at the end of the day, we're exactly where we want to be professionally and your opinion means nothing. You have what you want – you've put in your few years of hard 'meaningful' work, and now you have a man who will take care of you. We don't pass judgment, so spar us yours."

"Get off the soapbox, Bee," her friend says like it's a rant she's heard a dozen times before.

Bianca steps back. Blue eyes crash like thunder and at that moment, I understand her. The differences between us are obvious. The similarities, however, could be innumerable. "You're lucky, not better," she says. "That's all."

Rosette sighs, looking wistfully at something over my shoulder. "Some luck,"

I look over my shoulder, following her line of sight. Kai strides across the park, Rick just behind him. At almost six, the sun is just starting to set. The warm orange glow emphasizes the angles of his face. And just like that, I understand Rosette as well. The three of us stare as he walks towards the crew, where a mass of people is still running around. In an instant, his eyes flash over to me and he redirects his course. I can't stop my heart from swelling at the implications of this.

"A meeting ran late," he says by way of an excuse when he reaches me. In my broken understanding of Kai-isms, I translate this as 'I'm terribly sorry for the delay and having you sit out here, wilting like a flower in the harsh sun.'

But it's only a rough translation. It's there, between the lines.

"Spencer told me,"

Romero appears behind him, slipping a hand under his arm and moving him swiftly towards Olivier's tent. "Finally. You should have called when you were on your way and I could have had the green-haired fabricator ready for you."

Kai and Olivier eye him with disdain but are otherwise compliant as Kai's shoved into the tent with a garment bag. Nice to see the treatment is universal.

Rick stands behind me, waiting for his boss to return. I haven't seen much of him since our forced bonding exercise, but his presence doesn't cause the annoyance it used to. I pass him a bottle of water that the girls stashed so they didn't have to go to the snack table with the rest of the crew.

As Kai steps out in a dark blue suit with a black necktie, Romero snaps his fingers at the girls and they rush to the tent entrance, peppering his face with some concealer and powder.

It's only now that he looks refreshed that I realize how spent he looked before. There's no time to dwell on this, though, as Romero immediately directs the both of us towards the field where everyone is waiting. People stop and watch as we pass. Some clap, others whistle, but most just stare. We break apart from the crowd as we're brought to the open park. Feeling singled out, I stand closer to Kai, wrapping my arm around his. This gives me the added bonus of being close enough to whisper to him.

I can tell Kai is overwhelmed by how rigid his expression is. My hand moves on its own, reaching to smooth his cheek. Halfway there, I hesitate before remembering it wouldn't seem all that strange in this setting. As my hand makes contact, his attention shifts. I've caught him off guard but he covers it well.

My thumb runs under his eye, soothing the dark circles hidden by make-up. "You look tired,"

He holds back a gruff bark of laughter. "Are you saying I look bad?"

I hear a click and we both turn to see the photographer kneeling a few feet away with, camera in front of her. "You're perfect," she whispers.

The moment ruined, I drop my hand. We wait patiently, listening as she and Romero discuss the overall ambiance that they want to create. Romero wants regal prince and princess vibes, while the photographer is imagining something more fantastical and whimsy. She stands up to Romero's energy well, not allowing him to dissuade her from her vision for us. I look over my shoulder at the setting sun. We're losing time by the second, but I don't dare interrupt their feud. Finally, the photographer wins out, shoving Romero out of her workspace.

The crew stands at the ready. There are screens to catch the fading light, an assistant stays by the photographer's side holding multiple cameras and lenses, waiting for when she needs to change.

Despite having won the battle, still takes some time for her to get set up. All the while, Kai is a statue next to me. Leaning against his side, he moves to adjust for the extra weight. At least I know he's awake. He's just somewhere in his head. I assume a meeting running late means that things weren't working out the way he wanted, and then to come here and face all this – who wouldn't feel overwhelmed?

I nudge my elbow into his side. A minute shift of his head lets me know I have his attention. "Romero pissed Rosette off so much that around four-thirty, she hid all of the coffee supplies from the snack table. It's now contraband and anyone who wants some has to come to her with a secret code word."

Kai's shoulders shake. His eyes are brighter now, more alight with life than moments ago and I feel a sense of accomplishment. I've done my part to cheer him up. Now, the real test begins: getting through the next hour while he's still tolerating people.

"Okay, first let's have you two facing each other," The photographer motions for us to stand face to face, "bring your hands up between you, no, like this -" she grasps around hands and wraps them around each other between our bodies, and then tilts our heads so that we're almost touching forehead to forehead, nose to nose. Finally, she pushes us closer. Because of the dress, I can't tell how close we are, but I'm definitely bracing against something. "Now, hold, just like that. Look into her eyes. Think of the first time you knew you loved her. Hilary, close your eyes until I say open."

I do what I'm told. All I can hear is Kai's steady breath and the shutter of the camera clicking in quick succession. Time stilled around me. Highly aware that I have dozens of eyes watching my every move, I focus on bringing my heart rate down. I try to stay relaxed but all I can think about is Kai staring at my stupid face.

"Hilary, think about the first time you saw kai," the photographer says.

Hearing her voice, my thoughts start to scatter. I reign them in. The first time I saw him? It was after a long day. Ryu had told me to go home hours earlier, but I was determined to finish a report long before the deadline. There were a few numbers that just were balancing and if I could get them right, I could save the account. I remember feeling jubilant when I finally figured it out and everything made sense.

I packed up my things and practically floating by Ryu on my way out, promising that I'd bring him a donut tomorrow for not bothering me any more than usual. His lecture fell on deaf ears as I called the elevator, expecting to wait a while for it to come all the way up to the top. I almost didn't register the ding or the other person in the space a second later when the door opened. I was on top of the world.

My step faltered when I did finally register his presence. There he stood for the first time, leaning against the back wall, his long legs taking up most of the space in the middle of the elevator. One hand in his pocket, the other holding his phone, and a shiny black briefcase next to his feet. Silently, he straightened up, stepping to one side, using his foot to drag the suitcase with him to the corner of the elevator.

I smiled, recovering from my surprise. "Hello," I said, taking the other corner so that the doors could close. He didn't answer.

"Now, open your eyes," she continues in a whisper.

I do as I'm told and am immediately confronted with Kai's relaxed gaze. Any efforts to keeping my heart rate low are wasted. Within seconds, my heart is back in my throat as I try not to have a visible reaction to him. He doesn't have the impassive stare that sees through people he has no interest in or the fiery glare that reveals his anger.

This expression is softer, connected to the moment. And also proud? There's a mixture of emotions in his eyes that create something else although, something he's holding back. I can't put my finger on it.

The photographer is satisfied with what she gets and so moves us on to a different pose, and then into a different part of the field, moving us around as though we're puppets on a string. The set I enjoy the most is him leaning coolly against the tree and me peeking around, as though I'm some sort of impish princess there to charm him. It feels very accurate to how we actually met.

A shout suddenly breaks out from the crowd. "You're shoes!"

We're in the middle of a set of photos where Kai twirls me, causing the dress to flare out. We look down at my bare feet. The grass was soft and the dress long enough that I didn't mind. Olivier comes rushing up, heels in hand. Kneeling in front of me he groans. "You have dirt on the bottom of your feet."

"Wait!" The photographer yells, stopping all movement. "The fountain!"

I look at Kai. He's already at the end of his patience, despite my best efforts to keep him in a good mood. There's an edge to the way he shrugs his shoulders. Yet, this is all the approval the photographer needs, for in the next second we're surrounded by the crew who rush us from the open field to a round fountain nearby.

Water shoots from angel statues, women with large, stone feather wings. The bottom glitters with coins, glinting with the help of the bright lights from the park. The crew moves around us, blocking the lights so that they can put theirs where they want them. Someone pulls twinkle lights from somewhere and traverses what I imagine would be cold water to string them up around the statues.

The photographer has someone come over to clean the bottoms of my feet with a wipe while someone else uses a towel and blow drier to dry to the lip of the fountain. All this work for a few pictures seems silly, but once everything is in place, I see what she's going for.

"You're going to sit here, and Kai, I want you to kneel and put the shoe on. Very Cinderella, very appropriate. I can't believe I didn't think of it first."

Another set of hands pass the shoes to Kai. More hands come out of nowhere to help situate the dress on the fountain so that it's not getting wet. They bunch the front up so that my feet all the way to my knee show. With everything in place, all the hands disappear, leaving just me and Kai alone again.

He kneels on a single knee at the base of the fountain, holding out a heel in both hands, offering it to me in place of a ring. A soft wave of 'awes' echo throughout the crowd. The camera shutters. The photographer tells me to lean forward and look at him "coyly". I try to comply, but it's hard to think of anything when Kai's refusing to break eye contact. How am I supposed to function under these conditions?

When he does look away, it's as he grasps my ankle, cradling it to slip the shoe onto my foot. He latches it securely, and just when I think we're done, his hand softly glides up my calf, hooking around the back of my knee. His dark eyes shoot up again, connecting with mine instantly. It's such a small thing and yet my breath catches.

A chorus of whistles follows.

The photographer runs up to us. "This is great. Next, we're going to have you stand on the edge of the fountain, with your hands braced on his shoulders. Kai, your hands will be around her waist and when I say go, you'll lift her up and spin her around. Can you do that?"

Kai nods. He hands me the other shoe which I put on quickly, ducking my head to hide what is no doubt a heated and obvious blush. When I'm done, he offers his hand to help me stand. Even without saying anything, he knows I'm getting tired as well. "You're staying the night, right?"

I nod. Spencer would have to drop me off and then come all the way back to bring Kai home. The nicest thing I can do for them is to make the night a little easier. "I brought my stuff," sharing in a secret smile. Those listening probably think we'll have a romantic evening while the truth is I'm dreaming of his guest bedroom.

The many hands return to help me stand on the fountain. I'm moving slowly in the heels until Kai comes in, placing his hands on my waist as I find my balance. I lean on Kai's shoulders, using him for the extra support. We're left alone again as we find our balance together. Looking down at Kai, I'd expect him to look smaller, but he remains large, taking up most of my view. His features are still a mixture of emotions but overall he seems to be in better spirits. I smile, relieved. At the photographer's cue, I brace against him as he lifts me from the lip, swinging me around in a circle. I imagine my dress flying about magically, capturing the fairy tale moment the photographer wanted.

"Kiss!"

"Yes, kiss!"

I see past Kai, realizing this was the logical conclusion. These are engagement photos after all. Of course, they're going to want a kiss. In fact, now that I'm thinking of it, I'm shocked it hasn't come up before. Returning to the reality, I catch Kai's eye. I see now this is what his sudden uplifted mood was about. Still lifting me, his back is turned to the camera. Only I can see the victorious smirk spread across his smug face.

"This an important enough moment?"

The answer is obvious. Another point for him, even when the win is meaningless.

Kai lowers me slowly, bracing my weight with his body. My arms wrap around his neck. As I get closer, I tilt my head so that our lips can meet. The camera clicks. It's a good thing we've practice because I'd hate for that first moment to be immortalized. When we break apart, I can't met his eyes.

One down. Five to go.

Bit of a shorter, lighter chapter. Not much plot development, but some hints in there. Please let me know if you have anything you'd like to share. For those who do, what are you most excited about/looking forward to/curiously anticpating? As always, please be safe and enjoy your week! - konix.