One
"Seria, look at this! This is absolutely amazing! I have to have this dress.”
Felizitas, affectionately called Fizi, bounced excitedly up and down in front of the designer boutique. Her eyes sparkled at the sight of the blue lace dress that would surely look stunning on her. The price tag, however, was enough to make anyone dizzy. But Fizi didn’t care. She had married a very generous man who could hardly refuse her any wish. He liked it when his beloved walked around perfectly styled at all times.
Seria studied the shimmering dress and felt a slight pang of envy toward her friend. Not because she couldn’t afford it herself—no. She would simply never wear a dress like that. It was far too form-fitting and sexy. She would feel uncomfortable in it.
During their shopping trip together they had seen many dresses like it. Fizi seemed magnetically drawn to most of them, while Seria stood beside her, smiling patiently.
“Oh come on, Ri! That would look wonderful on you!”
Fizi hooked her arm through Seria’s and tried to pull her into the store. When Seria attempted to protest, she was immediately interrupted.
“No arguments—you’re at least trying it on!”
That was one of the reasons Seria liked her friend so much. Even if Fizi wanted the dress badly for herself, she always thought of Seria first. And of course, there were her frequent matchmaking attempts, which often involved squeezing Seria into all kinds of sexy dresses.
Since Seria rarely managed to refuse her friend anything, a moment later she found herself standing in front of a mirror, looking at herself in the blue masterpiece.
And for the very first time, she actually felt comfortable in a dress.
Any other piece would have looked ridiculous on her. Seria’s body had an unusual shape. She examined her extremely long legs from different angles. The blue dress flowed around her thighs like water. Her hips, which she usually thought were far too wide, were beautifully concealed. Her full breasts were lifted slightly, making her slim waist appear even more delicate.
Delighted, Fizi clapped her hands together.
“Wow! This time I’ve truly outdone myself! This dress is bought, Ri!”
Seria couldn’t stop her cheeks from flushing. She truly felt good in this dress—one that promised more sin than her entire wardrobe combined. In that moment, she was actually tempted to buy the outrageously expensive piece. Whether she would ever wear it was another matter entirely.
Seria stepped down from the small podium the designer had placed her on—and immediately tripped over her own feet.
She heard her friend’s startled gasp just before she collided hard with someone’s chest.
“Oops—I hope you didn’t hurt yourself.”
Seria quickly stepped back, feeling her cheeks heat up again. The man who had caught her brushed a hand through his short black hair with an elegant gesture and smiled at her charmingly.
“I’m sorry, that was very clumsy of me…”
She tried to sound as polite as possible while finding it nearly impossible to look away from him. He adjusted the knot of his tie on what appeared to be a perfectly tailored suit, then gently took Seria’s hand and pressed a gallant kiss to the back of it.
“It’s my pleasure to be of assistance to such a beautiful woman.”
A deep blush spread across Seria’s face. She wished she could disappear into the floor on the spot. And yet she couldn’t stop staring into his piercing blue eyes.
With her mouth slightly open, she suddenly noticed another man standing behind him—one who was studying her just as intently.
A loud clearing of someone’s throat made Seria jump, reminding her where she was. Hastily she turned away, rushed into the fitting room, changed back into her clothes, and left the dress behind.
Moments later she hurried out of the shop without another word.
She could hear her friend shouting her name behind her, but she ignored it. In her entire life, Seria had never experienced a moment like that. She had been completely captivated by that stranger.
As she replayed the image of the attractive man in her mind, she suddenly realized that the second man had looked exactly like him.
They had to be twins.
They had even worn the same suit—only the color of their ties had been different. If she were to meet them again on the street, she probably wouldn’t be able to tell which of them had just gallantly kissed her hand.
Suddenly someone grabbed her shoulders and spun her around.
“Hey! What got into you? Did a tarantula bite you?”
Seria realized she had simply left her friend standing in the shop and took a deep breath.
“Sorry, Fizi. I think today just isn’t my day.”
Her friend grinned and lifted a shopping bag.
“I think it was the best day in months. The look you two exchanged? Even a blind person could have understood that!”
She fluttered her eyelashes meaningfully, and Seria felt her cheeks grow warm again.
“That’s nonsense, Fizi! I was just embarrassed!”
Fizi rolled her eyes and pushed the bag into Seria’s hands.
“You almost forgot the dress!”
Seria took the bag and looked at it sheepishly.
“I’ll pay you back for it, Fizi.”
But her friend waved it off.
“Think of it as a gift for the ball on Friday.”
That reminded Seria why they had gone shopping in the first place. Everything was for a ridiculously extravagant ball. Since her father was the main host of the event, Seria would have to attend.
She sighed.
“I think I’d really like to go home now.”
Immediately Fizi hooked her arm through Seria’s again.
“Oh no you don’t! The day has only just begun, and we still have to spend a lot more money to make you look halfway decent for Friday!”
“Very flattering, Fizi.”
Both of them grinned shamelessly at each other. Because Seria knew her friend was right. With Fizi’s perfectly styled face and stunning body, she could never compete—no matter how much money they spent.
Hey everyone!
This is one of my first romances in the dark romance, enemies-to-lovers genre!
I hope you’ll come to love my characters just as much as I do.
This book will be very forbidden and spicy, so please take care of yourselves while reading!
I’m really looking forward to your feedback and your likes.
Other than that, enjoy the story!
With lots of love, Luna <3
