Chapter 19: Chapter 19

"Whoever said that money can't buy happiness simply didn't know where to go shopping."

-Bo Derek-

***

Clara had wondered for a while at the car regarding where he would take her, she should have guessed when he mentioned something about transformation. Raphael had thought things through and although Clara had been looking so much better ever since she left Bordeaux, there were still room for some improvement.

She told him the story about cutting her own hair, and she did a decent job, but it could still be fixed. Not only that, he felt like buying her a few gifts. Her closet was still rather empty and he did not want his woman to be seen wearing the same outfit over and over again, he liked variety and he knew she would look good in pretty much anything.

He brought to the golden triangle of Paris, Champs Elysees, Montaigne, and George V. Their first destination was the beauty salon, Clara had slightly trimmed at the end, they were careful to not make it too short, gave her a blow dry and styled it with a wave curl at the end.

They asked her if she wanted to dye her hair but she shook her head since she did not want to have her hair damaged from the bleach, and Raphael was already fond of the shade of her hair, they only gave her a slight highlight without bleaching it, such a minor change was enough to make her look like a better version of herself.

Next destination was the shopping streets in Champs Elysees, this part bothered Clara, because she did not grow up surrounded by luxury fashion brands, she had no idea what were considered high fashion and had no experience in luxury shopping, she felt  a bit overwhelmed, especially when she entered the store and saw the prices.

The price tag for a single item could be worth her weekly income in Bordeaux, he told him she did not need any new things, the ones he had bought for her previously was enough, but Raphael insisted, he ended up being the one picking up her clothing and asked her to try each item on, and of course, every single one of them ended up looking good on her, so he bought them all.

Clara found him more excited than she was, having a fashionista and socialite sister had granted him the knowledge about the best pieces each brand has to offer.

He brought her to Louis Vuitton, Chanel, and Dior boutiques in the street. While he was at it he picked out a few classic handbags and shoes for her at each stores, which he knew would never go out of style, and fit her personality well. They also went to Sephora and perfume stores around.  Clara could easily see the jealous stares of the women around them. Especially with one of Raphael's staff carrying their shopping bags around only added to her guilt.

"Raphael, these are too much, you don't have to get me all of these." Clara felt guilty, she felt like a gold digger, never in her life had she let a man buy her so many gifts, and for no special occasions. She could see the judgmental stares some people were giving her. Raphael was oblivious to it but she could definitely feel them.

"You are going to be my wife eventually, what I do is right." He did not even think twice or flinch when he took out his card to pay on each stores. He grabbed her hand and brought her stores after stores until she could no longer shop from all the exhaustion. When the two cars they brought along could no longer fit all of the bags, they went home and she had to sort out the shopping bags in her room.

She was not even done unpacking all of her belongings and he had added more. When she arrived there her closet were mostly empty with the exceptions of the items he bought her, but after the shopping spree that day her closet was mostly full. The only section that were still rather empty was the jewelry section but after that day she was certain he would probably find his ways to fill that section up.

She rested her head on the bed. Her whole body was sore from walking around and unpacking the whole day. Clara decided to take a warm bath with salt to soothe her muscle, and it worked like magic. She got dressed and headed down to the kitchen. The cook was about to prepare their dinner, and Clara had nothing to do, so she approached him and offered to help. At first he refused but he did not dare to reject her offer twice, so he allowed her to deal with the preparation process.

Her lips curved into a small smile as she took the ingredients out from the fridge. Back home she would cook alongside her cooks once in a while when she had nothing to do, and everyone including her picky eater grandma and cousin complimented her cooking.

She was quite a natural cook, thus other than painting and crafting, cooking was definitely her forte. Besides she wanted to make something for him as a token of gratitude. She tied her hair in a ponytail and pulled out the knife from its case.

Raphael had just taken a shower, changing himself into a casual t-shirt and pants, he had had too much formality at work, when at home, he chose comfort over anything, though he still made himself look presentable. Once he was done, he headed down for dinner, much to his delight, he spotted Clara cooking in the kitchen, she was chopping off some vegetables and poured them over the pan to saute. He observed her from the dining table. She was so focused in cooking she did not even notice him grinning at her.

Raphael decided to join her, when he stepped into the kitchen, he gestured for the cook to leave. He appeared a bit displeased because he was interrupted while doing his work but he knew better than to argue with a Desroches. He sneaked up behind her and lowered his face just behind her ear.

"That looks delicious."  Before Clara knew it Raphael was standing right beside her. The housekeeper was already gone, Raphael had instructed her to set the table instead. Clara clenched her chest, she was startled. Fortunately, the stove was already off, otherwise she might have to deal with some burnt veggies for dinner.

"Don't do that!" She slapped his chest playfully and he groaned as he moved back pretending to be hurt. Both were laughing. Raphael reaches out his hand to take the pan and moved the dish to the plate before bringing it to the table. To her surprise, Raphael himself was not such a bad cook, he managed to help her with a few things and when she sampled his cooking, it actually tasted pretty good. Not mind blowing, but good for someone who rarely ever cooked his own meal.

When Clara was done putting the final ingredients, she clapped her hand and brushed them together to get rid of any seasoning that might accidentally stick to her hand, she was sweating a little from the heat, which made her neck looked slightly wet. Raphael who had done his part turned his attention toward her and found her incredibly attractive even when she was cooking. He watched as she touched her shoulder, her collarbone and neckline was moving in all the right direction.

They had looked so tempting, he wished he could just taste her right then, in his mind, he had wanted to do so many things to her, to ravish her body and tasted her. He bet she would be more delicious than any meal he had ever taken. He bit his lips just thinking about it.

But of course, he was willing to wait until she was ready.