Chapter 21: Chapter 21

One similarity that Dylan discovered between Scarlett and Madison was that both took long when shopping, as most other women do. However, while Dylan carried piles of shopping bags when he used to go to the mall with Scarlett, the opposite was true now that he was with Madison. Putting his empty hands into his pockets, Dylan watched Madison roam around indecisively. Her eyes scanned something about the items she had taken. But she put them back as she shook her head and talked to herself indistinctly.

It was the first time Dylan had gone shopping with Madison. But after an hour of letting Madison roam around the mall, Dylan could already tell they would spend the rest of the day having done nothing else if he did not interfere. He heaved a deep sigh before turning around and facing her.

"Darling," Dylan called. "Look, we haven't purchased anything. Didn't you say that we'd go to the amusement park?"

The crest between Madison's eyebrows had become more pronounced. Without saying anything, she turned around and was about to walk past Dylan to leave the department store.

Dylan pulled Madison by the hand to pull her back inside. "Hey, Darling, where are you going?" he asked with a frown.

Glancing at a small portable computer to her side, Madison shook her head and complained, "The gadgets here are way too pricey, Sir Dylan. I can't believe a thin and light laptop costs a month's worth of groceries for an average household." Before walking to the exit, Madison added, "A few stationeries will suffice. Besides, I'm only an incoming freshman, Sir Dylan. Let's go somewhere else."

"Stop looking at the price," Dylan suggested, making Madison stay. "Don't worry about the cost. Get whatever you want, and we'll buy it right away."

Although the CEO's son sounded genuine, Madison insisted, "I can't, Sir Dylan. I don't want to support retail establishments that offer products and services this pricey. I can't even bear to choose one. Don't they sell anything that people like me can afford?" She turned to Dylan and added, "I bet we can't find a pen that costs less than two bucks here. Jeez!"

Seeing Madison scratching her head in annoyance, Dylan could not help but find it oddly cute. But he maintained a serious face and warned, "If you don't pick anything, then we might postpone going to the amusement park."

But Madison was way more serious about her opposition. "I understand that it's on you, Sir Dylan. But not spending a penny from my pocket is not an excuse for me to not mind what I think is unjust. I don't want my guilt to consume me if I let you buy this overcharged stuff for me. Come, Sir Dylan, let's go somewhere else."

Madison left Dylan no chance to argue further until he noticed that she slowed her pace at the sight of a mannequin wearing a red dress in a boutique. Madison must be interested in the dress, so Dylan immediately took advantage of it to make her finally buy something.

The saleslady abruptly approached them and greeted Madison and Dylan as they entered the boutique.

"We'll take that dress," he quickly told the saleslady, pointing to the notch-neck red dress with cap sleeves that Madison was staring at a while ago. "Give us all the bestseller ones as well. Make sure they look as simple as that," he added.

"That red dress in the mannequin is the last of our remaining stock, Sir," the saleslady informed. "Do you still want to take it?"

"Yes. We don't mind," Dylan replied. He looked around, pointed to one of the shoe display racks, and casually continued, "We'll also take those five pairs of flats."

The saleslady nodded and asked, "Anything else, Sir?"

Knowing that Madison did not want anything else, Dylan replied, "Nothing more."

"Alright, Sir," the saleslady said. Glancing at Madison, who was quietly standing next to Dylan, the saleslady politely asked, "Is your girlfriend going to try on the dresses, Sir?"

The saleslady's assumption about the relationship between her newly arrived customers made Dylan turn to catch Madison's reaction. He was wondering whether Madison would correct the saleslady. But his future girlfriend fixed her gaze on the red dress, so Dylan assumed, "Yes, she'll try them on. Let her try the red dress first."

"Please wait a moment here while I prepare them, sir," the saleslady asked and motioned Dylan and Madison to sit in the fitting area.

The saleslady was about to take the red dress off the mannequin when Madison shouted, "Hey! What are you doing?"

What seemed to be an accusing look on Madison's face made the saleslady smile and clarify, "Don't worry, Miss. I just have to take it off the mannequin so you can try and see if the size fits you." Thinking that she had made her customer understand Madison would get the last stock, the saleslady continued to pull the dress. But she was startled when Madison walked toward her and kept the mannequin dressed.

Dylan was puzzled as well by Madison's sudden reaction. He approached her and gently held her arm, afraid she would get into trouble. "Darling, what's wrong?"

Frowning, Madison scoffed, "Can't you see? She wants to make the mannequin naked in public. That's ridiculous!"

When Dylan noticed that Madison's reaction perplexed the saleslady, he encouraged Madison to go back to the fitting area. But she stayed in her position.

Locking her sharp eyes at the saleslady, Madison warned, "If you dare do that again, I'll rip your clothes off and replace her with you. Take my words seriously if you don't want to stand there like a mannequin."

"I'm sorry about that," Dylan apologized to the saleslady when Madison returned to the fitting area. Wanting to give whatever Madison wanted, he asked, "Please prepare the other ones first and this one last. I'm really sorry."

Although her reaction earlier could still be traced on her face, the saleslady replied, "It's okay, Sir." Maintaining professionalism, she asked, "May I know her shoe size, Sir?"

Dylan's eyes examined Madison's feet. "Five and a half. Five and a half," he said, sounding confident in his estimation the second time he confirmed the size. "We'll take the beige and the ruby flats. Then those three," he asked as he pointed to the shoes he was referring to. He believed nude colors would complement Madison's fair skin, while ruby would make her more captivating.

"Alright, Sir. Could you please confirm if she will still try them all on?"

"Yes, she still will," Dylan confirmed. "I'll get the flats and let her try them on," he volunteered with a smile.

When the saleslady nodded, Dylan walked toward the display rack. He wanted the frown on Madison's face to vanish, so he took the five flats. Dylan would purchase them since he was confident they fitted Madison's size correctly. Before showing them all in front of Madison, he removed each price tag while she was not looking.

The fascination at the sight of the flats brightened Madison's face as expected. "Wow! They look comfortable!" she exclaimed. "I didn't know you're good at deciding on shoes for women, Sir Dylan. Are they all mine?"

"Of course!" Dylan affirmed. "Go, try them all, so we'll see if they fit you," he encouraged.

Madison had never bought herself shoes like them before. With excitement on her face, Madison tried wearing each flat while Dylan stared at her. In his mind, he was praying she would not ask about the price and put all the flats back on the rack.

The five flats fitted Madison's feet. But the frown on her face returned as she inspected each flat. "The price tags are missing," she noticed.

Dylan pretended to hear nothing. But when Madison was about to go to the racks where similar flats were displayed, he abruptly lied, "It's a boutique for apparel below 50 dollars. That's why."

Madison squinted for a moment. "Is that so, Sir Dylan?" she asked. Suddenly, she held Dylan's face and squinted as though she was gathering hints that he was lying. "You're not fooling me, are you?"

Without blinking, Dylan shook his head. He was about to lie again when he noticed the saleslady approaching. Dylan immediately stood up and left Madison for a moment to meet the saleslady halfway and ask to have the price tags removed. That way, he could support his lie and exit the mall with some things that Madison would need at the university.

When he saw that Madison liked the dresses, Dylan asked the saleslady to have them wrapped up. He handed over his card to pay and left the bags at the boutique to pull Madison to the department store they went to earlier.

Madison knew what Dylan was planning, so she pulled her arm back. But his grip was too tight that she could not escape.

As soon as they entered, Dylan immediately pointed at a row of laptops ranging from 11 to 15 inches and asked, "Which size do u prefer?" Madison only pressed her lips. But seeing that Dylan was waiting for her to point her finger at one of the several laptops, she eventually pointed at the smallest size. Avoiding any more objections, Dylan no longer asked to ensure that the measure was to Madison's liking. He told the salesman to box two of those laptops. The other one was for Emily.

After almost two hours in the mall, Dylan and Madison finally carried a few shopping bags to Dylan's car. They were both hungry, so they stopped at a casual dining restaurant to eat before heading to the amusement park.

Half an hour later, they arrived at the amusement park. Madison no longer waited for Dylan to open the door. He excitedly got out of the car and wandered her eyes around the amusement park in awe. The sight of the tall Ferris wheel planted a wide smile on her face as she shifted her gaze from the ride to Dylan.

"Sir Dylan," she called softly. Her sweet smile and the way she called Dylan took his tiredness away. "We'll be riding the Ferris wheel, right?" she asked. Her eyes were pleading for his approval.

Smiling back, Dylan replied, "Anything you want, Darling." Delight immediately registered on Madison's face. Before he knew it, she had already thrown him a hug.

The sudden gesture made Dylan stupefy, freezing him in his position. When he felt Madison's hug loosen, his arms immediately returned the hug. Madison looked up to him. The delight in her eyes stared at him as she squeezed his cheeks.

"You're really handsome, Sir Dylan," Madison mumbled, making Dylan's face flush red. Her eyebrows wrinkled into a frown upon seeing the unusual color on his face. "Your cheeks looked reddish. Are you sick, Sir Dylan?" she worriedly asked.

Dylan immediately parted from Madison. He turned to the side-view mirror of his car and saw that he was indeed blushing.

With a sheepish smile, he turned to Madison. "I'm not, Darling," he reassured and lied, "It's just unusually hot today." He then put her arm behind her, guiding her to the gate.

Once they bought two tickets for all the rides, they finally entered the amusement park. The large area was filled with a crowd, making Dylan intertwine his hands with Madison's. He could not help but smile as Madison was too amused to refuse.

They tried every ride Madison wanted, and Dylan bore witness to the freedom she enjoyed. Madison feared she would die if she risked her life riding the roller coaster, so they excluded the insane structure from their options. Their last ride was the Ferris wheel. The gentle movement of the wheel made them appreciate the city's mesmerizing map and the coastline's view from above. Dylan stared at Madison, who had no idea how crazy she was driving him for not taking her hands back from him.

"Let me make you this happy forever," Dylan whispered and squeezed Madison's hand.