CHAPTER 28: LITTLE DOLL


    LILY’S POV:


    He called me that name for the second time and I don’t even know what it means.


    “Niki?”, I called.


    “Hm?”, He responded still ying with my hair.


    “Wh-what does Kukolka mean?”, I asked and he smiled, he stopped ying with my hair and moved away, with both hands in his pocket.


    “Get dressed, we have somewhere to go to”, He changed the topic and left my room.


    I sighed and held my cheeks, trying to stop myself from blushing. This was the second time he called me Kukolka and I don’t even know if it was a bad thing or a good thing.


    ***


    I was dressed in a blue t-shirt, ck pants and white sneakers, I had my hair in a high ponytail. I came downstairs and there, I saw Niki, sitting on the sofa in all his glory.


    He was on hisptop, brows were furrowed and I could swear I saw a halo floating above his head.


    ‘Good Lord!’, I couldn’t help but gawk at him.


    They way he sat on the sofa, worked on hisptop, blink, tighten his jaw from time to time, licked his lips and swallowed making his Adam’s apple to move screamed ss.


    ‘Has he always been this handsome?’, I asked myself. I almost tripped on the stairs but found my bnce immediately.


    “Careful!”, Galina said and that’s when I noticed she was also in the living room.


    “Uh… t-thank you”, I said and smiled awkwardly. Niki just raised his face and look at me, he didn’t say anything and continued with hisptop.


    “Are you guys going somewhere?”, Galina asked. I frowned and looked at Niki, he said we were going somewhere, wasn’t his sistering along?


    “Galina?”, Niki ced hisptop down and called his sister.


    “Yes?”.


    “Take Lily to your room and dress her up properly would you?”, He said and my eyes widen in surprise.


    “Eeeeee! most definitely!”, Galina replied, sounding excited.


    “But… what’s wrong with what I’m putting on right now?”, I asked him. I was veryfortable in this outfit and I didn’t know where we were going.


    “For starters you look like a single mom who just lost her job and where we are going to don’t need such appearance”, He said with a straight face and I felt embarrassed. I gripped the hems of my t-shirt and looked down at my sneakers.


    “Oh! Don’t mind my brother!… Lily you look absolutely beautiful in what you put on”, Galina said and I fake smiled.


    I quietly followed Galina back upstairs to her room. The decorations was the total difference from Niki’s room. The furnitures were beige color, the bed had a white fake furry nket, the shelf was pink. There was a huge painting of a river and mountain on the wall.


    “Come pick whatever you like”, Galina said, pulling me out of my thoughts.


    “Uhm- okay”, I replied.


    I saw how her closet where filled with designer clothes, shoes and bags.


    “I didn’t bring much because I won’t be here for long”, She said and Iughed.


    “This isn’t much?! This closet alone is a full boutique!”, I said, smiling as I touched the dresses of numerous colors and brands.


    “Oh Lily, stop exaggerating hahaha!”, She said and we bothughed.


    Galina went ahead to suggest dresses for me and I kept turning them down, either I felt there were too revealing, or too bright and seeking attention, or too expensive for me to wear.


    “Ohe on, this one is perfect. Its color matches your skin!”, She said, already sounding frustrated.


    “Nope, the stones looks like it will fall off if I walk in this dress”, I replied. It was a blue dress with little crystal stones all over it.


    “OH MY GOD, I’VE FOUND THE PERFECT DRESS!!”, Galina gasped and eximed.


    She pulled out a summer yellow dress, with flowers prints on it. It has a V-neck but not revealing much cleavage and it has beautiful pleated hem. She was right, this dress is beautiful, I smiled and took it from her, I was so lost in my imagination that I didn’t realize when I left the closet and stood before the mirror, with the dress in front of me, I admired myself and the dress.


    “It’s beautiful”, I said absentmindedly.


    “Then this is it!”, Galina said and sps her hands.


    She helped me get dressed, she also gave me a red heel sandals and red long strap purse to match.


    “Now for the touch up… makeup”, Galina dered and I froze.


    “No no no, there is no need for makeup. It isn’t a date or anything like that, matter of fact, I don’t even know where he’s taking me to”, I said, already feeling hot.


    Galina sighed and shook her head.N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content.


    “Do you know how many girls my brother has told me to dress up in my clothes?”, She asked and I frowned.


    “A lot?”.


    “No, just one and that you Lily”, She said, holding both my hands.


    “Probably because those other girls have their own designers to help them and I’m  just dressed shabby”, I pouted and looked at her hands holding mine.


    “Don’t say that about yourself Lily… Look, I don’t know what you are to my brother but I can say this for sure, Niki has never ever been this attentive about a girl fashion, he’s caring towards you, not every girl cane too close to him”, Galina exined.


    “Then what about Irina?”, I don’t like the way I was sounding, I wasing off like a jealous girlfriend.


    “Irina?!! That’s Niki best friend since we were little, she’s like family and Niki takes her like his sister”, Galina smiled. I sighed, if only Galina knows her brother was screwing his supposed ‘sister’.


    I didn’t say anything else and nodded for her to continue her little dress up.


    She sat me down in front of her huge mirror and brought out a few makeup products and started.


    She was done applying a mild amount of makeup and I like the way she yed with my hair, curling it a little and adding hair oil making my jet ck hair to be shiny.


    “Wow Galina, I look like those super models on TV!”, I praised her and sheughed shyly.


    “Stop it Lily, I just did my best”, She said.


    “I’m being serious, I could easily pass as a model or an actress!… You should definitely go into fashion, you are good at it!”, I encouraged her, there was something in her eyes that made her change her mood but she immediately changed back.


    “I will consider it”, She responded.


    I stood up and we both left her room but my heart was racing fast, ‘What if Niki sees me and immediately feels irritated or what if heughs at the sight of me?’, I panicked at my imaginations.


    Galina must have noticed so she pulled me to face her and smiled at me.


    “You look extremely beautiful, Niki would be speechless when he sees you, She said and I smiled faintly.


    “Galina, what does Kukolka mean?”, I asked her. I figured since Niki didn’t tell me the meaning, I should ask someone else.


    “Uh, it means Little Doll”.


    “So, it’s like a bad thing?”, I was confused, is Niki calling me this because I looked like an easy target?


    “Oh no, it’s more of an endearment a man calls his woman… Where did you hear it from?”, She asked.


    “Uh- nowhere actually, I-I just came across it hehe, forgotten where”, I said awkwardly and begin walking down the stairs.


    I still couldn’t help but smile to myself when Galina told me the meaning of what Niki called me. If he has only called me that once, I would have taken it to be a mistake but twice? Not a coincidence.


    He was still seated in that position we left him in. He raised his head when he heard our footsteps and I saw a glint of something in his eyes… it looked like admiration?


    But it was gone before I could make anything of it.


    “Brotherrr!! Isn’t Lily a beautiful goddess?! I did a good job right?”, Galina grabbed her brother’s arm and asked. Niki looked at me for many seconds without saying a word, he finally cleared his throat and looked away.


    “Let’s go, shall we?”, He said and walked away.


    “Don’t pay him any attention, he’s just shy and speechless about your beautiful”, Galina said to me and Iughed. Niki is anything but shy and he never runs out of something to say, maybe he really wasn’t liking what I wore and I immediately started feeling ufortable in it.


    ‘Did he find me too dress up and trying to impress?’, I asked myself.


    “I will get going, bye Galina. Thanks for dressing me up and making me look this beautiful”, I said to her.


    “Ohe on Lily! You give me too much credit. You are so beautiful so it wasn’t any much work hehe!”, She said and we bothughed about it.


    I breathe out and followed Niki to the car. We both got into the car and he zoomed off, I didn’t ask where we were headed so I just enjoyed the car ride.


    Little did I know this outing would cause my heart to ache worse than before.


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