6.

 Autumn and Zara talked for a while before Zara had to get back to work. Autumn got out of bed and went to the bathroom.

The sight of the wound on her shoulder ignited the anger she felt earlier, and she felt the strong need to go back and deliver a hard slap across Lydia’s face.

“They must have thought I was joking when I said I was done,” She mumbled, reaching above the sink for the first aid box.

Autumn winced softly when she cleaned the wound. Luckily, it wasn’t a big wound, but she would need to wear a dress that covered the injury for the gala.

She wasn’t hiding it. She just wanted to avoid any attention that would come from the high society wives who would have no doubt seen the articles and would want inside gossip from her.

She had never been welcomed in the elite wives’ circles despite being married to Ethan because she was from a more different world from them. The wives of women who married men in Ethan’s circle were of the same standing. Women from families who held the same influence, and Autumn didn’t come close.

Just as she finished, there was a knock on the door. Autumn closed her eyes and let out an exasperated sigh. “Don’t these people have something else to do other than bother me?”

“Who’s that?” She called out.

“Mrs Grant, the gala clothes are here,” A maid called out from the other side of the door.

Autumn had almost forgotten. Since Ethan had decided she had to attend the event, Autumn refused to continue making herself small for the Grants. She had contacted one of the best clothing stores in Weston to bring some outfits for her to choose from for the gala.

The manager of the store had been so excited and promised to bring some of the best outfits they had in store.

“I’ll be right down,” She told the maid.

A few minutes later, Autumn walked downstairs to see the sitting room had been transformed into a mini clothing store.

There were three hangers filled with dresses, boxes of shoes opened, and jewelry opened on tables.

“Mrs Grant,” the manager, Anita Baker, rushed to meet her halfway. “As soon as I got your call, I knew I had to bring out all the best items we had. It’s our first time dressing you, and we must do our best”

Autumn gave her a dry smile because she knew none of the words that came out of the woman’s mouth were genuine. “Thank you for coming on short notice,” she said, allowing the woman to guide her to a chair as though it wasn’t her house.

“I should be the one thanking you.” She beckoned to the girls she brought to bring the racks closer. “I’m going to show you some pieces.”

The three girls who came with the manager began to show her some dresses. They were elegant and expensive dresses, but they called to Autumn.

She leaned back with a bored expression on her face. She didn’t particularly care for things like this.

She looked behind the girls, and her eyes scanned the dresses on the last hanger. One dress caught her attention.

“Can I see that one?” She asked, pointing at the deep blue velvet dress.

The manager’s eyes lit up as she beckoned for one of the girls to bring the dress. She clapped excitedly. “This dress is a limited edition, but a lot of people avoid it because it is difficult to pull off. I think it’s perfect for you”

The girl held the dress up for Autumn to see. It had a form-fitting silhouette that flared at the bottom.

“I’ll take this,” she hummed with approval. “Can I see some shoes and jewelry that will go with this?”

Alisa and Naomi walked hand in hand down the stairs. Naomi was telling her stories from all the events she had played in, and Alisa’s eyes were shining with pride. Naomi would have suited her son better as a wife.

The sound of Autumn’s voice from the living room drew their attention. Naomi’s smile stilled as she took in the room. Autumn was being attended to by some people as though she was an important person.

“What’s happening here?” Naomi’s voice cut through before Anita could say anything. A scoff escaped Autumn’s lips, but she didn’t turn or acknowledge Naomi.  

Anita cleared her throat awkwardly and answered instead. “Mrs Grant has a gala to attend, so we came to show her some clothes”

“Look at her spending my son’s money carelessly.” Alisa sneered. “Why do you need a new dress when you have old ones?” She demanded.

Autumn looked over her shoulder with a bored look at Alisa before turning back to Anita. “The shoes?”

Anita scurried over to where the shoes were arranged to avoid being caught in the middle of the trouble. She had attended to enough elite family women, so she knew the best thing to do in situations like this was to hide away and be invisible.

A bitter expression crossed Naomi’s face, but it was gone before anyone could see it. “Really, I’m attending as well. Maybe I could try a few,” then her eyes went to the one the attendant was holding.

The dress was gorgeous. Anyone who wore that dress would be the center of attention for the entire night. She left Alisa’s side and approached the girl to run her hands over the material. It was soft.

“Is this what you are wearing, Autumn?” she asked in a polite voice. “Can I try it on? I’ve never worn something like this, so I would like to see how it is on me”

Anita had been picking some shoe options to show Autumn when Naomi’s words made her freeze. She looked up, expecting someone to rebuke her. After all, everyone knew Naomi as the renowned violinist and a friend of the Grants, but still, Autumn was the wife.

A lot of the women she had worked with would have slapped her already for daring to cross that line.

“What are you waiting for?” Alisa barked at the girl. “Help her put it on”

The girl hesitated, looking to Autumn for orders. “But this is Mrs Grant’s dress.” She said with fear in her voice.

“And? Is her name written on it or something? Give it to Naomi to try”

Autumn wasn’t surprised. She knew this would happen the moment Naomi said she liked the dress. After all, what Naomi wanted, she got. And recently, all she wanted was what belonged to Autumn.

Her husband, her home, and now her dress.

“No,” Autumn replied.

The smug smile on Naomi’s lips froze. She turned anxiously towards Alisa. “It seems Autumn has misunderstood me. I’m not trying to take what belongs to her. I just want to try the dress”

Alisa stormed towards Autumn. “Why are you making a scene? It’s just a dress,” She snapped.

Autumn looked at her with disdain, as clear as day. “If it’s just a dress, she can choose one of the many here,” She gestured towards the multiple dresses on the racks. “And I’m making a scene? When she was the one who wanted MY dress?”

“Madam Grant isn’t fair. Mrs Grant obviously chose that dress first. Is Naomi Ethan’s mistress? Why should the wife leave a dress for her?” One of the girls muttered to her friend, but her voice wasn’t as low as she hoped, so everyone heard her.

Naomi paled. The smug expression she had worn slipped away completely and was replaced with humiliation.

Alisa exploded. “Who gave you the right to badmouth someone in my house?” she yelled at the girl, who flinched at the loud voice and turned to Autumn. “So you brought these people to humiliate me in my own house?”

“I think you are doing enough of that on your own,” Autumn replied with a nonchalant shrug, and Alisa almost fainted from the anger.

“You…”

“What happened this time?” A tired Ethan came down the stairs.

He had been trying to rest when he heard the loud noise and decided to come and check it out. The moment he saw his mother, Naomi, and Autumn in the same room, he could feel a headache coming.

It seemed like his days of peace were over. These days, the only thing that happened in the Grant’s mansion was disagreement.

“It’s the woman your grandfather forced on us,” Alisa exploded.

Ethan’s gaze immediately went to Autumn, who remained calm. He exhaled deeply before asking. “What happened?”

“I just…”

“She wanted the dress I chose for the gala,” Autumn replied coolly.

Naomi panicked and rushed to explain. “Ethan, it’s a misunderstanding. I just wanted to try the dress on because I thought it was lovely,” she said in a gentle voice and cast her gaze down to appear fragile.

Ethan frowned. “But there are so many dresses here; you can try the others,” he said, and Naomi stilled.

“What?” she whispered, filled with disbelief. Did Ethan just take Autumn’s side?

Even Autumn had not expected it. Her brows jumped when she heard his response. She had expected him to take Alisa and Naomi’s side as usual.

“How can you say that?” Alisa said angrily. “If Naomi wants it, Autumn should let her have it”

Ethan frowned.

“If Autumn picked it first, then it’s hers. Naomi should get something else”

Ethan wasn’t trying to defend Autumn. From his perspective, he saw it as common sense. Why would Naomi insist on a dress Autumn had already picked?

His thoughts were pulled out by Naomi sniffing. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cause trouble,” she said with a small voice. “I’m sorry, Ethan”

“No…” Ethan felt his heart shake a little when he saw the expression on her face, but before he could stop her, she ran up the stairs.

Alisa glared at Autumn before following Naomi.

Autumn rolled her eyes and returned her attention to Anita. “Can I see the shoes?” She said, causally dismissing Ethan.

Ethan frowned. Everyday, it seemed Autumn gradually became someone he couldn’t recognize. Now, every argument in the house was centered around her.

Instead of going back upstairs, he turned and left the house.