"You look so gorgeous today, I almost didn't recognize you." Garrick looked at me and smiled, giving me his sincere praise.
"You too."
Garrick was originally handsome and manly, today he is more dapper than usual in a blue tutxedo.
"Well, it looks like our clothes are quite similar, huh?"
"Right." I agree with him. Somehow, we always have such coincidences.
"Esther, would you like to dance a waltz with me?" Garrick crouched slightly and extended his hand towards me.
"Oh I'm sorry. I'm waiting for my partner to arrive."
Garrick's outstretched hand froze for a moment. Because of the mask covering his face, I couldn't see his expression clearly, but his mouth still kept his polite and warm smile.
"Is there a heartless man to let his beautiful woman wait for him?" Garrick paused for a moment and then continued. "Is it Dominic Arnold?"
Not hearing my answer, he was not angry, but just slightly lowered his head to look into my eyes through the mask.
"Trust me, he's not coming here. I know where he is right now."
"Where is he?" I frowned slightly.
"I assume he's busy at PP Corporation?" Garrick didn't wait for me to reach out to him, he took my hand himself. "You're so naive. He's got a lot of secrets from me, including why he can't come tonight."
I looked at Garrick and felt that he was a bit strange right now. Though he was gentle and his voice was as soft as ever, my instincts told me that something about Garrick had changed.
"How do you know Dominic is hiding from me?" I ask.
"Dance me a waltz and I'll answer, okay?"
Garrick's hand gently squeezed mine. His fingers were cold, which made me feel vaguely unwell. Still, I nodded and agreed to his suggestion.
It's just a dance.
I told myself so, then walked with him into the middle of the great hall. The music hummed, I put a hand on his shoulder, and he grabbed my waist.
We've done ballet together a thousand times, have lots of lifting and have to have physical contact with each other. However, this time is not like the previous times.
I leaned against Garrick's body and was led by him to the music. This intimacy made me uncomfortable and wanted to quickly end this dance.
"Can you explain it to me?" I whispered to him.
"Give you a piece of advice. Don't mention other men while you're dancing with me. You should focus on our business." Garrick also whispered back in response.
"But you obviously promised to tell me." I got a little impatient and was about to yank my hand away from him and leave the great hall.
Unfortunately, his strength is too great, he just needs to hold my waist so I can't move.
"Don't do what you shouldn't, Esther."
Garrick reminded me, and that calmed me down a bit, even though I was still very angry. If I left suddenly, it would make Garrick embarrassed, and that really shouldn't have happened.
I adjusted my troubled breathing, continuing to waltz with him.
"If you want to know why I know Dominic hides so many things from you, it's because we're both men. Men can easily grasp each other's thoughts, silly girl." Garrick explained slowly, as if he didn't want to see me with a gloomy face and angry eyes while dancing with him.
I listened quietly and did not respond.
"And if you want to know what Dominic has been hiding, you should ask him directly instead of me, right? Even if I tell the truth, it's unlikely you'd choose to believe me."
What Garrick said made perfect sense and I couldn't refute him. There are always secrets between me and Dominic, we lack trust and connection. And Garrick seemed to realize that. It's not that I don't know Dominic has always kept a lot of things hidden from me, it's just that I've always thought I could ignore it.
It wasn't until Garrick told me frankly that I realized that I cared more about my relationship with Dominic than I thought.
It's true that Garrick is right, but that doesn't make me grateful to him. His purpose in telling me this seems to be to split the already fragile trust between me and Dominic.
"Don't be mad at me and don't look at me with such suspicion, Esther." The dance ended and we were bowing to each other, when Garrick spoke up. "You should understand who's really treating you."
"You mean... you?" I said sarcastically.
"Yes."
"Oh, you're taking care of me as a friend? Then when I was bullied by Kaylin, you should have defended me. Or when I was almost raped by an asshole, you shouldn't have claimed that you were the one who saved me. Is that the truth you say? Is that a trustworthy friend?"
"That...that thing..."
Garrick probably didn't expect me to suddenly expose these things, he was a little confused, stammering for a long time without saying a word.
"Okay, no need to explain to me. I value you as a friend who helped me. But I think there should be some distance between us."
I coldly interrupted him and turned to walk away. But to my surprise, he grabbed my arm and hugged me in the middle of the crowd.
"I don't want to be your friend anymore. I want to be the man who can protect you. I love you, Esther Joan."
Garrick suddenly hugged me and confessed his feelings to me. This is completely unexpected. How could he suddenly say he loves me, even openly in front of so many people? Luckily we were all wearing masks and not too many people recognized our true identities.
"Oh my, they're so romantic and daring. Baby, I want to hug you too." A couple teasing each other.
"Look at the two of them, they look good together.
"That's right. I feel so jealous of that girl. She's so lucky to have such a wonderful boyfriend."
The more I listen to the gossip of the girls standing near me, the more confused and flustered my mood becomes. I forcefully pushed Garrick away but couldn't.
"What are you doing? You know I'm with another man. Don't make me feel awkward."
"I don't care who you are with. Obviously I know you first and love you before him. Why did you choose him over me?"
"What you're saying?"
I didn't understand what Garrick was saying at the end, but he didn't seem to be in a good mood and he held me even tighter. In my confusion, I looked towards the window and suddenly saw Dominic standing in the great hall.
The glass door reflected everyone's image.
Dominic was standing right behind me.