CHAPTER 154: HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT?

"I suppose you received the suit, Gray. It was not my creation, but I was the one who chose it after seeing your build."

Gray was speechless.

The answer to the long-awaited question of who gave him the suit was now finally answered.

Selina blinked, stepping forward slightly.

"Wait—what do you mean you gave him a suit? I wasn’t informed by my grandpa about that."

"Well, I just received a box with a suit inside. I don’t know how long it has been. I didn’t know it was from your grandpa."

Eliot raised a single brow.

"Ah. It was meant to be a secret. I didn’t know about that. I apologize."

"No, it’s fine." Selina shook her head. Even she was surprised at it.

She didn’t know that her grandpa had thought of this so far!

’I couldn’t believe he actually kept this from me...’ She was in a state of disbelief.

"Grandpa’s always doing things behind people’s backs, so I should’ve known."

Gray chuckled under his breath. "Well, tell him thanks, I guess. That suit saved me more than once."

"I’ll be sure to scold him for not saying that to me," Selina muttered, though there was a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

Eliot gave a soft and knowing sigh. However, his smile dropped after clapping his hands.

"But can you two talk about these later on? I still have some appointments later on, so we need to finish this on time."

"Oh right..."

Selina straightened up slightly, brushing her fingers against the hem of her shirt as she turned toward Eliot.

"Okay, my turn then?"

Eliot gave a sharp nod.

"Yes. Over here, please. Same process as earlier. Remove the outer layers since we’ll need the most accurate measurements for you."

Gray took a seat now, his arms crossed as he watched Selina step forward.

’Well, well... now the tables have turned.’

Selina seemed confident at first. She was walking normally, with her head held up high. However, when she noticed the pair of eyes following her movement, she couldn’t help but swallow the sudden lump in her throat.

She ignored him, or at least tried to. But her cheeks betrayed her.

Selina could feel her cheeks heating up as she pulled her sweater over her head and handed it to one of the assistants.

Unlike Gray, she had come prepared. She was wearing a sleek black camisole underneath. Still, the moment she stood there, Gray’s smirk faltered just slightly.

He hadn’t expected to feel anything, but seeing her like this... it hit a little different.

Selina was slim; however, she was also toned. As she stood there, her posture remained upright.

The soft black camisole hugged her frame lightly, following the slope of her shoulders and the gentle curve of her waist. Her skin looked smooth under the lighting—her collarbones visible, and her arms, though they looked slim, held a quiet kind of strength to them.

Gray couldn’t stop his eyes from staring at her.

He didn’t mean to. Not really.

However, he also knew that he was staring longer than he probably should’ve.

Gray swallowed, shifting slightly in his seat.

’Damn.’

He knew Selina was beautiful. That wasn’t new. He’d thought it since the day they met. But this was different.

This was... more dangerous.

Gray leaned his elbow against the armrest and rested his cheek against his knuckles. He tried to glance elsewhere. He even tried to act like it didn’t affect him.

But his eyes kept pulling back at her.

Selina seemed used to everything as the assistants moved around her carefully. They measured her arms, shoulders, waist, and other parts of her body.

Every so often, Eliot would make occasional notes on his tablet. He would also step closer to adjust something or make comments.

And Selina, she looked calm and composed as if this wasn’t new to her.

For every comment, she would have an answer, whether she agreed with it or not. She would also share her observations and ideas for her dress.

"Hmm," Eliot nodded after a moment.

"Your proportions are well-balanced, so everything would look good on you. However, since this would be a formal gala, we’d keep it tight on top but flowy on the bottom. It will be like power but with added grace."

Selina nodded at Eliot’s suggestion, her tone thoughtful.

"That would work," she said. "But I want something a little unexpected, too. Something that doesn’t look too safe. Maybe something asymmetrical at the neckline?"

Eliot looked up from his tablet, his brows lifting slightly.

"Asymmetry can work, but we’ll have to anchor the look somewhere else. If we keep the bottom soft, we’ll need a structure to balance the movement."

"What about adding detail around the waist?" Selina suggested again, she raised her hand and drew something in the air that looked like shapes.

"Like a twist or subtle details. I don’t want it to be too flashy, but it should still be enough to catch people’s attention."

"Hmm..." Eliot nodded subtly, "That could work. With your frame, we can create lines that draw the eye in. Something elegant, minimal... but striking. We’ll use lace for it"

As they continued talking, Gray watched quietly from his seat.

It was strange to see Selina this way. She was so in control. She spoke in design terms he didn’t fully understand, and yet everything she said seemed so natural.

For a few minutes, he just observed.

But then—

"What do you think, Gray?" Selina suddenly turned to him.

Gray blinked in confusion. He was caught off guard.

"Huh?"

"About the design," Eliot added, looking up from his tablet. "You’ve been quiet. Do you think it suits her?"

Gray hesitated. He was caught between the urge to say he didn’t know anything, or be just shameless and say things on his mind, even though he didn’t know anything.

He cleared his throat as he settled for the latter one.

"I mean... it does. It fits her."

"In what way?" Eliot asked.

Gray tilted his head, folding his arms as he thought about it.

"It fits her," he said again, slower this time. "Because... I mean, Selina’s frame is small. She’s got this lean build, so if you go with something that’s tight at the top, it highlights her structure, but if everything’s too tight, it might feel too cold, especially in a gala setting."

Eliot paused, listening with more attention now.

"So if the bottom part is softer, flowier, like you said," Gray continued, "it sort of evens things out. Like... it gives contrast. It doesn’t overwhelm her frame. It balances out the strength of the top half without making her look too delicate."

He glanced at Selina briefly, then looked away.

"Selina’s the kind of person who doesn’t need to wear loud stuff to stand out. It’s better if it’s the kind of dress that people notice more the longer, they look at it."

There was a short silence before Eliot let out a small hum of agreement.

"...Interesting," he muttered.

Eliot’s eyes settled on Gray. He was becoming more and more interested in the guy, in a professional manner.

"You don’t have a background in fashion, do you?" he asked.

Gray shook his head almost immediately.

"No."

Eliot didn’t look disappointed. If anything, his interest just deepened more.

"Well," he said, folding his arms, "with that kind of eye for proportion and balance... have you ever thought about learning more?"