During the preparations for the Met Gala, designers all over the country would send all their latest creations to the top actresses hoping their designs would be worn on the red carpet.

And unlike these top actresses, Adelyn had to shop for her gown for the event.

She was on her way to the clothing section when she spotted the same man who saved her from Viggo and whom she dropped off at the train station.

"Mr! Mr!... Hello! Wait!" she called out as she ran after him. With his long strides, he easily left her behind. A few minutes later, she catches up to him when he entered a toy shop.

"Hey... I've…. been calling you.... for a while, why didn't you stop?" Adelyn complained as she tried to catch her breath. Nicholas looked at her with an annoyed expression, "Why is this woman always following me?"

"I am Adelyn, by the way, what's your name?" she smiled, holding out her hand, he ignores her and checks out the toys nearest him.

"We've met three times already, don't you think I should at least know your name?" she asked.

"Nicholas," he said curtly, trying to be dismissive.

"So, Nicholas are you buying toys for your kids?" she inquired. He kept quiet, hoping that his silence implied he was married and that would drive her away.

Adelyn looked at his hands to see if he wore a ring, "So no wedding band means you're getting something for your niece or nephew. I can help you with that," she offered.

He waved his hand, "I know what I'm doing." Then proceeded to add more toys to his cart. "Wow, you got a lot of gaming consoles there. Some of them are the same. Tell me about this kid's age and gender, and I will pick the right one for you," she had no boundaries as she rifled through the items in his cart like she had the authority to do it.

Nicholas' patience was running out, he just wanted to get rid of her already, "Fine, my nephew is 7."

"Ohhh.. you just need this console for him, with these games, and he will love you forever," she replied with a smug smile.

While he was paying at the counter, Adelyn had a bright idea pop into her head. She debated for a few minutes, but there was no harm in trying.

"Nicholas," she said in her sweetest voice, "I've helped you twice now, don't you think you owe me a favor?"

"No," he said dismissively.

She smirked, "Ugh! This guy doesn't even have manners," she cursed at him inside her head. But then outside, she gave him her sweetest smile, "I know deep inside you want to help me, but you think I might ask for something too big, right?"

Nicholas stared at her, wondering what was going on inside her head. He wanted to walk away, but she had a point. If Enzo likes his toy, he will owe her two favors.

"You see, I'm a very generous person, I won't ask for something grand. It's something easy. All you need to do is show up," she batted her eyelashes at him.

"I can't," he replied.

"What? I haven't told you what I wanted. See, here's the thing, I bet you've heard about the Met gala right, it's the most famous party in the country. They're holding it this Friday, and I need you to come with me… as my boyfriend," she said the last three words faintly, ashamed of what she was asking of him.

Nicholas heard her clearly and narrowed his eyes.

"Fake… fake boyfriend, I just need you to act as my fake boyfriend for one night," she explained.

When she saw the frown on his face, she added, "So this is the biggest event in the country, and not a lot of people can get in. I am providing your access to the hottest party you've ever been to. All the most beautiful women in the country will be there. Seeing that you do not have a wife, maybe you'll meet someone. I already have the ticket, so all you need is to be there. This place will have the best food, wine, and music. It will be a very enjoyable night. So, whichever way you look at it, you've hit the jackpot for just being there," she smiled at him convincingly.

Adelyn reminded him of the salespeople who sold insurance off the street, they will tell you all kinds of lies, so you'd buy what they were selling. He walked away after her spiel, not willing to waste another precious minute of his time.

"Remember to be there on time," she screamed at his retreating form.

She sighed, it did not go as she had planned, but still prayed that somehow Nicholas would change his mind and show up at the event.

What she didn't know was that Nicholas did not need a party to attract women. He was Nicholas Russo, and women threw themselves at him all the time. All he needed was to lift a finger, and they come running towards him.

-=-

Enzo ran towards him as soon as he saw his car stop in the driveway. "Uncle, I missed you. Did you get me any new gifts?" he tried to look into his car to see if he had anything.

As soon as Nicholas saw his nephew, his frosty exterior changed into a gentle smile, ruffling his hair and planting a kiss on his adorable cheeks, "Hey Enzo, when did you get here? Nobody told me you guys were going to be here today."

"Mama said she wanted to see granny, so we came this morning," Enzo replied.

"I bought you several things, but I have a special toy just for you, do you want to see it?" They took the boxes from the trunk of his car and set them up in the living room.

"Brother you came home early, mom said you were returning later tonight," Aurora said.

He nodded, "I finished with work early so we could go on that picnic this weekend. I told Dmitri about it already."

"Yes, he told me. I'm excited, mom needs to spend a lot of time outdoors to recover more quickly," she replied.

Enzo had been busy opening all the boxes, but when he saw the play station, he squealed, "Uncle, this is my most favorite one. Thank you!" He hugged and kissed Nicholas excitedly.

"I'm glad you like it," Nicholas replied.

"Let's have lunch Enzo, we will play with that later," Aurora instructed.

Enzo could not stop talking about his play station, talking about all the games he was going to play on it, some he's already played with at his friend's house. Nicholas thought Adelyn was right, helping him with the game choice got him up on the uncle scale.

Note - If you have read so far and enjoyed , please leave a review.