Chapter 21 New Troubles

• Valeri returned home happy and inspired. Apparently, my absence had done her good, and now I sincerely do not understand why she invited me along. I hope that after the weekend, she will no longer have such a brilliant idea as taking me to meet her fiancé. The whole evening, my sister was telling our mother how wonderful her future husband is and what a magnificent gift he gave her. It seems that from the category of "fiancé," Alan has suddenly risen to "future husband," and soon the last prefix in their relationship will disappear. I don't know why, but I felt sick and disgusted. Rethinking my life and the image that I had so carefully presented to the world, I realized that I was no less to blame for what had happened. I wasn't ready to completely change my wardrobe, but I started using makeup in moderation.
• I lightly touched up the shape of my eyebrows, applied a bit of lip gloss, and stopped there. I hid my torn knees under light trousers, and to avoid looking too formal, I put on a short white top that showed a narrow strip of my stomach to the world.
• "Are you ready?" a question came from behind, and I turned around sharply. Valeri looked me up and down and nodded approvingly.