Alexander

My name is Ella, and my friend Julie is in love with Alexander. He's a mysterious, cold, and quick-tempered man... but he loves her madly. He's rich, smokes a lot, and drinks even more. On her birthday, he called me out of the blue.

He said in his low voice: "I need your help... I don't know what to give her."

We went to several stores together, but there was nothing that suited her, as Julie owns almost everything. I told him, "Buy her a dress. Something elegant, something that matches her taste." He nodded, and we entered a fancy clothing store. But he didn't know her size.

“She and I are almost the same size,” I said hesitantly. He asked me to try on some dresses so he could see them on me.

I wore several dresses as he watched silently, then he presented me with another completely different one—disturbingly bold. "Try it," he said coldly.

I entered the fitting room, hesitated a bit, and then put it on. It was bright red, long, and tight, with a high slit at the leg and a low neckline. My black hair fell over my shoulders, and I walked out with hesitant steps.

I asked him shyly, my face burning with heat: "Does this dress suit Julie?"

He looked at me coldly, lifelessly, then said sharply: "No. It's not pretty... especially on you."

I froze. I didn't know if it was an insult, or something else I couldn't understand.

He was sitting on a black leather sofa, his hands slightly trembling. In his right hand, he held a whiskey glass, turning it silently, and in his left, a lit cigarette. He calmly raised it to his mouth, took a deep breath, and then exhaled long, filling the room with smoke. A thick haze of smoke hung between us, until his features were completely hidden behind it.

And from behind the fog, I heard him say in a low, hoarse voice: "Not pretty... especially on you."

...