ABSOLUTE INSANITY: A forbidden bond

Chapter 290: Black dress.

Chapter 290

KATYA POV

I knew something was wrong the moment Chiara didn’t take the turn that led back toward the house.

At first, I thought maybe she was avoiding traffic, because let’s be real, Chiara hated waiting more than anything.

I slowly turned my head toward her.

"Chiara..." She didn’t look at me. She was humming.

"Chiara."

Still humming.

"Chiara, where are we going?" She finally glanced at me, smiling like someone who had absolutely no intention of doing what I wanted.

"To prepare," she said simply.

"For what?" I asked, even though I already had a very bad feeling.

She lifted her brows. "For tonight, obviously."

My stomach dropped. "Chiara," I said slowly, "we were supposed to go home."

"We will," she replied casually. "After."

"After what?"

She didn’t answer. Instead, she turned into the entrance of a massive shopping mall. I stared at the building as the car slowed.

"...Chiara." She parked. Turned off the engine.

Unbuckled. Then she looked at me like this was the most normal thing in the world.

"We’re going shopping." Before I could argue, she was already out of the car. I sat there for two seconds, hoping she would come back and say she was joking.

She didn’t. With a quiet groan, I got out and followed her. The mall was bright. Loud. Alive with people moving in every direction.

And Chiara? Chiara was glowing, she wasn’t just happy. She was glowing!

She grabbed my wrist the moment I caught up to her and started pulling me inside like she was afraid I might escape.

"I am so ready for this," she announced dramatically as we stepped onto the escalator. "Do you understand how long it’s been since I’ve gone to a proper club?"

I blinked. "You went to a party a day before yesterday, what are you talking about?!"

"That was a beach party," she scoffed. "That doesn’t count."

"We went to that rooftop thing two weeks ago."

"Networking event," she dismissed immediately.

"Chiara—"

"This," she said, turning to face me as the escalator carried us up, her eyes sparkling, "is a club. Music. Lights. Dance floor. People dressed like they actually tried. Chaos. Energy. Drama."

She sighed dreamily. "I’ve missed it." I stared at her.

"You’re emotionally attached to nightclubs."

"Yes," she said without hesitation. Then she turned and marched straight toward the women’s fashion section.

I didn’t even try to resist this time. The moment we entered the girls’ section, Chiara went into full mission mode.

She moved through racks like a stylist with a deadline, pulling dresses without even checking the sizes.

"This one— no, too safe."

She shoved it back.

"Ooh. This is dangerous. I like dangerous." Another dress went over her arm.

I followed slowly, my hands empty, watching her like someone observing a natural disaster.

"Chiara," I said carefully, "I don’t need anything extreme." She didn’t even turn around.

"You’re going to your first club."

I froze. "...My what?"

She stopped. Turned. Looked at me like she had just realized something shocking.

"Wait." Her eyes narrowed.

"That freaking true, I haven’t taken you to a club since you came here. What the hell was I doing not taking you to any club before this?!" I opened my mouth.

Closed it. Then shook my head. Her expression shifted into disbelief — after all our nights out, she had never actually taken me to a club.

"Oh my God."

"Chiara—"

"Oh my God," she repeated, grabbing my shoulders. "This is your first club experience?"

"It’s not a big deal."

"It is absolutely a big deal."

"Chiara."

"This is a milestone."

"I don’t think nightclubs count as milestones."

"They do now." Before I could say another word, she grabbed three more dresses and pushed them into my arms.

"We’re doing this properly." I looked down at the growing pile.

"Chiara..."

"You’re not wearing anything boring," she warned. "No safe dresses. No ’I don’t want attention’ energy."

"I don’t want attention," I said immediately.

She smiled slowly.

"Too bad." Inside the fitting room, I stood there holding the dresses, staring at them like they were decisions instead of clothes.

I had been to parties before. Small ones. House gatherings. Rooftop events. Beaches.

But a club? Loud music. Strangers. Lights. Crowds. Chaos.

It felt like a different world. And tonight... I wouldn’t just be there. I would be there as Michael’s guest. My stomach tightened.

I didn’t know why that part made me more nervous. Maybe because it meant something.

Maybe because it felt like stepping into a version of my life that didn’t include everything else.

Didn’t include the house. Didn’t include the tension. Didn’t include Romeo. The thought slipped in quietly.

And for some reason, it didn’t feel like relief. I pushed it away and started changing.

When I stepped out in the first dress, Chiara was waiting outside the fitting area like a judge.

She looked up. Her face lit up instantly.

"Yes." I looked down at myself, uncertain.

The dress dark, pure black against my skin. it wasn’t too revealing. But it wasn’t safe either. It hugged more than I was used to. The neckline was lower. The fabric softer but more... confident.

"I don’t know," I said quietly. Chiara walked toward me slowly, studying me. She adjusted my hair, pushing it slightly over one shoulder.

"You don’t need to hide all the time, Katya," she said softly. I looked at her. Her tone had changed. Less teasing. More serious.

"You don’t have to disappear just to make other people comfortable when you’re not."

Something in my chest shifted. I looked back at the mirror. I didn’t see someone pretending. I saw someone who looked like she might belong in a place with lights and music and movement.

Someone who might actually walk into a club without feeling like she was in the wrong world. Chiara stepped back and crossed her arms.

"This one," she said. "We’re getting this one."

I swallowed slowly because tonight I was going to my first club and I would be seeing Michael.

And something about the way the evening was starting to take shape made my stomach twist with a feeling I couldn’t quite name. It wasn’t fear or excitement but something in between.

And for some reason...It felt like tonight was going to matter.