Chapter 35: Chapter thirty five

Arielle

“Blocked? What do you mean ‘blocked’?” I asked, despite already knowing what it meant.

“It means you can't perform any transactions with this card. You might have to contact your bank to discuss the problem. Do you have another card you want to try?”

I pulled out my second card and handed it to her. I knew from the frown on her face that the second card was also blocked.

“I'm sorry, but you have to return everything you bought.” She said calmly.

My entire body stilled at her words. In my seventeen years of existence, I have never gone through something like this before.

“Can you try again, please?” I said, even though I knew it was pointless.

He said he was going to make sure we come back to him no matter what. And that's exactly what he was doing.

He ripped away the one thing he knew would make me come back. I guess that's what I get for relying on ‘daddy's money’.

“Bitch! Your card's blocked. Can your ass out of the line? Some of us have places to be.” A lady standing behind me snapped rudely.

She seem to be just a few years older than me.

The people standing behind her grunted their agreement. I had never been so embarrassed in my entire life. I wished I could just disappear from there.

“What's going on?” Dan asked as he trudged towards me.

My mouth went dry. This is it. I've been caught. I have no option but to tell him everything now.

“Her card got declined and she's holding up the line.” The rude lady supplied.

“I'm sure there's a mistake somewhere. Can you try running it again?” I rushed my words.

“She's tried it like five times already. Just return everything you bought and get your broke ass out of here.” The lady scoffed.

“Oh, you hush up!” I snapped at her, my eyes flashing red.

She blinked at my outburst, probably not expecting me to talk back at her.

“Calm down,” Dan said. He brought out his wallet and handed his card to the cashier. “Try mine.”

She collected the card from him and completed the transaction within seconds. I picked up the things I bought and glared at the rude lady before stepping out of the line.

Dan helped me with a few bags as we headed towards his car.

“What was that about?” He asked.

“Probably some bank problems.” I shrugged, trying to appear casual.

“You should ask your father to contact the bank and get it sorted so something like this doesn't happen again. That was embarrassing.”

I grunted my agreement. I was still so annoyed by the rude lady's behavior. Any other day, I would have taught her a valuable lesson for talking to me like that.

But I had a bigger problem at hand. First, he seized my car, and now he blocked all my cards. What lengths is he going to go to get what he wants?

I didn't notice we had gotten to the parking lot until Dan opened the car trunk and began loading the shopping bag inside it.

I finally snapped out of my silent fuming.

“I can't go with you.” I blurted.

His brows furrowed in confusion.

“Why? Aren't you going home?”

“Uhm, yes.. I mean, no.”

God, why was I spewing rubbish? I should have rehearsed my lies, instead of fuming about my sudden lack of money.

Dan's gaze narrowed on me in suspicion. I had to come up with something believable. He would want to follow me anyway.

He was already suspicious about my car developing a fault. I had to tell him that when he asked why I arrived in a Uber earlier.

“My mum asked me to return early because she wanted to visit a friend of hers. But since I'm already late, she asked me to meet her at her friend's place.” I lied.

At least that would do in case he insisted on coming with me. Dan stared at me in silence for a few seconds.

I rubbed my palms together, anxious that he had caught my lie. After what felt like eternity, he gave me a simple nod.

“Alright, give me the address. I'll drop you off.”

Well, that went in my favour at least. I just have to he doesn't see Drayton or my mum.

.

.

.

Dan dropped me off in front of the house . Luckily for me, neither Penny's nor Drayton's car was parked out front. Which meant neither of them was home. I could only hope my mum had gone out with Penny.

Penny had showed me where the spare keys were kept so I wasn't worried about not being able to get in.

Dan had insisted on coming in to say ‘hi’ to my mum, but I managed to convince him to leave. Thankfully, Drayton didn't show up till he left. It would be disastrous if Dan saw Drayton.

I sunk into the couch, the exhaustion from the day's events finally getting to me. My mind wandered back to the incident at the mall. Anger flared in me.

I picked up my phone and dialed his number before I could talk myself out of it. He picked up quickly this time.

“You blocked my card?!” I screamed as soon as he answered the call.

“Yes, Princess. I did. Why are you so worked up about it?”

He sounded so nonchalant about something that could basically ruin my life.

“Why am I worked up? Do you know the amount of embarrassment I went through today when my card didn't go through?” I yelled.

What I heard was so unbelievable. He fucking chuckled. My annoyance rose to his highest peak.

“I'm glad you found my situation amusing, but it wasn't funny.”

I recalled how the cashier looked at m e with doubtful eyes and the way the rude 1lady spoke to me. If it wasn't for Dan, I would have probably been labeled a thief.

“I told you, Princess. Come home and everything will go back to normal. I will give you back your car and even throw in a new one. Remember that sports car you've always wanted but your mum said is too dangerous for you? I'll get it for you.” He said in a sickeningly soft voice.

Few months ago before my diagnosis, the promise of the vacation alone would have sent me running back to him. But now, all I wanted to do was scream in his face and tell him to go fuck himself.

“If you wanted us around that bad, maybe you should have tried to actually be a responsible husband and father a long time ago. As I said earlier, an expensive vacation or a new car wouldn't fix our family. Money isn't everything. You have to try harder.”

I heard him sigh loudly from the other end.

“Well, since money isn't everything, let's see how long you'll survive without your credit card.”

Great, that's what we're doing now. Alright, two can play this game.

“You think I can't survive without your money? Alright, then. Keep your fucking money. I don't need it. I'll make you eat your words.” I screamed and hung up.

I placed my hand on my chest and tried to calm my racing heart.

What did I just do?

I need my credit card to survive. How was I supposed to live with no money? No shopping? No subscriptions? I'll die if I don't subscribe.

Oh my God! Oh my God!!

“Okay, calm down, Arielle. We're going to figure this out. We don't need him. We've never needed him.” I said to myself, but my heart didn't seem to get the message.

Panic slowly replaced anger and it felt like I was descending into that black hole with no bottom. No matter how much I tell myself to not panic, my body seem to be doing the exact opposite.

I just need to calm down–

“I think I can help with that.” The deep and completely annoying voice I've known my whole life said.

And just like that my panic attack was gone as if it never existed. I inhaled sharply, calming my nerves.

“And why would I accept your help? Did you somehow forget what you did to me last night?”

“Consider it my apology. Believe it or not, I really didn't mean to hurt you. I wasn't myself last night. ” He said.

I don't know if it was because of the remorse on his face or because that was the closest thing to an apology I've ever received from him, but my anger dissipated.

“Let's say I accept your help. How would you help me?”

His lips stretched into a wide grin and I almost regretted my words.

“What do you think about working in a coffee shop?”