Chapter 13 Chapter 13
“Well then, buy it,” Edward puffed out his chest with wounded pride, loving the admiring glances. “In fact, keep looking. Devastate the store if you want. We'll pay for everything at the end.”
“Wow!” Claire's face lit up. She stood on her tiptoes and gave him a smacking kiss on the lips. “Edward, you're just the best!”
Whispers of admiration and envy rippled through the store staff.
Claire Ford was the embodiment of victory.
Not only was she a natural beauty with a rising career, but she was also snagged a rich, handsome, and incredibly generous boyfriend.
That dress cost a small fortune, and he bought it without even blinking.
Why weren't they so lucky?
While Claire floated around the store, hunting for more pieces for her trophy, Edward was led to a velvet armchair in the waiting area.
The moment he turned around, his body froze.
His eyes locked on a silhouette he knew better than his own.
“Caroline?” It was an involuntary whisper, shocked. Then his eyebrows knitted together in a frown of disapproval. “What are you doing here?”
The question was not one of curiosity, but of accusation. This was not her place.
Claire's radar beeped. She followed Edward's petrified gaze like a predator and saw the cause.
The victorious smile on her face turned to ice.
Seeing the way Edward stared at her, unable to look away, ignited a poisonous fire inside her.
Caroline wore only a white T-shirt, capri pants, and flat shoes.
Her dark hair fell over her shoulders, and barely noticeable makeup enhanced her natural beauty.
It was a simplicity that screamed elegance, and that made her even more irritating.
Jealousy exploded inside Claire.
That shameless bitch. Did she come here on purpose to seduce Edward?
“Sis, what are you doing here?” Claire stood in front of Edward like a lioness protecting her cub, her gaze transformed into a weapon.
To Caroline, the scene was so pathetic it was comical.
It was impressive how the thief always forgot her crime to pose as a victim.
She looked at the couple in front of her as if they were trash that someone had forgotten to take out. She had zero desire to talk to them.
She gave them a blank stare and turned to leave.
“Sis!” Claire's voice stopped her, feigning curiosity. “Since you came shopping, why are you leaving empty-handed?”
Before Caroline could answer, Claire feigned an epiphany.
“Oh, of course. I forgot. Extra jobs are scarce, aren't they? And you have your sick sister... the hospital bills must be suffocating you.”
Upon hearing the word “extra,” the admiring glances that had previously been directed at Claire now turned into pure contempt, all fixed on Caroline.
Ah, so that was it.
She was just a poor thing, dressed in rags.
And when the word “sister” came out of Claire's mouth, the contempt deepened.
Wasn't that the sister who had been trying to steal the other's fiancé since childhood?
What a shameless bitch.
The saleswoman, sensing an opportunity to flatter, approached Claire.
“Miss Ford, is this... creature... your sister? The younger one is a dazzling star, and the older one is a nobody. Are you sure you haven't mistaken her for someone else?”
“Really, Miss Ford! How can someone as magnificent as you have such an... insignificant sister?
”Tsk, tsk. No money to buy even a pin, and she still comes into a store like this. Did she come to enjoy the air conditioning?
"And look at her, with that sly face. She must be planning to steal something!
Claire revelled in the venom, each word a sweet melody of humiliation for Caroline.
But on the outside, she feigned indignation, frowning.
“Don't talk nonsense! My sister isn't like that.”
Then she turned to Caroline, the concern on her face a poorly made mask.
“Sis, don't be angry. They don't know you, that's why they're saying these things.”
A cold, humorless laugh escaped Caroline's lips.
Her intention was to ignore Claire.
To ignore the fawning saleswomen.
But now...
Now that the whole pack had ganged up on her, she would be a coward if she didn't fight back.
That was not in her nature.
“If you don't know me, why do you dare to open your mouths?” Her icy gaze swept over the saleswomen like a blade. “Did you know that slander has a price?”
For a moment, fear flashed in their eyes.
But the image of Caroline as a poor woman reignited their arrogance.
“Haha!” one of them sneered. “Slander? We're not lying. If you don't have money, what are you doing in a luxury store? You came to steal, didn't you?”
“That's right! You're a thief and you still want to threaten us? Speaking of ‘paying a price’... who do you think you are?”
“Hahaha, we're scared to death!”
“Sis,” Claire's voice was pure condescension. “If you're in trouble, you can tell me. Edward and I can help you.”
Edward also frowned, his gaze piercing Caroline with a mixture of pity and disappointment.
“Caroline, have you come to this? To this level of desperation?”
Seeing her like this, so broken after the breakup, unable to buy a single piece of clothing, hurt his ego. A twinge of a feeling he mistook for pain shot through his chest.
His eyes filled with insulting compassion.
“If you ran out of money, you could have come to me. After all we've been through... I would have helped you.”
Those words were the final nail in the coffin. Caroline's understanding of the man she had loved for ten years sank into an abyss of disgust.
All the love, all the history... all thrown in the trash.
She could understand Claire's malice.
But him...
Did he really believe she was there to steal?
She stared at him as if he were the most pathetic creature in the universe and, without deigning to say a single word, turned and marched out of the store.
“Guilty! See? She really did come to steal!”
“How brazen. She looks like a thief, too.”