After arriving at the mall, I headed straight to a luxury boutique. Just as I reached for a newly released handbag, another hand snatched it before I could touch it. I looked up and saw Frederick and Louise.
Frederick handed the bag to Louise with a smug smile.
“Louise, this is Hermès’ latest release. There’s only one. It suits your elegance perfectly.”
Louise gave me a mocking glance, her tone sweet but laced with venom.
“I think Sister Alexandra wants this too. Should we let her have it?”
Frederick looked at me and sneered.
“Well, well, look who it is, our Manager Alexandra. Didn’t you say you weren’t coming? How about this: if you kneel in front of Louise and apologize, we’ll let you join us on our shopping spree. How does that sound?”
I rolled my eyes, not even wasting a breath on him, and turned to leave.
But Frederick grabbed me roughly and shoved me to the ground.
“Stop pretending, Alexandra. If it weren’t for Louise, you couldn’t afford a single bag here with three months’ salary. I’m giving you a chance; don’t be ungrateful.”
I winced from the pain and rubbed my sore arm, then, without hesitation, slapped him hard across the face.
Frederick’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Alexandra, you dare hit me?”
Louise suddenly burst into tears, her voice trembling.
“Sister Alexandra, I know I was wrong. I won’t invite everyone out again, I swear.”
By then, the commotion had drawn in the rest of our colleagues. They swarmed around me like vultures.
“Alexandra, was this deliberate?”
“Why do you cling on like a ghost? You’re so vicious!”
“Louise invited us out of kindness, and you had to ruin it. You just can’t stand seeing others happy, can you?”
Without warning, someone yanked my hair and slammed me to the floor.
A bottle of perfume was snatched off the counter and then sprayed directly into my eyes.
A searing pain shot through them.
Before I could recover, someone else shoved a try-on shoe against my face.
“Alexandra, if it weren’t for Louise, you wouldn’t even know what luxury is. You should be grateful for today.”
A nearby sales associate rushed over, trying to defuse the situation.
“These items aren’t for trial. Once opened, they must be purchased.”
Frederick sneered. “Country bumpkin. Louise could buy out this entire store with a wave of her hand.”
As he spoke, he suddenly hurled a vase at me, smashing it without hesitation.
“Alexandra, are you still not going to apologize to Louise?”
I forced myself to stand, heart pounding, and shoved Frederick back.
“I didn’t do anything wrong. Why should I apologize?”
The moment those words left my mouth, the others around us lost all restraint.
They grabbed whatever they could from the counters and flung perfume bottles, displays, and handbags at me.
The store descended into utter chaos. The shop assistants tried to intervene but were shoved to the floor in the madness.
“What’s the rush?” someone barked. “It’s not like we won’t pay.”
Just then, the store manager stepped forward, calm but firm, holding out a card reader.
“Then please pay for the damages, currently totaling over 8 million dollars. Otherwise, we’ll call the police immediately.”
Everything froze.
“No sense of business at all. No wonder you’re losing money,” someone scoffed.
“Louise, just pay them. Let’s head somewhere better.”
Louise pulled out a bank card and tapped it against the reader.
A few seconds later, the machine let out a cold, sharp beep.
“Insufficient balance. The payment failed.”
