Chapter 8

Vivienne turned around to see Melanie and another snobbish young woman standing nearby. The woman's features were fairly decent, but they were overshadowed by her mean expression. At this moment, she was glaring down her nose at Vivienne, exuding an air of condescension. That woman was none other than Melanie's best friend, Mia Evans. The Evanses and the Holts were generational friends. When Melanie had been abroad, Mia had often whispered into Regina's ear, stirring up trouble for Vivienne and goading the old woman into punishing her. Mia was responsible for at least half of the grievances Vivienne had endured. Now, Mia jabbed a haughty finger at the staff member, who stood frozen in place. "Hey, what are you standing there for? Aren't you going to clean that bracelet?" The staff member grimaced. "My sincerest apologies, but this customer had her eye on the bracelet first." Mia became even more audacious. "But she hasn't bought it, has she?" "Well, she didn't say she wasn't about to buy it…" "Hah! She lazes around at home all day instead of working. All she does is leech off men like a parasite. Do you really think she can afford a bracelet this expensive? You've got to be kidding! She—" Before Mia could finish her spiel of mockery, Vivienne calmly interrupted, "I'll take the bracelet. Wrap it up for me, please." The staff member's face immediately relaxed into a smile. "I'll get right to it." Mia was livid that Vivienne would dare to rob her of something that she believed to be hers. "Vivienne, you gold digger! How dare you use Sebastian's money to buy something this expensive? Your shamelessness really knows no bounds, does it?" She raised her voice. "Everyone, look here! This gold digger hasn't worked in years. She just mooches off the money of the men she's with! Remember her face, and be careful not to fall for this shameless woman's tricks!" All at once, all the customers and staff members in the store turned to stare at Vivienne. Melanie tugged on Mia's arm, phonily trying to talk her out of it. "Oh, come on, Mia. If Ms. Moore likes the bracelet, why don't we let her have it?" "Let her have it?" Mia looked Vivienne up and down, scorn brimming in her expression. "What can she afford without mooching off a man?" Vivienne smiled airily. "This bracelet was mine to begin with. You never had the right to 'let me have it.' And as for me mooching off a man… Well, it's just my luck that I married a good husband, isn't it? I think you should wipe that jealous look off your face, Ms. Evans." Upon hearing that the money she was spending was her husband's, the bystanders turned their gazes away. They'd thought that she had been a mistress. Vivienne's taunts made Melanie and Mia even angrier. Melanie had witnessed how scathing Vivienne could be with her comebacks, but to Mia, it seemed that Vivienne was out of her mind. Why else would the meek, submissive Vivienne dare to speak to her like that? Mia pointed a contemptuous finger at Vivienne, snarling, "Just you wait, Vivienne. I'm telling Mrs. Holt Senior what you said today." Vivienne chuckled. "You're a woman of 20 years of age, Ms. Evans. Why are you acting like a bratty toddler, always threatening to tattle to Mommy, Daddy or Granny, incapable of solving problems on your own? Alright then. Go tell her. I'll be waiting." Back when she loved Sebastian, she'd feared that one small misstep would mean courting Sebastian's scorn. But now that she no longer loved him, why did she have to care about that? Jason was right. She had to get revenge for all the grievances she had suffered over these three years, one by one. Vivienne handed the staff member a bank card. "I'll pay by card." The staff member took the card reverentially, about to process the transaction. Seeing Vivienne about to snatch the bracelet from right under her nose, Mia snapped. "This jewelry store is owned by the Holt Group!" Mia screamed. "Take a good look here at this woman next to me. This is Mr. Holt's first love, his sweetheart! Her pictures are all over the news!" Mia turned to the staff member, sneering. "Go ahead and sell that bracelet to this woman if you don't care about losing your job. Forget Sanvia. You'll never be able to walk the streets of Zerbania ever again!" The staff member froze up, looking at Melanie up and down, her face turning as white as a sheet. She immediately recognized Melanie as someone who'd been featured in the tabloid gossip columns alongside Sebastian. She was just a normal person. What chance did she have fighting against titans like the Holts? "Stop it, Mia," Melanie coaxed, insincerely. "You're way too nice, Melanie. That's why shameless women like Vivienne could get in bed with your man! I'm going to help you teach her a lesson today!" Vivienne remained unperturbed. "You aren't good enough to teach me a lesson." She then smiled at the two of them before raising her voice. "Does this mean that we have to let Mr. Holt's sweetheart have anything she likes, just because she likes it, no matter who saw it or bought it first? In other places, they say 'the customer is king,' but here, it seems that the customers are slaves! So, is this how the Holt Group does business?" She chuckled. "We'd better be careful the next time we visit any of their malls. The Holts are powerful people. If we get on their bad side, it sounds like we'll never be able to walk the streets of Zerbania ever again!" Vivienne's rhetoric struck a chord, pitting Melanie and Mia against the rest of the crowd. Both the customers and the staff regarded them both with animosity. The patrons of this shopping mall were all either rich folk or of noble pedigree. At this moment, their faces were dark with displeasure. "And indeed, the Holt Group has been growing well in the recent years, even though they haven't monopolised the market just yet," Vivienne said. "And just as well. With that arrogance, it looks like we'll have to kneel and beg to buy their goods once they make it to the top." She snorted. "The Holts aren't the only ones running jewelry stores here. If I'm not welcome in this establishment, I'll just take my money elsewhere. I'll just go to their rival store, the Duchamps. "Also, I heard that the Holt Group recently entered an agreement with the famous Lockhart Group. Perhaps all that prestige has gotten into their heads and made them think they're invincible now." With a smirk, Vivienne continued, "We'd better not buy anything from the Holt Group in the future. I don't want to be robbed of goods that I've set my sights on. My father's going to be talking to the Holt Group about a collaboration tomorrow. I'll be sure to tell him about how their arrogance makes them totally unfit business partners." Instantaneously, the crowd began muttering amongst themselves, expressing their dissatisfaction with the Holt Group. Vivienne beamed at the two women, each with their own look of shock on their faces. "Well, Ms. Schafer, Ms. Evans, if the stock prices for the Holt Group start taking a nosedive tomorrow, we'll have both of you to thank for that." Melanie and Mia paled. They realized that their words would have a devastating impact on the Holt Group's brand image. Forget Sebastian—Regina would be the first to hunt them down. And Sebastian would never have such a foolish woman as his wife. Melanie started scheming how she could pin the blame on Vivienne. Just as the crowd was on the brink of chaos, the silhouette of a trim, handsome figure made its way down from upstairs. The commanding presence of the distinguished-looking young man immediately attracted everyone's attention, and the commotion came to a standstill. The man frowned. "What's all this fuss about?"