Chapter 29
Chapter 29 Pair of Thieves
In the center of the commercial district was a five–story building, its reflective glass exterior glinting in the sunlight.
Today was the opening ceremony of Yara’s boutique. She had picked up the capstone project from where she left off three years ago, though the district and area had improved since then.
The boutique boasted unique decor, the bright lights bringing out the fine selection of expensive jewelry and clothes. lined up in the store. The large and sparkling glass windows gave passers–by a peek into the store and its hand–picked
Wares.
Back in the day, Yara and Gwen’s unique and unconventional designs had made waves among the ladies of leisure in Bellmont. Many young women had found the designs intriguing as well.
Presently, a long line had formed outside the boutique before it was.even officially open for business. Most of those waiting in line were young heiresses with formidable backgrounds, each holding a number indicating their slots.
Yara had summoned Gwen as well to help with styling the customers.
The two women worked their way through the morning. When lunchtime rolled around and the crowd had thinned, they were so tired that they were close to collapsing.
Yara clung to Gwen’s arm and groaned, “Doesn’t this remind you of old times, babe?”
“Definitely. It’s like we’ve gone back in time,” Gwen agreed wholeheartedly with a smile. She caressed Yara’s face. “It’s good to have you here, babe.”
“I could say the same about you.”
Yara left Gwen to rest and headed up to check things out on the second floor. Property © NôvelDrama.Org.
Gwen was taking a breather on the couch when she caught Caitlin and Sienna walking around the store.
The former was wearing a vintage designer dress while taking pictures around the store. She then edited the pictures and turned them into a nine–grid collage, captioning it with, “This premium boutique made us shop ‘til we dropped!” Caitlin then posted the collage on social media before pulling Sienna with her to check out the wares of the store, practically buzzing with excitement.
She picked out a 1,800–dollar dress from the latest collection and looked at Sienna expectantly. “Do you think I’ll look good in this one, Sienna?”
Her intention was clear–she was respectful enough to ask Sienna for her opinion, and in turn, she expected the latter to buy her the dress.
Sienna knew what Caitlin was hinting at, of course. But money had been tight these days, and her credit card limit had been exceeded after she bought that 300 thousand–dollar bracelet. As things were, she was in dire straits.
She certainly was in no position to splurge on Caitlin. Left without a choice, she pretended not to have heard the latter and walked away to peruse other things in the store.
Caitlin scoffed lightly, miffed that Sienna did not rise to the bait. She wouldn’t have needed to resort to such means if she hadn’t overspent her allowance.
She had only just turned around when she spotted Gwen sitting alone on the couch. She grabbed Sienna by the arm, and they made their way across the room.
‘My, my, if it isn’t Gwen! I didn’t know the store’s patrons included scorned wives,” Caitlin drawled, quirking her lips as she surveyed the boutique. “I guess this store isn’t as exclusive as it’s touted to be.”
Gwen was exhausted and in to mood to deal with Caitlin and Sienna. She said curtly, “If you think this store isn’t good enough for you, feel free to turn around, go straight, and make a left out the door.”
Bristling, Caitlin planted her hands on her hips and snapped like a shrew, “How dare you talk down to me? I’m a
customer!”
She then pointed at one of the shop assistants and demanded, “I want to speak to the store owner! My shopping experience has been greatly deteriorated because of the low clientele threshold!”
Gwen crossed her arms, then reached up to push her hair away from her forehead. Snorting, she replied, “1 am the
owner.”
Cailtin’s jaw dropped as she gaped at Gwen in disbelief. “You? You own this store?” She snapped to her senses. “What do you get out of lying to me anyway?”
Gwen countered sarcastically, “As if I’d waste my time lying to you.”
Caitlin’s bark had always been louder than her bite, and Gwen’s response had rendered her speechless.
Sienna, on the other hand, smiled warmly and walked up to Gwen. “Well, since you’re the owner, you must have an eye for flair. Perhaps you could style me.
“I’ll be getting married in two days, and I’d like to wear something bright and festive for the occasion.”
She was still seething over the 300 thousand dollars Gwen made her pay the other day. Getting the latter to wait on her. now was the best payback she could think of.
A smirk curved on Gwen’s lips as she shot Sienna a frigid look before returning to the couch. She sat down and did not bother moving a muscle.
“Aren’t you going to serve your customers even though you’re the owner?” Sienna challenged, taking one step toward
Gwen.
“I won’t mind waiting on you,” Gwen drawled as she stood up. However, she did not move and merely continued, “It’s just that I don’t recall your names being on the list of invitees today.”
Sienna and Caitlin flushed like a pair of thieves who had been caught. Panic welled up within them. They hadn’t been invited to the grand opening today, and they had paid an exorbitant price for slots just so they could be part of t glamorous crowd in the store today.