Chapter 25

1-Kiss might be a young brand, but it was already unstoppable. Its sales and reputation had catapulted it into the top three luxury labels.
Their customers were either loaded or famous. No one else made it through the door.
The girl standing in front of the saleswoman probably didn’t have a hundred bucks to her name. Her entire yearly salary wouldn’t even buy a 1-Kiss shoelace.
What was she doing in here, pretending she could shop?
“Oh, just browsing,” Charlotte replied, her voice cool as she glanced inside.
Olivia and her mother were a few steps away, picking through racks of clothes. Whether they hadn’t noticed Charlotte or were just pretending not to, they clearly didn’t care what happened to her.
Browsing, was she?
The saleswoman rolled her eyes, her tone dripping with sarcasm. “Miss, you might not realize how expensive things are at 1-Kiss.”
“People like you can’t afford anything here. You’re just wasting your time.”
“Can’t afford it? How expensive could it be?” Charlotte’s eyes flicked up lazily, a slight smile tugging at her lips.
“That dress over there? It’s a leftover from last month. Eight hundred thousand dollars. And that’s the cheapest thing we have.”
The saleswoman stressed the word “cheapest” like she was doing Charlotte a favor by even mentioning it.
If you didn’t have money, you belonged at a flea market, not wasting her time in a place like this.
“And that one’s our newest arrival. Custom-made, one of a kind. Over a million dollars. Unless you’re a super VIP, you can’t even touch it.”
1-Kiss prided itself on giving customers something unique. Every item, from dresses to even the simplest accessories, was completely one-of-a-kind.
“Yeah, regular people definitely couldn’t afford that,” Charlotte said, her pretty face cool and distant. “But how do you know I’m just a regular person?”
The saleswoman went quiet, giving Charlotte another once-over. She had a certain vibe, but there wasn’t a single designer label on her.
“If you’re rich, prove it. Why just talk big?” The saleswoman crossed her arms, chin lifted high. “If you can afford anything in this store, I’ll get down on my knees and treat you like royalty.”
“You might want to call me grandma, but I wouldn’t want a grandkid like you.”
What? Did she just call her a grandkid?
The saleswoman’s eyes went wide with fury. She was about to lose it when a sharp female voice echoed from across the room.
“Charlotte?”
Charlotte turned her head slightly and spotted a girl walking over, fashionably dressed and a bit younger.
Nancy, her old classmate from middle school.
She’d been one of the main bullies back then.
“So it really is you? I heard you got diagnosed with some mental illness and Sent off to the countryside Are you cured now?”
Mental illness?
The saleswoman snickered. “Oh, so she’s crazy. That explains everything.”
She felt ridiculous for arguing with someone like that.
“You’re here to shop?” Nancy looked Charlotte up and down, her eyes full of disdain. “A few years in the countryside and you’ve turned into a total country bumpkin. Wha mess.”
The old Charlotte had been timid to the point of invisibility, always
hunched over like she sana
trying to disappear, just waiting for someone
to kick her around.
She’d come from the Main family, but she’d lived like a stray.
Meanwhile, her stepsister had always lived the high life.
“Well, look at you. A few years away and you’ve actually gotten brave enough to come out shopping on your own.”
As she spoke, Nancy reached out, trying to yank the hood of Charlotte’s sweatshirt.
Before she could even touch her, Charlotte pushed her wrist away.
A jolt of pain shot through Nancy’s arm, sharp and sudden. She yelped. “Ow, ow, OW!”
“My hand’s cramping or something… Charlotte, help me
Watching her grimace, Charlotte just pressed her lips together and replied, calm as ever, “I wouldn’t know how.”