Chapter 2

"Manager Lambert, please, don't worry."

"I'm not trying to run. I'm going downstairs to find my wife."

"Blocking me here won't solve anything anyway."

Morton thought it over, then finally dropped his hand and followed me, trailing me all the way down to the next floor.

From a distance, I saw Althea take out a luxury watch and, with the gentlest motion, fasten it onto Vincent's slender wrist.

The bystanders around them couldn't help murmuring in envy.

"Vincent, is there anything else you want to buy?"

"No, this is plenty."

"I don't want too much luxury. It breeds arrogance in a person."

"God, Vincent is so considerate!"

"Anyone else would've just kept buying and buying."

The sight of it put me in a foul mood.

Vincent was, after all, my family's foster son, and here Althea was, publicly trying on a watch with him in that ambiguous, intimate way.

Only when I walked over did the voices around me suddenly fall silent.

"That's Neal Henson."

"Watch what you say. He's a petty one."

Althea didn't turn to look at me. She stayed focused, fastening the clasp for Vincent.

Vincent flinched all at once and pushed Althea away, putting on a frightened, uneasy look.

"Neal!"

Althea's face darkened in an instant.

"If you had any sense of propriety, you'd know to keep an appropriate distance from your brother's wife at all times, no matter where you are."

"Not wait until I show up to figure that out."

My voice dropped a degree colder, and then I turned to look at Althea.

"Weren't we agreed that you'd apologize to me, book out three floors of counters and let me pick whatever luxury goods I wanted? So why did you bring him here?"

The air went taut as a drawn bow, and no one around dared make a sound.

Althea didn't answer my question right away. Instead she reached out and took Vincent's hand.

As if that gave him all the backing he needed, so she'd have enough to stand on and never have to fear me.

"Neal, I'm not your slave."

"I'd advise you to watch the way you speak to me. You'd do well to be more polite."

"After all, your Henson family only survives because of me."

Someone couldn't hold back a snort of laughter. It was aimed at me, mocking.

"What's gotten into you?"

Her sudden coldness caught me off guard.

"Nothing. I just wanted you to taste what it feels like to be falsely accused of stealing luxury goods."

My pupils gave a violent twitch, and a wave of unease rose in my chest.

From coming with me to the mall, to my cards vanishing, to her disappearing at the critical moment, one thing after another lined up.

She'd done all this to get even for Vincent, likely a deliberate act of revenge against me.

I knit my brows, at a loss, holding her gaze.

She only gave an easy little laugh. "Looking at me like that won't change anything."

"Wasn't it you who booked three floors and cut off the tags?"

"Since you did it, then you're the only one who can pay for it."

The moment she finished, the people around finally let out a breath.

"Nobody needs to panic. Turns out Ms. Harding doesn't love him half as much as the rumors say."

"Tch, arrogant and rude as she is, I wouldn't dare marry her either if I were a man."

"If she treats Ms. Harding's own husband like this, she probably treats his foster brother even worse."

The strangers' words falling into Althea's ears would only make her pity Vincent all the more.

Right then, Vincent broke free of Althea's hand, walked straight over, and slapped me across the face.

"Neal, I used to be so afraid of you. But to get justice for my father, I've decided to teach you a lesson."