<b>Chapter </b>461
<b>The </b>argument between Wendy and Reese quickly drew Caitlin’s attention. She stepped over, eyes fixed on the <b>arrogant </b><b>woman </b>wanting to see exactly what she intended to do. Bullying her best friend? Not happening.
“Oh, are you not?” Reese sneered. “Have you looked in a mirrortely? With all that fat hanging off you, it’s honestly disgusting<b>” </b>
<b>To </b>drive the insult home, she unted her A4–sized waistline, clearly proud of her figure.
Wendy was furious. She didn’t want to waste breath on someone like Reese, and she definitely didn’t want to relive those childhood days of being mocked for her weight. She’d worked hard to slim down and had already made progress. Why did Reese still have to tear her down<b>? </b>
“Miss Nguyen,” Wendy snapped, “Did you forget to brush your teeth before leaving the house? Your mouth stinks. Sure, you’ve got a decent body, but your personality is straight–up garbage. Know that?”
“How dare you call me garbage?!” Reese’s delicate face twisted in fury. She raised her hand to p Wendy–but before it couldnd, <b>a </b>hand mped firmly around her wrist.
“What the hell are you doing? Let go!” Reese shouted.
Caitlin, face calm and unreadable, didn’t let go. Her voice was cold and sharp.
“Picking fights and throwing insults wasn’t enough? You’re actually going to hit someone now? What exactly are you trying to do–<b>why </b>are you bullying my friend?”
Her voice was deeper than usual<b>, </b>slightly altered. Even when Jillian looked over, she didn’t recognize Caitlin’s voice.
Reese yanked her arm back and barked,
“Who the hell are you? What business is it of yours? Butt–ugly people really do love making a scene!”
Smack!
Caitlin pped her across the face without hesitation.
Reese clutched her cheek, stunned.
“You… you hit me!”
“And that’s me going easy on you. Try touching my friend again–I dare you.”
Caitlin’s stare was sharp enough to cut, her presence intense enough to crush. Reese, for a moment, actually backed off.
“What happened? Reese, she hit you?” Jillian hurried over, rmed.
“It was her! This ugly bitch hit me,” Reese fumed, ring daggers at Caitlin.
Wendy stood nearby, internallyughing. Reese really was digging her own grave. Calling Caitlin ugly? If she knew that “ugly” woman was <b>the </b>same Caitlin hailed by men all over New York as the most stunning woman in the city, she might just die on the spot from embarrassment.
Jillian jumped to Reese’s defense.
“What is wrong with you? You can’t just go around hitting people! Do you even know who she is?”
“Don’t care,” Caitlin said, her voice t and low.
<b>“</b><b>You’ve </b><b>got </b><b>a </b><b>hell </b>of a mouth <b>on </b>you<b>.</b><b>” </b>
Jillian <b>was </b>startled by how much this supposedly “ugly woman’s” attitude reminded her of Caitlin. Still, she <b>couldn’t </b><b>connect </b>the don woman was dressed like a thrift store reject and looked hideous. No way they were the same person.
“<b>Don’t </b>bother arguing with them, Jillian,” Reese said venomously. “You people have no idea who you’re messing with. My cousin is one of <b>the </b>most powerful prosecutors in New York. You so much as breathe wrong, and I’ll have you arrested in minutes. Believe me?”
“Nope.”
“Fine! You asked for it.” Reese whipped out her phone and began calling her cousin..
Caitlin exchanged a quick nce with Wendy, silently reassuring her. Wendy wasn’t afraid. She’d seen what Caitlin could do. If <b>Reese </b>and her crew wanted to start something, they’d end up regretting it.
Piper, worried the scene was escting too far, rushed over to smooth things out.
“Ladies, please! Let’s all calm down. Why don’t we head to our VIP lounge and cool off a bit? I’ll take care of everything”
She ushered Reese and Jillian into the VIP section and signaled Toni to bring tea and snacks.
Then she turned back to Caitlin and Wendy, her tone much less polite.
“You two–this situation is your fault. You didn’t buy anything and now you’ve offended our guests. I’m going to have to ask you to apologize and leave immediately. Otherwise, I’ll call security.”
“We’re not apologizing, and we’re not leaving,” Caitlin said coolly. “In fact, we’ll be staying a while. I’m curious to see how impressive her so- called cousin really is.”
She turned to Wendy and casually resumed browsing the racks.
Piper realized she couldn’t force them out, so she focused on pampering the VIP guests. She pulled out two fancy VERA–branded gift handbags and presented them to Jillian and Reese.
“These areplimentary handbags we’ve prepared for our valued customers. Please ept them as a token of our sincere apologies. Don’t let those nobodies ruin your day.”
!
Jillian and Reese epted the gifts but tossed them aside without a second nce.
Seeing this, Caitlin strolled up to Piper and asked,
“Weren’t you just saying there were no free handbags left? Howe they got some, but I didn’t?”
Piper didn’t even try to hide her disdain.
“Our handbags are reserved for guests with the right status and elegance. Thesedies clearly meet that standard. You? You’d probably carry
<b>it </b>into some tacky little dump and ruin our brand image. People like you don’t deserve anything from VERA.”
Caitlin mentally took note. Excellent. She’s doing a thorough job demolishing her own career. Even if I wanted to help her, I couldn’t.
“And discriminating against customers like this–you’re not worried people mightin?” Caitlin pressed.
Piper scoffed.
<b>“</b>Comin? About what? You don’t even know who owns VERA, do you? Our founder’s based overseas. You think someone like <b>you </b><b>can </b><b>even </b>reach her?”
<b>She </b><b>had </b><b>no </b>idea Caitlin was <b>Ka</b>–the <b>founder </b>and owner <b>of </b><b>VERA</b><b>. </b>Her smug <b>tone </b><b>dripped </b><b>with </b><b>arrogance</b>.
<b>Caitlin </b>yed along, browsing as if nothing had happened. Piper, afraid they might steal something<b>, </b><b>quietly </b><b>ordered </b><b>Toni </b><b>to </b>keep an eye ou
<b>them</b><b>. </b>
Back in the VIP area, Reese had finished calling her cousin and was now hunting for a way to frame Caitlin and Wendy. <b>Her </b><b>eyes </b><bnded </b>on the delicate bracelet on her wrist–and inspiration struck.
Other customers started to trickle in, and the store staff became busy tending to them.
Meanwhile, Caitlin found a beautiful outfit and held it up to Wendy, motioning for her to try it on.
Just then, Reese marched over and snatched the outfit from her hands.
“Please. Like she could ever fit into this. Someone her size? This outfit’s not made for cows–it’s made for me“. Right, Jillian?”
“That’s right. It suits you perfectly!” Jillian smirked.
“Great! I’ll take it. Sales associate–bring me a receipt!”
Caitlin opened her mouth to respond, but then Reese spotted someone outside the store and lit up.
“Virgil! Over here!”
Two men stepped into the boutique.
“Reese, what’s going on?<i>” </i>one of them asked.