Free Web NovelChapter 80: Chapter 80: Inexplicable Possessiveness
The name Candy successfully caught Damien Vaughn’s attention.
’Just yesterday, she didn’t even know who Candy was. Today, she’s calling her by name and planning to visit her in the hospital. Isn’t this woman being a little too forward?’
Damien Vaughn felt an inexplicable possessiveness over Candy. "Why do you want to see Candy?"
"Because Cecelia Archer and I are friends. Candy is so adorable, and she’s so seriously ill. My heart aches for her. Isn’t it only right that I go see her?"
’They’re already friends? Just how desperate is Cecelia Archer for friends?’
Although Damien Vaughn was annoyed by her sudden involvement, he had no right to stop her. After hearing Annabelle Young out, he turned to leave, but she took a step to follow him.
"We still haven’t added each other on WeChat. Damien, what do you like to eat? I’ll book a restaurant according to your tastes. And Candy, aren’t you close with her? What does she like to eat? I can have someone arrange for that in advance, too."
Damien Vaughn said, "Aren’t you and Cecelia friends? She knows her own daughter better than I do."
"Oh, Cecelia? She’s started working at my jewelry store, so I’m afraid it won’t be convenient for her to be on her phone."
Damien Vaughn stopped in his tracks. "Cecelia went to work?"
Seeing that she had once again captured his attention, Annabelle Young felt even more certain that she was on the right track.
She smugly recounted how she had arranged the job for Cecelia yesterday, how Cecelia had to change to a different hospital room, and how pitiful Candy looked.
"I only arranged it because I saw how pitiful the mother and daughter were. Candy is so young and has suffered so much. I didn’t have any other motive. Damien, you don’t think I’m being a busybody, do you?"
Damien Vaughn thought she was, in fact, quite the busybody.
’Isn’t Cecelia supposed to be marrying Shane Grant? Didn’t Shane arrange everything for Candy, from the bone marrow matching to her hospitalization? Why would Cecelia suddenly have to change rooms?’
’Could it be that she and Shane Grant had a falling out?’
"Ryan, give her your WeChat."
Damien Vaughn entered the building first. Annabelle Young added Ryan on WeChat and went home, delighted, to change into a chic little dress.
At 11 AM, before she had a chance to message Damien Vaughn, he unexpectedly messaged her first.
"Where are you?"
Annabelle quickly replied, "At home. I was waiting for your message. Where should we go for lunch?"
Damien Vaughn seemed to ignore her question. "Where does Cecelia Archer work?"
’What does he mean? At this hour, he’s not planning to go find Cecelia, is he?’
’Or does he want to take me along to eat with her?’
’Didn’t Cecelia say there was nothing between them? Why does it seem like he cares so much about her?’
"Walden Trade Center. Damien, are you thinking..."
"We’ll eat at the Trade Center. I’m heading over now."
’The Trade Center is all fast food, no high-end restaurants. Is he really that down-to-earth?’
Annabelle was stunned for a moment but quickly set off anyway.
’As long as I can have a meal with him, I’ll go anywhere.’
By the time she parked her car and hurried to the entrance of Walden Trade Center, Damien Vaughn and Ryan were just walking toward the entrance as well.
Annabelle went to greet them. "You guys were fast. Damien, what do you feel like eating?"
"First, take me to see your family’s store."
Annabelle was over the moon. ’Even though my family’s business can’t compare to the Vaughn Family’s, it’s still well-known in Veridia. Damien is starting to inspect my family’s business... does this mean he’s already considering me as a potential fiancée?’
’If my employees and the employees of other brands see that Damien and I have reached this stage, won’t all of Veridia’s high society know in a couple of days?’
’Just thinking about the jealous looks from other women thrilled her to no end!’
She happily led Damien Vaughn into the jewelry section, but before they even got close, she saw two women standing in front of her family’s counter, shouting at the person behind it.
It was Vivian Mason and Claire Clark.
Ever since Claire Clark told Vivian Mason the day before that Cecelia Archer had a "diamond bachelor" taking care of a child by her side named Shane Grant, Vivian had been plotting how to get close to him.
After spending all day yesterday investigating, she finally managed to find out Shane Grant’s whereabouts. This morning, she’d gotten all dolled up and deliberately rear-ended his car on the road.
She thought this would give her a chance to talk to Shane Grant, but to her surprise, he didn’t even spare her a glance, simply leaving the accident scene for his assistant to handle before taking off.
Vivian Mason’s plan had failed at the first step. Her car was badly scratched, and she was furious. She called up the unemployed Claire Clark to go shopping with her and blow off some steam.
And just by chance, as the two were wandering around, they spotted Cecelia Archer right here.
’Didn’t they say she was so capable, with two men backing her up? That she was thriving despite having a seriously ill daughter? Why is she out here working a menial job?’
Driven by curiosity, the pair went up to the counter and began taunting Cecelia Archer with a barrage of sarcastic remarks.
Cecelia Archer knew she was deliberately trying to cause trouble and decided not to let her get away with it. She intentionally turned to her colleagues and said,
"Does everyone recognize this Miss Mason? She’s no ordinary person. Not only is she young and beautiful, but she also comes from a wealthy family. The number of talented young men in Veridia chasing after her is countless. Forget a mere bracelet—buying out our entire store would be no problem for her."
"It’s a rare occasion that Miss Mason graces us with her presence, so everyone, come and say hello."
These luxury goods salespeople had sharp eyes. They could usually tell who had money and who didn’t with about eighty to ninety percent accuracy just by looking at their clothes.
’Who knew they’d misjudged today? This woman, dressed so plainly, was actually that rich?’
Since Cecelia Archer had said so, they didn’t want to miss the chance to get acquainted with a wealthy person. They all crowded around, with several of them attending to Vivian Mason at once.
They praised her to the heavens, pulling out every style of bracelet from the display case for her to try on.
In the end, Vivian Mason was so cornered by the flattery that she had no choice but to pick out a bracelet worth over a hundred thousand.
"It’s not that I don’t want to buy anything, it’s just that your styles are all so... average. Not really to my taste. Contact me when you get new arrivals. However, seeing as you’ve all been so attentive, I can’t let your efforts go to waste. Wrap this one up for me."
’Tch. If you don’t have the money, just say so. Why pretend to be such a big shot?’ free𝑤ebnovel.com
’After all that fuss for over an hour, she ends up buying the cheapest one?’
Seeing her true colors revealed, everyone disdainfully dispersed, leaving the transaction back to Cecelia Archer.
’Every little bit counts,’ Cecelia thought. She wrote up the sales slip for her and was about to see Vivian Mason off when the woman suddenly started shouting.
"Cecelia Archer, how dare you! You go on and on about how prestigious your brand is and how authentic your materials are, but a diamond fell out before I even left the counter! Are you taking me for a fool?"
’Impossible.’
Cecelia Archer took the bracelet and looked at it. This clearly wasn’t the one she had just sold.
She hadn’t even had time to cut the tag off the one she just sold. Although this one looked the same, it was obviously old, with faint scratches on it from daily wear.
But before she had a chance to explain, Vivian Mason slammed her hand on the counter.
"Blatantly deceiving customers, are you trying to get your store shut down? Get your manager out here!"
