Maddison hesitated for a moment. She had the money. Elias gave her more than enough money to spend. But that wasn't the reason she hesitated.
"That's what I thought," Penny scoffed as she turned around to walk away, thinking she had the upper hand.
With everything that had happened up till this point, Maddison was feeling a little bold. She smiled as she turned to Stella, who had a look of worry on her face.
"Perhaps you have a more suitable dress for me to look at? Like I said before, the price does not matter," Maddison said with a smile.
As soon as Penny heard that, she turned back around, glaring at Maddison. She walked up to Maddison and grabbed her roughly by the arm.
"Miss, you're causing a nuisance in the store. I think it's time you leave," Penny declared as she attempted to drag her out of the store.
Maddison wriggled her arm out of Penny's grasp. Taking advantage of the situation, Penny pretended to trip and fall to the ground. This commotion quickly attracted the attention of everyone else who was present.
"Miss, I was just asking you to leave! How could you push me?" Penny cried.
She got back up on her feet, pretending to hobble as she walked over to Stella and grabbed her by the arm.
"You saw it, didn't you, Stella? She was the one who pushed me!" Penny accused Maddison while pointing at her.
Stella was stunned by the scene. She looked at Penny in shock and back at Maddison, uncertain of what to do. She wanted to speak the truth, but Penny tightened the grip she had on her arm.
"You don't have to lie, Stella. This customer might think she has the upper hand but I'll protect you. Just speak the truth," Penny insisted.
Clearly, she had another meaning hidden in her words. Even the blind could see. Maddison knew exactly what Penny was trying to do. The assistant manager was threatening Stella to side with her, to make Maddison look bad!
Maddison let out a sigh. She crossed her arms and watched the scene play out. There was nothing she could do. Her fate rested in Stella's hands. Could you really blame her if she wanted to save herself? Her job was likely on the line!
But Stella's actions surprised her.
She moved away from Penny, choosing to side with Maddison.
"Miss Penny, you fell on your own. How can you blame the customer?" Stella revealed the truth.
There was a shift in the crowd. Since the supposed truth was revealed, everyone was confused. Who was speaking the truth?
"What's going on here? Maddison"
Everyone turned to see who was speaking. It was Amelia. She wasn't wearing what she had on when she walked into the store. It looked like a completely different outfit. She came up to Maddison, checking on her with a worried expression.
"I'm alright, there was just a misunderstanding," She attempted to reassure Amelia.
Amelia narrowed her eyes as she looked at everyone who had gathered. Penny came up to her at once. Her entire demeanor changed when she spoke to Amelia.
"Miss King, do you know this lady?" Penny asked with sweat trickling down her brow.
"Of course I do, she's a close friend," Amelia replied without hesitation.
"What happened here, Penny?" She asked.
As soon as the assistant general manager glanced over at Stella, Maddison knew what she was about to do. She was going to push the blame onto Stella! She wasn't about to let that happen, but she didn't want the matter to blow out of proportion either.
"Stella here has been very helpful. I wanted to try on this dress but Penny mentioned I couldn't," Maddison explained.
"Oh, you wanted to try on this dress? Penny, you could have just told me someone else wanted to try it on," Amelia asked as she folded her arms.
Penny was clearly panicking. She was flustered as she tried to salvage the situation.
"I didn't know she was your friend, Miss King. My sincerest apologies, I'll get it for her now."
Maddison stopped her, "No, there's no need. I've lost interest in that dress. Stella will recommend me a better option, won't you?"
"Yes, yes of course! This way, Miss," Stella said excitedly as she guided Maddison to another area of the store.
Amelia didn't need all of the details to understand what had happened. She walked past Penny without saying a word, joining Maddison as she looked through the racks. Together with Stella, they picked out seven new outfits for Maddison.
Then, they brought her to the dressing room to try all of them on. Maddison's figure was perfect. Every piece of clothing fit her like a glove. It accentuated all of her best qualities. The prices were adding up quickly too.
"I think those three are enough, Amelia," Maddison said after she changed out of them.
"Nonsense! You need those seven outfits, one for each day of the week. Plus you can mix and match. This is only shop number one, Maddison," Amelia reminded her.
"But-"
"No buts! Besides my brother already said he's paying for everything. It's all on his tab. You have nothing to worry about," She continued to reassure her.
Maddison let out a sigh as she smiled. She admired her own reflection in the mirror, wondering what Elias would think of her outfit. Another thought passed through her mind. What would Hugo think of it?
Maddison bit her own lip as she shook her head, pushing that thought out of her mind. Whatever they once had was all smoke and mirrors.
Hugo was already married to someone else. And she had a new man. There was no need for her to keep his memory alive in her mind. It was time for her to forget him and move on.
Amelia's laughter brought Maddison out of her thoughts. She noticed the young lady laughing away while looking at a video on her phone.
"Something funny?" She asked as she came over to sit next to her.
"Too funny not to share! Look!"
Maddison widened her eyes in shock and covered her mouth as she gasped. She knew exactly what video this was! It was the one she uploaded of Hugo and Lizzie. But that wasn't the part that shocked her the most.
It was the view count.
9.8 million views!