As Leila headed to her apartment, Zain was left dealing with the aftermath of the unfortunate situation. He wanted to deal with everything as quickly as possible, but things were not quite so simple.
The manager was a capable woman.
However, she did not want to be involved in the complicated issues of the wealthy families of Lake City. She had managed to rise through the ranks as a woman with a low education by learning her limits.
Therefore, when Zain Marshall asked how he could compensate for the broken counter and any damaged items, she suggested that he talk to the owner of the electronic store chain directly since they were acquaintances.
The main reason she took this path was because a lot of people were looking forward to getting the new products from Phoenix Technologies. It would be a huge loss for the company if they closed for repairs. At the same time, they could not open the shop with broken glass all over the floor.
Zain did not make things difficult for her. He called the owner to discuss the problem. The two of them came to a quick conclusion. Zain would contract a cleaning service and replace the counter within the hour.
He also asked about the surveillance footage for the store. His main interest was seeing how the actual events unfolded and how the big shot handled her business. Moreover, if he could get the footage deleted, it might appease her and earn him some points.
However, the response was unexpected. The camera seemed to have malfunctioned during the period Ms Lawson entered the shop. There was not a single frame with her face or figure on it. Zain was disappointed, but he assumed that she had her means and had already deleted the footage.
He did not know that Leila did not care about being captured on camera, even when beating up people. But someone else had already acted in secret and eliminated all the traces of her from the shadows.
When Zain cleared things up with the owner and made arrangements for clean-up, he felt a headache setting in. He looked to the side where Scarlet was sitting, crying, and calling her friends to report that Zain was a scumbag.
He could already guess the news would reach his parents' ears before he arrived home. He also knew that his relationship with Scarlet was probably over because he was not willing to go against Ms Lawson if it came to that.
"Let's go!" Zain called out to Scarlet.
Scarlet looked at him stubbornly. "I am not going until I get the new AR gear. I promised my followers that I would do an unboxing video and a demo tomorrow."
Zain did not want to continue arguing with her in front of outsiders, so he could only ask the manager to pack up the products Scarlet wanted before the two of them could leave the store.
When Zain dropped her off at her house about an hour later, Scarlet was in a better mood. She was still disappointed in how her boyfriend handled the earlier incident, but she was willing to move past it.
All things considered, Zain was the perfect boyfriend for her.
Apart from being the son of a prominent family in Lake City, he was also considerate and generous towards her. She never had to worry about lacking any material things she wanted because he would get hints quite quickly.
In addition, he boosted her online profile as a content creator. Her followers would always be equally enthusiastic and jealous every time she mentioned his name and all the things he did for her on her channel.
If things continued going well, she could even become an actress. It was her dream.
Even though she could not admit it out loud, she did not have acting talent. However, nobody cared about talent these days as long as someone was popular. So, she was always very serious when it came to her online personality.
When the car stopped, she was already planning for her next video. The earlier encounter in the electronics shop was all but forgotten. To Scarlet, arguing with girls over small things was a daily occurrence, not worth remembering.
She turned to Zain instead of getting out. Her eyes were still a little red from her crying, but she still looked beautiful.
"Babe, can you make an appearance on my unboxing video?" She asked. "You could come in with the box and give me a surprise gift. My followers will love it! Everyone has been asking if they can see us together."
The two of them had only been dating for about three months with only a few soft launch photos appearing on her stories. Scarlet wanted to make their relationship more public, but Zain always refused.
Zain was not a social media person, and he was not sure about making it official publicly. Moreover, he was uncomfortable discussing this matter when considering the possibility of breaking up with her.
"You know how I feel about using relationships for publicity." He cleared his throat after the words.
Scarlet could sense the cool response had little to do with his feelings about social media. She felt her heart harden because she suspected it had more to do with that little b!tch from the electronics store.
However, she was quite familiar with men like Zain.
"Do you want to break up with me?" She asked, her voice cracking and her eyes tearing up.
As expected, Zain panicked and denied it immediately. "No, no, why would you think that? I just think it is a little too soon to put public pressure on our relationship."
Scarlet smiled weakly. "Really? I know I was a little dramatic at the shop. I was just frustrated. Damn these PMS hormones!"
Zain became even more visibly uncomfortable. He did not think he and Scarlet had reached a level in their relationship close enough to discuss these issues openly. But he would seem old-fashioned and misogynistic if he said that.
"Go on and get some rest then." He comforted her. "I will have your favourite chocolate delivered to you. And say hi to uncle and auntie."
Scarlet nodded obediently before shyly leaning to kiss Zain on the cheek before getting out of the car. As soon as she turned to the gate, her eyes became cold and cruel, unlike the earlier soft and gentle look she gave Zain.
That b!tch…
If it were not for her, Zain would still be enthusiastic towards her. He would have probably proposed to her in a couple of months, solidifying her position in the Powell family and improving her fame. Now, he would start pulling away unless she came up with something to hold on to him.
Her heart churned with hate.
'I am coming for you.' Scarlet thought, remembering Leila's face. 'When I am done with you, you will pray for death!'
At this time, Leila did not know that someone was plotting revenge against her. And if she did, she would not care about small characters.