"Welcome, sir. How may I help you?" A girl came near them, bowing her head and plastering a big smile on her face.
Joshua ignored her completely and sat down on the sofa before moving away from the two racks and ordering, "Bring the clothes of her size from these two racks."
"Yes, sir." The girl bowed her head and immediately went away.
Claire continued standing there. It had been a long time since she came shopping. Even though she was the daughter of a wealthy family, her dad never bought her anything after her mother died.
When her stepmother arrived, she snatched all the good things from her and gave them to her half sister, saying that she needed them because she was sick.
Even after growing up and starting her own company, she still never had that much money to spend on herself, and even if she did, her father would somehow take it from her.
The girl's voice came, snapping her out of her thoughts: "Miss! You can try these on. I have put the rest of them in the dressing room."
With a hesitant smile, Claire took the dresses and went to the changing room. She felt liberated as she tried on each dress. She wore a red dress that fell gracefully over her body, drawing attention to all the right parts of her curves.
At the same time, Joshua was sitting on the couch and looking through his phone, like he was not interested in that current situation. But as soon as Claire came out of the changing room, she caught his attention. When he saw her in that red dress, he couldn't say anything.
She looked like a goddess wearing that long red dress, which hugged her curves and made her look more alluring.
"Mmm. I think it's too exaggerated. I should try the next one." Claire said, and before Joshua could say anything, she went back into the dressing room.
One by one, Claire came out wearing different dresses, but she liked all of them but knew she couldn't buy even one of them. It was one of the most expensive brands, she knew that even one of those dresses cost thousands of dollars, and with her salary, she couldn't afford even one of them.
But on the other hand, Joshua's attention wasn't on his phone anymore rather it was on his phone. He felt a blush creep up on his face when he saw her in that light blue dress at the end.
"Mmm. I don't know which one I should get." Claire said, looking in the mirror while checking out herself in that light blue dress.
Claire turned around only to see Joshua's shocked face. She felt a blush rise up her cheeks when she realised that he had been checking her out all along while sitting there on that sofa.
She hesitantly said, "I don't need all these dresses." She stuttered, worried about looking bad in front of him.
But Joshua spoke up right away, and there was a hint of admiration in his voice.
He told the girl standing at the side, "Pack all of them,"
His eyes never left Claire's body as he further spoke, "They all suit her."
Claire blinked in surprise, unable to understand Joshua's sudden change in attitude. "But... I can't possibly..." she trailed off, her mind racing with confusion.
Joshua simply shrugged, a tiny smile pulling at the corners of his lips. "Consider it a gift," he stated casually before turning his attention back to his phone.
Just then Joshua's phone rang, and he trailed off to pick up the call.
Claire was still wearing that dress when she looked at herself once more in the mirror, and a small smile made its way onto her lips.
"It does look good on me." She mumbled and twirled a little.
She heard a voice coming from the back and turned her head towards the source of the voice. "How can you guys just let anyone come inside? Is there no class here anymore?"
Turning around, Claire realised that it was no one other than her own half sister, Mia Sullivan. Claire ignored her completely, not wanting to create a scene there.
But seeing her standing there calmly in that beautiful dress, Mia felt anger building up inside her.
"How dare you show your face in a place like this?" Mia spat, her eyes filling with disdain, as she glared at Claire.
Claire's heart sank as she heard her half-sister's venomous voice cut through the air. Mia's appearance alone was enough to sour the mood, but her caustic words sparked a fire within Claire. There were two other girls standing beside Mia, looking as arrogant as her.
Claire stayed calm, refusing to let Mia's insult affect her. She knew better than to get involved in a foolish fight with her.
Ignoring Mia's rant, Claire turned to the shopkeeper, her voice cool but strong. "I will change the dress then," she stated, trying to find the right words to ignore the situation.
But Mia was persistent, her voice getting louder with each passing moment. "How dare you ignore me? Do you think that after marrying into a rich family, you can do whatever you want now? Huh?"
Rolling up her arms on her chest, she stepped forward and continued saying, "Well, let me tell you, I already know that you are only married for convenience, and your husband already likes someone else. On your wedding night, I heard he was in a bar and not with you. Poor Claire, all of your dreams came crashing down, huh?"
She laughed hard, trying to make every possible attempt to insult Claire.
"You don't belong here, Claire. This is a place for people with class, not for people like you," she sneered, her words dripping with contempt.
Claire felt a pang of hurt at her cruel words, but she refused to let it show. Instead, she focused on keeping herself calm, determined not to stoop to Mia's level.
The shopkeeper tried to interfere, but Mia brushed her off with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Don't worry about her. She's not worth your time," she scoffed, her gaze never leaving Claire's face.