Blake sneered at me with disdain and disgust as his eyes swept across my body with a judgmental look etched onto his face.
"What is a poor house-wife like you doing at a high-end boutique shop like this?" He mocked as Stella stood next to him quietly.
I watched as she curled her fingers around his arm innocently.
"How can someone like you afford to shop at a place like this? And isn't it embarrassing to leave the house looking like this?" he continued to taunt me as a low chuckle escaped his lips.
Stella gently slapped his arm in disapproval but a slight smirk tugged at the corners of her lips.
"Blake, don't say that," she urged in a soft voice as her eyes glanced over to look at me. "She may not look the best right now but you can't just say such things. She was once your wife after all," she pointed out casually as she tried to play the good guy, as if that wasn't one of the most backhanded remarks someone could make.
"Well, she's not my wife anymore," Blake uttered bitterly, the words leaving a sour taste in his mouth as he recalled the incident from that night. "So, I can say whatever I want since she has her new husband, her new boy toy to play with," he spat the words out like they were poison in his mouth.
"Are you two done yet?" I snapped, my voice slicing through the tension that was lingering in the air as I glared at the both of them with an unfazed look plastered across my face. "I don't have time to stand here and listen to your bullshit," I deadpanned, unbothered by their presence and whatever that they had to say.
I turned on my heels to leave when Blake wrapped his fingers around my arm, holding me back. His grip around me tightened as anger was burning within him.
"Did I say you could go? Where do you think you are going?" He asked with a raised brow, her voice carrying a sharp edge to it. "Looking for your new boy toy? How come he's not here with you today?" He questioned.
I yanked my arm out of his grasp.
"That's none of your business," I replied pointedly, turning to leave.
"Are you trying to leave without paying for the dress?" Stella asked this time in her deceivingly soft and innocent voice despite the blatant accusation that was thrown at me with a smirk resting on her lips.
I scoffed loudly as I matched her knowing gaze. "What makes you think that?" I asked with a smile on my face. "Unlike you two, I can actually afford to pay for the dress," I retorted, barely sparing her another glance.
"You? You can afford to pay for the dress?" Blake repeated with wide eyes. "This is the biggest joke I have ever heard in my life!" He exclaimed as peels of laughter erupted from his throat, and he threw his head back and clutched onto his tummy in a fit of laughter.
"You don't have to worry about whether or not I can afford something. I actually have the money to shop here, Aurelia. I work a full-time job and I have a steady income and savings. Look at yourself, you are just a house-wife and an art tutor who earns peanuts. What money would you have?" My ex-husband continued to taunt me relentlessly.
A cold chuckle emerged from my throat. "Do you mean the money you took from our joint account? The money you stole from me?" I sneered and watched as his face fell. "Yeah, don't think I forgot about that, Blake Carson."
He stepped towards me, his face darkened and he was now dangerously close to mine this time.
"I didn't steal any money from you," he insisted, his face starting to turn red from the anger as a fiery blaze was burning in his eyes. "I'm using my bonus my boss promised to give me. I told you, I would pay you back."
I forced my lips to curl upwards into a slight smile.
"If you say so," I mocked, my voice dripping with sarcasm as I raised up the black card clipped between my fingers on full display for them to see.
I watched with satisfaction as their eyes widened in surprise and a soft gasp left Stella's lips when realisation finally dawned upon them.
"What… why… do you-" She stammered. "Blake," his name left her lips in disbelief.
"Why do you have a black card?" Blake butted in.
She cleared her throat. "Did you steal it?" She taunted this time as she straightened her posture. When I didn't answer her, she continued on. "Oh my god you did, didn't you? Somebody! Somebody help! Someone's stealing here!" She screamed this time as a smirk started to morph itself onto her lips while Blake remained oblivious to her trick.
She slapped her hand over her mouth in an instant as she turned to look at Blake. "Sorry, Blake, I panicked. I... I didn't mean to expose Aurelia," she explained as she glanced over at me momentarily. "I'm a horrible person, oh gosh…"
Blake put his hand on her shoulder, giving her a reassuring smile.
"Don't worry about it. You are just simply doing the right thing."
At this moment, the store manager came running back in with a concerned look plastered across his face.
"What's the issue here, Ma'am?" The man asked as he turned to look at Stella.
"I will tell you what's the issue."Blake pointed his finger right at me, interrupting before she could say a word.
"This woman over here, she is trying to commit fraud. She was going to buy your dress with someone else's card!" He blatantly accused me as he snarled at me with a disdainful scorn piercing through the air.
The man whipped his head across to look at me with a frown resting between his brows and a cautious look etched onto his face. "Is that true, Ma'am?"
"She claims that she has a black card," Blake chimed in once again while Stella stood there with her head hung low, playing the role of an innocent woman very well. "But she's just a house-wife, where is she going to get all this money from? Isn't that suspicious? That card in her hand must have been stolen."
Stella spoke up this time, her voice remained soft and gentle as if she was giving a simple suggestion out of concern. "I think we need to call the owner and let him know that his card has been stolen."
I remained indifferent. "Go ahead. I would love to see you try," I challenged, defiance gleaming in my eyes as I stared at all of them.
"Ma'am I will need you to take off that dress and leave the store if you are going to be able to pay for it," the store manager said firmly as he wore a serious look on his face. "Don't make me call security."
I scoffed. "Don't worry, I can pay for this dress."
"Stop bluffing. Security!" The man shouted and the guards came running in within the next few seconds.
Despite my protests, they grabbed me by my arms as they tried to pull me away. In this chaos, the card fell onto the ground and Stella immediately went to pick it up.
Her eyes flickered down to look at the card, examining it carefully as Blake joined in. She read the name printed on the card out loud.
"Xavier Wilder…"
I stared at them and the next moment, a familiar deep voice pierced through the air and reached my eyes. My eyes snapped to look and my lips twitched upwards into a smile.
"Is someone looking for me?"