His Coy Lover

Zelda gave Lucy a cold look before entering The Beauty.

“A country bumpkin wants me to treat her as the main focus? Disgusting!”

Upon Zelda’s entrance, the existing staff at The Beauty remained indifferent, while only a new employee, unaware of Zelda’s identity, greeted her with a smile.

Zelda had visited The Beauty before, always accompanied by her mother. With her mother present, the staff treated her with great warmth. However, on her solo visits, they couldn’t be bothered to acknowledge her.

“Lucy.”

Older employees, initially ignoring Zelda, now warmly welcomed Lucy.

It was a deliberate attempt to embarrass Zelda. One of the staff members, grinning, asked Lucy, “Lucy, did Elle come to pick up the dresses she ordered last time? She usually comes personally to choose some new styles.”

Elle often ordered dresses from The Beauty, and sometimes she came herself to pick a few new styles when she needed them urgently.

Lucy, witnessing the older employees’ disregard for Zelda, felt a sense of joy. Though Elle wasn’t the real heiress of The Roscente, she held a special place in the hearts of the elders, a position Zelda could never challenge.

She explained with a smile, “Elle will come to pick up her dresses herself. Today, I’m accompanying Zelda to choose a few evening gowns. She’ll be attending the Granger family’s banquet this weekend with Elle.”

The employees who greeted Lucy smirked and one of them said with a hint of insinuation, “Lucy, you’re really working hard.”

Understanding their hidden meaning, Lucy smiled and didn’t respond.

Zelda wandered through the first floor but couldn’t find anything she liked. She told the staff, “Take me to the second floor to have a look.”

As the staff member was about to guide Zelda upstairs, a few older employees made sarcastic remarks.

“A country bumpkin can’t turn into a phoenix.”

“A country bumpkin in a phoenix gown is still a country bumpkin.”

Zelda remained composed, silently taking out her phone and recording their mocking comments.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

Lucy, reveling in the mockery directed at Zelda, allowed herself a sense of schadenfreude.

After recording the derogatory comments, Zelda walked up to the store manager and tapped on the counter.

The startled manager looked up and frowned slightly, but still asked politely, “Zelda, is there something you need?”

Zelda grinned, “Your staff didn’t bother to assist me, and instead of being welcoming, they ridiculed me. Does the store manager not hear? The Beauty produces perfect dresses, but the staff lacks proper manners.”

“What did they say?”

The manager smiled wryly, counter-questioning Zelda, “Someone already assisted you. How many people do you need to serve you?”

“Just casually speaking the truth, and Zelda slams my table. Where’s your decency?” Zelda stared at the manager for a moment, understanding that the manager shared a similar attitude and was not willing to argue further. She demanded, “I want to speak to your boss.”

The manager maintained the same expression, saying, “If there’s anything Zelda needs, she can discuss it with me. Matters I can handle don’t require bothering our boss. Our boss is very busy and doesn’t have time to see Zelda.”

Established for many years, The Beauty had a firm standing in River Town’s high society. The owner of The Beauty came from a wealthy family, and due to the establishment’s success, they had made influential friends. In River Town, the owner of The Beauty didn’t regard Zelda highly.

Seeing that Zelda remained silent, the manager, with a wry smile, asked, “Zelda, the dresses on the first floor are excellent. Feel free to pick a few; they suit your taste. The dresses on the second floor are exceptionally expensive, and I’m afraid you won’t be able to handle them.”

The dresses on the second floor were the masterpieces of The Beauty, reserved for those truly noble and elegant. Only those who exuded noble grace could wear them well.

“Charles!”

A low voice suddenly echoed. Zelda turned and indeed saw her husband sitting in his wheelchair, expressionless, being pushed into The Beauty by his bodyguards.

Zelda blinked. Was he tracking her? How did she encounter him again?

Charles’s appearance caused the manager’s expression to change swiftly. He stood up, rushed over, and smiled like the bright sun outside.

“Charles, are you here to see our boss? The boss said if you came, please go to the top floor. The boss is waiting for you in the office upstairs.”

Charles, without saying a word, gestured for his bodyguards to stop pushing him.

“What’s going on?”

Charles scanned Zelda for a moment. Even though the petite woman was trying hard to suppress her anger, her lack of composure was evident to him.

Without waiting for the manager’s response, Charles asked again, “Where is she, and what is she doing?”

The manager hurriedly replied, “Charles, you don’t need to bother about her. She’s just Zelda, here to browse casually.”

Zelda was quite well-known in River Town, albeit for negative reasons.

“Can anyone just walk into The Beauty like this?”

Charles’s words were intended to be sarcastic, but the manager didn’t catch on. He thought Charles found Zelda bothersome.

The manager promptly said, “If Charles finds her bothersome, I’ll ask someone to escort her out immediately.”

Zelda: …

Being looked down upon, and her husband didn’t defend her; instead, he seemed to find her presence bothersome!

Lucy, seeing the situation, quickly walked over to Zelda and whispered, “Zelda, let’s leave quickly. Don’t provoke Charles’s displeasure.”

As she spoke, Lucy reached out to pull Zelda, attempting to guide her out to avoid a more embarrassing situation of being expelled from The Beauty.

Zelda shook off Lucy’s hand, glared at Charles, and turned to leave. Not leaving the premises but heading straight for the second floor.

She had no intention of leaving just because they wanted her to!

“Zelda!”

The manager sternly stopped Zelda. “Zelda, we are temporarily not doing business with you. Please leave.”

Zelda had already climbed the stairs. She stopped on the staircase, turned around, and looked down at the group. With a sweet smile, she said, “You’re in the business of opening doors; customers are gods. Your attitude is not suitable for doing business. How about “The Beauty closes temporarily for rectification?”