Chapter 13 Who Hasn't Had a Slip of the Hand?

As Ethan spoke, he raised his hand and pointed somewhere. Henry followed his finger and saw Oliver standing in front of Alice, hands in his pockets, with a smug look he couldn't hide.

Clara was chatting with the store manager and clerks, and they all looked pretty annoyed and grossed out.

It was obvious Alice was the one getting ganged up on.

Watching Alice stand there with dignity, Henry narrowed his eyes. "Ethan."

Ethan stepped up, took the black card Henry handed him, and after getting a few instructions, he headed towards the women's clothing store. But what he saw next made him stop and glance back at Henry.

Inside, Alice pulled a card from her backpack and slapped it on the store manager's head. "Go swipe it!"

The store manager looked a bit speechless. "Is there money in this?"

Alice shot him a look. "Are you deaf or just dumb?"

The store manager frowned and tossed the card to a clerk. "Go check it!"

Clara, amazed, said, "Alice, why do you have to do this? If there's no money, wouldn't it be embarrassing?"

Just then, a mechanical voice chimed in, "Transaction successful!"

Clara forced a smile. "Alice, where'd you get all that money? You've been wearing heavy makeup these past three months."

"What are you implying?" Alice's brows furrowed with anger.

Remembering how Alice had hit her last night, Clara quickly hid behind Oliver. Her hand accidentally touched Oliver's back, making him grunt and almost curse.

"Alice, don't overthink. I wasn't implying anything."

"Aren't you? You're the queen of these nasty tricks!" Esme walked in with two ice creams, glaring at Clara. "What a bummer! Why are you two everywhere? I gave the card to Alice."

Clara frowned. "Why would you give Alice so much money?"

Esme handed one of the ice creams to Alice and sneered at Clara. "None of your business! Who the hell are you? Why should I tell you?"

Oliver's face darkened, feeling insulted. He coldly retorted, "Who are you? Who let you speak here?"

With sunglasses covering most of her face, Esme chuckled. "Alice is my friend. What's wrong with me supporting her? But you, scumbag, actually hooked up with your fiancée's sister—no, Clara threw herself at you! You two scumbags are perfect for each other!"

Then Esme glanced around at the crowd. "Don't believe rumors so easily. Don't you have brains? Go home and read some books. And you, as a store manager, dare to look down on people—you'll get fired sooner or later!"

After finishing her rant, she took the bag from the clerk and pulled Alice's hand. "Alice, let's go!"

Clara pursed her lips. "I didn't expect Alice to have such a wealthy friend willing to spend money on her."

Oliver found her words particularly grating, as if he, her fiancé, was just for show!

"Wait!" he said, "I'll pay ten times the price for that dress!"

"That's true love!"

"Yeah, willing to spend over five million dollars on a dress just to make his girlfriend happy."

"So envious!"

Hearing the envious and jealous comments from the crowd, Alice felt it was ironic. Esme's words had clearly revealed Clara as the mistress, but people seemed to admire this money-wrapped love more than ethics and morals.

Oliver raised his chin and shot a disdainful glance at Alice and Esme. "How about it? You just made over five million dollars!"

Alice smirked, "Alright! Then pay up!"

Oliver pulled out a check from his pocket, signed it, and tossed it in front of Alice with a sneer. "You are no saint after all!"

Alice checked the validity of the check, then threw the bag straight at Clara. The ice cream in her hand also flew over, splattering all over Clara's face.

Clara's face, still hot from being scalded, was now cold and sticky with ice cream, experiencing both hot and cold sensations at the same time.

It was beyond embarrassing and infuriating. She was fuming, thinking Alice did it on purpose.

Oliver quickly wiped her face. "Are you okay?"

"Oliver," Clara said, her voice tinged with sobs, "How can Alice do this to me?"

Alice clicked her tongue. "My bad! It happens. But what a waste of ice cream." With that, she left with Esme.

Clara took the tissues handed by the store manager to wipe her messy face, her hatred for Alice growing stronger.

She withdrew her venomous gaze and looked at Oliver, visibly aggrieved. "How can Alice be so jealous just because you were willing to spend a fortune on me?"

Oliver felt a surge of joy in his heart. He thought Alice's actions showed she cared about him, and with a little effort, Alice would come crawling back to him.

He comforted Clara, "That greedy, vain woman isn't worth your anger. The dress is in your hands now."

Clara nodded while sobbing. "Oliver, thank you for spending so much."

Oliver wrapped his arm around Clara's soft waist, with a hint of lust. "How will you thank me?"

Clara blushed and smiled. "It's up to you."

At that moment, Oliver's phone rang, breaking the romantic ambiance.

He picked up his phone and answered, "James? What? Uncle Henry wants to check the quarterly accounts?"

Oliver's face turned extremely ugly. "Just hold on, I'll handle it."

He then looked at Clara. "Clara, you go home by yourself. I have to go to the office."

Seeing Oliver's grim expression, Clara nodded numbly.

She called her family's driver to pick her up and changed into the dress before leaving. The store manager and clerks all showered her with flattery, greatly satisfying Clara.

Hearing it was raining outside, the store manager quickly handed Clara an umbrella.

Clara took it and left proudly.

The store manager watched Clara leave and said to the clerks, "From now on, be more discerning. Don't let people who look poor in here. Even if they buy something, it's barely worth it! We need to serve socialites like Miss Savoy. Her backer is Mr. Howard!"

"Yes!" The clerks agreed with the store manager.

Just then, another mall manager stormed over and waved his hand. "You all snobbish bunch, pack up and leave! You're all fired!"

The store manager was shocked, his eyes widened. "We just sold a dress and contributed to the mall's revenue."

"You don't even know who you offended, you clueless idiots, even making me get scolded!" The manager looked at the security guards and shouted, "Get them out of here!"

The store manager and clerks were all stunned. No wonder the woman with sunglasses said they'd get fired sooner or later—it turned out to be true.

But who was that woman?

And who was her backer?