Capítulo 12: Lovely sister-in-law (2)

"Don't you call her sister-in-law?" the same woman as before said. "Aren't you impolite, Mayrose?"

"She is not my sister-in-law," May said. "Yet," she then added. "When she officially marries Richard, I will call her as she pleases."

"Are you going to buy that dress, May?" Haileen asked. Differently from May, she had no issue with using informal names. On the contrary, she knew May hated it and would act even more friendly.

"I was just considering it," May said.

"I like it," Haileen replied. "If you change your mind, I will take it. Do let me know, okay?"

"I will tell you, sure."

"Do you really think you can pull off this kind of dress?" the woman from before added. It was clear she was playing Haileen's game. Since the latter had to act nice and be an angel, she lit it to her friends to be vixens and bully those she didn't like.

After all, with her family's backing. Haileen Hartfield was not someone who needed to get her hands dirty. Her friends were more like henchwomen than companions. She had the power and influence to change fashion if she wanted. And, above all, she would avoid mistakes like acting rashly or impolite to someone close to her fiance.

She left that kind of job to her henchwomen.

"You should leave it for Haileen, sister," the woman continued. "You're too plain for it."

"Now, I really like this dress," May commented, rolling her eyes.

"You'll be making a fool of yourself."

"I will just make the evening livelier for everyone, won't I? What do you think, Haileen?" May said, turning to the woman. She knew her future sister-in-law would keep staying on the side if she didn't involve her personally. And involving her personally would have been painful because she either forsake her image as an image or had to say a few nice words to May. Which option would she choose?

"Don't be silly, sister-in-law," Haileen replied, covering her mouth with a hand. "You have to choose a dress you like without considering everyone's opinion. You're the one who'll wear it, after all."

Since May didn't really care about any dress, nor what people would say, she didn't need to continue with that charade. She could just let go and make them think she cared, just enough for them to leave her alone.

"You'll wear it better," she admitted, tilting her head to the side. "Just take it. I'll find another one."

Haileen smiled politely while the other women hid their laughter behind their hands. They thought May was yielding because they were winning. Their thoughts were transparent even if they thought they were hiding them well.

Haileen made the shop assistant wrap the dress and, after paying with daddy's golden card, she collected her bag and left with her chin high. She had no reason to stay longer, and making things difficult for May wasn't worth the risk to her reputation. She had already taken the dress right from under her fingertips: it was enough for the day.

May waited for them to turn the corner before returning to the cream-coloured dress. She observed it again and found no big faults. It was plain and unadorned, but that was exactly what she needed.

"No need to struggle about things you don't care about, uh?" she heard from the side. A man's voice, belonging to a thirty-year-old businessman, judging from his suit. "You may regret it one day, though."

She glanced at him before replying. He was quite tall, more or less like her brother. He had light-brown hair and golden eyes, which reminded her of a predator waiting for its prey. He did resemble a tiger, even with his stance and the way he moved, silent and stealthy.

She felt as if she was supposed to know who he was but she had never had the memory for names and faces.

"I don't have time for useless fights," she pointed out. "It was just a dress."

"They will target something you really like, sooner or later. What will you do, then? You won't have much experience to counter them."

"I won't fight for a dress even if I like it," she scoffed.

"May not be a dress," the man said. "I wouldn't say clothes are useless, young lady."

He examined her from head to toe, not missing a single detail. May wasn't sure what was wrong with him, but she felt the need to run away. As if standing in front of an actual tiger and not a man who had just the aura of one.

"If that day comes, I'll find a way," she said, in the end.

She delivered the dress to the shop assistant together with the credit card.

"Would you like us to send the dress to the residence, Miss Thorne?" the shop assistant asked.

"No, thanks. I'll take it with me," she said. She wasn't planning on continuing her shopping, either way. And she had no intention of going to the residence if there was no need to. But she couldn't say so to a stranger.

"Thank you for your patronage; we hope to see you again, Miss Thorne!"

"It's the first time in my life that I see a woman buying only what she needs," the man from before continued.

May sighed, realising he wouldn't let her leave just like that. He was rather persistent.

"Have you had lunch?" he inquired. "I know a nice place nearby. It would be my honour to treat you to a meal... You might not realise it, but you have quite the presence."

"I'm sorry; I'm in a hurry," May said. She moved to the side, trying to bypass him, but he stopped her by moving to the same side. His steps were longer, so she didn't have much hope of running away that easily.

"Can't you postpone your other commitments?"

"No"."

"What about another time, then?"

"I'll be busy that time as well."

Couldn't he read the message without her telling him straight-forwardly? She didn't want to be impolite unless there was no other way of solving it.

"At least, take my visit card," he said, then. "There is my number on it. If you change your mind, just call me. I'm sure we have a lot more in common than you think right now."

"Sure," she hummed. She took the card and threw it in a pocket before leaving towards the subway. He didn't try stopping her again, so she soon reached the subway and took the train back to the dorm.

On the way, she read what was written on the card. Other than his contacts, there was that man's name: Manuel Pierce, CEO of Green Light Entertainment.

Was he related to Raimund Pierce? His name made the girl curious, but she had no nerves to investigate him. Especially if he was related to the mafia boss, she didn't want to know more about it.