Ex husband's Plea for Forgiveness novel Chapter 116

To her credit, Queena tried on all the clothes that Melinda plucked off the rack.

Every time she walked out of the fitting room, her daughter-in-law would compliment her, or comment on how to accessorize the clothes, or sometimes just straight up hand her the jewelries to match. She couldn’t deny that she was very satisfied with every outfit that Melinda chose for her.

The attendant paid them no attention at first, but over time she started to notice the pile of clothes that Melinda kept bringing to the dressing area.

And it looked to her like these customers weren’t going to stop trying on clothes anytime soon. She finally approached Melinda, as Queena tried on another outfit in the fitting room.

"Excuse me, but we don’t allow just anyone to try on the clothes we have here. We only cater to buying customers."

She gave her a pointed look as she finished speaking, making sure her message came across clearly. And it did.

"Is that so?" Melinda asked casually as she rubbed the fabric of the dress she was holding between her fingers. Then she smiled a serene smile to mask the annoyance she felt at the attendant’s condescending attitude.

"You’re quite right to be selective with your clientele. These are very high quality clothes after all."

"Indeed," the attendant sniffed. "We have a lot of people coming in here to just try on the clothes and take photos in the fitting room because they can’t afford to actually buy the items."

Then her gaze wandered over to the nearby benches, where the clothes Queena had already tried on were splayed. She heaved an irritated sigh, and went over to pick them up and hang them back on the racks.

"Did you just inadvertently say that I can’t afford these things?" Queena emerged from the fitting room before the attendant could even make a grab for one of the outfits.

The older woman heard everything that was exchanged between the attendant and her daughter-in-law, and it only fueled her earlier displeasure at the type of welcome they received from the store.

Melinda quickly strode over to her and smoothed out the sleeves of the shirt she tried on, and adjusted something at the collar. "Mother, you have such a nice figure, you look good in practically anything. Why don’t we just buy everything you’ve tried on so far?"

Melinda smiled at her mother-in-law, and then the two women turned at the same time to look at the attendant coldly. The woman frowned, her hesitation showing on her face.

Still, she had encountered this scenario before, where customers tried to intimidate her to get their brief fix of luxury. She stood her ground.

She puffed out her chest, ready to reprimand the women, but before she could say anything, the manager burst into the dressing area.

The attendant stared at her superior, confused. As far as she knew, the manager was buried deep in his office since earlier that day, and gave instructions not to be disturbed.

He walked straight to the attendant, his face alarmingly flushed. "Pack all these clothes up for Madam Gu," the manager ordered her with a wild look in his eyes.

Then the manager turned to the women and gave them a low bow. As soon as he raised his face, he flashed them his customer service smile.

"I deeply apologize, Madam Gu. The attendant didn’t know her place and caused you much distress. Please be assured that this matter will be dealt with accordingly."

Then he ushered the two women towards the reception, leaving the attendant rooted to the spot, completely horrified as she realized what she had just done. And to whom.

"Madam, please accept my offer of a VIP discount on all the items you purchased today. Of course, we are well aware that you are not short in funds and have no need for such incentive, but please allow us to gift you with it. I hope you accept, and may you forgive us for our earlier offense."

The other shop employees stared as their manager spoke politely and bowed several times to the women. Clearly, these customers were not to be looked down on. They scurried over to help the attendant pack the goods before the madam and her companion changed their minds.

The two women left soon after, without any further incident, but the manager was still a little on edge. He had been handling some paperwork in his office when he received a call.

He thanked his lucky stars he decided to pick up that one call, or there was no telling the fate of their company.

In the car, Queena cast a discreet glance at her daughter-in-law. She was quite certain the sudden appearance of the manager was Melinda’s doing.

The younger woman had done well in diverting her displeasure from the annoying attendant by continuously giving her clothes to try on. Additionally, she handled the attendant’s snobbish behavior with class, and the complaint with her superior discreetly.

Despite herself, she was impressed. Her daughter-in-law wasn’t so bad after all.

They spent the rest of the day visiting other shops, and went home late in the evening. Queena didn’t treat Melinda any differently than she always had, but the day passed without her finding fault and verbally harassing the younger woman.

It wasn’t such a remarkable change per se, but Yulia sensed it. They were all in the living room at the time, and the servants were steadily bringing in the shopping packages they had amassed throughout the day.

"Aunt Queena," Yulia began. "The clothes you bought are so beautiful! Where did you buy them? I think I’ll go shopping there next time I go out." She was shamelessly looking into the bags, noting the luxury brands and the expensive packaging.

Envy rose to the surface as she watched the seemingly endless influx of more shopping bags. She wasn’t poor herself, but she certainly couldn’t afford this much luxury items at a given time.

Her grandfather made sure to limit her funds, since the old man was aware just how much of a spendthrift she could be. She eyed the designer clothes with longing.

"Well, Melinda has very good taste," Queena spoke casually, but each word was said in a precise tone, as if to emphasize the fact that Melinda selected the clothes for her.

Yulia’s head shot up in astonishment, and for a moment she forgot her lust for extravagance. Even Jonas, who had no interest in such affairs and was quietly reading on the couch, looked up in surprise.