ACCIDENTALLY MARRIED TO THE BILLIONAIRE SINGLE DAD (Gabrielle and Damon) novel Chapter 12

Chapter 12

GABRIELLE’S POV

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Turns out he only wanted to take me shopping. Susan must have told him how I reacted to his sister’s dresses and he thought to make it right.

The mall was busy, fluorescent lights harsh against my skin.

We entered a high–end boutique and he sat at the reception while I shopped. I entered the designer section, and gasped in awe. I hadn’t shopped in weeks since the wedding and I didn’t realize how much I needed this.

Clothes hung neatly on racks, and a young saleswoman looked me over with a flicker of judgment.

“Can I help you find something, ma’am?” she asked, barely hiding her disdain.

“I’m fine,” I said, smiling politely.

I continued moving along the aisle, picking pieces but the saleswoman kept following me.

I paused and turned to her. “Excuse me. Are you following me?”

She eyed me from head to toe. “This isn’t the section you’re used to. I’m just making sure the excitement from these luxurious clothes don’t get to you.”

“Excuse me?”

She nodded. “You heard me. You should be shopping at the store down the block. Not here. I have to make sure you’re not a thief.”

I folded my arms across my chest. “Is this how you treat your customers?”

“No,” she answered. “Only the ones who obviously can’t afford anything here. Look at your dress, for Christ sakes. It looks like it belongs to a teenager.”

I looked down at my dress. It did belong to Damon’s sister but I had no idea how old she was.

I clenched my jaw, feeling my cheeks flush.

“I don’t need your approval to shop,” I said, my voice softer than I intended. “Or directions.”

The woman raised an eyebrow. “Clearly you do, or you wouldn’t be wandering into a place like this. You can’t even tell that’s Dior otherwise you wouldn’t be touching it.”

Before I could respond, another salesperson joined us. He was tall and looked middle aged.

“What’s going on here, Mia?” he asked.

She pointed at me. “She looks suspicious so I’m following her around”

He turned to me and gave me a snarky glance. “You have a point. We can’t risk another theft on our shift. Please ma’am you’d have to leave.”

I tried to keep my emotions in check. “I know you may have had some cases of theft in the past but believe me. I just want to buy some clothes. This isn’t my dress I borrowed it from my forced husband’s dead sister.”

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12:59 pm

Chapter 12

It was only after I said those words I realized how they sounded.

Mia gave the salesman a look. “Call security.”

He nodded and left.

She turned back to me. “Ma’am, please drop the clothes and come with me before you ruin them.”

“And who said I can’t afford this?” I asked, raising the dress.

She snatched it from my hand but my grip was tight so it tore.

She gasped. “Oh my goodness. You’re a thief. You were trying to steal the dress and you grabbed it from me.”

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Mia’s voice carried through the store, loud enough to draw attention. Heads turned, and customers started whispering as I froze in place, still gripping the torn sleeve of the dress.

“I didn’t tear it-” I started, but she stepped back dramatically, clutching the fabric like it was evidence.

“Security!” she shouted again. “We have a theft attempt!”

My throat tightened. “You’ve got it wrong,” I said, my voice trembling despite how much I tried to hold it steady.

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