Love's Tangled Web by Donna Taylor

Chapter 305

Warren has been pushing Alex to pick from several candidates. Layton said Alex has already promised his grandfather he’ll get married soon.”

Ellie didn’t say much, only clarifying that there was nothing between Aaron and Haley, but she didn’t offer any other opinions.

When it came to relationships, things were unpredictable. Haley had pursued Aaron for more than a year, so passionately and so eagerly. Aaron had been cautious, yet in the end, he couldn’t escape the fate that reality had dealt him.

When Lacey mentioned that Alex was getting married, Ellie didn’t take it too seriously. If anything, she actually hoped he would get married soon–so he would stop lingering around her like a ghost.

The pain Alex had caused her was something she would never be able to forgive, but she had to let go. She had to leave the past

behind and move on.

After parting ways with Lacey and Diana, Ellie didn’t rush home. Her mom’s 55th birthday was coming up, and she wanted to buy something special for her.

After Christmas, nearly every store was having sales, and Ellie wandered down the pedestrian street, browsing the shops. She spotted a white cashmere scarf in the window of a women’s clothing store. The warm color made her think of her mom- she was gonna love it.

She entered the store and carefully checked the price tag. To her surprise, the scarf cost more than 3 thousand dollars. Even with a fifty percent discount, it would still set her back several thousand dollars.

Without a change in expression, Ellie quietly set the tag down and turned to leave. She hadn’t expected the items in such a seemingly modest shop to be so expensive.

“Wait, you can’t leave!” The saleswoman blocked Ellie’s way. “Our store has a policy–if you touch light–colored items, you have to buy them. You just touched that cashmere scarf, so you need to pay.”

Ellie frowned and said in a firm voice, “I didn’t touch it. I only looked at the price tag.”

She was careful about such things–being poor meant she couldn’t afford to casually touch items in stores, especially in places where she felt like she might be pressured into buying. She had only glanced at the price tag and hadn’t touched the scarf.

The saleswoman didn’t let up. “I saw you touch it. If you don’t pay, I’ll call the police.”

Another saleswoman chimed in, “If you don’t have money to buy it, don’t come in here. We’ve seen plenty of bumpkins like you.”

Ellie’s eyes narrowed, her calm demeanor unwavering. “You have cameras here. I know if I touched that scarf or not. Go ahead, call the police.”

down before speaking. “Miss, have you seen the sign above? It states that light colored items cannot be tried on, touched,

scanning the row of spotlights above her, where a small line of text was barely visible unless she looked up carefully. “I’m not paying for it. If

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Wed, Feb 12

Chapter 305

noticing Ellie

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stop her. “Let me explain

can do is give you a small discount. You still have to pay for

manager’s tone shifted to a

our store policy. How about this? I’ll give you a thirty percent discount, the employee rate. Think of it as a way to make you a loyal

“I don’t want it.”

business here. You’ve already broken our store’s rules

arms. “I don’t have the money. You can call the police if you want.”

manager sneered. “No money? Then what are you doing in our

an indescribable way. Just because she was poor, she had lost count of the number of times people had used the word “steal” to humiliate

in and threw his credit card

card.”

at the counter with his intense gaze locked on Ellie. She didn’t look at him, nor did she say a word. She simply turned and walked out

her pace quickened. The more she tried to suppress her emotions, the more they threatened to explode. All she had seen was that beautiful cashmere scarf and the sale. She thought, ‘How had I missed the fact that it was an overseas purchase store?

thought she had overestimated herself

Bar, Layton entered to find Alex sitting alone, drinking his

and snatched the glass from Alex’s hand. “Stop drinking. Talk to me.

looking

on the couch, leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees, his head hung

ㄓ

a sense of suffocating pressure as if he hadn’t heard Layton’s words. All that filled his mind was the image of Ellie that afternoon–her head

million times. The things he had done