Mated to My Fiancé’s Alpha King Brother

160 Chapter 160

Seraphina’s POV 1

“Next!” I called out, forcing my voice to sound cheerful despite wanting to crawl under the counter and disappear forever.

The customer-a middle-aged woman with a scowl that could curdle milk-slammed her items down so hard the bananas nearly bounced off the conveyor belt.

“This store is a joke,” she announced. “Twenty minutes in line! Twenty minutes!”

“I’m sorry about the wait, ma’am. We’re a bit short-staffed today-”

“Don’t give me excuses!” She jabbed her finger at me. “I’ve been shopping here for fifteen years, and the service gets worse every time!”

I scanned her items mechanically. Behind her, the line stretched halfway to the pharmacy, filled with equally irritated customers checking their phones and sighing dramatically.

“That’ll be thirty-two forty-seven,” I said.

“Highway robbery,” she muttered, slapping her credit card down. “In my day, you could feed a family for ten dollars.”

*In your day, people probably didn’t treat retail workers like garbage,* I thought but didn’t say. Instead, I smiled that fake customer

service smile I’d perfected.

“Have a great day!”

She snorted and stalked off with her bags.

“Next!”

This was my life now. Eight hours a day, six days a week, dealing with people who acted like I was personally responsible for everything

wrong with their existence.

But it was a paycheck. A tiny paycheck that barely covered my rent and ramen noodle dinners, but money nonetheless.

“Oh my God, that woman was such a bitch!”

I looked up to see Mia bouncing over from register two, her cotton candy pink hair catching the harsh fluorescent lights. She was barely

twenty-two, all energy and confidence and the kind of fearless optimism that came from never having your world collapse around you.

“Mia, she might still be in the store, I warned.

what I said.” She hopped up onto the counter next to my register, swinging her legs. “Life’s too short to pretend

aren’t mean.”

Gary see you sitting there,” I said.

always in a mood about something” Mia rolled her eyes. “Yesterday it was the bathroom

man needs

18:27

1/4

“Mia!”

It’s true! Sexual frustration makes people cranky. It’s

my register beeped. Another customer approached-a tired-looking man with three kids hanging off his shopping cart like

apologetic look. “They’ve been cooped up all

time. At least he

new kids’ cereal? The one with the

Mia called out before I could answer. “Next to the Lucky Charms. Fair warning though-it turns their poop

of

said poop!” the kid announced to

you for that vital information,” the man said dryly, but

while Mia regaled his kids with increasingly ridiculous stories about various breakfast cereals and their digestive

with kids,”

are easy. They haven’t learned to be assholes yet.” Mia slid off the counter. “Unlike adults, who seem to major in

phone buzzed with a text. I

Your car warranty is about

phone was

my shoulder. “Please tell me you’re finally dating someone. You’re way too pretty to

the phone back in my

That’s it? Just spam?” She looked genuinely distressed by this information. “Sara, when was the last time

a slap. “I’m not really dating right now,”

not?” She leaned against my register, studying me like I was a puzzle she needed to solve. “Are you getting over

*You could say that.*

that,”

softened with sympathy. “Was he a total dick? Did

car.”

18:27

2/4

“It’s complicated.”

always complicated. That’s what makes it fun!” Mia’s phone buzzed, and she immediately perked up. “Ooh!

“Derek?”

different person.” She was already typing back furiously. “Apparently his friend got last-minute tickets to some baseball

her. “You have