Your Guise Is Slipping, Miss Pearl

"Hello, Missus Crawford. It's been a while since we saw you last," one of them said with a warm smile, welcoming her inside. "We've got some new designs in, I saved them for you."

Agnes often visited this place, so it made sense for the staff to go out of their way for her. The reason wasn't that they didn't like people with less money. Even though Esther was a famous actress, being rich or coming from a family with a lot of money made a big difference.

Agnes noticed the staff wasn't paying much attention to Esther, which seemed to bother her. "I'm not here for myself today. I'm choosing some outfits for my future daughter-in-law," she said.

When the staff heard 'future daughter-in-law', the woman who had been ignoring Esther quickly changed her tune. "Oh, Miss Esther. This way, please. Let's start by taking your measurements." "Okay, thanks." Esther didn't take it personally that she had been overlooked earlier.

Once her measurements were taken, the staff went off to find outfits that would be a good fit for her.

"We usually make clothes to order, but we also have some ready-made, in-season designs. This one seems like a perfect fit. If you're looking for something specific, we can make it just for you." Esther was impressed by the outfits presented to her. They were so well-made that even high-end brands couldn't compare.Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

She was about to choose an off-white dress with beautiful flower stitching when another shopper grabbed it from behind her. "I'll take this one. It's just my size. Debra, please pack it up for me."

Esther was annoyed because she

had her

eye on that dress. She

turned to face the taller woman and frowned. "I was about to choose that

one."

BUMS

The woman didn't seem to notice and was distracted by her phones After a bit, she looked up slowly "What does it matter? You haven't bought it yet, so it's up for grabs."

Esther couldn't believe how oblivious the woman was.

Then the woman seemed to recognize her. "Aren't you the famous Esther Sanders? With all the rumors, I'm surprised you're out shopping."

Bringing up the rumor that Esther

had been violated during her kidnapping was clearly meant to shame her in public. However, Esther knew it was easy for people to judge without knowing the whole story, so she just thought

woman was jumping to conclusions too quickly.

"Why are you bringing that up? Did you start that rumor? You know spreading lies can land you in jail, right?"

The woman seemed taken aback. "What? Jail? Stop trying to scare me."

Then, looking around with a smirk, she insulted Esther's clothes. "You're dressed so plainly. These custom pieces are wasted on you."

Esther, unbothered, crossed her arms. "And you think you deserve them more?"

"Obviously. I'm a VIP here," the woman claimed proudly.