Chapter 5: Luxury, Loyalty, and Letting Go

Who would’ve thought, as I was about to pay, I’d run into Wendy again.

I heard her voice before I saw her, loud and unmistakable. My heart sank.

She came out of the fitting room in a new dress, sneering:

She twirled in front of the mirror, then caught sight of me. Her eyes narrowed.

“Sis, just so you know, everything in this store starts at four figures. If you can’t afford it, don’t trouble the staff.”

She smirked, as if daring me to challenge her.

The staff quickly said, “It’s no trouble at all.”

The saleswoman shot me an apologetic look, clearly uncomfortable with Wendy’s attitude.

She looked at the mountain of dresses on the couch, then at Wendy:

“Miss, you’ve tried so many—have you found one you like?”

Her voice was polite, but there was an edge to it.

“What do you mean by that? Is this how you treat customers? Get your manager!”

Wendy’s voice rose, drawing the attention of everyone in the store.

A young man’s voice called from outside: “Wendy, what’s wrong?”

He strode in, all confidence and charm.

Wendy instantly switched faces, clinging to the handsome guy:

She pouted, wrapping her arms around his. “Kyle, the service here is awful. They said I can’t afford it—buy everything for me, please? I love them all…”

He looked at the pile and winced: “Aren’t they all the same? Do you need that many?”

He tried to joke, but I could see the discomfort in his eyes.

She was about to throw a tantrum, but noticed me looking at her boyfriend and snapped:

She glared at me, voice sharp. “What are you staring at? Have some shame! Kyle, look at this woman… Kyle?”

Kyle quickly pulled away and smiled at me: “Sis, what a coincidence!”

He grinned, clearly relieved to see a familiar face.

Uh, he’s not my brother.

I raised an eyebrow, but smiled back. “Hey, Kyle.”

Kyle is a rich kid—his dad’s company does business with ours, and I handle that account. So he calls me “sis.”

He winked at me, as if we were in on some private joke.

“New girlfriend?” I smiled meaningfully. “Nice taste.”

I couldn’t help but tease him a little.

“Sorry, sis. Wendy, apologize!”

He nudged her, trying to smooth things over.

She stood there, pale, refusing to move.

She crossed her arms, lips pressed into a thin line.

I ignored her, paid, and left.

The saleswoman smiled at me, slipping a little thank-you note into my bag.

Kyle thought I was mad, so he chased after me, nervous:

He caught up to me outside, breathless. “Sis, please don’t be upset. I’ll break up with her right away—don’t let it affect our business.”

He’s not just a lovestruck rich kid—he knows business comes first. Wendy didn’t matter that much to him.

I appreciated his honesty. It made things easier.

“Work is work. Your private life is your own. Don’t worry about it.”

He let out a sigh of relief. “Thanks, sis.”

I squinted at him, curious: “But what do you see in her?”

He scratched his head, embarrassed. “Her voice is cute.”

He shrugged, as if that explained everything.

“…Okay.”

I shook my head, amused. Boys never change.

After that, I never saw Wendy again. We blocked each other everywhere.

It was like erasing a chapter from my life. I didn’t miss her as much as I thought I would.

But I occasionally heard from coworkers:

They’d whisper in the break room, passing along the latest gossip.