Chapter 28: A Dominant Husbandâs Protection This statement hit Avery like a bolt of lightning. She exploded, "Werenât you always the one paying before? Why did you bring me to the mall if you donât have money?!"
Selina tilted her head slightly, feigning curiosity as she countered, "You said you wanted to shop, so I came along to accompany you. Avery, did you overspend and run out of money?"
The people around them started to exchange puzzled looks.
Averyâs face flushed red and white in turns before she threw a tantrum. "I donât care! You have to pay for me!"
Then she shouted at the store manager, "Ask her for the money! Sheâs loaded!"
The manager hesitated, glancing between them.
Selina put on a look of disappointment and said, "Avery, I thought we were friends, but all you want is for me to foot the bill?"
"Iâm not your mother. Youâre in your twenties, spending recklessly, and now you expect me to clean up after you?"
Avery was livid and snapped, "Weâre family! Canât you even help me with this? If you donât pay, Iâll tell your grandfather! Youâre as good as dead!"
The onlookers murmured amongst themselves, finding Averyâs words to be over the line.
Just then, Selina lowered her head and sighed softly.
"What kind of family are we, exactly? Youâre the niece of a mistress; Iâm the daughter of the legal wife. We donât even share blood relations."
"Iâve already been kind by treating you as a friend, yet here you are guilt-tripping me. Do you think that just because Iâm the legitimate daughter of the Clark family, Iâm obligated to financially support the mistressâs entire clan?"
Avery nearly choked. Mistress? What mistress? She didnât care about thatâshe only knew she was broke, and Selina was her personal ATM!
Fuming, Avery smashed the coffee cup next to her, charging at Selina like a madwoman. She raised her hand for a slap and screamed, "Youâre the one who said we were friends! Who else would put up with a cursed wretch like you?! Now youâre turning your back on me? ... Ah!"
A loud smack echoed through the store. Selina had swiftly caught Averyâs hand mid-air and returned the slap without hesitation.
"Avery, you call me your friend, but all youâve ever done is treat me like a cash machine, coveting my motherâs inheritance."
"Now that Iâm married and donât want to waste money on you anymore, you resort to violence? How is that fair?"
Averyâs eyes widened in shock. "You... you dare hit me..."
Selinaâs words carried so much weight that everyoneâcustomers and the store manager alikeâfroze in surprise.
Suddenly, a womanâs voice rang out from somewhere in the store. "Isnât that the eldest daughter of the Clark family? The Clarks say Selina is rude and uncultured, but she seems pretty well-mannered to me!"
"And Avery is Katieâs niece? The mistressâs niece thinks she can hit and insult the legitimate daughter? Their family drove the first wife to her death and now dares to bully her daughter? How shameless!"
"Katie pretends to be a kind stepmother, and Natalia keeps calling Selina âsisterâ. But behind closed doors, they treat the legal wifeâs daughter like this? Disgusting!"
The managerâs expression darkened with open disdain. "Even the mistressâs niece dares to act so brazenly in our store? Who gave you the guts?
Get out!"
Avery was on the verge of losing her mind. She was the one who got slapped, yet everyone was sympathizing with Selina?
As the security guards prepared to escort Avery out, a commotion erupted near the entrance.
Everyone turned their heads to see a group of bodyguards parting the way. Not far behind, a man was striding toward them.
The crowd collectively gasped.
The man had deep-set eyes, sharp features, a tall and perfectly proportioned figure, and an intimidating presence.
Wearing gold-rimmed glasses, his sharpness was tempered slightly, giving him a refined and intellectual air.
Selina froze, stammering, "Logan?!"
While everyone stood in stunned silence, one of the bodyguards stepped forward and spoke in a stern tone. "Whatâs going on here? Who dares to harm a distinguished guest?"
Distinguished guest?
The crowd exchanged confused glances. Who was the distinguished guest?
Although no one present recognized the man, his commanding presence and striking features made it clear that he was no ordinary individual.
Perhaps he was one of the elusive elites of City A, someone untouchable and beyond reproach.
If this man referred to someone here as a "distinguished guest," just how important must that person be?
Suddenly, all eyes turned to Avery. The bodyguard had said, "How dare you harm a distinguished guest," and so far, only Avery had been slapped.
Could it be that the distinguished guest was Avery?
Avery reached the same conclusion. She froze momentarily but quickly became overjoyed.
Though she didnât know this man, it was obviousâhe must be standing up for her because of her beauty!
What did Selina amount to, anyway? Even as the eldest daughter of the Clark family, she was just a woman whose mother had died, whose fiancé had abandoned her. How could she ever compare to Avery?
Once Avery got close to this man, sheâd buy everything in the store and make Selina pay for itâliterally and figuratively!
With this in mind, Avery swayed her hips and stepped forward. "Sir, thank you for standing up for me. Could we exchange numbers..."
Before she could finish, Logan walked right past her and headed toward Selina.
Avery scrambled after him, only to be blocked by the bodyguard. "Miss, donât get in the way."
"You donât understand! Get out of my way!" Avery shouted, then turned her fawning smile back to Logan. "Sir, this woman hit me. Please, teach her a lesson..."
Loganâs sharp eyes darkened, and his cool, cutting voice silenced Averyâs babbling. His gaze landed on Selina. "Does it hurt?"
Selina blinked. "...What?"
Who was Logan even talking to? He must have misunderstoodâ"she" was the one who did the hitting, not the one who got hit!
Avery was equally stunned but quickly burst into tears. "Sir, youâre asking the wrong person! Itâs Selina who hit me! Sheâs so unreasonable, I was just trying toâ"
"Does your hand hurt?" Loganâs fingers lightly traced Selinaâs palm, his brows knitting in displeasure. "Next time, if you must act, let someone else handle it."
Selina almost choked on her breath. She stared at him in shock, and it took her a while to process that Logan was indeed speaking to her.
Who hits someone and then complains about their own hand hurting? Isnât the usual question supposed to be whether the victim is hurt?
Selina was about to say her hand didnât hurt, but when she caught a glimpse of Averyâs near-manic expression out of the corner of her eye, she changed her mind.
"It does hurt. My palm is red and sore," she said with a pitiful pout.
The crowd fell into a stunned silence for an entire minute.
Averyâs face turned ashen as she gaped at Selina in disbelief. "Selina, do you have no shame?!"
She was the one who got slapped! How dare Selina play the victim?
Selina lowered her head, her voice soft. "See? Sheâs still insulting me."
"Shut up!" Averyâs dreams of becoming a wealthy wife crumbled in an instant. She couldnât accept the thought of Selina, once trampled beneath her, now rising to humiliate her in return.
Desperately, she blurted out, "Sir, you donât know the truth! Selina is a shameless tramp! Even her fiancé didnât want her! Her mother died when she was a child, and sheâs cursed! Nobodyâ"
Slap!
ÆгeewÑbnovel.com Before she could finish, a bodyguard stepped forward and delivered a resounding slap to her face, leaving her cheeks swollen and red.
Logan narrowed his eyes. "Take her back to the Clark family and let them deal with her."
Selina raised an eyebrow, intrigued. Take her back to the Clark family...
James and Grandpa Clark were obsessed with maintaining their reputation. Even though Avery was Katieâs niece, her behavior had embarrassed the Clark family. They wouldnât let this slide easily.
This should be entertaining.
Married First, Loved Later : A Flash Marriage with My Ex's 'Uncle'
ï¤Chapter 27: The Overconfident Cousin Apocalypse: The Supporting Actress Made a Comeback ï¤Chapter 739 - 395 Bite back Shadow Slave ï¤Chapter 2468 Home Bitter Home