Chapter 19

Husband bk 1Husband bk Husband bk 1HusbandChapter 19 When the time his mother had given him was up, Kris drove to her company, The Miller Fashion House.

It wasn’t exactly a separate company from the Miller Group, while his company dealt mostly in textiles and the like, the Miller Fashion House dealt in clothes, Jewelry, and other beauty accessories.

His mother had wanted to set up the fashion business side of the Miller Group for so long, but his father had refused, believing it would be a waste of money.

When his father died, and his mother took over the Miller Group fifteen years ago, she set up the Fashion House and managed to turn it into one of the most successful ventures in Baltimore, raking in billions every year. It was part of the reason why their family was so powerful.

It was so dear to her that even after Kris took over the Miller Group five years ago, she refused to step down from the Fashion House for someone else.

Kris shook his head with a small smile as he reached the parking lot. His mother was already waiting there for him with her security guard, who opened the front passenger seat for her.

After his mother got in, he drove to the boutique she had specified. It was one of their biggest luxury boutiques in Baltimore, featuring only their designs.

As soon as they entered, chaos erupted as someone announced, “The boss is here.”

Workers rushed to take their positions behind counters and beside customers, their faces filled with dread. They had obviously been doing other things apart from work. Knowing his mother, Kris was sure she hadn’t informed them beforehand that she was coming.

An office opened, and a woman rushed toward them and spoke nervously. “Mrs. Miller, you’re here. I... can’t believe you’re here.”

Linda Miller stared at the woman who was the manager. “It’s my boutique. I can be here anytime I want.” “Of course.” The manager swallowed. She was squirming under Linda’s gaze, but luckily for her, Linda soon walked past her. A few steps away, she questioned, “Isn’t that...Karen?”

Kris stiffened, following his mother’s eyes to see Karen standing in one of the dress aisles. He hadn’t seen much of her since the mistake that happened between them a month ago. She had tried to see him, but he hadn’t given her the time of day.

“Mum, did you tell her we were coming here?” he asked suspiciously.

“Of course not,” his mother said.

Kris narrowed his eyes. His mother had been casually trying to get him to see Karen, hence he didn’t feel like this was a coincidence.

“Let’s go say hi.” His mother pulled him out of his thoughts as she moved forward. Kris was forced to move too.

“Karen!” his mother called out.

Karen turned, her face brightening when she saw them. “Mrs. Miller.”

+25 BONUS They hugged. When they pulled back, Karen looked at Kris, a shy look on her face. “Hello, Kris.”

“Hello,” Kris said back stiffly.

“So good to see you here, Karen,” his mother said.

Karen smiled. “I always shop at Miller boutiques.”

“Aww, that’s so sweet. You know that you never have to pay for anything, right? With that, she turned and called out, “Listen up, you all, this is Karen Blade. Anytime she shops here, she doesn’t need to pay a dime. Just make accounts of it.”

“Yes, boss,” the employees responded before Linda turned back to Karen.

“You haven’t selected anything yet,” she noted.

Karen shrugged. “I just want a few dresses, but all these dresses are so pretty. I can’t choose.”

They be deras a good eye. You can try on your favorits, and he’ll “Well, in luck then Kris a choose which suits you better.”

Kris stiffened as his mother turned to him. “Kris, why don’t you help Karen out while I go check the accounts and whatnot.”

Kris was thoroughly displeased with her suggestion, but before he could say anything, his mother was already gone.

“You don’t have to help me if you don’t want to, Kris. I can handle it on my own,” Karen said, looking down at the ground.

Kris stared at her, forcing back his annoyance. “It’s okay. I will help you.”

Luisa pulled her car to a stop in the parking lot in front of what looked like a grand boutique.

“Why don’t we shop there? It looks so fancy.”

Thalassa froze, realizing which boutique they were in front of. “Luisa...”

Before she could finish, Luisa was already out of the car. Millie also got out to follow Luisa, so Lassa was forced to get out too.

“Luisa...” she tried to say again, but Luisa cut her off.

“Oh come on, Lassa. I know you don’t like going shopping or whatever, but we’re already here. Let’s just shop and go,” she pleaded.

“Luisa, it’s not that. This boutique belongs...” Thalassa was saying, but Luisa and Millie had already entered the boutique.

Sighing, Thalassa followed suit, feeling her heart rate pick up.

As soon as they entered, two salespeople rushed towards them.

“Welcome to Miller Fashion, How can we...” She paused as her eyes fell on Thalassa before looking at the other saleswoman.

“Isn’t that the boss’s ex-daughter-in-law who betrayed the family?”

“S**t,” Luisa cursed, finally understanding why Thalassa hadn’t wanted them to go in. She’d seen the name Miller, but it had barely occurred to her that the boutique belonged to the scorpions who had destroyed her friend’s life.

Murmurs filled the boutique as customers and employees whispered among themselves.

“What is going on here?” a familiar voice demanded.

+25 BONUS The voice of the person who might have taken her unborn child from her: Linda Miller.

“Ma’am, I’m going to ask you to please leave,” one of the saleswomen quickly said to Thalassa. “The boss isn’t in a good mood, and you might mak it worse.”

“When did I hire you as my spokesperson? Get out of the way,” Linda said as she slowly approached with a smile on her face directed at Thalassa. It was the smile of someone who felt they had won.

“Well, well, some people just have no shame,” Linda said, shaking her head slowly.

Rage boiled through Thalassa as her heart filled with so much hatred, but before she could do anything. Luisa stepped forward.

“Please watch your words, ma’am. I won’t allow you to insult her,” Luisa warned.

Linda smiled. “Don’t worry. I’m civilized, obviously more than you.” Then she looked at Thalassa. “I see you found yourself a protector. I would’ve asked where you got the money to come shop somewhere like my boutique, but I just remembered how you stole money from my family.”

Thalassa’s breathing was becoming ever so heavy, her eyes narrowed in hateful slits that could have killed if looks could.

“I won’t kick you out of my boutique, Thalassa. You’re welcome to stay as long as you don’t steal anything.”

She said the last line with a smirk and a challenging look in her eyes.

“Lassa, let’s go somewhere else,” Luisa said, taking Thalassa’s hand, but Thalassa pulled her hand away.

Leaving out of humiliation was what Linda wanted, and she wasn’t going to let her win.

She slowly shook her head. “No, Luisa. We’ll be shopping right here.”

With that, she stepped past a stunned Linda and walked towards the clothes aisles, ignoring the judgmental looks from everyone else in the store.

While they looked through the dresses, two of the employees followed them strictly to make sure they didn’t steal anything.

“I can’t believe they’re treating you like some common criminal,” Millie fumed after some minutes.

“Yes. I think we have selected enough dresses. Let’s just go and try them on in the dressing room and leave,” Luisa agreed.

Thalassa had only picked three dresses despite Luisa’s insistence, while Millie had picked around five, and Luisa picked around eight. No employee attempted to help them carry their selection as they made their way to the dressing area.

“Shit,” Luisa suddenly let out a soft curse, her gaze pinned in a corner.

Chester 19 +25 BONUS “What is it?” Millie asked.

“I don’t think you should see this, Lasso,” Luisa said, blocking Thalassa’s path.

Thalassa frowned, wondering why she was acting so strange. She immediately sidestepped Luisa, but wished she hadn’t when she saw the scene before her Kris and Karen were standing in a corner outside the dressing room, and they were kissing passionately Today’s Bonus Offer bk 1