“I need a favor, Thaddeus.”
“Come on, Ms. Bonnie! There’s no need to call it favor or anything like that. Just give it to me straight. What do you need?”
“Does your family own Grand Meadow Mall?” Bonnie asked.
“We do. What’s wrong?”
After Bonnie told him about everything that had happened, he said, “Kara has done it now. I’ll make her pay! Give me a minute, and I’ll be right there.”
“You don’t have to come here. A phone call will suffice.” Bonnie did not want to trouble him too much.
Still, Thaddeus insisted, “That won’t do! Not only are you my mentor, but you also found my long-lost brother. I can’t stand idly by while someone from the branch family picks on you, on my territory, no less.” “Okay, then. If you insist.”
Twenty-odd minutes later, Kara swaggered over and told Bonnie, “You have three minutes left. Things aren’t looking good for you. Everyone’s recording this with their phones, y’know. Some are even livestreaming it.
“I thought you said we’d beg you to shop in our mall in less than thirty minutes. I’m standing here, yet you can do nothing to me.”
Although Bonnie ignored Kara, the latter showed Bonnie her phone and said, “There are a lot of viewers waiting for your little show. Some even say you’re bluffing to keep your pride and that you’ll probably run with your tail between your legs when no one’s watching.
“Look, people are even reminding you there are only a minute and forty-three seconds remaining. Hmm, here are some interesting results. Someone said your shamelessness knows no bounds. It’s no wonder you seduced Orpheus.”
As she read the harsh comments aloud, a sudden, furious voice echoed behind her, “Kara! How dare you kick my mentor out of my mall and humiliate her! I’ll make you pay!”
The familiar voice made Kara turn around. Immediately after, Thaddeus slapped her so hard that she stumbled to the floor.
The sudden turn of events shocked everyone, even the livestream viewers. Meanwhile, Kara sat on the floor and held her cheek as she asked, “D-Did you just call her your mentor? What does that mean, Thaddeus?”
“You don’t have the right to know what happens between me and her. Who gave you the right to kick her out of my mall? Our family is indebted to her, you idiot!” Thaddeus’s roar showed just how furious he
was.
He was enraged by what happened to Bonnie and because Ivor saw the livestream. Ivor even called Thaddeus and asked for an explanation while the latter was going to the mall.
“What do you mean indebted?” At that moment, Kara saw her family car stopping at the mall entrance. Her parents darted out of the car and slapped her countless times, scolding her in the process.
“You fucking idiot! How dare you do something so stupid to Bonnie?! You must have a death wish. If so, jump off a bridge instead of dragging us into your idiocy!”
“Vince would still be homeless if Bonnie hadn’t found him! The head of the family has decreed that they’ll shun us from the family if we don’t explain this mess to them.”
Kara finally understood the truth, and an intense fear rose within her chest. Then, she recalled what happened earlier.
‘That explains why Bonnie was so confident and unfazed the whole time. She even said we’d apologize to her and beg her to shop at our mall again.’
Kara’s father, Stanley Sherman, looked at Bonnie miserably and asked, “How would you like us to handle it? My daughter was wrong, so you can criticize or even hit her however you want.”
Bonnie glanced at Kara. “That’s not how civilized people behave. I only want her to uphold her end of the deal. She and that cocky saleswoman will beg me to shop at your mall.”
