Chapter 18

His bad side

Others’ attention quickly gathered towards Elijah and the salesgirl, and they heard some murmurs
around them, which made Elijah smirk,

“Why is he still acting headstrong when he can’t afford the jacket?” Some woman mused as she stared
at Elijah, shaking her head in disapproval. “Seriously, can’t he just take a hint? Why can’t he
understand that it’s not good to act so arrogantly when he doesn’t have the money for any of these
clothes?” A guy scoffed as he eyed the jacket in Elijah’s hands.

Hardening his face, a fellow met Elijah’s eyes, and then his face deepened into a scowl, his eyebrows
furrowed over his blue eyes, and he mumbled, “You are that guy from the news?!”

“Boss, it seems like you are way too famous in a negative light. So maybe we should just forget about
the jacket and get out of here before it gets ugly.” Ryan whispered after leaning toward Elijah’s ear.

But his words seemed to set Elijah off once again, and his eyes narrowed, as his face contorted in
rage, and he looked directly into the salesgirl’s face and said, “Get your manager!”

“Who does this guy think he really is? Has the fact that Melina dumped his ass caused him to become
delusional?!” A man with white hair commented while looking at Elijah, his expression showing his
distaste.

“You are creating a scene here, and I don’t appreciate that! Leave this property and go find somewhere
else to go shopping!” The salesgirl coldly uttered, looking at Elijah with a blank stare.

Not uttering a word, Elijah suppressed his anger and clenched his fists before looking her dead in the
eyes and saying, “Get me your manager, now!”



The dominance in his voice made all present in the room tense up, and they looked at each other
worriedly, wondering what was going to happen next. But no one dared to speak, as Elijah stared down
at the woman.

Suddenly the store security approached the group, stopping right before them and glaring menacingly
at Elijah.

“Sir, you and your friends need to leave the premises immediately.” One of the guards sternly told
Elijah, who stood there without moving, looking at the woman with an unreadable expression on his
face.

“I’ll ask you once more. Get your manager!” Elijah spoke firmly in a low tone.

A burly man with gray hair walked over to the group and then asked with a frown, “I am the manager.
Who’s asking?”

His gaze was fixed upon Elijah, causing him to stiffen slightly, but he maintained his cool and calmly
replied, “Mr. Hayes?!”

“I am not married to Melina anymore, so I rather you not call me that,” Elijah responded smoothly, his
voice devoid of emotion.

His words left people staring at him with disbelief on their faces, as well as mockery and contempt.

“Now he wants to act like he didn’t live off Melina’s wealth and power for years. What a pathetic
bastard!” A guy sneered while rolling his eyes in disgust.

Striving to not seem disrespectful to a customer the manager drew a breath and asked, “What is the
problem Mr-” “Elijah Darius,” Elijah cut him off curtly. “This lady is making a fuss out of a simple jacket.
And all I wanted was to purchase it.”



“That jacket cost three thousand bucks!” The manager exclaimed as he raised his voice slightly.

Pulling his hand into his pocket, Elijah took out a black card, pointed it at the manager, and asked, “Can
you please check if my card has not been declined?”

The faint sounds of laughter among the other customers in the store increased, and someone
mumbled, “Can this dude get any lower?” “You are serious?” The manager said in disbelief as he
stared at Elijah’s card and then returned his gaze to Elijah, feeling annoyed and bewildered. “Yes. I just
need to know if I still have money in it.” Elijah replied casually, his face remaining expressionless.

At this point the manager was frustrated, but he knew from Elijah’s cold demeanor and arrogant
attitude that he wouldn’t be able to make him budge, so he took the card from his hand and said,
“Okay, I will be back.”

With that, he stepped away and disappeared into another part of the store, leaving Elijah amid
customers who had forgotten to shop and were now staring at him in dismay. Even though Matt and
Ryan feared for their boss’s reputation, they knew not to interfere and instead, watched silently. After a
brief while, the manager came rushing back with the card, a big smile on his face as he approached
Elijah and then stopped, panting for a second. “Mr. Darius, what an honor it is to have you shop with
us. Thank you for being willing to spend your money to buy a jacket from our humble store.” He grinned
at him, bowing slightly. “Did my card not decline?” Elijah asked, his tone dead and emotionless as he
stared at the owner with a calm expression. “Haha! How can such a card decline? Of course, it did
not… So, umm… Should I get Nancy to bag the jacket?” “My card,” Seeing how Elijah’s eyes had
suddenly darkened, the manager gulped nervously and handed the black card to Elijah, muttering,
“Uhm… Is there anything else I can help you with?”

After taking his card out of the manager’s trembling fingers, Elijah shoved it back into his pocket and
said, “No. I just needed to know if it’s working or declining. Now that I know, Matt, Ryan, let’s get out of
this lousy place!” A look of fear clouded the Manager’s face as he stood in Elijah’s way and pleaded,



“Wait just a moment. Please… I can… I can make Nancy get down on both knees and apologize to
you!”

“Boss,” The salesgirl cried, confused and annoyed as to what was going on. “Well, will you kneel
alongside her too?” Elijah challenged in an icy tone as he glared at the manager.

There was a faint moment of hesitation then the manager suddenly slapped the salesgirl on her back
and blurted out, “We should get down on our knees and say sorry to Mr. Darius for our disrespect
towards him!”

“Pathetic,” Elijah commented with a sneer, walking off with Matt and Ryan as the Manager and the
salesgirl got down on their knees.

Quickly standing on his feet, the Manager looked behind Elijah and shouted, “Mr. Darius, please give
us a second chance! I promise you that we won’t do it again! It was wrong of us to treat you the way we
did earlier!”

But his words fell on deaf ears as Elijah and his men continued walking until they got out of the store.

Frowning, the Manager turned his focus on Nancy, anger written on his face as he said,” Nancy, you
are fired for this huge loss you have caused this boutique!” “Boss, I’m sorry! I didn’t know he could
afford the jacket. It’s just that he looked so dressed down that I …” Nancy stuttered, tears filling her
eyes. “Look, just get out of here. Go find some other job! You will never work in this place again, so get
lost!” The Manager yelled at her.

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