Chapter 4 A Slap and a Revelation

That weekend, Yelena took me on a shopping spree. I was trying on a bespoke suit when a familiar, grating voice suddenly came from behind me.

"James, what do you think of this one? It isn't from the newest collection, but with the discount, it should be pretty reasonable."

I froze.

Through the mirror, I saw two faces that immediately turned my stomach.

Irina was carrying several shopping bags from luxury brands, looking as though she had spent a considerable amount of money.

James had his arm linked through hers, his face glowing with happiness.

However, the moment he spotted the suit I was wearing, greed and jealousy flashed across his eyes. "Irina, that suit looks so good on him… It's just too expensive. We can't afford something like that, can we?"

She followed his gaze. The moment she saw my back, her entire body went rigid.

I slowly turned around and looked at them with an almost amused smile. "Well, well, if it isn't Ms. Gavrilova. What happened? You haven't gone bankrupt yet?"

Irina's eyes widened as though she could barely recognize me.

I was dressed in the latest bespoke suit from the current season, my hair meticulously styled, my bearing refined and aristocratic, my presence commanding. I looked nothing like the timid Colin who had always dressed in cheap market clothes and acted meekly around her.

"C-Colin?" Irina stammered out my name. Then, she immediately noticed the suit I was wearing, and her expression turned disdainful.

"So, that's why you had the nerve to run away from home. You found yourself a new sugar mommy?" She let out a cold laugh and strode toward me, pointing a finger at my face. "It's only been days, and you've already been so desperate to sell yourself? I can't believe you'll go after an old woman like that for money!"

She glanced toward Yelena, who was standing a short distance away with her back to us, talking on the phone.

Yelena was wearing a dark business suit that day.

Even with her back turned, her tall, graceful figure and extraordinary bearing were impossible to miss. But to someone like Irina, whose mind had been clouded by jealousy, anyone who could afford clothes like that had to be some wealthy older woman with a badly out-of-shape figure.

"Irina, do you really think everyone is as filthy-minded as you?" I looked at her coldly, not a trace of warmth in my eyes.

"Filthy-minded? I'm filthy-minded?" Irina reacted like a cat whose tail had just been stepped on, her voice rising sharply and drawing the attention of nearby customers. "Colin Sanburne, don't forget who cried and begged to be with me back then! How dare you act high and mighty now? Everything you're wearing, everything you have on you—didn't you earn it by sleeping your way into it?"

James joined in, fanning the flames with an exaggerated look of shock. He covered his mouth with one hand. "Colin, how could you do this? I know Irina doesn't have much money now, but you can't sell yourself just to satisfy your vanity…"

Suddenly, a sharp slap cut off James' performance.

I shook my stinging palm and looked coldly at James, who was clutching his cheek in disbelief. "That slap was to teach you what basic manners are."

"How dare you hit James?" Irina flew into a rage and raised her hand to strike me. But before her hand could come down, a slender yet powerful hand seized her wrist. "I dare you to lay a finger on him."

Yelena's grip around Irina's wrist was like an iron clamp. She tightened it slightly.

Irina cried out in pain, her face turning deathly pale as she was forced to bend at the waist.

She struggled to lift her head, desperate to see exactly who this "old woman" was, but froze when she met Yelena's deep, icy gaze.

Not only was it not an old woman, but she also looked strangely familiar. However, before she could remember where she had seen that face, the mall manager hurried over with a group of sales associates.

The moment he saw the scene, the manager looked as though his soul had left his body. He hurried over, stopped in front of me, and bowed deeply, his voice trembling. "Mr. Sanburne… Ms. Lombardi! I'm terribly sorry. Our security failed to do their job and allowed this madwoman to disturb you both!"