CHAPTER 82

YOU CAN'T BUY ME..

The boutique glittered with soft golden lights, mirrors on every wall catching the sparkle of jeweled dresses and the sheen of expensive fabrics. The quiet hum of soft jazz filled the air, blending with the faint scent of vanilla candles burning in glass jars.

It was late afternoon, a time when the high-end boutique wasn’t crowded, only a handful of women and two men browsing the racks. The staff moved briskly, their polite smiles perfectly rehearsed, as though every customer who walked in was royalty.

Maya stepped into the boutique like she had all the time in the world. Her loose summer dress flowed with each step, her curls bouncing against her shoulders, and her simple sandals clicked lightly against the tiled floor. Unlike the others who glanced around in awe, Maya didn’t pause. She headed straight for a rack of dresses and began sliding hangers aside, eyes scanning as though she had been here a thousand times before.

Her confidence didn’t come from wealth. It came from her spirit the kind of assurance that needed no diamond necklace to prove itself.

And it was exactly this spirit that Obetta walked in to challenge.

The glass doors swung open, and in came Obetta.

Heads turned instantly, as they often did when she entered a room. She was dressed in a fitted designer jumpsuit, her heels tall and sharp, her makeup flawless. Her long hair cascaded like a river of black silk, and the sunglasses perched on her nose added just the right touch of arrogance.

She didn’t just enter the boutique she owned it, or at least that was how she carried herself.

Two attendants hurried to her side immediately. “Good afternoon, ma’am,” one said breathlessly, “how may we help you today?”

Obetta didn’t bother answering. She removed her sunglasses with a slow, deliberate gesture and let her eyes sweep across the boutique. The sight of other customers irritated her. She wanted the entire space to herself.

“Manager,” she called, her voice crisp and demanding.

The manager a nervous, short man in his mid-forties rushed over instantly. “Yes, Miss Obetta, welcome. What may we do for you today?”

“I don’t like distractions when I shop,” Obetta said smoothly, though her tone held steel beneath the silk. “Clear the boutique. Now.”

The words fell like a bomb.

The manager hesitated for barely a second before nodding quickly. “Of course, Miss Obetta. Right away.” He turned to the staff. “Kindly ask all customers to step outside. Miss Obetta would like some privacy.”

Murmurs rippled through the room. A few of the women gasped in surprise, while others exchanged quick glances. One or two were clearly too intimidated to argue and began heading toward the exit.

Obetta stood in the center of the room, smirking faintly, like a queen surveying her court. She thrived on power, on watching people bow to her whims.

But not everyone was ready to bow.

Maya remained exactly where she was, flipping through the rack of dresses as though she hadn’t heard a thing.

One of the attendants approached her cautiously. “Miss, I’m sorry, but we’ll need you to leave for a while. Miss Obetta has requested privacy.”

Maya didn’t even look up. “That’s unfortunate.”

The attendant blinked. “Unfortunate?”

“Yes,” Maya said simply, her voice calm, almost lazy. She finally lifted her head, her eyes locking on the attendant. “Because I’m not leaving.”

A hush fell around the boutique.

Obetta’s smirk faded, her eyes narrowing as she turned to look at the young woman who dared defy her. Her gaze raked over Maya, taking in the simple dress, the absence of designer labels, the lack of expensive jewelry. Everything about Maya screamed ordinary except her eyes.

There was something in those eyes that was far from ordinary.

Obetta took a step forward, heels clicking sharply against the floor. “You must not know who I am,” she said coolly.

Maya gave her a small smile, almost polite, but her words were anything but submissive. “I don’t need to know who you are to know who I am.”

The boutique went silent. Even the soft jazz playing in the background seemed muted in the thick tension.

Obetta tilted her head, her lips curling. “Do you realize you’re standing in my way?”

“No,” Maya said, her tone firm but casual. She took a step back from the rack and crossed her arms. “I’m standing in my own way. You just happened to walk into it.”

Gasps echoed softly from the other customers and even a few staff members. Nobody had ever spoken to Obetta like that in public not here, not anywhere.

The manager rushed forward, his hands shaking slightly. “Please, ladies, let’s not escalate this…”

“Silence,” Obetta snapped, cutting him off without looking at him. Her eyes never left Maya.

“You think you can stand there and talk to me like that?” Obetta’s voice dropped lower, her tone dripping with disdain. “Do you know how quickly I can have you thrown out of here? I could make sure you never step foot in a boutique of this level again.”

Maya’s lips quirked upward, a small amused smile. “Then do it.”

The words hit like a slap.

Obetta blinked, taken aback for a brief moment. “Excuse me?”

“I said, do it.” Maya’s voice was still calm, still collected. She took a step closer now, her eyes never wavering. “Go ahead. Tell them to throw me out. Humiliate me. Prove to everyone here how much power you think you have. Because when you do, you’ll show them exactly what you’re afraid o. That someone like me can’t be controlled by someone like you.”

The room was frozen.

For once, Obetta didn’t have an immediate response. She was used to people cowering, apologizing, rushing to obey. But this girl this stranger with no diamonds, no wealth, no fear looked her dead in the eye and dared her to act.

Maya tilted her head, her voice dropping slightly, each word deliberate. “You can buy silence. You can buy attention. You can even buy fake respect. But you can’t buy me.”

The words were a blade hidden in velvet. Soft, but sharp enough to cut.

Obetta’s jaw clenched, anger flashing in her eyes. Yet beneath it was something else something she wouldn’t admit. Unease.

Maya turned back to the rack of dresses, as if the confrontation were already over. She flipped through the hangers once more, pulling out a simple, elegant black gown. Holding it up against herself, she gave a faint smile to the attendant beside her. “I’ll take this one.”

The attendant, still wide-eyed, nodded quickly. “Y-yes, ma’am.”

Obetta stood rooted in place, her chest rising and falling, every muscle in her body tense. She wanted to lash out, to put this girl in her place, to remind everyone in the boutique who held the power.

But something stopped her.

It wasn’t fear not exactly. It was recognition. She saw in Maya a strength that couldn’t be shaken, the same kind of quiet fire she had once tried to mimic in herself.

And she hated it.

Her lips tightened into a thin smile, one that didn’t reach her eyes. “Enjoy your dress,” she said coldly. “It will be the last time you shop comfortably in my presence.”

Maya didn’t even look up. “Then I suppose you’ll have to learn to be uncomfortable.”

The boutique exhaled collectively as Obetta turned sharply on her heel, her heels clicking angrily against the marble as she stalked toward the door. The glass swung open with a slam, and just like that, she was gone.

The staff and customers remained silent for a long moment, as though still processing what had just unfolded. Then, slowly, whispers began to rise.

“Did you see that?”

“She stood up to Obetta…”

“I’ve never seen anyone do that before.”

The manager wrung his hands nervously, glancing at Maya as though unsure whether to apologize or thank her. But Maya paid no attention. She calmly handed the black gown to the cashier, her face serene, as though nothing out of the ordinary had just happened.

To her, it wasn’t about proving anything to Obetta. It was about reminding herself and everyone watching that power built on arrogance meant nothing in front of quiet courage.

And though she walked out of the boutique with just one dress in her bag, Maya carried something far greater: the unshakable truth that Obetta, with all her money and pride, could do nothing to break her.