"Thawing the Billionaire's Heart"

Chapter 11: She's Not Taking Anything From This Shop

In the hotel suite, Lugard stood in front of the window, looking at the vibrant city view with a slight frown on his face. He took a sip of his wine and wondered why she looked familiar.

There was a knock at the suite door. "Come in," Lugard said after 3 seconds.

The door was pushed open, and a waiter carrying food entered the suite, placing it on the table before bowing.

"Sir, here is your food," she said. After delivering the food, she turned around to leave.

Lugard didn't turn from the window; he just stood there, still looking at the view. "Do you know the cleaner who cleaned this room earlier?" Lugard asked the waiter.

The waiter frowned and replied, "Yes, I know her, sir. Did you need anything from her? She has already gone home."

"What is her name?" Lugard turned to the waiter, looking at her emotionlessly.

The waiter started sweating immediately. "Oh my, how can this handsome, calm guy have this type of aura," she thought to herself. "Sir, her name is Selene," she answered immediately, her voice shaking.

"You may leave," Lugard said coldly.

The waiter left the suite immediately.

Lugard's face turned cold again. "She's not the one, but she looks a bit like my Layla," he murmured with a red eye and clenched fist.

During the weekend, Selene woke up early feeling frustrated and trapped. She had been working long hours at the hotel and struggling to make ends meet.

After thinking about what to do that morning, she decided to go to the supermarket to buy some things.

Emilia was sitting on the bed, busy with her phone, while Didi was also using her phone.

"Guys, I will be going to the market soon. Do you need anything?" she asked them.

Didi shook her head, "No, big sister."

Emilia's eyes remained on her phone, "What do you want to do in the market?"

"I want to buy some clothes and some other things. Our clothes are now getting old," Selene replied, packing her bag.

"Okay, I would like to accompany you, but I'm a little busy with my phone now. If I go offline, you know my dad will kill me," Emilia said helplessly.

Selene laughed. "Continue your work or your dad won't give you your pocket money for this month."

Emilia's face turned ugly. "Who is Dares?"

They all started laughing hard.

Selene got dressed and ready for the day. "Goodbye, see you guys later."

"Bye, big sister, bye buttercup," Emilia and Didi waved bye to Selene.

Selene headed to the supermarket to buy some clothes and some of the things they needed, hoping to find some comfort in the familiar routine.

But as she walked down the aisles, she felt a sense of unease. The shelves seemed bare, the prices higher than usual.

"Oh, why is everything getting costly?" she cried out in frustration.

As she was walking around looking for what to buy, a beautiful dress caught her eye. She stopped in her tracks and walked towards the shop.

Jonathan was a successful entrepreneur. That morning, Jonathan went to Lugard Company to discuss an exciting proposal with Lugard.

In Lugard's office, Jonathan said, "I've got a revolutionary business idea that I think you'll love. But I need your expertise and financial backing to make it a reality," as he sat down in front of Lugard's office chair.

Lugard, staring at him while drinking his coffee, calmly said, "Go on."

Jonathan explained his vision to invest in a chain of high-tech supermarkets, equipped with cutting-edge technology and sustainable practices. "I need a partner with your financial muscle and business acumen to help me make this vision a success," he said.

Impressed by Jonathan's passion and the potential of the project, Lugard agreed to support the venture, and the two men decided to visit one of the potential locations to scope out the opportunity.

As they arrived at the supermarket, Lugard's loyal bodyguards, Max and Leo, flanked them, always vigilant and ready to protect their boss, while Jonathan led the way, pointing out the store's potential and his vision for the future.

In the shop, Selene touched the dress. The fabric was very cool and soft, and the dress was beautiful.

The salesperson came out to attend to her. "Miss, do you like the dress? It's very beautiful and it suits your color perfectly," the salesperson said with a smile.

Selene turned around and smiled. "Yes, I like this dress. It's very soft and soothing."

The salesperson was struck when Selene turned and looked at her. She was stunningly beautiful with snow-white skin and a beautiful figure, and she even had sea-blue eyes that matched the blue dress.

Selene picked up the dress and gave it to the salesperson. "I will take this, ma'am."

Haha, the sound of a mocking laugh echoed beside her, and she looked up to see who it was.

She saw Nadia, her old enemy from school, standing in front of her with a smug look on her face.

"Selene, darling," Nadia said, her voice dripping with condescension. "I see you're still struggling. What a shame."

Her friends started laughing.

Selene felt a surge of anger, but she bit her tongue. She didn't want to give Nadia the satisfaction of getting under her skin.

But Nadia wouldn't let up. She started taunting Selene, making fun of her clothes and her hair.

"Hey, are you sure you can afford anything in this market?" Nadia said mockingly, with a slight smile. "I saw you roaming around this supermarket, looking like a stranded sheep."

Selene didn't say anything; she didn't even look at them.

She turned to the salesperson, "Ma'am, can you please be fast? I have other places to go," Selene said, annoyed because the salesperson just stood there like a zombie looking at them.

"Yes," the salesperson said turning around to go and package the dress.

"Nadia," called out to the salesperson, "She's not taking anything from this shop, in fact, from this supermarket today. You are not selling anything to her," Nadia said with a wicked grin on her face.

The salesperson opened her mouth to talk, but Nadia gave her a warning glance, and she immediately closed her mouth.

Everyone knows Nadia, even her friends who are from a rich family. Anyone who rebelled against her ended up miserably.

The salesperson looked at Selene. "You can leave now, our store didn't welcome you."

Selene looked at the salesperson angrily. "What do you mean? I came here first, and I have already selected the clothes I want and even asked you to package them for me. Why didn't you say your store didn't welcome me here?"

Selene was so angry. The salesperson didn't answer her questions. "Ma'am, you do not have any right to question me. This is my shop, and I will attend to anyone I want to and refuse to sell to people I don't want to. You may leave now, Mrs.," the salesperson said with a serious face, but in her heart, she regretted her actions and words. She didn't want her shop to be closed or destroyed because of this incident.

Nadia and her friends were laughing heartily, and many people gathered to watch the commotion.

Selene turned to Nadia with a cold gaze, but she couldn't do anything to them because Nadia was not alone.

Selene felt a wave of shame and anger wash over her. With a burst of frustration, Selene turned and stormed out of the shop, determined to put the whole ordeal behind her.

She walked out of the shop, frustrated. After a few steps, the anger in her heart became unbearable. She turned around and shouted, "I will deal with you later, Nadia. You think money is everything, huh? We will see!" The anger made her walk backward with force.

Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain. She turned around immediately and kicked the object that had caused it, putting all her strength into the kick to reduce her frustration.

Selene kicked it, thinking she had hit a wall or pole. But she was shocked to see that she had just kicked a human being - not just any human, but Lugard, the richest man and her childhood crush.