Protected Ex-wife

Chapter 3: Bumping Into Enemies

The crowd outside the hotel had yet to disperse; they were still talking about Charlie's grand entrance. On the other hand, Elsie trotted after Cristopher. At the mention of Charlie, she subconsciously quickened her pace.

Just then, Cristopher suddenly stopped in his tracks and she bumped into his sturdy back, feeling a sharp pain on her forehead. Coupled with the ache in her heart, her nose turned sore and she couldn't stop her tears from falling.

"Are you blind?" With a tone of annoyance, he whirled around and scolded her. However, his words got stuck on the tip of his tongue upon seeing her watery eyes.

Needless to say, he was shocked that the stone-cold woman was capable of shedding tears. After all, she had always been hardworking and headstrong. At this unexpected sight, his heart softened a little. "Get in the car," he said as he opened the door for her. Although his tone was still very unkind, it sounded much better.

Quietly, Elsie got into the car and then reached out to touch her forehead. It was still throbbing painfully, and she didn't know whether there was a wound. Meanwhile, Cristopher had taken notice of the small bruise on her forehead. All of a sudden, he found that her complexion was rather fair and smooth, much like that of his new flame, Lily, who was a fashion model.

It was just that the black-framed glasses really put him off.

With a snort, he uttered, "I'll attend the dinner tonight."

"Really? Thank you, Mr. Reynolds!" Elsie beamed. She was so elated that the pain was forgotten.

"What are you thanking me for? I wasn't finished." He glared at her as he added, "You're coming with me."

"What?" When the smile on her face fell instantly. Cristopher's spirits inexplicably lifted. It was then he realized that he was behaving rather oddly. He had never been bothered with the people he despised, so it was strange that he enjoyed teasing Elsie.

After leaving the old folks' home later that afternoon, he ordered the driver to send them to the mall. Then, he strolled in the mall without care while she followed closely behind with his briefcase in her arms.

Cristopher was handsome and appeared carefree, while Elsie looked old-fashioned and dull. Thus, they made a weird pair, attracting the curious gazes of the people around.

Nevertheless, he paid no mind to them and strutted straight to the women's apparel section, walking past several branded stores.

Finally, he stopped at the counter of a Chanel store and pointed at a dress, motioning the salesgirl to get it for him. "Is that dress pretty?"

"Yeah," Elsie replied casually.

"Go and try it on."

Stunned, she said, "Mr. Reynolds, my size and Miss Lily's are different." After all, Lily was a model with a tall frame and long legs, while her frame was smaller in comparison.

"Cut the crap and just do as I say," he reprimanded unhappily.

Elsie helplessly put down the briefcase in silence and then picked up the dress before entering the fitting room. It had been three years since she last wore expensive and branded clothes like Chanel. Putting on the dress now, she couldn't help but feel nostalgic; Charlie had always bought her things from this brand, be it clothes or perfume.

Back then, she had naively thought that it was a sign of love; but later, she'd learned just how incomplete the so-called love was. It turned out that Charlie had known from the beginning that their feelings wouldn't last long.

With mixed emotions, Elsie got dressed and walked out of the fitting room. Then, Cristopher circled her and commented, "It's not bad. I never imagined it would fit you nicely."

For some reason, he was excited to see her in this dress. As expected, one's dress up affected their appearance greatly; and now, the annoying black-framed woman suddenly seemed to be more pleasing to the eye. At least, the dress looked nice on her. "You can wear this to the dinner. By the way, go and get your hair done and buy a pair of contact lenses."

"No!" she refused subconsciously. At first, she thought that he had brought her here to buy clothes for Lily as the two were meeting up later. Now, she finally understood that he was planning to doll her up for her to accompany him to the dinner.

"This is part of the job," Cristopher reminded her with a frown. No woman would refuse the temptation of beauty and luxury goods, yet she had taken him by surprise. "You must listen to me."

"I'm just your secretary. Mr. Graham said that I could refuse unreasonable tasks you give me."

Her stubbornness rendered him furious and speechless, and he found her truly annoying. "Fine, do whatever you want! You can refuse to wear the dress, but you must come with me tonight."

After that, he strode away. Elsie heaved a sigh of relief and quickly returned to the fitting room to change. When she came out, she bumped into a woman.

"Elsie?" The woman's voice was full of surprise and uncertainty.

Elsie looked over expressionlessly and saw Kenia and her best friend, Amelia Sharp.

"Hey, isn't this Mr. Gardner's ex-wife? How did she end up in this state?" Looking at her old-fashioned clothes and the dress in her hand, Amelia's face flashed a mocking smile and her voice was extremely piercing.

Elsie ignored her, handed the dress to the salesgirl, and then turned to leave. When Cristopher had asked her to come to Stroast South with him, she had expected to cross paths with Kenia sooner or later. However, she hadn't thought it would be so soon. Nevertheless, she regarded her as nothing more than a stranger.

"Wow, look at her trying on that dress while looking like an absolute loser." Meanwhile, Amelia raised her voice and continued, "Don't tell me she's here to satiate herself?"

"Amelia, stop it," Kenia said.

"I'm telling the truth. She must have had a hard time after getting kicked out of the house without a penny on her. Look at her clothes, they are so old-fashioned and cheapskate. I truly didn't expect the Elsie we knew would turn into this!" While jeering, Amelia reached out to grab the dress from the salesgirl. As her long nails scratched against the fabric, she feigned surprise and exclaimed, "Dear, what happened to this dress?"

"Miss, please wait a minute!" The salesgirl stopped Elsie, who was about to leave, and showed her the hole in the dress.

"Your nails scratched the dress, so..."

Elsie stared at it in astonishment, then when she spotted the evil glint in Amelia's eyes, she realized that she was framed.