Chapter 25
The supermarket was bustling with the late afternoon crowd, everyone minding their own business until a loud thud and at piercing scream drew all eyes to the middle of aisle seven.
Moira lay sprawled on the floor, clutching her ankle and wailing apparent agony. Beside her, Leora stood, stunned and speechless, as Moira began pointing an accusatory finger at her.
“She pushed me! This is my daughter–in–law, and she hates me Moira cried, her voice trembling with exaggerated distress.
Whispers and murmurs rippled through the crowd, and soon enough, people were hurling insults and blame at Leora, who stood frozen, her cheeks burning with embarrassment and confusion
“How cruel. Doesn’t she have a heart, pushing an older woman like that. Moreover, it’s her mother–in–law!”
“Her husband should know what she did so she can know her place!”
“Evil woman!”
Just then, a tall, composed man approached the gathering crow
“Excuse me, everyone. I’m Damian Carter, the manager here. Let’s calm
n down and get to the bottom of this,” he said firmly.
Damian’s calm authority cut through the chaos, and he suggested checking the supermarket’s CCTV footage.
Let’s look at the CCTV footage so that there is no misunderstanding.” Damian said. “Can I ask two or three visitors to be witnesses and watch the CCTV footage of this incident?”
Two women volunteered. They had seen what happened earlier, but they didn’t say anything because they weren’t sure who was at fault
Leora lifted her chin. She didn’t want to be blamed for something she didn’t do and looked at Moira sarcastically.
“You must have forgotten that in a public place like this, there are always surveillance cameras ready to monitor people with EVIL intentions!” Leora said in a mocking tone.
Moira’s face turned bright red, but she didn’t want to lose either. She wiped away her tears and stood up with the help of the supermarket staff, then limped after Leora and Damian.
In the small office where the security monitors were housed, Damian played back the footage for the onlookers.
The recording clearly showed Moira theatrically throwing herself to the ground, while Leora just stood with her trolley in her hand, looking entirely bewildered.
Gasps filled the room as the truth became apparent
“Oh, ma’am, why are you slandering this woman?” asked the first witness. “She didn’t even touch you
“You said she was my daughter–in–law, but why are you making such a fuss? You’re making her look bad now. You’re really mean,” said the second witness.
Two witnesses who saw the recording shared the truth with the crowd outside.
The accusatory remarks turned to apologies, and the previously hostile customers now directed their disdain toward Moira. Red–faced with shame, Moira stormed out of the supermarket, casting one last angry glare at Leora
Damian approached Leora, his expression sincere. ‘I’m really sorry for what happened. On behalf of the supermarket, I’d
20:28 Tue, Dec 10 UD
Chapter 25
like to offer you a shopping voucher as an apology” He handed her the voucher, and their hands brushed momentarily
“Thank you, Mr. Damian, Leora said, a smile forming on her li
Π
“Please, just call me Damian How about a coffee? My treat, as a further apology, Damian suggested, hoping to lift her spirits. Leora agreed, and they walked to a nearby cafe. Over coffee, they discovered they had both attended the same elementary. school, sparking an animated conversation filled with nostalgia and laughter.
Leora felt a warm happiness bubbling inside her, a stark contrast to the turmoil she had felt earlier.
“I’m happy because I can meet old friends, Damian said. “Although we didn’t really know each other at that time because we were still little.
Leora laughed. “Well, at least we have memories together about school and the teachers at our school,”
Their pleasant moment was disrupted when Peter, Leora’s ex–husband, walked into the café with his girlfriend, Lizzy Peter’s eyes narrowed at the sight of Leora and Damian’s friendly interaction.
“Well, isn’t this cozy? I see you haven’t changed, Leora. Still playing with men after becoming a widow, he sneered. Damian immediately stood up for Leora. “Who are you, sir? It’s rude to interrupt someone else’s conversation.”
Peter glared at Damian. “Oh, are you my ex–wife’s new boyfriend? You’re really unlucky. She must have seduced you with sweet words so that you were fooled and became her lover.”
his gaze
Damian’s eyebrows furrowed. He stood up and approached Peter. He was taller than Peter and his gaze was condescending.
“So, my friend is your ex–wife? Then what’s the problem, whoever the man is her lover now? Are you jealous? Do you still love her? I see you are also with a woman, but Leora’s attitude is very different from yours. You see, she doesn’t even care about you,” Damian said sarcastically.
Peter felt annoyed by Damian’s words and tried to reply to his words. Leora, sensing the tension, placed a calming hand on
Damian’s arm.
“Ignore him, Damian. It’s not worth it.”
Leora turned to Peter with furrowed brows. “What do you want, Peter? Am I so unlucky that I always have to meet you? Even your mother? I think I should go to a priest to ask him to remove the bad luck related to you and your family.”
“What do you mean, you met my mother?” Peter asked confusedly.
Damian looked at Leora. “The woman who slandered you at the supermarket earlier, is your ex–husband’s mother?”
“Yes, Leora replied, nodding. “So you must know now, why he acted crazy like that earlier, right?”
Peter felt very annoyed because of the conversation between Leora and the man with her.
“Leora, what did you do to my mother?” Peter asked fiercely.
Leora chuckled. “Your question is wrong, Peter. I should be the one protesting, for what your mother has done!”
Damian took out his phone and opened an application, then with a thin smile showed the recording on his phone to Peter, He had copied the CCTV footage of the incident at the supermarket to his phone, and gave it to Leora to keep as well.
Peter’s face turned bright red after seeing the footage.
Lizzy, feeling Peter’s jealousy and infuriated by his attention on Leora, abruptly turned and dashed out of the café.
Chapter 24
“Lizzy!” Peter berteriak la terkejut karena Lizzy langsung berlar begitu saja.
In Lizzy’s haste, she tripped and fell, her knee scraping against the pavement, and blood began to trickle down her leg.
Peter rushed to Lizzy’s side, his earlier bravado vanishing. “Lizzy are you okay?” he asked, his voice filled with genuine
concern.
Lizzy winced, and it became clear she needed medical attention An ambulance was called, and Lizzy was swiftly taken to the hospital.
The incident left an awkward silence in the café, but Damiani gently squeezed Leora’s hand. “Don’t let him get to you. You’re better than that,” he said softly.
Leora smiled appreciatively. “Thank you, Damian. For everything!
She thought, Damian was a nice and polite man. He didn’t even ask about the background of the problem that happened to her and Peter so that the problem happened again like before.
“I think I should go and–”
Leora’s phone rang, cutting her off. She looked at the caller ID and asked permission from Damian and accepted the call from Noah
“Yes, Noah?”
“Leo, we have to go to the hospital immediately. A worker fell from the second floor and is now on his way to the hospital,” -Noah said. “Where are you now? I’ll pick you up!
Leora was very surprised. “No, no need, I’ll go to the hospital immediately. I’m with a friend now.”
There was a moment of silence. Then, Noah’s voice sounded strange when he asked. “Friend? Which friend?”
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