The Outcast Son-In-Law: Rise From Ashes

CHAPTER 6: THE CAFÉ INCIDENT

Alexander reached into his shirt pocket and took out a card. He held it out and waited.

The waitress took it slowly. It was black with thin gold edges, simple and heavy in a way that was hard to explain. She turned it over and studied it. Then she laughed.

"You scared me for a second. I thought you were some big client. Do you even know what kind of place this is?" She handed it back like it meant nothing.

Alexander didn't take it back.

"If you don't understand, don't talk nonsense. Call your manager over. You'll understand once you ask."

She rolled her eyes and walked off.

The manager arrived quickly. But when he actually looked at the card, something shifted in his face. He was a little irritated but suppressed his anger. The design wasn't familiar. Nothing matched what their café issued.

"Sir, this card wasn't issued by us. It can't be used here. If you'd like to apply for a membership, call our main line."

Alexander's heart sank. He hadn't expected that not a single person here could recognize the card.

Aurelia felt a little embarrassed. She touched his arm.

"Honey, let's just go somewhere else. I'm not that eager to eat here anyway."

Nah stepped forward before Alexander could say anything.

"Give your brother-in-law a little credit. He's been part of this family for years."

He reached into his jacket and pulled out his own card. Gold, a rose pressed into the surface so cleanly it looked carved.

"I'm a VVIP. Please call your store manager." He set it on the tray.

The manager's whole posture changed. The waitress practically ran to the back.

Vivian stared at the gold card. "I've been trying to get one of those for so long. I heard only billionaires are qualified. You're amazing!"

Aurelia looked at Nah with warm eyes. "That's Nah for you."

The line behind them had grown. People were already complaining out loud.

Then the sound of heels, sharp and fast on marble.

The store manager walked in like someone who had been interrupted and didn't mind at all. Wavy hair, fitted blouse, leather skirt. She carried herself the way people do when they're used to being the most important person in the room.

Behind her, the waitress was still talking.

"He walked in looking like he didn't own a single decent thing, pretended to have a VIP card, and held up the whole line. He should be paying double for the losses!"

The store manager wasn't listening. She was looking at the card with both hands, very still.

Something changed in her face. It wasn't a shock exactly. It was the expression of someone who has just seen something they read about once and never expected to encounter in real life.

This was the exclusive VIP card of the Kair Group. Far beyond any VVIP. This wasn't something money alone could obtain. The last time such a card appeared on the black market, it sold at auction for two billion dollars.

Only five had ever been issued. Each one belonged to someone powerful enough to shake an entire nation.

She didn't speak for a moment.

Behind her, the waitress kept going.

"Manager, there's no way that card is real. We can't just let people walk in here pretending to be..."

"Be quiet! How dare you mock a distinguished guest?"

The waitress refused to stop. "Manager, are you joking? He's dressed like a beggar, how could he be..."

The store manager's smile vanished. She slapped the waitress across the face.

"You're fired. Collect your pay and leave."

The silence that followed was the loudest thing in the room.

The waitress's face crumpled. She dropped to her knees and grabbed the leg of Alexander's trousers.

"Please. I have two kids, I didn't know, I'm so sorry, please."

Aurelia looked down at her and her expression softened. "Alexander, she didn't know. You could let it go."

Nah nodded. "She was just doing her job."

Alexander looked at both of them. His face was expressionless, his eyes empty of anything warm.

"When she was laughing at me," he said quietly, "where were the two of you?"

Aurelia's mouth opened. Nothing came out.

"I was standing right next to you. She called me a beggar and neither of you said a single word."

The store manager gave a small nod. The assistant guided the waitress toward the back. The crying faded behind a closing door.

The store manager turned back to Alexander and bowed. Deep and held. Not the small tilt staff gave to regular guests.

"Distinguished guest. This way, please. Let me make this right."