The Son-in-Law They Regretted Losing

Chapter 6: The Card

Linnea took me to a shopping mall to buy new clothes before the upcoming events. As we walked through the entrance, she handed me a black card.

"This entire mall is under Aether Semiconductor," Linnea explained, her voice quiet and precise. "You now have the highest tier VIP membership across the entire corporate system."

She directed me toward the entrance of the mall's most famous luxury boutique, Luxe 1. "Wait here for me while I go to fetch the head designer," she added, checking her phone. "This designer never works for anyone else, but he will handle your requests personally."

I nodded in agreement and stood near the doorway while she went into the back offices. I waited quietly, completely aware of how my damp delivery clothes stood out, though my mind was still focused on my mother's recovery at the hospital.

"Riven? What on earth are you doing here?"

I turned to see Odette walking out from one of the inner sections of the store. Walking right beside her was her son, Julian Mercer. They were carrying multiple bags from their shopping trip.

Odette sneered at me immediately, her eyes scanning me from head to toe. "Aren't you supposed to be out raising money for your sick mother's medical bills? How come you can afford to shop here?"

Julian joined in with a loud smirk, adjusting his collar. "He is probably just looking for empty bottles on the floor to pick up and sell for scrap."

Odette did not wait for me to reply. She turned around and called out loudly to the store staff. "How do you manage this store? How can you let a beggar in? He is dirtying up the floor and ruining the environment for the rest of us!"

Julian stepped closer, looking at me with a patronizing smile. "I am the new procurement manager at Vespera Corp, Riven. Tell you what, I can get you a janitor job at our main facility. It pays three thousand a month. That way, you won't have to run food deliveries every day just to make ends meet."

I looked at him and refused flatly. "I am here to shop. I am not looking for work."

Odette clapped her hands together, scolding me instantly. "My son is being kind enough to offer you a legitimate job, and you won't even take it? No wonder you will be poor forever. You are a man who can't even afford a piece of fruit for our guests, yet you refuse real help."

I scoffed, my voice turning cold as I stared back at her. 

"What business is it of yours whether I have money or not? "

"Let us talk about who actually owes whom in this relationship. "

"When your daughter was starting her business, I sold my house and invested one million dollars in her company. And what did I get in return for that sacrifice? "

"An ungrateful woman who wouldn't give a single cent when my mother fell ill tonight."

Odette's face flickered with a brief flash of guilt, her eyes shifting away for a fraction of a second. 

But she quickly recovered her arrogant expression and raised her voice.

"That money was a gift from you to my daughter because you wanted to marry her! We did not force you to give her a single dollar. "

"Besides, you have already been an immense burden to her just by being a live-in son-in-law for three years."

She stepped forward, gesturing aggressively as she continued her lecture. 

"Tell me, which family do you see where the wife has to be the sole breadwinner day in and day out while the husband brings home pocket change from deliveries? "

"You want a capable, wealthy wife who brings in the money, but you don't want to spend a cent of your own to support her status. You can't have it both ways!"

Julian chimed in with more mockery, laughing loudly at his mother's words. 

"Exactly! You thought you could just ride her coattails forever. You should be grateful she even let you stay in her house after wasting your life away."

A senior saleswoman quickly approached our group, drawn by the loud shouting. 

Odette turned to her immediately, demanding that I be thrown out of the boutique. "This is a luxury store, young lady, not a shelter for beggars. Look at his appearance. He is ruining the reputation of your business."

The saleswoman scanned my shabby clothes, her expression turning distant and cold. She looked at me and asked me to leave. "Sir, I must ask you to step outside the store immediately. We are currently serving premium clients."

I refused to move. "I am a member here," I said calmly. I reached into my pocket, pulled out the black card Linnea had given me, and extended it toward her.

Odette burst into a loud laugh when she saw the card. "You think any random black card will fool people into thinking you're a member? Where did you even find that piece of plastic?"

The saleswoman took the card and examined it briefly. It felt surprisingly heavy and high quality in her hand, but she had never seen a design like it before in her time at the boutique. 

Assuming it was a cheap imitation meant to confuse the staff, she tossed it back at me with a sneer.

The card bounced off my chest, and I caught it firmly in my hand.

"Don't try to fake a membership with some random card," the saleswoman said, her voice dripping with absolute disdain. "We know exactly who our real clients are, and you do not belong here."

I grew angry, my grip tightening on the card. "It is real. I suggest you swipe it in your system before you make a decision you will regret."

Odette and Julian continued to mock me, telling the saleswoman that I was a complete fraud who lived entirely on handouts from the Mercer family. 

They told her that I had no money in my accounts and was just trying to save face after being humiliated.

The saleswoman lost all her remaining patience. She asked me to leave once more, her hand moving toward the phone on the counter. 

"This is your final warning, sir. Leave the store right now, or I will call security to have you forcefully removed from the premises."

"Who gave you permission to treat my guest like this?"

Linnea's cold voice cut through the shouting as she walked out from the inner offices. Her expression was completely furious as she marched straight toward the saleswoman, stopping the entire confrontation instantly.