Second Chances

“Mrs. Hall, here’s a letter for you!” At that moment, the butler walked in with a letter in hand.

Emma stood up, took the royal blue envelope from the butler, opened it, and saw “Vark College” at the bottom.

“What’s up?” asked Liam.

Emma replied, “It says there’s a welcome party for Vark College this weekend, inviting all the students.”

“Do you want to go?” Liam asked.

Emma initially didn’t want to, but she still had unfinished business. According to the memories of her past life, there was a significant person at Vark College. If she could get his assistance, many of her future endeavors would become much easier. However, as far as she knew, this person was highly guarded and difficult to approach. Therefore, she must attend this party to have a chance to interact with him.

“I’ll go, but…” Emma felt a bit awkward. “I… I don’t have a suitable dress for the party.”

As she finished, Emma sensed a subtle shift in Liam’s demeanor.

Liam sent her a tiara worth 2 million dollars and a breathtaking pink diamond ring. Her wardrobe was filled with countless high-end clothes perfect for her daily wear, but for a party, she needed a tailored gown. There was no suitable gown for her in the Icovine Estate right now.

“Come on. I’ll take you shopping this afternoon,” Liam said without hesitation.

“Um…” Emma was a bit overwhelmed by the favor. “Um, actually, I can go by myself. You can attend to your own matters. You must be quite busy, right?”

Although Liam rarely went to the company, he often worked in his study all day long, so Emma assumed he was swamped.

But even though he was swamped, Liam always made time for her. “You said it yourself. It’s better to shop with me than to shop alone. Get ready. We’re heading out soon.”

Emma’s heart filled with sweetness as Liam turned to get ready.

Those were what they exchanged during their first encounter at the Vark College.

“If I want to buy something, wouldn’t it be better to have you accompany me, Mr. Hall? If you have time, would you go shopping with me?”

she asked.

“With pleasure,” Liam replied.

Emma was quite surprised that he actually remembered what she said.

An hour later, they arrived at a high-end custom luxury boutique in the top-tier mall, Sees World, an area of prime real estate.

Emma was aware of this brand; even the most basic attire could cost upwards of 8 to 10 thousand dollars, with custom-made gowns going beyond any price ceiling. The clientele here were the wealthiest in the city.

Seated in his wheelchair, Liam drew quite a few glances along the way as he passed through the mall.

While some onlookers whispered among themselves, the couple remained oblivious to it all. Emma kept holding his hand, not feeling the slightest bit of awkwardness but rather proudly holding it tighter.

12:56 Fri, 5 Jul

As soon as Emma closed the door to the fitting room, she heard two women gossiping in the next room.

“Hey, did you see the woman in the mall just now, tall and gorgeous? Too bad her boyfriend’s in a wheelchair!” one woman started.

“Ah, I saw her, the woman in the black suit with long hair, right?” the other one replied.

“Yeah, her boyfriend probably can’t get up in bed, either.”

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Emma’s face had already darkened by this point while the two kept on, “Though my husband ain’t rolling in cash, at least he’s got all his limbs. I won’t sacrifice my sex life to splurge in a fancy mall like that woman.”

After a burst of laughter, her friend echoed, “Yeah, yeah. Hey, that piece on you looks fab, but it’s a bit steep.”

“Yeah, even a year’s salary wouldn’t cut it. Well, just try it on, snap a few selfies for the ‘gram, and we’re outta here.”

As Emma pulled back the fitting room curtain, the two were decked out in designer gear, snapping selfies in the mirror.

At the sight of Emma, the two froze for a moment before shouting, “What are you doing!”

“Ladies, remember to check your surroundings when you’re badmouthing someone. The more bad deeds you do, the sooner you’ll capsize. Oh, and,” Emma said, pointing at the clothes on one of them, “the signature feature of this brand is the logo on the back. You’ve got it on inside out. Posting a selfie online like that, you’ll have people laughing their heads off!”

Upon hearing this, the woman’s face flushed crimson with embarrassment and anger. “What’s it to you, huh? We’re consumers, too, and we’re on equal footing with you!”

“Is that so?” Emma tilted her head with a smile. “Alright then, the consumer who takes photos in the fitting room without buying anything, which item do you plan to purchase?”

“How dare you!” The two were almost driven to the brink of rage by Emma Wilson’s sharp retorts. They obviously couldn’t afford it, but they never thought that the person they were badmouthing was right next door and caught them right in the act.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

In fact, Emma didn’t care what others said about her, but she couldn’t stand them badmouthing Liam.

“Forget it.” One of the two women quickly changed clothes. “Don’t lower yourself to the level of this kind of woman. She’s nothing more than someone’s mistress, a puppy relying on its owner’s mercy.”

“Exactly, as if she could afford it!”

“This gown costs over 200 thousand dollars. Why doesn’t she buy one herself if she is so high and mighty!”

“Humph, how dare she look down on us. What a shameless b**h!”

The two women bantered back and forth, showing no intention of leaving and continuing to take selfies in front of the mirror.

Emma’s face turned cold and stern. Just then, a sales assistant walked in. “Miss Wilson, Mr. Hall has already purchased the few pieces you brought in to try on earlier. Is there anything else I can help you with?”

The sales assistant’s words quickly reached the ears of the two women in the fitting room, who looked utterly incredulous.

‘No way? She bought them all? If each piece costs hundreds of thousands, then… she brought in at least five pieces just now!’ The two women now felt they had messed with a tough nut. Such a wealth big shot was probably one-in-a-million rare across the entire Troln City, and they had just mocked that woman for not being able to afford it.

After the sales assistant left, one of the two women muttered quietly, “Humph, he’s still a cripple. What’s the point of spending so much on

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12:56 Fri, 5 Jul & ti

fancy clothes? At night, her man still can’t…”

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She thought her voice was already quite low, but little did she know that Emma had exceptional hearing. Emma grabbed her wrist in one swift move and dragged her straight out of the fitting room, causing the woman to scream in pain, “Ah! It hurts! What are you doing?”

Emma flung her hand away, reprimanding, “Watch your foul mouth. Do you think others can’t hear you or what? Just judging by appearances and gossiping all the time, no wonder even such a beautiful outfit looks so hideous on you!”

“What, what do you mean?” the woman stammered in panic.

Emma sneered. “Take a look at your pants. Can’t read the size and go for the extra-long version? Your pants are dragging on the ground. Aren’t you afraid of tripping and falling to death?” She turned to another one. “And you, if you’re not fair-skinned, don’t choose fluorescent colors. It’s not about wearing expensive stuff that looks good. Models wear it as fashion, but on you, it’s like a traffic sign that glows in the dark! Aren’t you embarrassed?”