Chapter 102: Chapter 102: Reunited with Renee Jennings Behind Her Back
After they finished their meal, Rhea Dempsey went to pay, but the cashier told her the bill had already been settled.
"Who paid?" she asked, turning to look at Renee Jennings. "Did you?"
Renee affectionately linked her arm with her mother’s and said with a grin, "You paid when I was little, so I’ll pay now that I’m grown up."
Upon hearing this, Rhea’s eyes instantly reddened, and tears welled up.
Seeing this, the smile on Renee’s face vanished. "Mom, why are you crying?" she asked in a panic.
"It’s nothing," Rhea said, wiping her eyes and choking back a sob. "I just got some sand in my eye."
"Huh?" Renee looked around, completely bewildered. "But we’re in a mall. Where would sand come from?"
Rhea: "..."
"Oh, just drop it," she said, striding out of the restaurant.
Renee didn’t know why her mother had suddenly started crying. She frowned and hurried after her. "Did Dad do something to make you mad?"
"It has nothing to do with your father," Rhea said with a sigh. "My eye just suddenly felt irritated. It’s nothing else."
"How long?"
"How long has what?"
"How long has your eye been bothering you?"
"Just for a moment, just now. It’s fine."
Worry was etched on Renee’s face. "If it feels uncomfortable again, you have to tell me. I’ll take you to an ophthalmologist for a check-up. What if you go blind?"
Rhea: "..."
’This cursed child!’
"I’ll take you shopping," Renee said, linking arms with Rhea again, her expression full of bravado. "Today, all of Ms. Dempsey’s expenses will be covered by Master Jennings."
Hearing this, Rhea asked curiously, "Master Jennings? You mean your father?"
"Wrong." Renee patted her chest. "Me."
Rhea chuckled. "You’re Master Jennings?"
"Am I not?" Renee raised an eyebrow.
Rhea laughed. "No, you’re Princess Jennings."
Renee nodded. "That works too. Then Princess Jennings will pay for you."
She led Rhea toward the luxury boutiques.
When Rhea saw the giant logo, she didn’t dare go in. "Renee, let’s not go in this one. It’s too expensive."
A single bag cost as much as two or three months of her pension. Rhea couldn’t bear to buy something like that.
Even if she had the money, she wouldn’t be willing to spend it this way.
Rhea was already saving up. It wasn’t easy for Diana Jennings to raise two children on her own, so as a parent, she had to help out. And then there was Renee, who would need a dowry when she got married someday.
"It’s fine. It’s not expensive if you like it," Renee said, pulling her by the hand into the Chanel boutique.
The sales associate at the entrance looked them up and down, then forced a less-than-enthusiastic smile. "Welcome to Chanel..."
Once they were inside the boutique, a sales associate approached them. "Good afternoon, ladies. Welcome to..."
Rhea felt a little timid. She gently tugged on Renee’s sleeve and whispered, "Renee, let’s just go look around on the basement level. The prices here are terrifying."
Renee sighed. "Mom, just look around first and see if there’s anything you like."
"I’m not buying anything. I have several bags at home," Rhea said, giving an awkward smile to the sales associate who was staring at them. Then she lowered her voice. "I’m really not buying."
Renee felt a pang of unease. "Mom," she said soothingly, "it’s okay to just look, whether we buy or not."
A couple of days ago, Dalton Jenson had shown her a high-quality Chanel knockoff and asked if it looked good. He said her mom liked it; her mom’s best friend had bought a real one, and her mom looked at photos of her friend’s bag several times a day.
Renee had immediately told Dalton to return the fake bag.
She wouldn’t stand for her mom’s best friend carrying a real bag while her own mom carried a fake one.
If they were going to buy one, they would buy a real one. It wasn’t as if she couldn’t afford it.
It was her turn to spoil her mom.
The sales associate overheard their conversation and thought she understood the situation perfectly.
’So they can’t afford a real one,’ she thought. ’They just came to the boutique to pick a style so they can buy a knockoff.’
A flash of contempt and disdain crossed the sales associate’s eyes, and her attitude turned cold. "None of the bags in our boutique are currently in stock."
The implication was clear: If you’re not buying, don’t waste our time. She didn’t want to serve them.
Renee asked coolly, "How long does a pre-order take?"
The sales associate replied, "You have to pay first to pre-order."
Renee frowned in displeasure. "I’m aware of that."
Just then, she heard another sales associate say enthusiastically to a customer, "Miss Morgan, those two bags you were looking at are actually in stock. And the required allocation is only 1:2."
"Alright, I’ll think about it," Yvonne Morgan said with a light chuckle.
Renee turned to the sales associate who was "helping" her, a wry smile on her face. "Didn’t you say nothing was in stock?"
A flicker of embarrassment crossed the sales associate’s face, but then she retorted brazenly, "We have stock for those who can afford it."
"And you think I can’t afford it?" Renee asked, her gaze turning cold as she stared her down.
Hearing the commotion, Yvonne Morgan and her friend also turned to look.
When they saw Renee’s pale, makeup-free face, both she and her friend were startled.
They never expected to see Renee Jennings in a luxury boutique.
The file on her said the Jennings family was an ordinary household with a monthly income of less than thirty thousand.
But then they remembered that Renee was a vain person who often bought second-hand designer bags online. It would be perfectly in character for her to show up here just to take pictures for social media to show off.
"Yvonne, isn’t that..." Rhona Sinclair whispered.
Yvonne Morgan nodded. "It’s her."
"It looks like she’s getting into a fight with the SA," Rhona whispered.
Yvonne was also very curious about what was happening.
The sales associate didn’t answer Renee’s question directly, merely giving her a look that said, ’Well, isn’t it obvious?’
Seeing her daughter being looked down upon, Rhea finally got angry. "What kind of attitude is that?" she snapped.
"Ma’am, I haven’t said a thing. Why must you be so aggressive?" the sales associate asked, putting on an innocent expression.
Renee laughed in exasperation. She didn’t want to stoop to the woman’s level, so she gently placated her mother. "Forget it, Mom. It’s not worth getting angry at a mere clerk."
Being called a "clerk," the sales associate’s face flushed with anger. "Who are you calling a clerk?"
Renee retorted coolly, "Are you the owner, then? Or a customer?"
The sales associate’s face went pale, then red with fury.
Renee ignored her and pulled Rhea out of the boutique. "Let’s go to the one across the way."
She led Rhea into the Louis Vuitton store.
A short while later, the mother and daughter emerged from the LV boutique carrying several shopping bags.
The sales associate who had looked down on them was standing at the entrance across the way. When she saw this, a flicker of shock and regret passed through her eyes.
Rhea purposely pulled Renee right in front of her. "These Louis Vuitton bags are so beautiful! I just love them."
The sales associate bit her lip and lowered her head, refusing to look at them.
Just then, Yvonne Morgan and Rhona Sinclair happened to be walking out of the Chanel boutique. When they saw the signature orange Louis Vuitton shopping bags in Renee’s hands, their faces filled with disbelief.
’Their family is so poor, how could she possibly afford an LV bag?’
A sudden, ominous premonition grew in Yvonne’s heart.
’Could the Morgan family have acknowledged Renee behind my back?’
Renee caught Yvonne’s microexpression, but her own eyes remained calm and untroubled.
She said to Rhea, "Mom, is there anything else you want? I’ll buy it for you. I have money now."
Rhea shook her head. "We just spent nearly a million. No more. That’s too extravagant."
"What’s a million? As long as you’re happy," Renee said, full of confidence.
She had a villa now; she didn’t have to pinch pennies and save up anymore.
She could even consider paying back the money she’d swindled from Jaden Forrest.
