To make Kate bankrupt was Ivy’s plan all along. Kate was not wealthy in any way; she thought too highly of herself, so Ivy decided to teach her a lesson.
Kate being the best friend of her sister, Ivy knew she couldn’t afford to pay a dress worth $2 million without going bankrupt. Especially now that no ‘Mr. Rich’ was backing her. Back when they were all still in college, she dated rich guys and exchanged her body for money to survive through college. Her mother was a stripper who never spent a penny on her feeding, let alone education. Kate just had her ways of making provisions for herself. After she broke up with a rich heir a month ago, she had been single and hadn’t met anyone who was up to her standard. She knew because she usually followed her on social media; if she changes her profile picture from a guy to her own photo, it is understood that they might have broken up. Just to show how arrogant she was, she foolishly squandered money with no plans for the future. She was probably here because she needed a new designer outfit, even when she had tons of them in her wardrobe from her past boyfriends and sugar daddy.
“IVY!”
“Yes,” Ivy responded, suppressing her smile. She had just beaten her at her own game. “I like the outfit over there; it will suit me,” Ivy smiled derisively at the shop assistant.
“Yes, Ma’am, it will indeed suit you,” the woman responded, understanding the hidden meaning behind her berating words.
“How dare you ignore me; who will pay for the dress, Ivy?” Kate huffed, perturbed by Ivy’s nonchalant behavior. The prying eyes were digging deep into her, causing her embarrassment. And though she was declared the winner in her own game, despite actually losing, how was she going to save face?
“Why aren’t you paying for your dress; you won, didn’t you? You’ve got what you wanted,” Ivy said purposely to remind the shop assistant that Kate needed to make a payment.
It was obvious the show wasn’t over yet; there was still more to come. She went through all that just to embarrass Ivy, now it had backfired.
Kate was fidgeting, seeing multiple gazes fixed on her, she never expected Ivy to outsmart her like that. Her eyes fell on the shop assistant who was stretching her hand to collect her card.
She had no choice; she swallowed her pride, as her pride couldn’t save her in her present situation. “I um…I’ll pay you the initial price.”
Ivy pressed her lips and covered her mouth tightly to restrain her laughter, but a small laugh escaped her lips. The look on Kate’s face was satisfying; who would have thought the same barking woman from a while ago could turn into a humble sheep.
“A deal is a deal; you agreed to pay higher than the initial price, so stick with it,” another assistant chimed in, crossing her arms. There was no escape for Kate.
“Please, I need some assistance; I’m trying to decide which colour would suit me for this exact design,” Ivy said, placing her hand on her chin, as if she really had trouble deciding.
“Let me help you,” the shop assistant offered.
“Help me? Who is going to make her pay?” Kate has to pay; she wanted to make sure of that.
“Oh, yes,” she responded and took Kate’s card to proceed with the payment.
“What are you doing?… Have you gone…” Kate trailed off, her heart skipped a beat; the money in her account…
“Ma’am, let me assist you,” another shop assistant offered. Ivy smiled sweetly before blinking her lashes at Kate, who was too ashamed to look the shop assistant in the eyes.
“The money in your account is insufficient; how would you like to pay the remaining balance?” The woman said loudly enough for others to hear.
Kate bit her lips, squinting at Ivy, who was busy selecting outfits from the clothes rack. “I like this one; I’ll buy it. That one’s colorful, will it suit me?”
“Of course, Ma’am, it will make you look prettier,” the shop assistant praised.
“I asked a question, Ma’am.” Kate was lost in thought, conflicted on what to do to get out of the situation. The dress was already packaged. It would be so embarrassing to leave without buying it.
“Um, can I… I…” How could she put it? She swallowed. “I can’t buy this dress for $2 million; I’ll buy another one with a lower price since you refused to sell it for the initial price.”
“Can she even hear herself?” one of the customers scoffed. “No one told her to turn this store into an auction house.”
“I thought she said she could afford it. What’s her problem?”
“She’s so full of herself.”
“But you raised the price on your own free will; you can’t just back out like that,” the shop assistant said, still holding her card. “The other woman agreed to pay $8000, and you agreed to pay more. If you knew you couldn’t afford it, you should have just let her buy it instead. You snatched it away from her in the first place.”
Ivy tilted her head to peep; ‘she got what she deserves’. She chuckled.
Kate’s arrogance disappeared. “Please, beat down the price, please,” she whispered out of shame. “Please…”
“Listen…”
“Please…” Kate cut her off with her plea.
Ivy was done with her shopping, ready to leave. Of course, she didn’t leave without a taunt.
“What happened to your voice? Speak louder so they all can hear you; isn’t that what you know how to do best?” Kate’s face was painted red from annoyance. Ivy smiled and then whispered. “I enjoyed the contest; it was so much fun.”
Ivy left the store pleased. She didn’t end up as a pushover or a loser. It was satisfying, but there was one more thing that would have been even more satisfying: when Irene finds out she wasn’t as homeless as she expected.
As she got into the car, she received a text.
“I and Dave are soon getting married; won’t you wish us success?” The sender of the text was obvious; who else would it be? Ivy could see Irene’s grin through the short derisive text. She still had the guts to text her after what she did.
A smile appeared on Ivy’s face. ‘It is time to pay someone a visit.’