Arden’s POV:
As soon as we got to the mall, I calmly woke muse up.
“Hey” I said as I slowly shook her awake.
Muse whined as she stretched slowly.
That sound did things to me.
Things I didn’t want to name.
“We are here” I said to her.
She slowly opened one eye.
“We’re at the mall?” She asked.
Her voice a bit husky from sleep.
“Yes Muse” I replied.
She quickly raised her head in excitement.
“Let’s go then”she said.
She was practically shaking on the car seat.
I laughed at her antics and slowly walked out of the car.
I brought out her wheelchair and slowly helped her into it.
“Do I really need to keep using this?” She asked in irritation.
“Yes you do. . till you’re fully healed ” I replied.
Muse rolled her eyes.
I felt annoyed by that.
I didn’t know why but it annoyed me so much.
Muse smirked as soon as she saw my expression.
“Does my eye rolling affect you Arden?” She asked .
She knew what she was doing.
And she planned on annoying me a lot with it.
I ignored her and slowly wheeled her into the Mall.
She gasped as soon as we went in.
Her eyes shining with wonder.
“What do you want to do first?” I asked.
“Everything” she replied excitedly.
I laughed softly at her reply.
Of course she does.
I slowly rode her into a clothing store.
“Why don’t I get you some new clothes first” I said softly.
Muse nodded excitedly.
I slowly let go of the wheelchair and gave her space.
I watched as she drove and picked out a few clothes.
She looked happy as she examined the clothes before slowly placing them on her lap.
At the corner of my eye, I caught someone pointing at her.
That was when I noticed it.
The whispers.
The judgement.
The laughter’s.
My heart grew cold at the sight.
People were the greatest hypocrites of all.
I didn’t confront any of them.
I wasn’t going to spoil Muse’s day with these people’s opinions.
I watched as she picked out more outfits.
Suddenly a sales person slowly walked towards her and held her hand.
I quickly straightened up and walked towards them.
As soon as I got closer, I heard the salesperson’s comment.
“Can someone like you even afford these clothes” She said condescendingly.
Muse’s head dropped dejectedly.
I quietly walked behind her and held her by the shoulder.
“What’s the problem here?” I asked.
“The problem is that this young girl keeps piling clothes on her laps as though she could afford any of them” The salesperson said while the surrounding people laughed.
The air grew cold at her words.
How dare she.
“Call your cashier over here” I said coldly.
“Gladly” The salesperson said and quickly called the cashier.
The cashier slowly followed behind her.
“Calculate everything she’s holding and tell me how much” I said to her.
She nodded and got to work.
As soon as she was done, she came to announce the price.
“Ms everything is 60,000$” The cashier said loudly.
So she was also part of this drama.
Good.
I slowly took out my card and gave it to them.
“Pay” I said coldly.
The cashier froze as soon as she saw my card.
She recognizes it.
Very good.
She took the card with shaking hands and slowly swiped to pay.
As soon as she was done, she placed the card back on my palms.
I took the card and slowly placed them on Muse’s hands.
“I forgot to give you this” I said to her softly.
Muse stared at me in shock.
I smiled and slowly turned towards the salesperson
“You judged her just because she’s disabled” I slowly.
“You’re fired” I continued.
The crowd gasped at my words.
The salesperson suddenly let out a laugh.
“Who do you think you are to fire me?” She said arrogantly.
“You can’t fire me even though you call the manager” She said cockily.
“Oh really?” I said with a smile.
I took out my phone and quickly called someone.
“Come out here now” I said and hung up.
A moment later, the manager came quickly into the store.
“What seems to be the problem Ms” he said with a little bow.
“This woman here disrespected my person, how will you deal with it?” I asked.
“I’m so sorry Ms, I’ll take care of it right now ” he replied .
“I want you to fire both her and the cashier else. . . you’re also fired” I said to him.
The manager shook in shock.
Sweat dripped down his head.
“I’ll fire them right away Ms ” He replied.
His voice shaking in fear.
“Good. . . And Caleb” I said to him.
The manager raised his head up.
“Stop fucking your employees” I said coldly.
“It won’t happen again Ms” he replied quickly.
I hummed and carried Muse’s bags with me.
We both left the store and headed for another location.
We stayed in silence for a while.
I felt uncomfortable the silence.
After a while, she said softly.
“Are you mad at me” she asked in fear.
Was she afraid of me?.
I hated how much fear was in her voice.
I don’t want to be afraid of me.
“Of course I’m not darling ” I assured her softly.
“I’m sorry for what happened at the store” She apologized .
I slowly bent to her eye level.
Her eyes were glued to the floor.
She looked so small and vulnerable.
My heart ached.
God.
.
I would do anything to make her smile again.
I slowly lifted her chin.
“Listen Muse, what happened at the store wasn’t your fault alright ” I said softly.
“Really?” she asked.
“Really ” .
“You’re never at fault when you’re with me okay” I said to her.
She nodded slowly.
“Now smile for me, aren’t we at the mall?” I said with a smile.
Her eyes lit up again.
A slow smile appeared on her face.
“Let’s go explore more” She said.
“Of course, let’s go ” I said and quickly stood up straight.
Today was going to be a very long day.