A Lesson At The Mall

My sister had never been treated like that growing up, and under Linda’s stream of filthy insults, she finally burst into tears. Her small body trembled violently in my arms.

My heart twisted painfully at the sight. I didn’t have the patience to argue with Linda anymore. All I wanted was to take my sister away as quickly as possible and calm her down.

Holding her tightly, I tried to walk past Linda from the side, but Linda stuck to us like glue. She blocked the path and even deliberately stretched out her foot to trip me.

“I’ll say this one more time. Move,” I said through clenched teeth.

“What? Feeling guilty now, are you? Too scared to talk back? I’m not moving. If you’ve got the guts, you can–”

Before she could finish her sentence, she saw that I was really about to leave. Suddenly, she reached out from behind and shoved me hard.

I was completely unprepared. Still holding my sister, I staggered forward and fell, my knees slamming hard against the marble floor. As a dull thud echoed through the mall, pain exploded through my body, and my vision went black for a moment.

The sudden fall frightened my sister even more. She screamed as she slipped from my arms, her small arm scraping across the ground. It immediately turned red and swollen.

“Wah… Joni!”

She lay on the ground, stunned for two seconds before bursting into heartbreaking sobs. My heart felt like it was being crushed in someone’s grip. Ignoring the sharp pain in my knees, I scrambled over and pulled her into my arms, frantically checking her over. A thin bead of blood had already formed on her delicate skin.

Meanwhile, Linda stood nearby with her arms crossed, not the slightest bit of guilt on her face. Instead, she sneered.

“Stop playing the victim? It’s just a fall. Are you trying to stage this and scam me for compensation? Has your whole family been living off this trick for generations?”

The crowd around us immediately erupted into murmurs.

Someone couldn’t stand it anymore and shouted, “What’s wrong with you? She was carrying a child!”

“Exactly! You’re the one who pushed her!”

Embarrassed and furious, Linda pointed angrily and snapped back at them, “What’s it to do with you? You’re a bunch of broke nobodies! What do you people know? Get out of here! This is Harbor City. You don’t get a say here!”

She became more arrogant as she spoke. Then, she even lifted her foot and kicked my lower back.

“Now, apologize to me. Otherwise, I’ll have security drag you out and throw you to the wilderness!”

I shielded my sister beneath me and looked up at her. There was no warmth left in my eyes. The dull ache in my knees and the burning pain in my chest were nothing compared to the rage I felt seeing my sister’s tear-streaked face.

“Linda, right? And Henry?”

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and opened my contacts.

“Call whoever you want, it won’t help!” she shrieked like a wild cat whose tail had been stepped on. “In Harbor City, no one refuses me! And no one dares to challenge the Jennings family!”

With a sudden swing of her arm, she slapped the phone right out of my hand. The phone hit the floor, and the screen instantly shattered into a spiderweb of cracks.

“Who are you pretending to call, huh? Let me guess, you’re trying to summon that fat sugar daddy of yours? Well, forget it. Our mall doesn’t welcome people like you.”

She stepped on the broken phone with her high heel and twisted it. The screen crumbled beneath her shoe.

“Fine. I’m feeling generous today. Next week is my big day with Henry. Since you ruined my mood today, I’ll still be merciful and let you go.”

My sister shrank deeper into my arms, trembling. I stood up while holding her, a piercing pain shooting through my knees.

“Take your foot off,” I said, staring at Linda’s heel.

“And what if I don’t?” she sneered, stomping on my phone again. “So what if I smashed your cheap phone? Talk back again, and I’ll make sure both of you have to crawl out of this mall.”

People around us started to get angry on our behalf.

“How can you do that? Just because you’re rich and powerful doesn’t mean you can treat people like that!”

“Even if that woman really were a mistress, you can’t hit someone…”

Just then, a sudden commotion rippled through the crowd.

Someone gasped, “Mr. Jennings is here!”

I looked up to see a man in a tailored suit walking over, surrounded by people. He stood tall, his sharp eyes carrying a kind of deliberately practiced authority.

So that was him.