Chapter 2The Day the Shoulder Rubs Stopped

He paused, his tone shifting from angry to utterly annoyed. "Have you lost your mind? Is it early menopause or something? Asking for a divorce out of nowhere?"

I slowly walked down the street.

"You want a reason? Fine. The reason is that you won't rub my shoulders anymore. I want to find someone who is willing to rub my shoulders."

He laughed in disbelief. "Just because of that?"

"Yeah. Also, yesterday when I told you my sneakers were falling apart and I wanted a $40 pair of flats, you said no."

He took a deep breath, suppressing his voice to issue a command: "Those shoes were almost fifty bucks. We aren't exactly rich. Our son is only nine, and we have a lot of expenses coming up. It's not like you don't have other shoes to wear. Why waste the money? Besides, it's the end of the month, I don't have that much cash on me."

"Right. So I don't want to waste your money anymore. Let's divorce."

I hung up the phone.

A moment later, he sent me a text.

[Leo is very unhappy with your performance today. He gave you a zero! Reflect on your actions! Also, I have a company dinner tonight, so I won't be home to eat.]

I didn't reply. I just strolled around aimlessly, eventually finding myself inside a high-end luxury mall.

A pair of shoes in a display window stopped me in my tracks.

Three-inch, bright red stiletto heels. Stunning and elegant. The price tag read $1,200.

Ten years ago, I would have bought them without blinking.

But the Maya standing here today only had eighty dollars to her name.

It was the weekly grocery allowance Ethan gave me.

I still had ten days left in the month, and I had to ensure every meal had meat, vegetables, soup, and fruit.

I didn't dare spend a single penny out of line.

I saw a "Hiring" sign next to the window and walked in.

The store manager looked me up and down for a few seconds and shook her head. "Miss, you're in the wrong place. The discount shoe mart across the street is probably a better fit for you."

I looked at the "distressed" designer sneakers in her hands. They looked more ragged than the canvas shoes I had worn for ten years, yet the price tag was a staggering $3,500.

She was packing them back into the box.

Clearly, that specific style was a hard sell here.

I kept my eyes on the hallway outside, spotting two familiar figures approaching. I turned back to the manager. "If I can sell those sneakers, will you give me those red heels in the window?"

The manager raised an eyebrow. "A lot of people follow trends and look at these, but no one who sees the actual physical shoe can accept the design. We only have this one pair in stock, and no one has bought them. If you can actually sell them, I'll pay for the red heels out of my own pocket."

Her eyes gleamed with haughty arrogance.

I held out my hands and smiled. "Let me try."

She hesitated, then sighed. "Whatever, it's a slow day. Give it a shot. If you can't sell them in two hours, please leave. And I'm not paying you an hourly wage for this."

I nodded.

Just as I put on a store blazer, customers walked in.

A handsome, dashing man and a young, charming woman.

Between them was a little boy.

The man and woman were each holding one of his hands.

The woman was carrying a beautiful bag—the exact Nano Speedy bag I had seen in the shoe cabinet this morning.

The little boy looked up at the man. "Daddy Ethan, today is Mommy's birthday. You're not just going to give her a little purse, are you?"

Ethan ruffled the boy's hair and smiled. "Do I look like a cheapskate?"

He then gently massaged the woman's shoulders and said softly, "Chloe, pick whatever you want. It's on me."

Chloe smiled and used her eyes to point at the red heels in the display. "I think those look nice, but they're a bit expensive."

Ethan walked over, took one look, and waved it off. "It's just twelve hundred bucks. Sales associate, wrap these up."

I stepped out from the back.

"I'm sorry, but those shoes have already been reserved. A woman with such outstanding elegance like yourself... why not try this pair instead?"

The moment I appeared, all three of them froze, their eyes widening in shock.

Ethan's face drained of color, his lips trembling slightly.