Bound To The Seduction

Chapter 26: Sarah Meets Brandon

Sarah often regretted her decisions, such as agreeing to go shopping with Emily. Her lips twitched as she watched Emily walking around comfortably in her 10cm high heels. They were both women, but when she wore high heels for an hour, both her back, and feet hurt.

"Sarah, what do you think of this? It will accentuate your curvy hips while emphasizing your slim waist," Emily pointed to a white dress and spoke to the shop assistant beside her, "Bring that dress over and let her try it."

Sarah was drained of energy, and pleaded with Emily, "Great empress, I have already brought several pieces of clothing with the help of your great fashion sense. I beg of you, please let me off."

Emily gave the dress to Sarah and beamed, "My dear, I will have you show up beautifully at the reunion. Even if Clara shows up, you would still be at everyone's attention." Sarah resigned to her fate and walked into the changing rooms.

"My Empress, let's take a break," said Sarah after they passed by a coffee shop. She finally couldn't hold it in any longer and hugged the lamppost with no intention of letting go. "I would rather wear rags to the reunion than carry on shopping."

Emily patted Sarah's head, smiling. "Be good. After one more store, I shall let you eat."

"You've already said that sentence five times already!"

Emily's smile didn't disappear. "Then I'll go and eat lunch by myself. Of course, you can stay and carry on hugging the lamppost."

Sarah gave up, and let go of the lamppost, before following Emily into a shoe store.

They walked happily into the shoe section of the store while holding hands with Emily. Sarah walked a step in front of Emily, lightly swinging Emily's hand. She threw curious glances at a variety of beautiful shoes displayed neatly on the shelves. She explored the entire floor with Emily, looking for the perfect shoes that were both elegant and comfortable.

At the end of the stylish shoe racks, there was a lounge with a cute luxurious L-shaped white sofa. The sofa faced a floor-to-ceiling window that offered a clear view of the street. She spotted a couple at the lounge. The lady sat on the sofa while her boyfriend seemed to be crouched beside her.

Sarah glanced at the couple at the same time the lady raised her head and she stopped walking abruptly.

Clara sat on the luxurious sofa while Brandon crouched down beside her. It seemed that he was helping her take off her shoes. She could see the tenderness in his eyes. Unimaginable pain flooded Sarah's heart.

The tenderness that once belonged to her now belonged to another woman.

The man who once made her feel like the luckiest woman on earth now made her miserable.

The man who once made her world colorful now made her world bleak and desolate.

All that left a bitter taste in her mouth. No matter how open-minded she was, she still couldn't accept her fiancé displaying his love for another woman in front of her. The hand that held Emily's hand tightened, causing Emily to wince in pain.

"Girl, what's wrong—" Emily stopped midsentence when her line of sight landed on Brandon and Clara. She glanced at Sarah, only to see that her eyes had reddened and she had bitten her lower lip hard enough to draw blood. She tugged Sarah's sleeve and whispered, "We can go to another store."

No response.

Emily made up her mind to drag her out of the store but Clara spotted them before she could act.

"Hey Sarah, you are here too?" she acted surprised and called out her name, making sure Brandon heard it. She turned to Sarah and spoke in a coquettish voice, "Brandon and I came here to shop for tomorrow's reunion dinner. My feet felt sore just now and he is helping you take off my shoes."

"Good for you," Sarah replied flatly.

"Oh, Brandon will personally help me pick out the best shoes," Clara taunted, leaning closer to Brandon. He placed Clara's shoe on the white ottoman and helped her put on a pair of limited edition red bottom heels. Her lips curved into a smug smile as she said, "I bet he's never done it with you, right?"

Sarah raised her soft angled brows, "What has that got to do with me?"
Emily treated Clara as if she did not exist. She picked a pair of low-heeled shoes and passed it to Sarah. "Come on, try this. It is light and soft on the inside. Elegant and functional; it suits your tastes."

"It might look good, but does a certain someone have enough money to buy it?" Clara sneered as she fiddled with a black card in her hands, probably Brandon's. She looked at Sarah in disdain and said, "With barely a thousand dollars as salary, it's better to save up otherwise you won't have enough to get by. I don't want you to starve to death or end up on the streets."

Emily rolled her eyes, "how is that your problem?"

Brandon stayed silent. He only lifted his head to look at Sarah but she didn't spare a single glance at him. She ignored the yapping of Clara beside her and tried the shoes that Emily had passed to her. The shoes felt pretty comfortable and she nodded, "Let's take this pair. My Empress, may I eat now?"

Emily patted Sarah's head, satisfied, "Yes, you may."

Clara saw that her speech did not receive any appropriate response from Sarah and immediately felt embarrassed. A blush crept up her face and she could not help but say with obvious displeasure in her voice, "Sarah, your boyfriend dumped you, don't you have anything to say."

Sarah scoffed and glanced at her with ridicule in her eyes, "Were you blind that day? It was me who dumped him. A cheater and a mistress, what a perfect pair! I gave you both my blessings, what are you dissatisfied about?" her words attracted the attention of the customers in the store. Some of them whispered to each other, directing unfriendly gazes at Clara.

"Sarah, don't create a scene," Brandon finally opened his mouth when he noticed a small crowd gathering around them.

"I didn't create a scene." Sarah shrugged. "Clara made the announcement and I helped her clarify a few points that she left out. I didn't want to lose my dignity for a guy like you."

"Sarah, you can't blame us." Clara bit her lower lip and put on a wronged expression. "The two of us fell in love and we couldn't help it." She made it sound like Sarah was the evil one trying to separate a pair of lovebirds.

Sarah pinched her brows at those words and sighed. "Clara, I really don't have the strength for this." She turned around and walked towards the door. She only paused when someone tugged her sleeve. She stopped walking because she thought Emily did it, but she was startled when she saw Brandon standing right behind her.

"I missed you," Brandon suddenly blurted out.

"You don't look like it," she observed, and his expression cracked and his smile drooped. It completely disappeared when she followed that remark with a simple 'I'm leaving'.

She had enough manners drilled by her mother, not to add that with a slap, a middle finger, or an attempt to kick his balls, all of which Sarah desperately wanted to do. But her rationality reigned and she held onto that little composure she had, because damn it. She couldn't stoop to that level of rudeness.

Fortunately, the cheating couple didn't try to test how long she could hold on to her civility. She walked out of the store with her head held high.

A/N: Shameless author here begging for votes 🤦