Chapter 001: Insults

Chapter 001: Insults

"Terry, this is your salary."

Terry, who was daydreaming in the corner of the room, gasped in surprise when his name was called. His eyes blinked for a few moments, regaining the focus that had been lost. Quickly, he walked up to Jake, the manager at his workplace.

Terry took the envelope from Jake's hand with a sense of pleasure. A faint smile was etched on his lips. He quickly put the envelope into his shabby pants pocket.

"Thank you, Mr. Jake,"

"You're welcome," Jake smiled slightly. He tapped Terry's shoulder quite hard. It made Terry, who was going home, stop his steps.

"What is it again, Mr. Jake?" asked Terry politely. "Do you need anything?"

"No, I don't. I just wanted to remind you. Don't forget the extra work tonight." Jake paused his words for a moment and nudged Terry's arm like an old friend.

"FYI, I think you're about to be promoted by our boss to a full-time position."

Terry's face looked surprised to hear that. His pointed eyes were rounded. His eyebrows rose, and his mouth was half open.

"Really?"

"Yes, of course," Jake replied casually.

"I had a discussion with our boss. And he said that you're the strongest candidate to become a permanent employee at this shop.”

Terry heart was bursting with happiness. He felt his stomach tingle, as if a butterfly had flown in. His chest felt so light with excitement. The corners of his lips pulled upward, forming a wide smile.

"Ah, thank you, Mr. Jake. I don't know what to say."

"You're welcome. Just improve your performance as a clerk in this shop so that you can get a better salary. Can you do it?"

"I can, sir!"

"That's good. Now you can go home. Sorry for disturbing your rest time."

Terry nodded his head and bowed slightly as a sign of respect. He quickly went to his locker, which was in the back room, close to the kitchen. Terry wanted to change his work clothes to a normal shirt.

At least Terry had a steady job and would not worry about the lack of money. Because the salary of a training employee is certainly very different from that of a permanent employee, The difference alone could be more than half.

After changing his clothes, Terry opened the envelope he had kept in his pocket. His fingers counted the bills that were there.

"$200," he muttered under his breath. He took out a shabby wallet from his back pants pocket. And took out the other bills that were there.

"That's exactly $1000; at least I can buy Meghan some high heels and a pretty dress."

Terry could imagine his wife's big smile as he brought her some of the expensive gifts she wanted.

In his mind, Meghan would squeal with delight in her cute voice, give him a big hug, serve him his favorite food, and end up having fun in bed, something he had been craving.

"I can't wait to see Meghan's reaction. I have to hurry up and buy those things."

After finishing changing his clothes, Terry left the shop where he worked to buy a gift for his wife. During the trip, his mouth kept humming a little with happiness.

When he arrived at a famous store in his city, Terry stepped inside without further ado. He immediately approached one of the clerks there.

"Excuse me,"

The blonde female employee turned her head and stopped what she was doing, chatting with her colleague. She looked Terry up and down, scanning him without exception.

"Oh, sorry. Our store does not accept beggars, sir."

Terry felt offended by the woman's words. Beggars? What did she mean?

"Sorry, I'm not a beggar. I want to buy a dress and heels for my wife," Terry said firmly.

The woman rounded her eyes, looking surprised. "Sir, are you sure you want to buy those two items in this shop?"

The smile on Terry's face faded away, giving way to confusion. "Of course. Why are you asking that?"

The blonde woman flashed a mocking smile with a cynical glance at Terry. "Of course I'm asking that. I mean, can you afford it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Sir, from your looks alone, I'm not sure you'll be able to afford it. Not to mention the price of one dress in this shop is over $500." The blonde woman's voice sounded sarcastic, which managed to make Terry's ego feel piqued.

The woman's words had shattered his pride. Just because he looked shabby, she thought he couldn't afford it and belittled him.

Oh, Terry felt his chest tightening now. His chest was rising and falling rapidly, with his hands clenched tightly. He wanted to scream and curse at that woman.

On the other hand, Terry didn't want to cause unnecessary commotion. Especially when the other person was a woman. So he let out a rough sigh as a solution.

"I can afford it. That's why I came here." Terry said it in a tone of restrained emotion. "Just take out all the models that are trending this season,"

"Then follow me,"

The blonde woman immediately walked with wide strides towards the other room. Terry followed behind, ignoring the people who whispered at him with mocking looks. Terry realized that his appearance was different from theirs. But he didn't care.

Once in the other room, Terry was amazed. This summer's sexy and trendy dresses really caught his eye. He could imagine that if Meghan wore one of these dresses, she would definitely look beautiful.

"Please take your pick. If so, please pay to the cashier with cash or a debit card."

"Okay."

The woman left immediately. Terry took a look at the collection on display here. There was one dress that caught his eye. It was a light blue knee-length dress with flowers on the cuffs. Terry looked at the price tag written on it.

"$800." The man grimaced when he saw the price. "If I buy this dress, I won't be able to buy high heels for Meghan." He muttered under his breath.

He glanced elsewhere, hoping to find a dress that was cheaper but of the same quality. Only, no matter how far Terry looked, he couldn't find one.

"I guess I'll have to use my savings to buy the high heels," he said quietly as he reached into his shabby shirt pocket for $300 and combined it with the money in his wallet.

Terry picked up the light blue dress, complete with matching colored high heels, and quickly paid the cashier.

"That's $1300," said the cashier in a gruff tone.

Terry reached into his shabby wallet and quickly paid for everything. He grimaced when he saw that his wallet was completely empty. His money was completely used up to buy a gift for Meghan.

"Thank you."

Terry took the paper bag and walked towards the house. Even though his money was gone, he was able to get this expensive item. It was all for the woman he loved. Terry couldn't wait to meet Meghan now.

Terry's house was not too far from the store. It only took 10 minutes to walk through a small alley. Incidentally, Terry and Meghan lived in a cheap apartment on the edge of town.

"Honey, I'm home."

Terry walked into the apartment and took off his shabby shoes to put them on the shelf by the door. However, he was stunned to see two other shoes there.

"Whose shoes are these?"