The True Heiress's Return

Chapter 287

Shakira raised her eyebrows nonchalantly, taking her time to savor the personal condemnation from Lucy. "Reckless spending, without restraint..."

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She leisurely folded her arms. "According to you, your uncle has also been kind to you, right? And you're full of conscience. Today is Carnaval, so I assume you didn't come along just to spend Xanthe's money, did you?" With her chin up and standing on moral high ground, Lucy said without hesitation, "Of course. Xanthe treats me so well. When I ask her to buy things for me, it's just joking. There's no way I'd actually let her spend money. "Unlike you". Lucy stared at Shakira, her tone confident and assured. "Taking advantage of favors without limits. Xanthe always praises you for treating her well, but from what I see, you're just like the rest, using her for her money and benefits." The sales assistants nearby heard this and looked at Shakira with a hint of disdain. But Shakira seemed unfazed by their expressions and instead had a moment of realization. "Oh, I see. I misunderstood you."

With her head held high, Lucy felt empowered after scolding Shakira, now regarding herself with a sense of authority and dignity, while viewing Shakira as nothing more than a jester.

"What are you all chatting about? I saw you guys talking non-stop from a distance." Xanthe returned with a curious smile, wanting to know the gossip.

"Just now, Shakira was saying she feels bad about spending your money on pricey skincare products," Lucy quickly cut in, grabbing the opportunity before Shakira could react, and shot a sidelong glance at her. Xanthe looked at Shakira, astonished. "Shakira, are you really so formal with me?"

Shakira gave a gentle smile and said, "It's Carnaval today, and I was just thinking about what gift to give you."

She paused briefly before teasingly pulling Lucy into the conversation. "It's not just me. Lucy also said she was embarrassed to spend your money on those skincare products and was planning to pay for them herself." Lucy's eyes widened in surprise. She had just mentioned it casually, never actually planning to buy it herself.Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

This set of skincare products wasn't as costly as theirs, but together, they would still be about 3 thousand dollars. Her living

expenses

for half a year were only 3 thousand dollars.

"Really?" Xanthe was even more surprised. She could understand Shakira, but Lucy had always spent her money without a second thought. Xanthe wondered, 'Could it be that she'd suddenly grown a conscience?' Lucy forced a smile. "Shakira is right. It's Carnaval today. How could I feel right always spending your money?"

Xanthe nodded, feeling emotional. "It's nice that you're thinking this way. This is the first time you've ever offered to pay. Very good. You're finally growing up."

"Oh? The first time..." Shakira said thoughtfully. "You are growing up now."

Xanthe unexpectedly brought up the past, and Lucy could feel the knowing looks from Shakira and the sales assistants. She bit her lower lip tightly.

The moral boomerang she had thrown came back to hit her hard, and she was so embarrassed she wished she could vanish into thin air.

The sales assistant handed over the packaged skincare products with a smile, saying, "We accept credit cards, PayPal, and Apple Pay." Xanthe and Shakira stayed silent, one feeling relieved and the other enjoying the spectacle. Lucy was already caught up in

15.50 Thu,

this and could only force herself to say, "I'll use PayPal.."

She approached the sales assistant and said in a soft voice, "Can use Afterpay here?"

The sales assistant nodded. "Yes, but there's interest in the installment plan."

Lucy gritted her teeth. "Installments... six... no, twelve months."

67%

The sales assistant, who had been through all kinds of gossip storins, remained unfazed. She set up the payment page and gestured for Lucy to scan the code. Lucy opened her phone and then looked back at Xanthe.

But Xanthe and Shakira seemed engaged in their own conversation, not even looking her way, with no intention of helping at all... Lucy felt increasingly frustrated and grudgingly proceeded with the payment.

Taking the heavy gift box of skincare products from the sales assistant, Lucy felt like her heart had turned to ashes. She wondered, 'When will I ever finish paying off this debt?'

Lucy's eyes were fixed on Shakira. "It's your turn, Shakira."

Shakira gave an ambiguous smile.

She stepped forward, took a silver-blue card from her pocket, and handed it to the sales assistant. This was what she had intended to do before Lucy came to "chat" with her.

The sales assistant took the card and was visibly startled upon seeing it. Her previously polite manner suddenly changed to one of respect and caution. After a few swift movements at the counter, she bowed and handed back the silver-blue card with both hands. Lucy stared intently, frowning in confusion, "That's it? No password or signature required for the payment?"

The sales assistant smiled, "Ma'am, the silver-blue card is a shareholder card with unlimited consumption of any products from our group's subsidiaries."

"N-No limit? Does that mean no matter how much she buys, she doesn't have to spend any money?" Lucy thought she must have misheard. "Wait, are you saying her card is a shareholder card..."

The sales assistant kept her smile and said, "Yes, only the group's shareholders have this privilege."

"The shareholder!" Before Lucy could gasp again, Xanthe was already shouting. "Shakira, you've quietly become a little rich girl."

She playfully nudged closer. "Could it be Mr. Lopez's New Year gift?"

Shakira thought for a moment and then said mysteriously, "It's more like a gift from the Nelson family." If it weren't for Rebecca's words, Walter wouldn't have suddenly decided to give her these things. Shakira wondered, 'If those from the Nelson family knew, would they be upset about giving such an opportunity away for free?'

Xanthe was stunned. "Huh?"

With the tight-fisted nature of the Nelson family, there was no way they'd give something this good to Shakira. Even if they beat her to death, she wouldn't believe it.

Xanthe pleaded, "Oh come on. Since it's free, I want more."

"Yeah, go ahead, I'll get it for you," said Shakira.

"Having a rich best friend feels amazing! Shakira, can you buy me a Maserati or a mansion?" asked Xanthe.

Shakira said playfully, "Read but no reply."

"How can you do this?" Xanthe laughed.

The two of them talked and laughed as they walked away, leaving Lucy behind with a livid face.

She thought about how she had mocked Shakira in front of the saleswoman, saying that she was only friends with Xanthe for the money, but reality had slapped her hard in the face.

She couldn't stay there any longer and hurriedly left with the expensive skincare products she had just bought.

The gossip quickly spread through the internal chat group of the mall, and two months later when Lucy came back with her classmates, they recognized her and whispered and laughed behind her back. She got so scared that she never dared to set foot in that mall again, but that was a story for another day.

It was at Harborview Medical Center. Today was a holiday, and after Rebecca's persistent urging, Cody, along with Finn and others, came to the hospital to visit Yvette.

Yvette's cheeks were tinged with fear, her voice full of guilt. "Dad, Finn, Felix, and Jayden, I'm sorry for getting you all involved in this..."

Felix stood quietly at the back leaning against the wall, while Finn and Jayden stepped forward to comfort her, "It's all over now Focus on healing and don't worry about it anymore."

Rebecca added, "Yes, Finn has already taken care of the matter. That culprit, Ella, didn't even get punished, so how could your innocent slip be a problem?"

After Ella was taken by the police, there was no one to look after the elderly in their community.

Hearing about this from Kevin, Shakira asked Sean to drop the lawsuit, which eventually led to Ella publicly apologizing to Lonely Bird and Haruca Hospital in a newspaper, bringing the matter to a close. Yvette lowered her brows, her pale face making her look sorrowful. "Does Grandma not want to forgive me?"

Rebecca held her hand. "Actually, there's something I haven't mentioned these past few days. Your grandma fell ill and can't get out of bed."

Yvette suddenly lifted her head, her eyes filling with tears. "Grandma has always been healthy. How could she suddenly get sick? Is it serious? What did the doctor say? It must be my fault for making her upset. It's all my fault." "This has nothing to do with you," Rebecca said, feeling a pang of heartache for Yvette's cautious and fragile state.

"The other day, there was a late cold snap. Your grandma went to visit a friend's house at night, and after coming back and catching a draft, she suddenly fell ill. Maybe she'll get better in a few days," said Rebecca.

Yvette looked down in disappointment. "Grandma's not feeling well, but I can't be there to take care of her."

Seeing how upset she was, Cody felt a pang of sympathy and comforted her, "The doctor said you've been recovering faster than expected, so you can be discharged early. You'll have plenty of time to take good care of your grandma then."