The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 48 Get Framed

Autumn pondered for quite a while before dissuading Leila, "Don't be impulsive. You are still young, you should stay here and work hard. Better jobs await you when you have gained enough work experience. Leaving with me now... is definitely not a good idea."

She got rid of Leila's grasp and said, "I've got to go now."

"Ye, Ye..." Yet no matter how hard Leila cried, Autumn left without looking back.

She had no idea though, that her declining Leila today happened to create an opportunity for Paula to fight her back in the future.

After Autumn left, Ryan was fuming with anger. But Paula still tried knocking on his door. He responded with a storm of scolding, "Buzz off! Don't bother me!"

"Mr. Zhou!" Paula clenched her teeth and pushed the office door open.

"I said go away. Are you deaf or what?" Ryan said with a grim-face. Other people could be scared away, but Paula decided to bite the bullet and enter.

"Mr. Zhou, I know you are upset. I am here to make amends." Paula said without batting an eye.

"Make amends?" Ryan smirked. "You seriously are something, Paula! My relationship with Autumn went sour, and I have to face all the mess here! Don't you think it is all because of you?"

"If that is the case, dismissing me won't help the situation, will it?" Paula sneered, "Don't you... ever think of revenge?"

"What exactly do you want to say ?" Ryan frowned.

Having seen how Ryan shouted at Autumn about making her regret everything, Paula knew that he would not let go of Autumn easily.

She went up and said in his ear,"Mr. Zhou, how about..."

After hearing Paula's words, Ryan calmed down a bit, but his face was still darkened.

"Are you sure of that?" Ryan asked with a cold face.

Paula nodded lightly,"Trust me with it, I will definitely drive her out of the advertising industry forever."

"Good." Ryan nodded and blinked,"But mark my words, if you screw it up again, I won't let you get away with it. You've been warned!"

"Please be assured. I won't let you down." Paula answered, with composure.

She swore to take revenge for all her past humiliations and today's disgrace.

Not knowing what they were planning, Autumn went to the shopping centre by the subway. She had been busy with her work and seldom went out shopping. What's more, Gary had been back for quite a long time, she felt like buying him some gifts.

However, she wasn't expecting to run into Yvonne and Wendy there. She was trying on some clothes at a women's clothing shop when this unpleasant coincidence happened. Dresses there were too short for her, it took her quite a while to check them out but she miserably failed to pick one that satisfied her.

Although the salesgirl kept flattering her about how beautiful she looked in those dresses, she decided not to buy anything.

"How annoying! Tried so many dresses, without buying even a single one of them, what a waste of my time!" Autumn overheard the salesgirl complaining outside the fitting room. She couldn't help but frown. 'What a big mistake for the boss to hire a salesgirl like her.' Autumn thought. to herself.

Having changed her clothes back, Autumn walked out of the fitting room and passed on the brand-new dress to the salesgirl. She pretended not to have heard her complain. Anyway... she decided not to come back here again.

After marrying a rich man like Charles, there was no shortage of expensive clothes in her wardrobe. But she still preferred her off-the-rack clothes that she bought before marriage. She never expected to be looked down upon by this salesgirl.

She didn't really care about it at first, but things went bad. The girl took the dress over from her by pulling it. She pulled it very roughly that the dress got torn.

"What have you done?" The girl responded quickly and shouted at Autumn with an intention to shift the blame to her. She knew clearly that this dress was worth a month's salary for her, so a scapegoat was needed. "It's OK that you didn't want to buy it, but you don't have to tear it up. Pay for it or you are not leaving the shop today."

"I..." Autumn was about to declare her innocence when she heard Yvonne's scornful laugh,"Oh God, isn't it my dear sister? What happened? You tore the dress? Mind if I pay for you?"

Autumn glanced at Yvonne and saw that Wendy was with her. Wendy looked back at her, as if... looking at a stranger.

Autumn's heart sank. She looked away without a word.

Yvonne wanted to insult Autumn so she went on to aggravate the situation. "Sister, given your economic condition, why did you try such an expensive dress? It must be worth a month of your salary. If you didn't plan to buy it, why bother trying it on? Now you've torn it, you are making things difficult for the girl."

"Shut up!" Autumn snapped at her and turned to the salesgirl, "Miss, I believe like others, your shop also gives customer's convenience a top priority. I did try on this dress, but realised that it didn't suit me. Haven't I got the right to decide whether I should buy something or not?"

"Of course you do." Said the salesgirl with a flash of contempt in her eyes. After hearing Yvonne's words, she thought of Autumn as a pushover. "Of course we will not force you to buy it, but you have to pay the full price for damaging it."

"I would have paid for it if it was my fault. But the problem is, YOU were the one who tore it. Don't try to frame me, I believe you have cameras in your shop." Autumn's words threw the salesgirl into panic. She didn't expect Autumn to be calm enough to handle the situation.

In contrast to her belief, Autumn stood there with quiet dignity. She showed her anger without any infuriation. "How about this, call your manager, and we will figure it out together. I will pay the money if it is really my fault."

"You..." Clutching the dress tightly, the salesgirl's knuckles turned white, which gave away her guilty conscience. But she continued to fight back in fear of shouldering the responsibility. "Don't think you can get out of this. The dress was flawless before I gave it to you, yet ended up with a hole after you tried it on. Calling the manager won't change this fact. If you can't afford it, you shouldn't have touched it!"

Yvonne took a great pleasure in watching this conflict. She was to work in the Shining Company next week. She would then get plenty of opportunities to get along with Charles. Both she and Wendy wanted to make sure she looked her best in front of Charles. They had just entered the shopping centre when they came across this catfight.

"She's right. You shouldn't have tried it on when you know that you can't afford it. What a trouble now that you've torn it. You better pay the price. Don't make it too hard for that poor girl. She's been having a rough time. I can lend you some money if you need. Just pay me back when you have surplus." She said in a voice dripping with sarcasm. On hearing this, the salesgirl looked at Yvonne with grateful eyes. Autumn remained silent, but her face was fuming with anger.

Yvonne pretended to be helping her out, but it was obvious that she only wanted to embarrass her.

As the number of onlookers increased, the salesgirl became blurted with arrogance. "Hurry up, or you will be sorry." She glared at Autumn and demanded.

The conversation got ugly, and the crowd began persuading Autumn. "Just pay for it. Don't take advantage of that poor girl. It is a big amount of money for her anyway." Some said.

"Have a heart." others echoed.

People around all took the salesgirl's side. Autumn could only squeeze out a bitter smile.

Even Wendy, being her own mother, did not defend her. How could she expect the strangers to stand up for her?

She took a deep breath and decided to speak for herself, when a steady voice of a man came from behind.

"Is there any evidence to prove she is guilty?"