"Elena, tell me. What happened here?" Everyone could clearly hear the change in Adrian Yale's voice. The tone of his voice was very different from the way he spoke to others.
Vanessa took this opportunity to get close to Adrian. She acted like what a concerned friend would do and tried to side with Elena, "Mr. Yale, the manager and those three were…"
Before she could finish her sentence, Adrian cut her off and shot her a cold icy glare, "Am I talking to you? I'm talking to my little Elena, not to you."
Vanessa pursed her lips in humiliation. No one had ever cut her off like that until today. Having a small face and appearing like a white lotus, no man had the heart to scold her like that. She could also hear murmurs from the people surrounding them and this made her feel upset and angry. Her eyes turned misty and she looked at Adrian pitifully.
No other man could resist her gaze. It was like she was a little lamb who was bullied and it arose a feeling in the men to bully her even more. Not literally, but in bed. However, Adrian was different. He didn't swing the same way as others and he had never liked Vanessa from the beginning. He was also the one who had asked Elena to not disclose their relationship to Vanessa. This was because being in the industry for so long, he could judge people correctly and he knew that Vanessa was not as kind as she appeared to be.
Adrian also wanted to warn Elena about Vanessa, but knowing that his little Elena had no other friends, he resisted the urge to ruin the friendship. After all, he didn't want Elena to feel lonely. What he didn't realize was, having a friend like Vanessa was bound to make Elena lonely at some point of time. It didn't matter if he said something or not, having a friend like Vanessa would not do any good to Elena.
Elena told Adrian everything that had happened in the store. Adrian was truly shocked as well as filled with pride on hearing about the entire scenario. He was shocked because he had never expected Elena to stand up for herself. As far as he knew, Elena was a shy and silent young lady who avoided trouble. According to her personality, she would have left the store altogether to avoid arguing with others. And he was proud because Elena had handled the situation well and not allowed herself to be bullied.
He didn't appreciate Elena's trouble-avoiding behavior as she was not an ordinary girl. She was the heiress of the Ashford group and she would have to face unfavorable situations every now and then. Running from everything was not the way for anyone, let alone someone who has to lead the Ashford group.
Adrian was angry at Vanessa for not defending Elena and instead making everyone look down on her even more saying that she couldn't afford the dress. Even though Vanessa was aware of Elena's background, she made things difficult for her.
Adrian looked at his assistant beside him and pointed at Bella Monroe and her companions, "Blacklist these three people from all my boutiques."
He then looked at the manager and ordered, "You… PACK YOUR THINGS AND GET OUT!"
He said every word clearly, displaying his anger towards the manager.
The manager wanted to explain herself. She wanted to say that she didn't know that Elena was an heiress of a prestigious family. She didn't want to get fired because this was a high-paying job which she had landed with much difficulty.
However, she didn't even have a chance to explain herself as Adrian called the security and practically dragged her out of the store. He also told his assistant, "Make sure that she doesn't get a job anywhere in this country."
The manager had not left the store completely and Adrian's words were loud enough for her to hear. Her eyes dimmed and her shoulders slumped. There was only one thought running in her mind. She was done for! Her career was over! Her habit of judging people by their way of dressing up, her superficial thinking had led her to this end. She now realized that the saying 'Never judge a book by its cover' was true. However, it was too late now.
Bella and her lackeys also suffered the same humiliation. They too were dragged out in front of everyone. Bella had never been so embarrassed in her entire life. She had always been treated like a princess and this was the first time that she was treated this way. As she was being dragged away, she gritted her teeth in anger, 'Elena, I will make you pay for this insult!'