Chapter 95 Pauper

"I opened a gallery nearby. Hop in, I'll give you a lift," Keith offered.

"Nah, I'll just grab a cab," Isabella replied.

"Come on, think of me as your personal taxi. Get in."

Probably worried Isabella would refuse, Keith unbuckled his seatbelt, got out, and opened the passenger door.

Isabella smiled politely, "Well, thanks a lot."

"No need to be so formal. We're both from Stellaria, and you're my junior. It's like we're family."

Isabella chuckled, "Alright, stop by the mall up ahead. I need to hit the bookstore on the third floor to buy some books."

"Pregnancy books?" Keith asked.

"Yeah."

"Got it."

After exchanging polite goodbyes with Keith, Isabella got out of the car and walked into the mall.

The bookstore on the third floor had the best collection of books. After buying what she needed, she also wanted to check out the discount stores.

She'd been in Rexonia for almost six months and hadn't bought a single new piece of clothing.

It wasn't about money; being pregnant, she couldn't wear many of her nice clothes.

Not taking George's money was the right call. He wasn't dead, and he'd definitely come back to Stellar City. Taking his money would have made things messy.

She wondered if Patricia already knew George wasn't dead.

If she did, she'd be over the moon.

Isabella decided to focus on herself and not worry about other things.

On the second floor, the women's clothing section had limited edition and custom-made items, plus discounted pieces that were custom-made but never picked up. The store sold these at a discount.

If she got lucky, she could snag a decent piece of clothing for cheap.

Isabella was there to see if she could find any discounted items.

She strolled leisurely, thinking that if she found something nice, she might buy one for Elodie too.

Isabella was browsing without much interest. She finally found a dress she liked, but they wouldn't let her try it on.

"If I can't try it on, how do I know if it fits?" Isabella said, thinking it was unreasonable.

The sales clerk glanced at Isabella, then quickly took the dress away and mocked, "You're pregnant, of course it won't fit. Go to the first floor for maternity wear."

Isabella was so angry she really wanted to punch this sales clerk in the head.

'Calm down, don't stoop to her level,' she thought.

Just as she was about to walk away, she heard a woman's voice behind her, "Do you have this in my size?"

"Ms. Miller, you're here. This one is your size. You can try it on," the sales clerk said humbly.

Isabella turned around in surprise.

The sales clerk was holding the dress she had just looked at, guiding a woman to try it on.

'This is too much to bear,' Isabella thought before she shouted, "Hey, what's the deal? Why can't I try it on, but she can?"

Susan turned around, and Isabella immediately recognized her, thinking, 'Isn't this the woman who left with Ray?'

"So what if you try it on? Can you afford it?" The sales clerk, fawning over Susan, guided her to the fitting room. "Ms. Miller, the fitting room is this way."

Isabella couldn't tolerate this. She quickly walked over and grabbed the dress from the sales clerk's hand. "You owe me an apology."

The sales clerk sneered, "Apologize for what? Are you crazy, you pauper?"

"How much is this dress?" Susan asked the sales clerk.

The sales clerk glanced at the price tag and said, "Ms. Miller, this dress is 2000 euros."

Susan looked at the dress in Isabella's hand, then at her face, saying, "If you want it, I'll let you have it."

Isabella couldn't bring herself to spend 2000 euros on a dress.

Seeing Isabella's embarrassed look, the sales clerk took the dress back and couldn't help but mock, "These paupers, they just want to try on expensive dresses and take a few photos, pretending they're rich. So shameless."

"Rich or not, everyone has the right to try on clothes, right? With your attitude, I'm definitely going to file a complaint." Isabella was fuming.

"Go ahead and complain," the sales clerk said indifferently and gave Isabella a push.

Isabella, being heavy, took two steps back and lost her balance, about to fall backward.

She hurriedly covered her belly, thinking she was going to fall hard, but a pair of strong hands caught her waist steadily.

Isabella, relieved, stood up and looked, "Mr. Price?"

"Are you okay?" Ray asked.

"I'm fine, thank you."

Seeing Ray come over, Susan smiled and walked over, hugging his arm. "Ray, come help me see if this dress looks good. It's only 2000 euros."

"As long as you like it," Ray replied.

"I think the style is okay, but it's quite cheap. I won't wear it many times anyway. If you think it's alright, I'll buy it," Susan said.

"Buy it," Ray handed over his card.

Watching this scene, Isabella felt a pang of sadness.

She had to admit, he was quite generous with women, except for her.

Leaving the mall, Isabella received a call from Elodie. Elodie had just gotten paid and wanted to celebrate with a nice meal.

After meeting up, they ordered food.

The dishes kept coming, but Isabella was lost in thought.

"What are you thinking about?" Elodie asked as she tapped the plate in front of her.

"Nothing."

"Your next prenatal check-up is coming up, right?" Elodie asked Isabella.

She absentmindedly nodded, "Yeah."

"I'll go with you. Make sure to take the day off," Elodie reminded her.

"Okay."

Elodie served Isabella some food, noticing her gloomy expression, and asked, "What's wrong? Not happy with work?"

"Not really."

Elodie put down her knife and fork and asked, "Then what is it? You can't even tell me?"

Isabella sighed deeply, "I was thinking, when George saved me, was it just a reflex and not love? Because he didn't expect that accident. If he knew the consequences, maybe he wouldn't have saved me. What do you think?"

Elodie was stunned and touched Isabella's forehead. "Why would you think that? Will you reflexively save someone you don't care about? George saved you because he loves you. Why are you overthinking this?"

"If it was love, then why did George fall in love with someone else?"

Elodie was getting more confused. "What do you mean? Isn't George already..."

"Elodie, our company's CEO, Ray, looks exactly like George. No, he is George. He didn't die. He's in Rexonia. He didn't come back to find me. He's already dating another woman. He's going to inherit the massive business empire of EX Corporation. He..." Isabella was getting agitated.

Elodie quickly held her trembling hand. "Calm down, speak slowly. Are you saying Ray looks exactly like George, and you think he is George?"