+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
Apologize right now, Violet\u00a0<\/p>\n
Violet\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOh my God, is that true?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she really do that to that woman because of a man?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve actually seen the sales associate before, she was so kind. She doesn\u2019t seem like the type.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou never truly know someone\u2019s character.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The words bounced off the mall walls until they felt like they were pressing against my ears. My breathing came slow and shaky. My face felt a little too pale, my palm still throbbing from earlier.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What the hell was going on? How the hell did it get to this?\u00a0<\/p>\n
This week had been the worst of my life. It was like the universe had decided everyone needed a turn at bullying me. And for what? I didn\u2019t even know why this woman was pulling such an elaborate stunt, especially when I didn\u2019t even want her man. I hadn\u2019t looked at him all night. To me, he was about as interesting as a plank of wood.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My assistant manager turned to me, frowning hard. \u201cWhat is going on? Explain yourself, Violet. Did you really do that?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I shook my head firmly. \u201cOf course not. I didn\u2019t do any of that. I didn\u2019t even look at her partner all night, ma\u2019am. And nothing happened, it was quite the opposite, she-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The woman cut me off sharply. \u201cOh, so if nothing happened, are you saying I slapped myself, then? Am I insane? Why would I slap myself?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stared at her, dumbfounded. At least she knew she was insane.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She glanced around, scanning the crowd until her gaze landed on someone. Her lips curled into a smile before she pointed directly at him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHoney,\u201d she called sweetly, \u201cyou have to tell them. Wasn\u2019t she flirting with you a while ago?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I turned to look at him, and so did everyone else. He stood there among the onlookers, a smug glint in his eye, enjoying the spectacle far too much.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Someone muttered beside me, \u201cHuh? Is that the man they\u2019re arguing over? He looks like God gave up halfway through making him.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Another person snorted, \u201cHe must be rich.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The woman strode toward him and took his hand with a pout. \u201cBaby, look at my skin. This woman hit me. She was just flirting with you a while ago. Tell them everything, some of them don\u2019t believe me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stared at him, my last thread of hope clinging to the belief that he would tell everyone the truth. I had ignored him all night, there was no way he could honestly think I\u2019d been flirting with him. But he grinned.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He stepped forward, wrapping an arm around the woman\u2019s waist, and nodded. \u201cYes,\u201d he said without hesitation, \u201cthat woman was flirting with me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My heart plummeted. \u201cWhat are you talking about?\u201d I asked, my voice sharper than I intended.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He shrugged. \u201cYou don\u2019t need to pretend. You were coming on too strong all night, being too close when my woman wasn\u2019t watching, asking questions, even trying to give me your number.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a lie!\u201d My voice rose, but the crowd\u2019s eyes were already judging, and condemning me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
Apset INA NA\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
No one believed me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGirls these days,\u201d someone muttered, \u201cthey\u2019ll do anything to get rich.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s probably trying to marry her way into money,\u201d another voice chimed in.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I clenched my fists so hard my nails dug into my palms. How could people be so stupid? They didn\u2019t care about the truth, they just wanted a story to sneer at.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019d never tried to get into anyone\u2019s bed for money. Every coin I had, I earned by working myself to exhaustion. But what was the point in explaining? Nobody here would listen\u00a0<\/p>\n
The woman turned to the assistant manager. \u201cWhat are you doing? Do something! I\u2019m not letting this go.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The assistant manager exhaled slowly, rubbing her temples. \u201cI understand you\u2019re upset. But this issue needs to be investigated before we can do anything.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The woman scoffed \u201cInvestigate? What is there to investigate when I\u2019m telling you the truth?\u201d She tilted her head, voice rising just enough for the onlookers to hear. \u201cOr is it that this store doesn\u2019t care about customer wellbeing? Should I take this to court, then?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The assistant manager flinched. Her eyes darted to me before she turned back to the woman with a placating smile. \u201cIt\u2019s nothing like that,\u201d she said quickly. \u201cI\u2019m terribly sorry for the accident. Please forgive her for hitting you. She\u2019s still an inexperienced worker. We\u2019ll make sure she\u2019s punished.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAn inexperienced worker?\u201d The woman repeated. \u201cSo you hire sluts as employees now? And why are you apologizing? She should be apologizing, not you.\u2018\u00a0<\/p>\n
The assistant manager nodded rapidly, then walked toward me. She took my hand, squeezing it tight enough to sting. \u201cApologize right now, Violet.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stared at her. \u201cNo. I\u2019m not apologizing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201c>\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her expression darkened. \u201cAre you crazy?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI am not apologizing,\u201d I said again. \u201cI did nothing wrong. Why would I apologize when I\u2019m innocent? Do you honestly believe I would do that?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She looked down, and that tiny gesture was enough to tell me everything, she didn\u2019t believe the woman\u2019s words.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Leaning closer, her voice dropped low. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I blinked. \u201cWhat?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter, Violet,\u201d she repeated, eyes meeting mine now. \u201cThis is real life. In this world, people are going to be treated unfairly, especially people at the bottom. That\u2019s life. You have to apologize, even if you\u2019re not at fault, to make it all go away. Unless you want to make it a bigger issue. If she sues you, I doubt you have the money for that problem. So, apologize. Saying sorry isn\u2019t hard, you know.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My fists clenched. Of course I knew it wasn\u2019t hard, I\u2019d been swallowing sorry my whole life. And I knew too well that people at the bottom would always be the ones to suffer. But there are moments when the injustice is so choking, that the word won\u2019t come out.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But I also knew I didn\u2019t have a choice. I didn\u2019t want more problems, God knows this week had given me enough already. I drew in a slow breath, my pride clawing at my throat. I was just about to speak when she stepped closer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re apologizing while standing? I think the problem\u2019s more severe than that, dear. Go on your knees.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I turned to the assistant manager, but she looked away. That was all the confirmation I needed. Nobody here would help me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
spxlogize Tght vens Vint\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
My gaze shifted to the woman\u2019s partner. He was still smiling, snug and pleased with himself, probably savoring the idea that two women were at each other\u2019s throats over m.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I took another breath, with every muscle in my body serearing against it, I sank down to my knees, staring at the\u00a0<\/p>\n
floor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Behind me, I didn\u2019t need to turn to know Mia and Lyla were there, their voices gave them away. Mia\u2019s tone was dripping with glee. \u201cWould you look at this? I always knew she\u2019d do anything to get a rich man. How pathetic.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I ignored them, my voice flat. \u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFor what?\u201d the woman asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stayed silent. I\u2019d sooner bite off my tongue than give her the words she wanted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She leaned towards me and yanked my hair hard. Pain shot want you to say it. Use your mouth to admit how much of a\u00a0<\/p>\n
cross my scalp, her smirk inches from my face. \u201cI lut you are!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My head throbbed. I parted my lips, ready to spit something back at her, when I heard a slow click of shoes against the floor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The air suddenly grew cold for some reason. Heads turned toward the person strolling casually into the store.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOh. My. God,\u201d someone gasped.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I was wondering who walked in and grabbed everyone\u2019s attention without even trying, but I wasn\u2019t in the mood to find out.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A deep voice cut through the store. \u201cYou must have a death wish, laying your hand on my woman like that. You\u2019ve got two seconds to take it off.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Nights Burn With Regret \u2014 by Nathan Perez 41 +25 Bonus\u00a0 Apologize right now, Violet\u00a0 Violet\u00a0 \u201cOh my God, is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[83],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27957","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-craving-the-guardian-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27957","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27957"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27957\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27957"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27957"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27957"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}