"Wow..."

Wren stepped entirely through the inner glass doors.

After that small scene at the front entrance, he had been taken directly into the showroom of the whole place and his breath caught in his throat as he looked around. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

The space was immense.

The floor was made of polished white marble that reflected the soft ambient lighting pouring from crystal fixtures above.

Everywhere in the room, clothes hung on either heavy cedar hangers or featureless matte-black mannequins.

The shelves were made of thick, frosted glass, displaying precisely folded garments that smelled heavily of rich fabric and expensive floral perfumes.

He couldn’t help but wonder why this place looked so classy despite Harlow being a small town.

"This is our showroom." A worker nearby said, drawing his attention.

She wore an elegant maid attire... complete with a ruffled black skirt, a crisp white collar, and perfectly polished dress shoes waving her hand gracefully across the expansive room.

"We offer different kinds of clothes, including brands that you can find in major cities like Bostara and Nile that have been made by our very own Lady Vora, who is very popular in our city branches."

Wren blinked. He stared at the worker.

’They have branches in the city calling themselves Harlow Boutique?’ Wren thought. ’The hell? I would have definitely heard of it if it actually existed before.’

Bostara was a massive sprawling metropolis but he would have known regardless or Leah would have dragged him along during one of her trips.

He opened his mouth to question her. "What exactly is the name of the—"

Before he could finish, a hand grabbed his wrist. Dani dragged him along without warning, hauling him past a rack of heavy winter coats.

"Wren~ Come on, follow me! Let’s get you some good clothes..." Dani said, her grip surprisingly strong. "The clothes here really aren’t as cost as the ones in the city. I got online to order once, but damn, the prices I was seeing..."

Dani gulped audibly, staring at a price tag attached to a nearby leather jacket.

"I’d rather pay for height surgery."

Wren’s right eye twitched and he looked down at the top of her blond head.

"Isn’t height surgery more cost than getting city cloth—"

He stopped talking as Dani halted him in front of a group of mannequins.

The display was brightly lit, featuring long T-shirts in various styles... Some had dropped shoulders and the others were completely minimalist with cute hems.

The maid ran over to them with her heels clicking rapidly against the polished floor tiles.

"It seems you’re interested in the T-shirts..." the maid said, smiling brightly. "These are the Harlow Basics. They cost one hundred credits for one, everybody in Harlow has at least one classic in their closet. They are made of a dense, strong material that will last for a long time and the cut is a perfect size for someone as tall as you, sir."

Wren rubbed the sleeve of the nearest mannequin between his thumb and index finger. It felt incredibly durable then he tilted his head and looked down at Dani.

"Do you have one of these Harlow basics?" Wren asked.

Dani crossed her arms over her chest looking away defensively. "I do have one, yeah but I don’t really like it that much."

The worker stepped closer with a knowing polite smile. "Miss Dani bought the biggest size available and complained when the hem reached all the way down to her legs."

Dani puffed her cheeks out, her face turning a bright, violent shade of red as she glared daggers at the worker. "Hey! You didn’t need to tell him that!"

Wren chuckled under his breath and then he looked back at the display. "I actually really like the design. Iwant to buy two of them."

"Wonderful!" The maid clapped her hands together. "Please, pick whichever two you prefer."

Before Wren could even reach his hand out, Dani moved forward. She grabbed the hems of a solid black shirt and a deep navy blue one.

"I like these designs for you..." Dani said shoving them toward the worker.

Wren looked at the colors, considering them for a moment, and nodded. The maid carefully folded the two shirts over her arm.

"Would you want to go to the changing room this instant, sir, or would you like to check out even more clothes?" she asked.

"I need to check out a lot more," Wren said, scanning the massive room. "I need more shirt options, trousers, shorts, joggers, singlets... Basically, a lot of things to buy."

The maid’s face completely lit up and she gave a small professional curtsey. "Understood, sir! I will help you out to the best of my abilities."

...

Time passed slowly in the quiet boutique.

Dani leaned against the wall outside the fitting rooms with the area draped in thick midnight-blue velvet curtains that dampened the sound of the store.

She was staring intently at her phone, swiping through her gallery to look at pictures of Wren and a thin, distinct line of blood flowed out from her right nostril.

They had finished handing Wren his massive pile of clothes, and for the past five minutes, he had been trying them on behind those heavy curtains.

She stopped on her favorite picture with Wren wearing a dark beanie with a nice shirt and trousers. She wiped the blood from her lip with the back of her hand.

’Hngg~ Wren is so hot...’ Dani thought and her breathing quickened.

She almost put her hands into her shorts to touch her lower lips but she caught herself, even if she didn’t have any shame whatsoever, this was a public building.

She couldn’t act that perverted out in the open.

Dani looked up and the maid was standing nearby, staring at the closed curtain with a bright highly visible flush on her cheeks.

"You should be more professional at your place of work," Dani said, scowling and crossing her arms to assert dominance.

The maid shifted her legs nervously.

"I’m trying, Miss Dani but I haven’t seen such a handsome person his age in Harlow before. I really can’t help it."

Before Dani could keep arguing with her, the heavy velvet curtains slid open.

"How do I look?" Wren asked, stepping out into the light.

He was wearing his final set of clothes and the fit was flawless.

He wore a charcoal heavy-knit V-neck that clung perfectly to the broadness of his chest and shoulders, highlighting his athletic build without looking tight.

Paired with it were dark tactical-cut trousers that sat cleanly on his hips, ending over a pair of sleek, matte-black boots.

The clothes made him look taller and even more handsome.

The maid clamped her hands over her mouth. "You look very handsome, sir."

"Thanks," Wren said, nodding to her.

He turned his attention to the blond girl. "What do you think, Dani?"

Dani stared blankly at his chest and the thin trail of blood from her nose immediately turned into a heavy stream.

Her eyes rolled back slightly, and she fell completely backward, hitting the carpeted floor with a dull thud.

Wren stepped forward, looking down at her crumpled form in confusion. "Is she going to be okay?"

"Yes, sir," the maid replied calmly with a completely unbothered look on her face. "Miss Dani just has a condition that makes her nose bleed when she gets over-stimulated."

Wren raised a single eyebrow. "Oh? Like those anime girls?"

The maid nodded rapidly.

On the floor, Dani’s eyes snapped open. She immediately scrambled up onto one knee, reaching into her pocket, she extended her hand dramatically holding a silver ring out of absolutely nowhere.

"Ahem..." Dani cleared her throat looking up at him with sparkling desperate eyes. "Wren, please marry me! I promise I will keep you as the happiest man alive with everyday sex!"

Wren stared at the ring. "Pfft."

Dani’s face flushed with pure offense and she shot up onto her feet. "Are you not convinced that I can satisfy you?!"

"Dani, we are in a stor—"

"I’ll prove it to you!" she yelled.

Before Wren could stop her, she grabbed the waistband of her bottoms and drew her shorts straight down to her ankles, flashing her panties right in the middle of the business establishment.

Smack!

Wren’s hand chopped down precisely on the top of her blond head.

...

Minutes later, Wren stood at the counter of the receptionist area.

Beside him, Dani was pouting massaging her blond head with a painful wince.

Honestly, as Wren looked around the pristine shop, it was very surprising that she hadn’t been thrown out into the street that instant for a stunt like that.

The receptionist acted like absolutely nothing had happened, she calculated the last of the clothes, putting them into a set of large, heavy-duty bags.

"The total for your purchases today comes to five thousand credits, sir," the receptionist said with a polite smile. "Would you like to pay with a cash transfer or card?"

Wren reached for his phone but then paused.

"Wait," Wren said. "What about the sundress? The colorful one with the flower designs in it. My stepmother, Diana, showed it to me."

The receptionist lit up instantly.

"Ah, yes! That is our newly made Valentino Sundress. It’s a new product but already very famous among the ladies in town... If you would like to purchase one, it will be an additional three thousand credits."

Wren frowned with his hand hovering over his pocket. "Diana told me it was one thousand credits."

The receptionist paused, blinking in realization. "Oh! If it is for Miss Diana, then she is a very important customer. With her tier, the price is indeed one thousand credits. Let me confirm."

She tapped a button on her sleek desk console and the line rang twice before Diana picked up.

"Good afternoon, Miss Diana..." the receptionist said politely. "Did you send your stepson to get the Valentino sundress?"

On the other end of the line, Diana’s voice came through the speaker and she sounded flustered. "Y-yes... h-he wanted to buy it for me..."

The receptionist chuckled warmly.

"Understood, ma’am. It will be arranged immediately." She hung up the call and quickly wrapped the vibrant dress in signature tissue paper.

Minutes later, Wren and Dani walked out of the Harlow Boutique with the glass door chiming behind them.

Wren stepped onto the sidewalk, carrying a very heavy set of packs full of clothes. The thick paper handles dug slightly into his palms, but he didn’t mind.

"Thanks for helping me shop, Dani..." Wren said, looking down at her.

She smiled brightly, completely recovered from the chop to the head. "It was okay! Come on, let’s go to your place so I can help you put them in your room."

"Yeah, alright—"

Before Wren could finish, a sudden blur of rapid motion caught his eye.

Someone was running frantically past them on the sidewalk.

Their footsteps slapped hard against the concrete with their hair blowing wildly behind them in the wind. Wren turned his head quickly, catching a clear glimpse of her face as she dashed by.

It was Zoe and she was crying.

Thick, heavy tears streamed down her cheeks as she sprinted blindly, heading directly in the direction of the house.

Wren tightened his grip on the heavy shopping bags then he turned to Dani, he didn’t like this.

"Come on..." Wren said.

He needed to go home.