Love's Tangled Web by Donna Taylor

Chapter 305 Warren has been pushing Alex to pick from several candidates. Layton said Alex has already promised his grandfather he'll get married soon." Ellie didn't say much, only clarifying that there was nothing between Aaron and Haley, but she didn't offer any other opinions.

When it cto relationships, things were unpredictable. Haley had pursued Aaron for more than a year, so passionately and so eagerly. Aaron had been cautious, yet in the end, he couldn't escape the fate that reality had dealt him.

When Lacey mentioned that Alex was getting married, Ellie didn't take it too seriously. If anything, she actually hoped he would get married soon-so he would stop lingering around her like a ghost.

The pain Alex had caused her was something she would never be able to forgive, but she had to let go. She had to leave the past behind and move on.

After parting ways with Lacey and Diana, Ellie didn't rush home. Her mom's 55th birthday was coming up, and she wanted to buy something special for her.

After Christmas, nearly every store was having sales, and Ellie wandered down the pedestrian street, browsing the shops. She spotted a white cashmere scarf in the window of a women's clothing store. The warm color made her think of her mom- she was gonna love it.

She entered the store and carefully checked the price tag. To her surprise, the scarf cost more than 3 thousand dollars. Even with a fifty percent discount, it would still set her back several thousand dollars.

Without a change in expression, Ellie quietly set the tag down and turned to leave. She hadn't expected the items in such a seemingly modest shop to be so expensive.

"Wait, you can't leave!" The saleswoman blocked Ellie's way. "Our store has a policy-if you touch light-colored items, you have to buy them. You just touched that cashmere scarf, so you need to pay." Ellie frowned and said in a firm voice, "I didn't touch it. I only looked at the price tag." She was careful about such things-being poor meant she couldn't afford to casually touch items in stores, especially in places where she felt like she might be pressured into buying. She had only glanced at the price tag and hadn't touched the scarf.

The saleswoman didn't let up. "I saw you touch it. If you don't pay, I'll call the police." Another saleswoman chimed in, "If you don't have money to buy it, don't cin here. We've seen plenty of bumpkins like you." Ellie's eyes narrowed, her calm demeanor unwavering. "You have cameras here. I know if I touched that scarf or not. Go ahead, call the police." Just then, a middle-aged woman, presumably the store manager approached. She looked Ellie up and down before speaking. "Miss, have you seen the sign above? It states that light colored items cannot be tried on, touched, or handled unless they are paid for first." Ellie raised her head, her eyes scanning the row of spotlights above her, where a small line of text was barely visible unless she looked up carefully. "I'm not paying for it. If you don't letleave, then I'll call the police." +13) 08:25 Wed, Feb 12 Chapter 305 The store manager, noticing Ellie was about 80%1 +13) el the police, rushed to stop her. “Letexplain something. Even if you call the police, the most they can do is give you a small discount. You still have to pay for what you touched." The manager's tone shifted to a more persecut The manager's tone shifted to a more persuasive one. "Maybe you didn't see our store policy. How about this? I'll give you a thirty percent discount, the employee rate. Think of it as a way to make you a loyal customer." Ellie shook her head. "I don't want it." The manager's expression soured instantly. "We're trying to do honest business here. You've already broken our store's rules by touching our product. You think you can just walk away without paying, huh?" Ellie crossed her arms. "I don't have the money. You can call the police if you want." The manager sneered. “No money? Then what are you doing in our store? Trying to steal something, huh?" Hearing that, Ellie's heart twisted in an indescribable way. Just because she was poor, she had lost count of the number of times people had used the word "steal" to humiliate her.

Just then, the door to the store suddenly swung open. Alex cin and threw his credit card onto the counter. "I'll buy it. Put it on my card." Alex stood at the counter with his intense gaze locked on Ellie. She didn't look at him, nor did she say a word. She simply turned and walked out of the store.

On the sidewalk, her pace quickened. The more she tried to suppress her em ons, the more they threatened to explode. All she had seen was that beautiful cashmere scarf and the sale. She thought, 'How had I missed the fact that it was an overseas purchase store? Even with a 30% discount, I couldn't afford it!' She thought she had overestimated herself again.

Later that night, in the private room on the second floor of the Encounter Bar, Layton entered to find Alex sitting alone, drinking his sorrows away. "Mrs. Warren was about to call the police because she couldn't find you. Why are you hiding here?" Sighing, Layton stepped forward and snatched the glass from Alex's hand. "Stop drinking. Talk to me. Did you go for Ellie again?" looking Alex sat on the couch, leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees, his head hung low as his hands gripped the empty glass in his grasp with force.

☐ He was completely consumed by a sense of suffocating pressure as if he hadn't heard Layton's words. All that filled his mind was the image of Ellie that afternoon-her head bowed in humiliation as the saleswoman ridiculed her.

Sadly, he had treated her worse than those employees had a million times. The things he had done and said to her were a hundred times more despicable.

"Hey, I swear I won't snap at you.

Just talk to me," Layton said, watching Alex's "Theard from s emotions, fray.

m Mrs. Warren that you promised your grandpa you would marry soon. Are you serious about it?" Seeing Alex remain silent, Layton cautiously probed further. “You're not planning to force Ellie to marry you, are you?" Finally, Alex raised his head. His eyes were bloodshot, and his voice was rough when he responded, "She'd rather stabthan have anything to do with me. Do you think I could force her to marry me?" 08:25 Wed, Feb 1240 Chapter 305 Layton exaggerated a sigh of relief. "I thought you didn't know that." Alex shot Layton a fierce glare.

102180% +13) Layton raised an eyebrow and said in a teasing tone, “So, you're just going to let Ellie go and marry a random woman instead, just like that?" Alex didn't respond, sitting there in silence for a long while. Suddenly, he grabbed his coat, stood up, and left the room without saying another word.

Layton watched him go, muttering to himself, "I really want to see how far you're willing to go for Ellie." Late that night, close to eleven, Ellie was jolted awake by the buzzing of her phone. Glancing at the strange number, she quickly hung up and tried to go back to sleep.

Just as Ellie closed her eyes, the phone buzzed again. Lying in bed, she reluctantly picked up the phone, eyes stilNclosed. "I'm downstairs waiting for you. If you're not up in five minutes, I'll cupstairs to find you!" Alex said. The call ended, and Ellie immediately snapped to attention. She looked at the time-exactly eleven in the evening. She couldn't help wondering, 'What does that lunatic want at this hour?" After a brief moment of hesitation, Ellie quietly got out of bed. Joanna and Aaron were both asleep, and she couldn't let Alex cup.

want?" Carefully putting on her clothes, Ellie sneaked downstairs. In the garden outside the building, she iNe saw Alexwaiting for her. Wrapping her coat tightly around herself, Ellie stopped a few steps behind him and asked, "So, what exactly do you