"I…" Vanessa was so stunned by Elena's words that she couldn't think of a single word to cover up her previous nonsense.
Elena smirked inwardly, 'Do you think I would let you manipulate me again? Dream on!'
"What's going on here?" A slightly feminine voice sounded out, which made everyone turn to the source of the voice.
"Mr. Vale!" the manager's eyes lit up on seeing the person and she instantly ran towards him.
Elena also recognized the face. He was none other than Adrian Vale, a well-known fashion designer and one of her mother's closest friends. Adrian had a heart of a woman but strength of a man. Just by seeing him, anybody could tell that he wasn't straight.
"What's the matter?" Adrian asked again coldly. His voice sent shivers down everyone's spine present there. However, for some reason, Elena was not affected by his voice.
"Mr. Yale, this young lady over here just won't leave and insists on buying the dress, even though she cannot afford it," the manager said while pointing her finger at Elena.
Elena wasn't affected by the manager's complaint but she saw Vanessa and Bella smirk from the corner of her eyes. She didn't pay heed to the two b*tches as she knew that a good show was going to start.
Just as Elena thought this, Adrian walked towards her. Vanessa, Bella and the manager were just waiting for Elena to be humiliated when they heard the coldness in Adrian's voice turn to tenderness.
"Hey, isn't that my little Elena?"
A genuine smile appeared on Elena's face when she heard Adrian. "Uncle Adrian," Elena greeted him sweetly.
Adrian's lips curved up and he hugged Elena tightly.
The three people watching felt their eyes were about to pop out in shock. They couldn't believe that the cold heartless fashion designer was being so sweet and tender to Elena.
"S-sir… You know this commoner?" Adrian's mouth twitched when he heard the manager call Elena a commoner. He turned towards the manager and the coldness in his eyes made a chill run down the manager's spine.
"What did you just say? Commoner? My little Elena is a commoner?" The temperature in the room went down by a few degrees when Adrian spoke angrily, "How dare you call her a commoner? Don't you know that she is the heiress of the Ashford family?"
The manager's eyes turned wide in shock. She couldn't believe that this young lady dressed in plain clothes was the one and only heiress of the Ashford family! After all, till now she had seen the rich ladies dressed in brands from head to toe. She had expected the heiress of the Ashford family to be the same. She had expected Elena to be wearing expensive clothing and thick makeup just like the three ugly clowns in the corner.
Talking about the clowns, Bella was so shocked that her face had turned white. She couldn't believe that the person she was looking down was the heiress of the Ashford family. Bella's family, the Monroe family was more like an average family in the streets compared to the Ashford family who possessed generational wealth.
Bella looked at Elena and coincidentally Elena was also looking at her. Their eyes met and Elena's glare made Bella's body turn stiff. At this time, Bella just wanted to escape the scene. She knew that offending the heiress of the Ashford family would have consequences and she would be reprimanded heavily by her father but what was done could not be undone. She could apologize to Elena right now to mend the situation but her pride didn't allow her to do so. So, she signaled her companions and the three of them tried to flee away from the scene.
However, today was not her day. As soon as Adrian saw them try to sneak away, he asked calmly, "Where do you think you're going?"
Although his voice was calm, it felt like that of a grim reaper's to Bella. The three girls stood rooted at the spot and felt as if their entire bodies had frozen.
"Nobody is allowed to leave!" Adrian's calm voice reverberated in everyone's ears.
Bella and the manager were so scared that they felt like they were just inches away from peeing their pants. After all, everyone in the fashion industry knew that the calmer Adrian sounded, the angrier he was. Everyone knew how bad his temper was and what had happened to the people who had offended him.
Vanessa, on the other hand, just stood there gritting her teeth in anger. She couldn't believe that someone like Adrian knew Elena and they were so close. Elena had never mentioned Adrian to Vanessa. If Vanessa knew, she would have left no stone unturned to associate herself with Adrian so as to boost her popularity in the entertainment industry.