Be Your Lover Forever (Alicia)

"Although it's a limited edition, the price of the shoes is fairly acceptable. It's only 39999 dollars. Not to mention how suitable it looks on a fashionable and beautiful lady like you..." the salesperson continued. Glancing at the shoes on her feet, Frederick did not warm up to them. He still thought that they looked utterly ugly. "Do these really look good? I think you should try the others. These just look like shoes for children though." The shoes were weird enough with furs attached to them. The style becworse with their 'unique' design, different on each side.

Upon hearing that, the salesperson was amused.

"Sir, you must be joking! This asymmetrical style is the newest trend this year! There's always a little girl living in every woman's heart after all. That's the reason why these cute styles are getting popular over recent years. Look at that lady over there! The shoes she's wearing have a similar style as our product. This design is a must- have for this season. Your beautiful girlfriend seems to like it, why don't you buy a pair for her?" "Hubby -" Alicia turned around and wrapped her arms around his waist, pleading with him. She had clearly fallen for the shoes and could not wait to buy them.

"Would you buy this for me, please? I want it!" "Alright," he replied as he saw that she liked the shoes so much. He was about to reach for his wallet when his phone started vibrating. He reached for his phone instead and went to the side after making a gesture.

Alicia's arms were empty as he left. She thought that he was not going to buy her the shoes and her excitement faded. All of a sudden, the degrading, piercing voice from years ago crept into her head. "She's just a gold- digger who'll do anything for money. I have evidence to prove that she was the one who seduced the plaintiff..." "This is a video recording in a store. She was willing to hug a man just for a piece of clothing worth 1000 dollars! She kissed the man when he refused! This was what happened in public with all the customers watching them. It's not hard to see that she is much worse in a closed office with only her and the plaintiff. She seduced the plaintiff, and when she failed to get money from him, she was angered in embarrassment and assaulted the plaintiff on purpose!" "She is shameless, immoral, and indulges in luxury items. It is apparent that she is used to getting all kinds of stuff for free. This is not the first tshe seduced men with her looks to earn herself spocket money!" "She has many boyfriends, and she has seduced and manipulated them all in the sway to get their money!" Her enthusiasm vanished at that second.

The footage was actually taken when she was shopping with Jeremy during their tas a couple. She never expected that a small moment in her daily life would be used a proof for the accusation. The assault, the footage, being accused and humiliated at the court, and her inability to defend herself even though that was not the truth... all of it made her wanted to end her life at that time.

It was not that she could not afford the clothes. She just wished for Jeremy to buy it for her as a gift since they were sweetly in love.

How did she make the smistake again? The mundane and normal, daily lives full of happiness... Who knew if it would turn into another weapon someday in the future? Truth can be twisted easily by rumors and lies even if she had done nothing wrong and held her head up high! Biting her lower lip, she sat down and took the shoes off, changing back to her own shoes.

"Miss, you look really good in these. Are you sure you don't want it?" the salesperson asked. "I'm sure. Thanks!" she replied.

As soon as Frederick returned, he saw that she had taken off the shoes, visibly unhappy with a dark expression. He got flustered inexplicably.

She would not think that he was stingy with the money and did not want to buy it for her, would she? He raised his hand and said, "Wait, wrap them up for me!" He walked toward Alicia and held her waist, asking her gently, "Didn't you like them very much? It's not even expensive. We can buy them for you to wear however you want. I only left to take a phone call, you aren't mad, right?" He rubbed her hair and took out his credit card. Then, he took the shoes from the salesperson. He pushed her back on the seat and put them on her feet.

"Just wear that pair of shoes. It's already yours," he said.

He did it naturally without much thought. Meanwhile, the salesperson was astonished and there were gasps of envy in the store.

The salesperson was dumbfounded before she cto her senses and went to the counter to finish the transaction. Another staff cand helped to pack Alicia's old shoes.

After that, Frederick led Alicia out of the store.

Alicia looked down at her feet from tto time. She was feeling giddy as she really liked the shoes. The main reason that she felt upset was not because of the shoes, but because of the painful past she experienced. She was still afraid of the incident to this day. In the past, she thought that shopping made her feel happy even when she threw tantrums. She never expected that it nearly becevidence that would ruin her life.

After walking for a while, she started to feel dread. She realized that even the most expensive shoes would pinch her feet.

She slowed down unknowingly. From tto time, she would scoot her feet forward to the front of the shoes as they were pinching her heels, hurting her. She trailed behind Frederick, the distance between them growing bigger.

Frederick was replying to a message and kept looking at his phone. He sensed that Alicia was no longer near him.

He turned around and saw her plodding slowly, pulling a long face.

He thought that she was still upset. He walked back toward her and asked, "What's wrong? Are you still mad atbecause of a pair of shoes?" He poked her at the forehead, speechless.

"You're such a child! The shoes aren't even pretty, are they worth it? It's not that I wasn't buying it, I was o,m interrupted by a phone call. As long as you like it, I'll buy it no matter the like it, cost! So stop sulking!" Alicia could not help but hug him. She shook her head and explained, "No, I'm not upset about that... It's the shoes, I think they're pinching my feet." She would be unhappy for sure if Frederick did not buy them. But, unlike three years ago, she would not argue with him on the street just for this.

When Alicia was with Jeremy, she really thought that Jeremy refused to get her the dress because he did not love her. He had explained that the reason he did not want to buy it was ve that the dress was too short and the neckline was low. It was not that he did not want to buy it nor he found it expensive but he just did not want her to wear that dress. However, she was stubborn at that time. She thought that she needed him to buy her the dress even if she would never wear it. She would not accept any reasoning and compromises! Now that she thought about it, she may really have been unreasonable.

In the end, they returned to the store after they had left. Jeremy bought the dress for her, calling her "a child" like Frederick did. Despite that, she felt happy when she saw him pay.

Men did not understand. She did not want the clothes nor did she care about riches or rags. She only m wanted them to listen to her, to give in to her, to tolerate her temper, and adore her. She had a deep impression of the incident. That little blue dress even appeared in the court of her lawsuit. She could never forget it even if she wanted to. With her lips pressed, she looked at Frederick sheepishly.

She had insisted on the shoes and yet this happened after a mere few steps of walking. Wasn't this too embarrassing? Wouldn't this give him another reason to critic the shoes? "Then, let's change back to your old shoes." He took the bag and was about to take her old shoes out. She stopped him while shaking her head, "My ankle is worn anyway, the old shoes will hurt too." She tiptoed and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Hubby, would you carryon your back just for a while?" There was a pharmacy up ahead. They could stop by and get a band-aid! On the other hand, Jeremy was watching them from afar. The familiar sight of the couple evoked his memories. He remembered the twhen he bought Alicia clothes that summer and he could not hold his frustration X