Chapter 714 - 702: Marrying a Rich Man (5)

Chapter 714: Chapter 702: Marrying a Rich Man (5)

Her voice wasn’t loud, but it reached Shirley Lockwood, who was looking around in excitement. Even Archie Lockwood heard it. He froze for a moment and followed the sound with his eyes.

When he saw the pale-faced woman standing beside the mannequin, his heart, as expected, sank with a thud.

Shirley Lockwood looked up, her brow furrowed in confusion. She let go of Archie Lockwood’s hand and started walking toward Eleanor Bishop.

Eleanor Bishop watched Rory approach, her eyes turning red as a sharp pain pierced her heart.

’Perhaps I should run away right now,’ she thought, ’but my feet refuse to move even a single step.’

’My Rory... she’s grown up. She’s a big girl now. That’s so good, it’s really so good. It looks like Archie Lockwood has taken great care of her.’

"Rory, don’t you still have shopping to do? Let’s go." As Shirley Lockwood was about to reach Eleanor Bishop, Archie Lockwood snapped back to his senses. Panic seized him. He strode over, placed a hand on Shirley’s shoulder, and spoke in a cold tone.

Shirley Lockwood’s delicate brow furrowed. She glanced up at her dad, bewildered, then turned a suspicious gaze on Eleanor Bishop. Tilting her head, she asked with a puzzled smile, "Excuse me, miss, do you know me? How do you know my nickname is Rory?" Only people who were very close to her ever called her that.

Therefore, anyone who knew to call her Rory had to be someone she knew.

But she didn’t seem to recognize this lady who had called her Rory, and judging by her dad’s expression, he didn’t know her either.

’Miss?’ Her own Rory didn’t recognize her. She even called her ’miss.’ A bitter thought crossed Eleanor Bishop’s mind as she fought the urge to cry. Forcing a smile, she began, "I..."

Seeing that Eleanor Bishop was about to speak, Archie Lockwood’s face darkened. He cut in sharply, "How could she possibly know you? Rory, have you forgotten what I’ve taught you? Don’t talk to strangers. Some people might look harmless, but deep down, they’re vicious and have malicious intentions."

Archie Lockwood’s words sent another sharp, twisting pain through Eleanor’s heart. ’So, after all these years, he still hasn’t forgiven me. He still resents me.’

But then again, she had done so much to hurt him in the past.

"But Dad, I think she really does know me." Shirley Lockwood listened to her father, but as she studied Eleanor Bishop, she didn’t think the woman looked like a bad person. In fact, she looked so pitiful and miserable that Shirley couldn’t help but want to speak up for her.

Archie Lockwood let out a sarcastic sneer. "Children are so easily deceived," he said to Shirley, before turning his cold gaze to Eleanor. "If you know what’s good for you, I suggest you disappear from our sight this instant. And from now on, never show your face to us again."

The crowd of onlookers hadn’t expected the man to be so ruthless with his words.

However, instead of feeling sorry for the pitiful Eleanor Bishop, they found Archie Lockwood incredibly charismatic. SO MASCULINE!!!

And so, they collectively mocked Eleanor for getting ahead of herself, trying to force a connection by pretending to know them.

Hearing the murmurs of the crowd, Eleanor Bishop clenched her fists, her body trembling slightly. The words of strangers weren’t enough to break her. What truly made it impossible for her to stand her ground was Archie Lockwood’s warning.

She knew she shouldn’t stay a moment longer, but her feet simply wouldn’t move. She knew with absolute certainty that if she left now, she had no idea when—or if—she would ever see her Rory again.

Just then, Owen Miller—the man she had been on a blind date with at the coffee shop—found her.

While she was still in a daze, he grabbed her arm in a tight grip and snarled, "You bitch! So this is where you’ve been hiding!"