CHAPTER 5：THE TURNAROUND

CHAPTER 5

GWENDOLYN POV

My hands were trembling as I stood there in the wedding dress rental store. I had come to return her dress after her wedding, but she had accidentally stained it. She had already cleaned it up as best she could, but she knew it wasn't perfect. The store attendant, however, was relentless in her taunts and ridicule.

"You're so poor," the store attendant sneered. "Who do you think you are, trying to get married in a dress you can't afford?"

Gwendolyn felt her cheeks flushing with embarrassment. She had scrimped and saved for months to be able to afford the rental, but now all she could feel was shame. She was about to try to explain again when a voice cut through the store. Never in my life had she felt so embarrassed, the ridicule was just too much to bear, she could feel the quality of hundreds of gases lurking on her. She glanced at the crowd of customers bracketing the scene.

"What happened?"

"How could it have happened?"

Several questions were thrown. Gwendolyn felt the questions clouding her ears filling every space in them. At a point, she heard the words repeating and echoing off against the walls of her ears, she locked her ears trying to stop the growing noise in the background.

"Maybe she is just one of those crazy sl*ts that can't afford a proper wedding gown." A ladies standing far from her spoke in her direction. The store attendant grew more momentum by the growing audience, she continued to hurl— to hurl abusive words at me.

She had mocked her for being poor, for trying to look rich on her wedding day. The insults stung, and she felt ashamed of her own circumstances. But as she stood there, trying to compose herself, a voice spoke out on her behalf.

"Excuse me?" Carol said, his tone cold and furious. "How dare you speak to my wife like that?"

Gwendolyn breathed a sigh of relief as she turned to look at Carol. Her heart swelled with love and gratitude for the man who had just spoken up for her. He glared at the store attendant, who suddenly seemed to shrink back in fear.

It was Carol, the man who had been kind to me since we met. He didn't let the store attendant get away with insulting me, and I watched in awe as he stood up for me. It was then that I realized how much I appreciated his presence in my life.

"And who are you?" The store attendant was furious, red in the face as she demanded to know who Carol was. But he didn't back down, instead challenging her on her own assumptions and bias. She had never seen anyone stand up to her like that before.

For once, she didn't feel alone. She knew she had someone there who believed in her, who saw her for who she truly was.

"I am her husband." Carol's voice reverberated through the entire store. His face was wrapped In a mask of anger, one that was hot enough to burn down any building. The whole crowd turned to the individual who now seemed to be gwendolyn husband. Gwendolyn, for a second, felt loved and happy. She took a series of steps backwards to stand beside him.

"Ooh I see, the old wretched Romeo comes to fight for his Juliet." The store attendant mocked us. She felt sad for him, now he had to have a share of the disgrace. "Now I see the reason why this lady rented a wedding dress cus her Romeo over here is too wretched to afford one."

The store attendant's words now turned the store into a comedy show where they were the victim and the other people laughed on at their shame.

Suddenly, she felt his wolf's anger, she felt her wolf and his entangling into a mate-bond. Then suddenly, the connection broke. Before I knew it, he pulled away from her and faced the store attendant.

"I am not wretched!" He bawled authoritatively with storms of veins littered all over his forehead. "Infact, I will buy the most expensive wedding dress right now."

"Okay your majesty," the store attendant mocked as she laughed wickedly. She walked out of the counter and went into a direction.

Gwendolyn was shocked at this new discovery, she found herself happy about how he was standing in for her. But she couldn't let him spend so much money on her. They were both struggling, trying to make ends meet. She tried to explain to him that they couldn't afford such luxury, but he wouldn't listen.

It was then that she realized how much he cared for her, how much he was willing to do to make her happy. And even though she still felt a bit guilty, she knew that his heart was in the right place.

Carol watched with pride as Gwendolyn demanded an apology from the store attendant who had insulted her. His heart swelled with admiration for the woman he loved. He knew that her gentle nature could sometimes be mistaken for weakness, but he had always seen the strength in her.

When the altercation was over, Carol took Gwendolyn by the hand and led her to the best wedding dress in the store. He purchased it without a second thought, despite her protests that it was too expensive. The dress was perfect for her, and he wanted her to feel like the most beautiful bride in the world.

"Here." He said stretching forth his hand to her. She looked at it and saw a wrap of money in his palms, taking it she asked, "what should I use it for? and besides how did you get all this money?"

"Your questions will be answered later, the money is for groceries to improve our feedings." He said and without asking another question, gwendolyn headed in the direction of the grocery store. As she left to buy groceries, he took a moment to reflect on the events of the day. He felt braver, more confident, knowing that he had someone like gwendolyn by his side.

Later, as they walked home with their groceries, Carol's phone rang. It was his subordinate, informing him that they had found out who had harmed him in the past. The person responsible had been caught, and it was time for Carol to return to his rightful place as Alpha.

Carol's heart raced with excitement and anticipation. He had spent so long hiding his true identity and living in obscurity, but now he could reclaim his position as leader of the pack. Gwendolyn listened as he spoke on the phone, a smile on her face as she sensed the joy in his voice.

At that instant he knew his life— their life, would never be the same again.