"Why are you all staring?" The man’s voice thundered again, echoing across the entrance.
"Who’s in charge here?!" he shouted, waving the crumpled paper bag in the air. His tone was filled with anger that it drew the attention of everyone nearby.
"Sir, please calm down—" Joel tried to step forward to calm the man down. It wasn’t good publicity for them, especially since there were still so reporters around.
"Calm down?" The man barked out a laugh that didn’t sound like he was happy at all. "You think I can calm down when this store’s taking advantage of people?"
Because of what the man said, the tension in the air thickened.
Custors who were browsing stopped moving. A few mothers pulled their children closer to their arms, worried about their safety. There were also so staff mbers near the counters who froze as they were unsure of what to do.
When Gray realized the situation, he decided to take it on personally. He stepped forward, and with a smile on his face, he greeted the man.
"Sir, I’m the one in charge. Can you tell what happened?"
The man turned his glare toward Gray. His grip on the bag tightened. The sides of the bad tore slightly.
"What happened? My wife ca ho with this!" he yelled out loud, shaking the bag that was filled with goods. "Groceries! From your store! When I told her not to spend a single cent this week!"
"Sir, I don’t understand. Is there sothing wrong with the items?" Gray’s eyes narrowed slightly.
"Wrong?" the man said in disbelief. His voice rose again, drawing more attention.
"There’s nothing wrong with the items! The problem is your store tempting her to buy things she doesn’t need! Your people! You tricked her with your discounts!"
"Sir, that’s not fair. We didn’t..." Joel’s jaw tensed.
"Shut up!" the man snapped, pointing at Joel. "Don’t tell what’s fair! You’re all the sa! You’re trying to make fools out of us hardworking people!"
The store had gone completely quiet now because of all the accusations the man had been blurting out. Only the man’s angry voice filled everyone’s ears.
’I didn’t think I would encounter sothing like this...’ Gray secretly sighed before taking another step forward.
"Sir, I understand you’re upset," he said, keeping his tone calm so the situation wouldn’t worsen. "But please, this isn’t the right way to handle it. Let’s talk properly."
"Properly?" The man’s lip curled upwards. "You think you can talk your way out of this? You think I don’t see what you’re doing? You’re making my wife waste money we don’t have!"
He slamd the bag on the counter near the entrance. So of the items spilled out. There was bread, rice, milk, and a few canned goods.
Gray looked at them quietly. They were all ordinary things that you would eat daily. Most of them were even the cheapest brand of the items. With it, he was sure as hell that the bill wasn’t even that expensive.
’The woman must have found this as a good opportunity to buy cheap groceries for them to get by, but this stupid guy doesn’t understand any of it.’ He looked at the man and couldn’t help but be annoyed at him.
He was thinking about just offering a refund before the man could say sothing more. However, before Gray could even reply, a woman’s voice called out from outside.
"Please! Stop! Stop it!"
Everyone turned toward the door once again.
In there, a woman ran inside. She looked out of breath. Her hair was ssy, and there was a faint red mark on her cheek. Her eyes were puffy from crying. She looked terrified as she rushed to the man and grabbed his arm.
"Please, stop it already," she begged. "You’re making a scene."
"Let go!" he snapped at the woman, shaking her off roughly. "You think you can run off buying things like you have money to spare?!"
"I just bought what we needed!" the woman cried out loud, her voice cracking. "There’s no more rice at ho. And our son needed milk—"
"I told you no more spending!" he roared, his voice echoing again. "You can’t even listen for once!"
The woman flinched and took a step back at the shout. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she tried to calm him. "Please, people are watching..."
Her words only made him angrier.
"Good! Let them watch! Maybe then you’ll learn not to embarrass again! You stupid bitch!"
Joel clenched his fists beside Gray. "This guy’s out of line, Boss," he muttered under his breath.
Gray didn’t respond. He took a quiet breath, his gaze fixed on the man. The man was big. He had broad shoulders, thick arms, and an intimidating stance. Every movent he made was filled with anger that seed to have nowhere to go.
The wife tried to pick up the fallen groceries from the floor, her hands trembling. But the man kicked the bag aside, scattering the food onto the floor even further.
Gasps filled the air. A few staff mbers stepped forward instinctively, but Gray raised a hand slightly, signaling them to stay back for now. He should handle this since he was their boss.
"Sir," Gray said calmly, his tone firr now. "That’s enough."
The man turned to him, his eyes burning with fury.
"You stay out of this! This is between and my wife!"
"This is my store," Gray replied, his voice getting louder when he realized the man wouldn’t take him seriously.
"And right now, you’re disturbing everyone here. You need to calm down before this gets worse."
"Don’t tell what to do you motherfucker!!" the man shouted, his voice booming again. He took a threatening step forward, but Gray didn’t flinch at it. Not at all.
The staff nearby looked nervous. So of the custors started whispering too, while others pulled out their phones to record the scene. For sure, if they posted this online, it would be trending!
"Please, let’s go ho," the woman cried again, tugging at her husband’s sleeve. "You’re scaring people..."
"Stop talking!" he yelled, grabbing her wrist roughly. She whimpered in pain, trying to pull away.
It was the last act Gray could take.
In a second, he stepped forward, his tone cold this ti.
"Let her go."
The man glared at him, his hand still gripping his wife’s wrist.
"And if I don’t?"
Joel moved slightly closer beside Gray, his voice low.
"Sir..."
"If you don’t, I’ll call security. This isn’t a place where you can do whatever you want." Gray’s jaw tightened.
For a mont, the man’s glare stayed locked on Gray. His wife was still trembling beside him. Her wrist was already turning red where he held her.
The man stared at Gray for a long mont before his lips twisted into an ugly smirk. Then, out of nowhere, he started laughing. The sound was loud and mocking.
"You?" he said between his laughter. "You think you can tell what to do?"
Gray’s eyes didn’t waver. He stood his ground.
The man scoffed again, then turned his head toward his wife, who was still standing beside him. The woman was shaking, crying, and clutching her wrist.
"You hear that?" he said, his voice dripping with bitterness. "This guy thinks he can control better than you can."
"Please, let’s just go," the woman whispered through tears. "Please, I’m begging you."
Her voice cracked with desperation. But instead of listening, the man suddenly swung his hand across her face. The sharp sound of the slap echoed across the entrance.
Everyone froze because of it.
The woman stumbled, her hand flying to her cheek as she gasped in shock. A collective murmur ran through the crowd. Soone at the back cried out for security.
Joel took a step forward, his jaw tightening, but before he could move, Gray had already crossed the distance.
He didn’t think. Not at all. His body just moved.
The next thing he knew, his fist landed hard with the man’s jaw. The impact was so strong that it made the man take a step backward. He beca imbalance and fell to the ground.
The scene made the people gasp again.
The man looked stunned for a split second, holding his jaw with wide eyes, before glaring back at Gray with pure rage.
"You bastard—"
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