The Inescapable Celibate Heir Chapter 133: Smashing the Shop

Victoria stepped out of the car and noticed a crowd gathered in front of Ruth's store. 

Curious, she walked over and asked, "What's going on here?"

A middle-aged man with a friendly face turned to her and said, "You must be new around here. Ever heard of Zachary Johnson? He's the local playboy." 

"The Johnson family is pretty famous in these parts, but Zachary's known for being lazy and getting into trouble. Looks like he's here to stir up some drama because the store owner must've ticked him off."

Apparently, Zachary had walked by the store last week with Marilyn, the woman he was trying to impress. Marilyn had her eye on the reindeer wood carving in the window. 

Thinking it wouldn't cost much, Zachary promised to buy it for her. But when they went inside, Ruth told them they had to solve a puzzle to buy it. 

Not wanting to look bad in front of Marilyn, Zachary boasted he could solve it, and if not, he'd pay someone to help. 

But when Ruth showed him the chess puzzle, Zachary was clueless. Neither he nor his friends knew anything about chess. 

Angry and embarrassed, Zachary accused Ruth of making it hard on purpose to jack up the price. 

He claimed he could pay any price, but Marilyn convinced him to let it go.

Yesterday, Marilyn ditched Zachary for a handsome male model visiting from out of town. Ignoring Zachary completely, she left him bitter. 

Blaming Ruth for his failure to win Marilyn over, Zachary decided to take it out on her store. So today, he brought a few thugs with him to cause trouble for Ruth. 

In truth, Marilyn just found Zachary unattractive and cheap, preferring the model who at least looked good.

Victoria pushed through the crowd and had just stepped inside the store when she heard the sound of items crashing to the floor. 

A tall guy was knocking merchandise off the shelves. 

A shorter young man stood at the counter, hands on his hips, yelling at Ruth, "I want that reindeer wood carving today. If you don't sell it to me, I'll wreck your store!" 

His tone was arrogant, and Victoria figured this must be Zachary.

Ruth, clearly annoyed, replied, "Even if you threaten me, I can't sell it because the reindeer wood carving isn't mine. Stop causing trouble, or I'll call the police."

Zachary laughed loudly and turned to his thugs, "Call the police? She's threatening to call the police." 

He then stepped closer to Ruth, staring her down. "Don't you know the police chief is my uncle? Who do you think he'll side with, you or his own nephew?" 

As he stared, he realized Ruth was quite beautiful. Despite her simple clothes and everyday makeup, she was just as attractive as Marilyn. 

He had noticed Ruth's looks the last time he was here but hadn't paid much attention because he was pursuing Marilyn. 

Now, he thought that if he couldn't have Marilyn, Ruth would be a good consolation. His gaze became more lecherous, practically undressing her with his eyes.

Ruth felt disgusted and snapped, "What are you looking at?"

Zachary smirked and reached out to touch Ruth's face. "Looking at you, miss. How did I not notice how pretty you were last time?" 

He continued, "If I'd known, I wouldn't have bothered with Marilyn. How about this: agree to be my girlfriend, and I'll let this slide."

Ruth was appalled by his shamelessness. The police couldn't control him, and now he was hitting on her. 

She was feisty by nature and slapped his hand away, angrily saying, "Get lost!"

Zachary's hand hit the counter with a thud, and he clutched his left hand, crying out in pain, "You ungrateful woman! Guys, grab her. Let's see how she fights back now!"

As the thugs moved toward the counter, Victoria rushed over, grabbed Zachary's wrist, and pushed him away. "Stop!" 

Victoria's sense of justice wouldn't let her ignore this, especially since she wanted to solve the puzzle and buy the reindeer wood carving herself. 

The thugs paused, looking at Victoria with puzzled expressions.

Zachary steadied himself and looked at Victoria, a flash of surprise in his eyes. 

'Another beauty,' he thought, 'judging by her attire, she probably isn't from Lytheria. She must be an ordinary person without money or a tourist from another country.' 

With that in mind, he arrogantly asked, "And who are you to interfere?"

Victoria replied, "It doesn't matter who I am. You shouldn't be trashing people's stores and bullying them. Doesn't Lytheria have laws?"

Zachary smirked and said slowly, "In this city, the Johnson family is the law."

Victoria was taken aback by his confidence and couldn't help but roll her eyes. 

This Zachary reminded her of Sophia from a few days ago. She wondered if his family's influence was even greater than Sophia's.

Ruth looked gratefully at Victoria but knew she was just a tourist, so she whispered, "You're just a girl. Don't get involved with these people. This is my problem. I don't want you to get hurt."

Victoria reassured her, "Don't worry. I can handle these guys." 

Ruth's eyes widened in surprise as she looked at Victoria, thinking, 'What does she mean by that?'