A MAZE OF GREED

Ruth stood with wide eyes and her tongue heavy to say a word. She could not believe what she was seeing.

The golden dress was totally ruined from inside. The layers of the flowy bottom were torn so badly that they could not be repaired. The dress also had some strange stains on it as if something was spilt on it.

Thea as shocked as Ruth, could not believe her eyes.

"Mr Cooper, tell me what does this mean? You know I have a grand celebration to host tonight. What I am going to wear now? And what should I tell my husband? It was my anniversary gift for the God's sake? Oh my God!"

The maid rushed to hold her mistress and made her sit again on the chair. She started fanning her, and one of the employees fetched a glass of water for her.

Mr Cooper, shocked and confused, glared at Ruth.

"What is this Miss Moore?" His thunderous voice made Ruth jump in fright.

She could not believe the air in the shop turned drastically like this in a matter of only two minutes.

"I...I..."

"SHUT UP! See how you hurt Mrs Linlithgow. You brought shame to my name and my business. Tell me what happened to the dress? How it got ruined like this? Tell me!"

None had ever seen Mr Cooper that angry before. They all were speechless.

"I am asking you something Miss Moore!" He thundered again.

Ruth startled, blinked twice to fight back her tears.

"I... I... do not know Mr Cooper." She squeezes out the words.

"What do you mean by you do not know?"

"Mr Cooper, it is not Ruth's fault. When we checked the dress for the last time before putting it into the bag it was perfectly fine. We do not know-"

"Thea! I am warning you for the last time. If you open your mouth in her defence then..." He left his threat to linger like that.

Thea would have retorted back in any other situation, but this time she kept her mouth shut. It was necessary!

"You poor woman... how dare you ruin my dress? Do you have any idea how much it costed?" Mrs Linlithgow stood up and walked towards Ruth.

Scared, Ruth took a couple of steps back, but before she could escape the wrath of the woman, she had her held by her shoulders. Her long nails digging into Ruth's skin painfully.

"Even if you and your next three generations work your whole life then also you will not be able to buy such expensive cloth! My husband bought it for me from South East Asia. Do you even have any idea how far it is?" She shook Ruth with glaring eyes.

That broke Ruth's dam of restraints, and she let the way to her tears.

"I.. I am sorry, lady Linlithgow. I... I swear I did not know how that happened! Pl-please believe me!" Ruth cried.

"Sorry? All you have to say is sorry? What should I do with your sorry? Mr Cooper... you just wait and watch. I will close your shop by telling my husband. I swear I will not let any one of you sleeep peacefully in the night. You just see!"

After throwing tantrums for more than twenty minutes, calling Ruth names and insulting not only her but her whole family, threatening Mr Cooper and other employees, Mrs Linlithgow stomped out of the shop. Her carriage drove off, but her loud screeching sound still resonated in the ears of people in the shop.

A minute passed in silence, but no one dared to say a word. Everybody was shocked by the unexpected turn of events.

"Miss Moore", Mr Cooper finally broke the silence.

Ruth looked at him through teary eyes in anticipation.

"Get. Out."

Those two words landed on Ruth like explosives. Her whole world was about to get destroyed.

She moved her lips to say something but nothing came out of it.

"I said, get the hell out of here. I do not want to see you in my shop!" Mr Cooper erupted like a volcano.

He had worked all his life to make a name for his shop. He knew Mrs Linlithgow very well. She would not hesitate to go to her husband crying and complaining. And as a doting husband, the man would probably threaten Mr Cooper to close his shop.

The family was so influential that if a single bad word came out of their mouth about the shop, Mr Cooper would lose everything he had earned all over his life.

And that was all because of Ruth!

And Mr Cooper could not tolerate that.

Ruth suddenly came back to her senses. Her fears took a form in front of her, laughing at her.

"Mr Cooper please, I am so sorry! But I really do not know how the dress got ruined. Please do not make me leave my job!"

When the old man did not react and kept glaring at her, forgetting about all the shame and pride, Ruth moved down on her knees. Joining her palms in a gesture of request, she pleaded again.

Thea was shocked to see that. She hurried to straighten Ruth, but the woman was desperate. She could not afford to lose her job.

What could she do if not for this job? She had no other skills, and even if she had any, it was very unlikely to get work that would pay as much as Mr Cooper did.

Mrs Payne's face flashed in front of her eyes.

"Mr Cooper, I swear I will not repeat this mistake. I will be more careful from the next time. Please-"

The further words died down in Ruth's throat when the man held her by her arm. He harshly pulled her up, and before Ruth or anyone could comprehend what was happening, Mr Cooper dragged her to the door of the shop.

"There is no place for a person like you in my shop! I thought you were good at your work, and hence I pitied you. I gave you the job out of sympathy. And see what you gave me in return for my generosity.

You made a fool out of me in front of Lady Linlithgow! She cursed me, my shop, my family. All because of you! I gave you one task and what you did? You ruined it, Miss Moore!

I told you one more mistake, and you will be out of this shop forever. And this.... this was not a mere mistake but a crime that you have committed."

All the women were huddled, leaving their workstations behind. Everyone was sad to see what was happening. They could not decide whom to support.

They all liked Ruth and knew that she would never do such a mistake knowingly. But how could they blame Mr Cooper? He was also right at his place.

All they could do was feel bad for Ruth and pray that the woman would find some other job soon.

"I will make sure that you do not get any work in Vincardine! I swear Miss Moore, if I face any more trouble because of this, you will never get any opportunity of earning a penny." Ruth was stunned to see him talk that way.

He was a rude man, yes! But she or anyone else had never seen him spitting venom like that.

"Mr Cooper-"

"Think twice before saying a word, Thea! If you want, you can also get lost from here. I do not need ungrateful women like you. There are plenty of good workers in Vincardine. So think before acting her saviour!" He warned Thea.

Thea wanted to slap the man or maybe break his nose. Yes, that would have been great! She wanted to kick his job and him and leave the place with Ruth.

But she could not! Not yet anyway!

"Mr Cooper please... please be merciful. What would I do without the job? I do not have money to live and take care of Mrs Payne. You know she has no one but me to look after her. Please, Mr Cooper... Give me one more chance, please! I swear I will not disappoint you!" Ruth cried, begged.

Others only watched ruefully.

"One more chance, my foot!" With that said, Mr Cooper opened the door and threw Ruth out of the shop.

"Do not ever step inside my shop again!" He spat and closed the door, locking it from inside.

The people walking on the streets, slowed down to see what happened. They did not understand why the young woman was crying hysterically and why Mr Cooper threw her out of the shop.

A couple of people recognised Ruth as Mr Cooper's employee. But no one came forward to help her or ask her what was wrong.

"What is happening?" A woman whispered audibly to her friend.

"I do not know but seems like Mr Cooper is not in a good mood today." The other woman whispered back.

"She is his employee, right? I have seen her near his shop many times." The first one said, squinting her eyes to look at Ruth's face.

The other woman also tilted her head to see her face, as it was partially hidden from their view.

"Oh, yes. You are right. They must have faught over something." The other one pointed the possibility.

Ruth conscious of the stares and murmuring, kept her head low, avoiding looking at the onlookers who were there to not help her, but for their entertainment and get some juicy gossips.

Ruth wanted to stand up and run to her home as fast as she could. She slowly moved her head to see Thea's broken face with teary eyes through the glass window. Mr Cooper was yelling at her throwing his hands in the air in exasperation.

But she was not listening to a word the man said. Her heart ached for her friend and how helpless she felt.

Ruth's sadness intensified watching her friend getting scolded for no reason.

The woman amongst the two friends scoffed. "These people from the Eastern part are very ungrateful, you know. They do not understand the value of time and money. They do not have the mannerisms and how to respect the people who are better and above them.

She must have demanded extra money or have messed up the work, and that is why Mr Cooper must have thrown her out." She looked at Ruth as if she was a piece of dirt.

That broke Ruth's heart even more.

"I think you are right! These poor leeches needs to undertand their place in the society and act accordingly! Or one of us might crush them under their shoes."

Ruth could not understand what funny element the two women found in those disgusting and hateful words as they giggled loudly.

The humiliation was too much to take, and Ruth had enough for the day. Mustering all her energy, she stood up, and not wasting another moment or glance in the onlookers' way, she ran.

She ran away from those taunting voices, those judgemental stares, and her cursed fate.