Clara walked out of the store feeling humiliated. She held her head high and her back straight, avoiding eye contact with everyone, and continued out without looking back.
It was not necessarily about the fact that her card had been declined but the attendant's reaction and words, as well as that of the people around.
Almost shouting, the girl had sneered,
"Do you have another card, Ma'am?"
Clara was caught off-guard. After James' issue, she had not necessarily gone on a spending spree yet, so she did not know that her card had been frozen as it was part of James' assets.
"I-"
"Don't waste my time if you do not!" The girl snapped. Even though she had lowered her voice slightly on this, her voice had still travelled far. She had thought that the woman with that confident look and air had all it took to make her sales that day, but who knew that the woman only knew how to spot the expensive stuff but nothing other than that?