2025-11-12 20:28:48The room went dead silent.
Everyone stared at Declan with their mouths hanging open. The server stood frozen, clearly caught off guard.
“Did he just say premium?” Someone whispered from the back, “Is he actually serious right now?”
Carlos recovered first. He let out a laugh but it sounded forced, “Premium? You? Do you know how much that costs?”
“Does it matter?” Declan replied, his voice completely calm.
Laura shifted in her seat, her eyes wide, “There’s no way you have that kind of money. What did you do? Rob a bank or something?”
“Or did you max out credit cards?” Louis added.
Everyone began talking over each other, demanding answers.
Declan just stood in the hallway, looking completely unbothered by all the noise.
The server cleared his throat loudly, “Sir, I should inform you that the premium tier for a party of your size would be approximately twenty thousand dollars. That's before tax and gratuity,”
More gasps came from the fraternity members. Someone actually choked on their own spit.
Carlos' face had gone slightly pale but he forced his confident smile back, “Twenty thousand dollars. That's ten thousand each,”
He locked eyes with Declan, “You're absolutely sure you can afford that?”
“Of course I can,” Declan said without hesitation, “The real question is, can you?”
Carlos' smile faltered for just a second. Ten thousand dollars in one night. His parents gave him a generous monthly allowance, sure, but ten grand in a single evening? That would hurt.
But now everyone was watching now, waiting to see if he would back down.
He gritted his teeth hard, “Of course I can afford it. Let's do premium service,”
The server gave a professional nod, “Very well,
then, gentlemen. I'll need payment verification from both of you first,”
Carlos pulled out his wallet and extracted his black card. He handed it over. The server swiped it.
Beep. Approved.
Then all eyes turned to Declan. He reached into his pocket slowly and pulled out an understated card. He handed it to the server.
The server took it and swiped. Beep. Approved.
The server's whole demeanour shifted immediately. He bowed slightly, “Thank you very much sirs. Please, have a seat. Our staff will begin your premium service immediately,”
Everyone moved to sit around the long table. The slightly tense and chaotic atmosphere gradually settled down.
No one had expected that Declan, this penniless loser, would dare to go all in just to stand up against his wealthy brother, but that only made things more entertaining.
They were all looking forward to seeing things develop in an even worse, more intense direction.
Declan took a seat near the middle of the table, while Carlos directly sat at the head of the table, his jaw clenched tight.
"You want to humiliate me in public?" he said viciously, a cruel smile curling at the corner of his mouth. "You'll learn the price of that."
When the server returned carrying an expensive-looking leather wine menu, Carlos grabbed it immediately. He scanned through the pages quickly.
“We'll have the Château Margaux 2015," Carlos announced loudly. "Bring enough for everyone.”
The server's eyebrow rose slightly, “An excellent choice sir. That particular wine is tow thousand dollars per bottle. For a party of your size, we'll need approximately six bottles,”
"That's right, six bottles of two-thousand-dollar wine," Carlos said mockingly, staring into Declan's eyes. "Bring them out now."
Declan raised a brow. He reached over, took the wine menu from Carlos’ hands and flipped through it for a moment.
“Actually, cancel that order. Bring us the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti instead.”
Laura gripped Carlos’s arm in surprise but he didn't even spare her a glance as he shook her off.
The server's eyes went wide, “Sir, I must inform you this particular wine cost five thousand dollars per bottle,”
“I'm aware of the price,” Declan said without hesitation.
Carlos stared at him. “Are you being serious right now?”
“Of course I am”
Carlos's hands gripped the edge of the table. His voice dropped to a harsh whisper. "What the hell? Did you really get this kind of money? Be honest. What did you do? Did you take out loans?”
“You can think whatever makes you feel better,” Declan replied calmly.
“So you're actually going into debt just to oppose me?” Carlos’ voice rose slightly, “Just to prove some stupid point?”
Declan looked him straight in the eye. "I have absolutely no reason not to oppose you.”
Carlos let out a bitter laugh, "Fine then. We'll see whose money runs out first. Your borrowing power or my actual cash.”
He stood up abruptly and pulled out his phone, stepping away from the table. His fingers moved quickly across the screen as he called his mother.
"Mom? Yeah, it's me. Listen, I need you to transfer some money to my account right now... Yeah, immediately... Because I'm in the middle of teaching that ungrateful bastard Declan a lesson... Yes, we're at Marconi's... He's trying to embarrass me in front of everyone.”
There was a pause. Then Carlos's face lit up with relief and triumph. "Perfect. Thank you so much, Mom. Love you."
He hung up and immediately checked his banking app. The transfer notification appeared within seconds. His confidence surged back through his body.
He walked back to the table with a smug grin. He looked directly at the server. “Change of plans. Bring us the Pétrus 2010 instead. And make it ten bottles.”
The server's jaw nearly dropped. “Sir, that particular wine is ten thousand dollars per bottle.”
“I know exactly what it costs. Just bring it.”
He turned to Declan with the cruelest smile he could form, “I really want to see you d******d every single loan app that exists today.”
All eyes were on Declan now, waiting for him to finally give up and beg. There was no way he could afford this.
Declan didn't even blink. He turned to the server calmly. “Actually, bring the Pétrus for everyone just like he said. Ten bottles.”
He paused for just a moment. “And add ten more bottles on top of that."
The server's face went completely white. "Twenty bottles total, sir?"
"Yes. Twenty.”
“I also want to see something tonight," Declan said, his voice calm but cold. "I want to see you spend every last cent of your adoptive parents' money today.”
Carlos's confident expression shattered completely. His eyes went wide. “Are you absolutely insane?”
“No. Are you?”
“Cancel the order!” Carlos practically shouted at the server. “Cancel all those wines right this second!”
“Don't cancel them,” Declan said sternly.
The server looked back and forth between them, unsure of how to proceed.
“Who the hell do you think you are? You don't get to tell me what to do!” Carlos' voice thundered.
The slap came fast and hard. Declan's hand connected with Carlos's face, the sound of it echoing through the entire private room.
Everyone froze where they sat.
Carlos stumbled backward, his hand flying up to his cheek as his eyes went wide with shock.
“Shut up,” Declan said coldly. “I'm the one hosting today. So sit down at that table and shut your mouth.”
Carlos just stood there, absolutely stunned. No one had ever hit him like this before – not in front of so many people.
Laura jumped to her feet and tried to hold him but he moved back slightly, too humiliated to accept any form of sympathy.
The other fraternity members exchanged glances. Then Louis started laughing loudly.
“Holy shit, did that just happen?”
Wait, wait," another guy said, grinning. "Don't cancel any of the wine. Let these two fight it out."
“This is the most entertaining thing I've seen all year. Besides," Louis added with a smirk, "we're not the ones paying for any of this. Let them burn through their money.”
Other members laughed – they were really eating this up.
One guy looked at Carlos mockingly. “Dude, you're really going to let some broke guy outspend you? That's genuinely embarrassing.”
“Seriously though,” another added. “What happened to all that famous Reyes family wealth?”
Carlos's face burned with humiliation and rage. But what could he do? If he backed down now, he'd look like a coward. Worse, he'd look poor.
He sat down heavily in his chair, his whole body tense.
The food began arriving in waves. Course after course of incredibly expensive dishes.
The fraternity members dug in eagerly, enjoying both the free meal and the ongoing spectacle.
But Carlos barely touched any of his food. He just sat there, breaking into a cold sweat as he watched everyone around him eat and drink.
He watched his money disappear as the expensive wine bottles emptied one after the other while Laura kept glancing at him nervously.
Declan, on his part, ate slowly like he didn't have a care in the world.
Hours passed slowly. The meal seemed endless. The fraternity members were getting progressively drunk and rowdy, cheering and laughing loudly.
Finally, after what felt like forever, the server approached their table with a tablet in his hand. He looked slightly nervous, even though still trying to be professional.
“Gentlemen, here is your final bill for the evening.”
He turned the tablet screen toward them. Seven hundred thousand dollars.
Someone let out a low whistle.
“That comes to three hundred and fifty thousand dollars for each of you,” the server said.
Carlos's face had gone completely white. His hands were shaking slightly on the table. He looked at Declan with desperation and pure anger mixed together.
“I don't believe it," Carlos said through gritted teeth. “There's absolutely no way you can borrow three hundred and fifty thousand dollars. No bank in the world would give you that kind of loan.”
"I admit you embarrassed me today, but do you know what the consequences are for owing this much money at this restaurant?" He stared intently at Declan. "You'll be beaten half to death by the restaurant's security."
Declan just ignored his word, reached into his pocket and pulled out his card. He handed it to the server without saying a single word.
"Do you really still pretend that you have the money? Drop the act!" Laura said loudly from her seat.
Louis laughed. "This is going to be beautiful. I can't wait to see his card get declined."
"He's probably sweating bullets right now," another guy added. "Realizing he's about to get humiliated in front of everyone."
"Just admit you can't pay, Declan. Save yourself the embarrassment." Carlos said.
"He won't," Laura said with a smirk. "His pride won't let him.
They all watched eagerly as the server took the card over to his payment device.
Swipe.
Everyone held their breath.
Beep.
The server looked down at the screen. His eyes widened noticeably. He looked back up at Declan with awe.
"Payment approved," the server announced clearly for everyone to hear. "Thank you very much, sir.”
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
Chapter 0155 - The Invitation
The envelope arrived on a Tuesday morning.It came through channels that told Declan immediately it wasn't ordinary correspondence. Not through Steele Corporation's mail system or through Franklin's usual network. It appeared on his desk in the training facility after his morning session with Edmund, placed there by someone who had accessed a room that regular staff didn't enter. The seal on the back was a jade-coloured phoenix in raised wax.He brought it to Edmund without opening it.His grandfather looked at the seal for a moment and then nodded once. "Open it," he said.Inside was a single card, heavyweight paper, the text printed in a style that was formal without being decorative. An invitation to a gathering of young cultivation talents from various families and organizations. The host was identified as the Jade Phoenix Society. The date was one month out. The location would be communicated separately to confirmed attendees.Edmund sat with the card in his hands for a while aft
Chapter 0154 - Growing
Georgina's last evening at the estate, they walked through the gardens after dinner.The grounds were lit at intervals along the paths, the main buildings visible behind them through the trees, the night sky clearer out here than it ever was in Boston.She had been quiet since dinner, not unhappily, more like someone processing a large amount of information and finding that it was taking longer than expected."Say what you're thinking," Declan said.She was quiet for another moment. "It's a lot," she said finally. "This place, your family, the scale of everything." She looked at the main building visible through the treeline. "I keep thinking about the café on Meridian Street where we used to sit and talk, and then I look at this and the distance between those two things is difficult to hold in your head at once.""I know," Declan said. "I live that distance every day.""Does it feel strange to you still?""Sometimes," he said honestly. "Less than it did."She looked at him. "Do you t
Chapter 0153 - The Visit
The crowd's reaction came in two distinct waves.From one side of the seating, genuine applause, building quickly into something sustained and loud. From the other side, where Sebastian's supporters had been most vocal during the duel, a silence that was heavy and particular, the silence of people revising their positions in real time.Declan stood in the centre of the arena and breathed steadily while his legs finished their complaint about the Phoenix Rebirth Strike and went back to functioning normally. His vision had fully cleared. He felt emptied out in the specific way that complete energy release produced, not weak exactly, more like a room after everything has been moved out of it, spacious and quiet.He looked across at Edmund.His grandfather was not applauding. He was sitting very still with his hands resting on his knees and an expression on his face that Declan had not seen there before. Something open and unguarded that the old man made no effort to conceal.His mother w
Chapter 0152 - Phoenix Rebirth
Sebastian entered first.He walked into the arena with the ease of someone who had been in formal settings his entire life and knew exactly how to use them. The cultivation robes he wore were elaborate, dark with gold detailing at the collar and cuffs, clearly chosen for the occasion. The ceremonial sword at his hip was decorative, its purpose symbolic rather than practical, but it completed the image he was presenting to the crowd. He bowed to the family elders with practiced precision and took his position at the far end of the arena.Several people in the crowd applauded.Declan entered from the opposite side.He was wearing a simpler outfit, dark and clean, nothing ceremonial about it. He bowed to the elders and walked to his position and stood there looking across the arena at Sebastian without any particular expression on his face.The elder who was officiating stepped to the centre and addressed the crowd and then both fighters in turn. The rules were clear and standard. The du
Chapter 0152 - The Duel
Declan raised the challenge at a family dinner three days after his father's warning.He waited for a natural pause in the conversation and then looked directly at Sebastian across the table and said, "I'd like to propose a formal cultivation duel. You and me. In front of the family."The table went quiet immediately.Sebastian set down his wine glass slowly. Whatever he had been expecting from Declan, this apparently wasn't it. He looked at Declan for a moment with the expression of someone recalculating.Then he smiled. "Accepted," he said.The confidence in his voice was genuine, which told Declan that Sebastian believed he had already won. Years of formal cultivation training from childhood, within a family that had practiced these methods for generations, against someone who had started learning a few months ago under a field medic at a war zone. From Sebastian's perspective the outcome was straightforward.The duel was scheduled for one week out.Edmund called Declan to the trai
Chapter 0151 - Settling In
The routine established itself within the first week. Mornings with Edmund in the training facility. The sessions ran two hours on easy days and closer to three when Edmund decided Declan was ready for the next layer of something. The old man was a demanding teacher, more exacting than The Physician had been and with considerably more depth to draw from. He rarely praised directly but Declan had learned to read the small indicators, the slight nod, the adjustment of a technique that meant the previous version had been accepted rather than corrected. His cultivation was progressing in ways he could feel clearly. The energy he could access was deeper and more responsive than what he had worked with at the Northern Border. The Phoenix Heart Ring was a constant presence, warming slightly each morning when he settled into practice as if it recognized what was happening and was participating in it. Afternoons with his parents in the Steele Corporation offices, which occupied an entire wi
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