The moment Nathan Rhodes’ body hit the cold marble floor, the entire hall erupted into chaos.
Gasps rippled through the restaurant. Conversations stopped mid-sentence. Chairs scraped against the floor as people stood to see what had happened. Some thought it was a prank. Others assumed it was a medical condition. No one—absolutely no one—connected his collapse to the figures they had just heard being thrown around so casually.
The ladies were the first to react.
“Oh my God!” Bella exclaimed, standing up abruptly.
“What happened to him?” Ava asked, frowning.“Is he okay?” Melody added, though her tone carried more curiosity than concern.Amelia froze for a split second.
Her heart skipped—not out of worry, but out of shock. This wasn’t part of any plan she had imagined. She hadn’t expected Nathan to actually collapse.
“Help him up,” she said quickly, waving at the waiter. “Bring him to the lounge.”
The waiter and two security staff hurried over. With practiced efficiency, they lifted Nathan’s limp body and carried him into the exclusive VIP lounge, laying him carefully on one of the plush leather sofas. Someone brought a glass of water. Another waiter sprinkled water gently on his face.
“Hey… hey… wake up,” Bella urged impatiently.
Nathan groaned.
His eyelids fluttered.
For a brief, blissful second, he thought he was waking up from a nightmare.
His head throbbed. His chest felt tight. His heart pounded so loudly he could hear it in his ears. He swallowed and forced his eyes open, half-expecting to find himself back at his small apartment, staring at the cracked ceiling, realizing that everything—Glasgow Diner, the outrageous prices, Amelia’s friends, the million-dollar wine—had all been a terrible dream.
If it was a dream, he would cancel the date immediately. He would call Amelia and make up an excuse. He would never step foot in a place like this again.
But reality was cruel.
The first thing he saw was Bella’s perfectly contoured face. Then Ava’s sharp eyes. Then Melody’s bored expression.
And finally… Amelia.
She stood there with her arms crossed, her face filled with curiosity and mild annoyance rather than concern.
Nathan’s heart sank.
It wasn’t a dream.
His gaze drifted away from their faces, and that was when he saw the table.
Five bottles.
Not three.
Five massive bottles of Château Cheval Blanc 1947, each resting in silver ice buckets, condensation dripping slowly down the glass like mocking tears.
Nathan’s pupils dilated.
Five bottles.
That meant…
$2.5 million.
Just for wine.
His breathing grew erratic.
“What happened to you?” Amelia asked, tilting her head. “Why did you faint?”
Nathan opened his mouth to speak—but no sound came out. His throat felt locked. His heart was still racing far too fast.
Ava let out a laugh. “Please tell me he didn’t faint because of the bill.”
Bella chuckled. “That can’t be it. Amelia wouldn’t be dating a pauper, would she?”
The words stabbed Nathan like knives.
Melody crossed her legs leisurely. “Honestly, I’ve never even heard of him before. And I know everyone on campus. At ESU, you’re either a multimillionaire heir or a multibillionaire heir.”
She leaned forward slightly, studying Nathan. “He must be one of those low-profile heirs who don’t like attention.”
Nathan’s mind screamed.
‘No. I’m not. I’m nothing like that.’
Amelia felt her stomach twist.
She knew the truth.
She knew Nathan was poor. She knew he survived by running errands for rich students, carrying bags, fetching coffee, doing homework assistance for pay. She knew the only reason he survived at ESU was because of his scholarship and those errands.
Shame washed over her.
If only she hadn’t invited her friends.
If only she hadn’t tried to show off.
But she wasn’t about to take the fall for this.
Not in front of Bella. Not in front of Ava. And certainly not in front of Melody.
So she smiled.
“Yes,” Amelia said calmly. “Nathan told me before that he’s one of those silent billionaire heirs. He doesn’t like flaunting his wealth.”
Nathan’s head snapped toward her.
What?
When did he ever say that?
Amelia leaned down and planted a soft kiss on his cheek. “Didn’t you, baby?”
Nathan felt his entire body go cold.
She straightened and turned to her friends. “Just watch. You’ll see how rich my boyfriend really is.”
Then she waved her hand. “Call the celebrity chef. And bring the bills. Let him clear everything immediately.”
Nathan’s ears rang.
In that instant, he understood.
This was a setup.
Amelia never intended for him to survive this.
Once he failed to pay, she would play the victim. She would accuse him of lying, of scamming her. She would cry. She would gain sympathy. And he would be labeled a fraud—maybe even arrested.
She would walk away clean.
Brilliant.
Cruel.
And devastating.
The doors opened, and the celebrity chef entered to thunderous applause. The atmosphere turned celebratory. The manager followed closely behind, holding a sleek tablet containing the final bill.
More appetizers were served. Expensive ones. Nathan didn’t even dare ask their prices.
The total had already climbed far beyond what he had calculated before collapsing.
The manager stepped forward, smiling professionally.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” he said respectfully, “thank you for choosing Glasgow Diner. It is our honor to serve such distinguished guests. We promise you the finest experience.”
Nathan didn’t hear a word.
His mind was stuck on Amelia’s lie.
Why would she do this?
Was I just a stepping stone?For the first time since they started dating, he truly saw her—not the gentle girl who smiled shyly at him in the library, not the one who laughed at his jokes—but a woman who was willing to destroy him to protect herself.
The manager tapped his shoulder gently.
“Sir,” he said politely, presenting the bill. “Whenever you’re ready.”
Nathan took the tablet with trembling hands.
He didn’t want to look.
He wanted the floor to open up and swallow him whole.
But there was no escape.
He looked.
$8,943,600.
His vision went white.
His heart skipped violently. His chest tightened to the point of pain. For a moment, he truly believed he might die.
The manager smiled patiently. “How would you like to make your payment, sir?”
Nathan’s hands shook as he pulled out his card.
This was his last hope.
A miracle.
Anything.
He handed the card over silently.
The manager swiped it.
BEEP.
The receipt printed.
Insufficient funds.
The manager frowned slightly. “Let me try again.”
He swiped it again.
BEEP.
Still insufficient.
The ladies exchanged glances.
“What’s taking so long?” Bella asked.
“Is there a problem?” Ava demanded coolly.
The manager turned back to Nathan. “Sir, do you have another card? Perhaps you handed me the wrong one.”
Nathan swallowed hard. “That… that’s my only card.”
The manager hesitated, then checked the account balance manually.
His expression changed instantly.
Shock flashed across his professional mask.
“There’s… only twenty thousand dollars in this account.”
Silence.
The manager’s fingers moved again as he checked the account history.
Then his face darkened.
“Sir,” he said slowly, “this is a student account. Since it was opened four years ago, the total amount that has ever entered this account is under fifty thousand dollars. It cannot even receive more than one hundred thousand dollars.”
He looked up sharply.
“You are not wealthy.”
The words echoed like a death sentence.
The manager turned to the ladies and explained everything.
Their expressions shifted—from surprise… to disbelief… to disgust.
Bella scoffed. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Ava narrowed her eyes. “So what is this? A scam?”
The manager turned back to Nathan. “Why would you do something like this? Are you a criminal?”
Nathan’s voice trembled. “I—I planned a twenty-thousand-dollar dinner. Just for me and my girlfriend. I didn’t know… I didn’t expect…”
Before he could finish, Amelia gasped loudly.
“What?” she cried. “Twenty thousand?”
She covered her mouth, tears forming instantly. “Nathan… you scammed me?”
Nathan stared at her, stunned.
She continued crying. “You told me you were rich. You told me to invite my friends so you could spoil us! I trusted you!”
Her acting was flawless.
Everyone believed her.
Nathan shook his head frantically. “No! That’s not true!”
No one listened.
Ava stepped forward coldly. “This is fraud.”
She turned to the manager. “Call the police. Have him arrested immediately.”
Security moved in at once.
Melody pulled out her phone casually. “Don’t worry, Amelia. I’ll introduce you to my brother. Michael.”
Amelia’s breath hitched.
Michael.
Everyone knew Michael.
One of the biggest ballers on campus. Rich, powerful, untouchable.
Melody dialed. “Hey, bro. I’ve got a situation. Clear a bill for me and I’ll introduce you to that girl you’ve been asking about.”
Amelia blushed.
Nathan watched her.
Blushing.
For another man.
After condemning him.
He struggled against the guards. “Amelia… why?”
She walked up to him and slapped him hard across the face.
“Don’t ever mention my name with your filthy mouth again,” she hissed.
Tears streamed down Nathan’s face.
She leaned in and whispered coldly, “I’ve been looking for a way to get rid of you. I need a man worthy of me. Someone like Michael.”
Then she straightened.
“Take him away.”
The guards dragged Nathan toward the security room.
His phone buzzed violently in his pocket.
Calls.
Messages.
He couldn’t answer.
All he could do was cry.
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Chapter 78
It was early evening, and Victor Moody was sat in a high-backed leather chair in his study, the room was dimly lit by a single desk lamp right in front of him, and the blue glow of his phone screen. The mansion was silent, all the staff bad longed been dismissed for the evening, only the faint tick of the grandfather clock in the hallway broke the silence.He held the phone to his ear with one hand, while his other hand held a glass of some red wine. The voice on the line was cautious, and even almost apologetic.“…the app’s metrics are clean, sir, but it’s not an app built for profit. It’s a platform for matching underprivileged kids with mentors, scholarships, and for finding small gigs to help them pull through. There are no premium tiers, and there are no ads, and even no data resale. At best it is doing to breaks after three years. At worst… it’s a money pit. I recommend pulling out now, before the PR shine wears off.”Victor took a slow sip of the wine. “I know,” he said, his
Chapter 77
The townhouse had felt too quiet after three days of Nathan avoiding the world. Aaron and John being there were the only new things to have happened in the last three days.Aaron spoke first. “Look, man, we get it. You’re hurting. But sitting in here letting the internet eat you alive isn’t fixing anything. And that's why I think we should take you out for sometime. You know, to get your mind off things.".Nathan leaned against the stair railing, his arms crossed. “I’m not in the mood.”John held up a pair of beat-up roller skates. He had carried it in his bag for quite sometime ever since he left his dorm's to come. "Exactly why you need to come. We’re going skating. No it's not a fancy restaurant, and there would be no bodyguards. It will just be us, some pavements, and zero phones. You need to get your head out of the loop for a couple hours.”Nathan looked at the skates, then at their faces. They were really serious about this."He sighed. “Fine. But if anyone recognizes me—”“W
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Aaron and John felt strangely hollow without Nathan’s presence. Three days had passed since the Larry incident at the beach restaurant, and the campus buzz on the issue had shifted from admiration, to confusion, and then to concern. Whispers followed Aaron and John everywhere they walked. People were looking at them, looking for Nathan, looking for signs of him wherever he was.“Have you seen him?” a freshman asked, clutching her phone like evidence, eyes darting from side to side. “He hasn’t been to class. I haven't seen him in even one lecture. Not even the gym.”Aaron shook his head. “No, we haven't seen him too. We don't even know where he is right now. We’ve been calling and it's just been going straight to voicemail.John kicked a stray pebble across the path. “He has not been answering his texts either. Theast message he sent was ‘Need space.’ That was really three days ago.”The girl looked disappointed. She had just gotten an admission into the school and really wanted to se
Chapter 75
Nathan sat at the head of a long conference table in Cloven Tower, his were sleeves rolled to his elbows, with the morning light reflecting on his brown eyes, cutting his vision.David Brune sat to his right as calm and composed as he usually was. Matthew Steel occupied the chair opposite. He was still visibly uneasy as he had been ever since he found out the truth about Nathan. His tie was too tight around his neck, while his fingers were drumming on the table before he caught himself and stopped.Nathan was the first to break the silence. “There’s a boy,” he said. “His name is Larry and he is just Seventeen. He approached me at the restaurant last night and aid he built an app that could scout for mentorship, scholarships, side gigs for kids like him who had nothing. But before I could respond, the security security dragged him away. They called him a thief and a pickpocket. I want to invest in him and give him a chance."David Brune leaned forward slightly, brow creasing. “Is th
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It was another date at the beachfront restaurant. The place glowed warm Edison bulbs all connected by strings dangling over the customer's heads, with the waves of water from a few feet away rolling in what seemed like whispers just beyond the open terrace.Nathan sat across from Golden, one of the seven women, at a corner table draped in yellow linen. Her golden-blond hair caught the light from the bulbs above her head, while her deep brown eyes reflected the candle flame between her and Nathan. She was mid-sentence, laughing softly about a ridiculous modeling gig, when a commotion erupted near the hostess stand. A boy who seemed to be no older than seventeen, broke through the velvet rope, his trainers skidding on the polished stone floor. He sprinted straight toward their table and dropped to his knees in right in front of Nathan and his date's table with a heaving chest and his palms flat on the ground.Nathan froze, would his fork halfway to his mouth. The boy looked up with w
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David Brune stood alone on one of the highest floor terrace of Cloven Tower. His hands were clasped behind his back, as he staring out into the city as the dusk bled into night. The wind carried a faint salt taste from the bay that was around the corner.There was no one but him and the distant hum of traffic far below in the city. He had sent the staff home early. The office was now empty, apart from some servers and an unblinking office, with a light that never died.He exhaled slowly. This is what being one of the most powerful men in the world, feels like, be thought to himself. He felt like nothing.The apology video from Matthew Steel had bought them some breathing room, and it was even barely. The internet had turned on Matthew almost overnight, but David knew better than to mistake public opinion for victory. Public opinion was fickle. It could flip again tomorrow if the right lever was pulled.His mind drifted to Nathan. The boy, who was now becoming a man now right in fron
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