Bankrupting My Two-Faced CEO

I said coldly, "No need. I'm going home."

But Julian grabbed my wrist with a strong grip, half-pulling, half-holding me as he dragged me inside.

"Play nice. Don't ruin the mood. I'll make it up to you later—my way."

I sat in the corner of the private booth, expressionless.

For the entire night, I watched them shamelessly flirt with each other.

One minute, Caroline was playfully handing Julian her glass, making him take a sip of her martini.

The next, Julian was naturally reaching out to fix her dress, his fingertips brushing against her thigh.

I lost my patience. "If you have something to say, say it fast so I can leave," I said coldly.

Julian slowly unbuttoned his collar. "What's the rush? We just opened a good bottle."

Just as the red wine was poured, Caroline suddenly touched her forehead and leaned weakly against him.

Julian instinctively wrapped his arm around her waist.

He turned to me, his tone leaving no room for argument:

"Caroline is dizzy. I'm going to take her home to rest. Wait for me here like a good girl."

Caroline shot me a triumphant, provocative look before leaving in Julian's arms.

But I sat in that booth for a full hour, and he never came back.

Instead, the club manager walked in with several security guards. He slapped a leather folder onto the table, his tone polite but icy.

"Miss, your bill for the evening. Two hundred thousand dollars. How would you like to pay?"

I froze.

A second later, a text from Julian lit up my screen:

"You insisted on giving me an attitude in the car and still refuse to admit you're wrong. I've spoiled you too much over the last five years."

"I've frozen your card. Consider it a lesson. The second you apologize and beg, I'll come bail you out."

"Alessia, don't piss me off again."

Seeing me sitting in silence with my phone, the manager impatiently raised his voice.

"Miss! Please settle the bill immediately! We don't have the patience to wait for you to scrape the money together!"

Wealthy socialites walking past the booth cast disgusted looks my way.

"Is she really trying to dine and dash? Or did her sugar daddy ditch her?"

"How embarrassing..."

Countless mocking stares landed on me, but none of it hurt as much as the humiliation Julian just handed me. My chest ached.

My phone kept buzzing:

"Alessia, stop being stubborn. All you have to do is text Caroline an apology and promise you won't throw tantrums over this again. Otherwise, you'll be detained by the club, and trust me, you don't want to experience their methods."

It was a blatant threat.

If I were just a normal girl relying on him for survival, maybe I would have been terrified into submission.

Too bad I wasn't.

I pulled a card from my purse. It was a gold-stamped black card bearing the crest of the Castello family.

"Who said I can't pay? Swipe it."

The manager stared at the card representing the highest power in the North American underworld. Instantly, cold sweat dripped down his face.

"Miss Castello... I am so, so sorry. I didn't recognize you. I deserve to die—"

I raised a hand to cut him off.

"Save it. I just need you to do one thing."

I nodded at the security camera above us. "Intentional dine-and-dash. Call the cops right now. And under local laws, you have the right to demand ten times the unpaid tab, don't you?"

Walking out of the restaurant, I took the bank card Julian had given me from my wallet, snapped it in half, and threw it in the trash.

I remembered when we first met. His startup was failing, and he was a frustrated genius.

I stayed up night after night, staying by his side, encouraging him, holding him together.

When he received my anonymous investment, he held me and cried tears of joy, making a solemn vow: "You gave me strength when I had nothing. When I make it to the top, I'll give you the best life in the world. Alessia, I swear on my life."

Back then, I thought he was different from those cold, greedy men.

I had even made up my mind—once we got married, I would introduce him to my father and share the Castello empire with him.

Clearly, I was blind.

I took out my phone and called my father.

"Dad, I'll do as you asked. I'm coming back to the family."

"I will personally attend the signing ceremony with Obsidian Group in three days."

Julian actually thought cutting off my allowance would break me. Let's see how he handles the full wrath of the Castello family once he learns who I really am.