One Meal, Half a Million Debt

My restaurant had just opened, and my best friend was coming to show her support.

I even brought my fiancé along to have dinner and chat with her.

When we finished, I was just about to say “It’s on the house,” when she pulled a piece of paper from her Hermès bag and slid it across the table with elegance.

“Sweetheart, time to settle the bill.”

“What bill? I’m treating you!”

She wagged her finger.

“No, it’s you who should be paying me.”

I looked down at the paper and nearly choked on my water.

【Menu Highlight Suggestions Fee: 80,000】

【Restaurant Flow Optimization Fee: 100,000】

【Background Music Evaluation Fee: 150,000】

【Instagram Promotion Fee: 200,000】

My fiancé, Eric Johnson, gave Rachel Carter a tender look and nodded.

“Rachel’s right, it makes sense.”

“Give us a discount, how about 500,000?”

So they finally stopped pretending?

I laughed.

“No problem.”

“But before the transfer, let’s settle this dinner first.”

I looked at the check in front of me, then raised my eyes to Rachel and Eric.

Eric stood behind her, one hand resting casually on the back of her chair.

“Sophia, Rachel’s only trying to help our restaurant.”

“Look at her suggestions—they’re so professional.”

Professional?

Me, the rightful heir of a major restaurant group, who had hired a Michelin team at great cost to design this place, needed advice from an amateur food blogger?

Just because she’d written a few restaurant reviews and gained a couple hundred thousand followers, she thought she was some kind of culinary goddess?

I pushed the flimsy paper back toward her.

“The dinner: 1.28 million.”

Rachel’s smile froze on her face.

Eric’s brows furrowed.

“Sophia, what kind of joke is this?”

“What did we even eat that would cost so much?”

“Not much.”

I spoke slowly, my gaze sweeping over the dishes barely touched on the table.

“Mainly because of one bottle of wine.”

I snapped my fingers. The waiter understood instantly and brought over an empty bottle along with the receipt.

“An ’82 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. Market price: 1.2 million.”

“Our restaurant is membership-only, and you’re my friend.”

“I gave you a discount—let’s call it an even million.”

“Add in the food and the 10% service fee.”

“That’s 1.28 million total. I even rounded down for you.”

Rachel’s face went pale.

She shot up to her feet, her voice shrill.

“Sophia Miller, are you insane? When did I order that wine?”

“You didn’t. I did.”

I looked at her leisurely.

“I opened it specially to treat my ‘best’ friend. Any problem with that?”

“You!” Rachel trembled with rage. “This is extortion!”

“Right back at you.”

I mimicked her earlier pose, wagging my finger with elegance.

“Compared to your half-million ‘consulting fee,’ this dinner is clearly priced and perfectly fair.”

“Otherwise, feel free to call the police.”

Eric’s expression darkened.

“Sophia, stop this nonsense. Cancel the bill.”

“Rachel came to support you today. How could you treat her like this?”

I looked at him and suddenly found it laughable.

From the moment we started dating, he had always known Rachel was my best friend.

But he didn’t know what Rachel had done to me in the past.

And he had no idea what this restaurant meant to me.

“Eric, get it straight. I’m not the one making a scene right now.”