"This dinner tab has to be at least ten thousand dollars. That's more than enough to press charges. If Mrs. Matthews can't pay, the police will probably take her in."
Bruno drew a deep breath. "Judith, apologize to Ellie. Do that, and I'll let tonight go."
"Apologize to her? Have you lost your mind, or have I?"
Ellie put on her best concerned expression and tugged at Bruno's sleeve. "Mr. Matthews, please don't fight with your wife because of me. I'm just a junior assistant. A little mistreatment is nothing I can't handle."
She turned to me, her voice dripping with sweetness. "It's all my fault, Mrs. Matthews. Please don't be angry with Mr. Matthews. Let me apologize."
She reached for my wrist as if to hold my hand, but her fingers dug in viciously, nails biting into my skin hard enough to bruise.
The pain was blinding. I wrenched my arm free.
"Get off me!"
I barely used any force, but Ellie flew backward as if she'd been shoved by a linebacker. She crashed into the dining table, sending plates and bowls cascading to the floor in an explosion of porcelain and leftover food. She went down with them, landing in a heap of grease and sauce. A shard of broken plate sliced her hand, and blood dripped onto the tile.
"Judith, you've gone too far!"
Bruno's palm connected with my face before I could blink. My head snapped to the side.
I ran my tongue over the corner of my lip and tasted copper. Something inside me went quiet. Not numb. Clear.
"Are you blind? She was the one digging her nails into me. I barely touched her. That fall was an act!"
Bruno didn't even look at me. He was already helping Ellie up from the floor, cradling her bleeding hand. He unwound the silk scarf from his collar and wrapped it carefully around her wound.
That scarf. I'd given it to him for his birthday. His initials were embroidered on the corner. I'd stitched them myself, one thread at a time.
Now those letters were soaked through with Ellie's blood.
"We're leaving."
He draped his arm around Ellie's shoulders and walked out without a backward glance.
The rest of the table found their excuses in record time. Chairs scraped, coats were grabbed, and within thirty seconds every last one of them had vanished.
The private dining room fell silent. Just me and the wreckage.
A waiter knocked and poked his head in. "Would you like to settle the bill, ma'am?"
I dug through my purse and handed him a card. "Yes."
He swiped it. The machine beeped.
"I'm sorry, ma'am. This card has insufficient funds."
I handed him another. Same result.
Then another. And another.
Seven cards. Every single one declined.
Bruno had actually frozen all of them.
The waiter stared at me, his professional smile wearing thin. "Ma'am, do you have any other way to pay?"
I tried calling my best friend. No answer. I sent a text. Nothing. Tried again. Silence.
The two of us stood there in the most excruciating standoff of my life.
"I will pay. Just give me a moment."
The waiter had already lost patience. He lifted his walkie-talkie. "Manager Wu, we've got a dine-and-dash situation up here."
The hotel manager arrived with a police officer in tow.
"Miss, you'll need to come with us."
I tried to explain. I told them who I was, that my cards had been frozen, that I could get the money. They looked at me the way people look at anyone making excuses in a police station lobby.
I was taken to the station to give a statement. That was when my best friend finally called back.
Twenty minutes later, she burst through the doors, settled the bill, and I was free to go.
I stood outside and looked back at the police station entrance. A laugh escaped me before I could stop it.
Me. The sole heir to Skyward Group. Hauled into a police station because I couldn't pay a dinner tab.
If word got out, people would laugh themselves sick.
I used to dream of being the perfect little wife. Now it turned out that being a perfect little wife was harder than running a corporation.
I'd chosen wrong from the very beginning.
When I got home, a pair of women's heels sat by the front door.
The exact pair Ellie had been wearing tonight.
Bruno heard me come in and stepped out of the bedroom. Our eyes met in the hallway.
I didn't say a word. I pushed past him and walked straight into the bedroom.
Ellie was standing there, bare-legged, wearing Bruno's white dress shirt. The hem barely grazed her hips, and the lace edge of her underwear peeked out beneath it.
