Chapter 4

"Of course! Tonight, order whatever you want. Get the most expensive things on the menu—it's all on me!"

He looked down at Bambi's adoring eyes and playfully pinched her nose.

"Babe, next month, we're flying to Paris to pick out your haute couture wedding dress. My woman deserves nothing but the absolute best!"

Hearing this, his leech-like friends exchanged looks. Eager to take advantage of his "generosity," they snatched the menus and started ordering frantically.

They didn't spare anything with gold leaf or extra zeros on the price tag.

Chloe watched with pure amusement. She pulled out her phone, logged into a burner Snapchat account, and easily slipped into their group chat.

She pretended to be a wealthy heir who knew his luxury wines.

She started sending photos of high-end bottles into the chat, adding fuel to the fire.

"Today is Tyler’s big day!"

"How can you celebrate without Romanée-Conti? Anything less is an insult to the bride!"

The freeloaders downstairs saw the message and immediately chimed in.

"Holy crap! The king of wines!"

"Tyler! We need this! Pop a bottle of Romanée-Conti!"

Tyler’s face froze for a second.

But he tapped the black card in his pocket.

He figured the VIP card had unlimited credit anyway, and the bill would go straight to Stella Vance.

With that safety net, he stood tall again.

"Open it! We're celebrating tonight. Let's drink!"

The server soon brought out two vintage bottles of Romanée-Conti. With a loud pop, the expensive wine was poured, pushing the party to a whole new level of hysteria.

Bambi clung to Tyler like a koala, whispering sweet nothings.

"Tyler, you're so good to me."

Tyler was practically floating. He pulled a blue velvet box from his pocket.

"Do you like it? It's yours."

Inside was a Cartier diamond necklace, sparkling under the chandeliers.

My eyes narrowed.

That necklace was from my private collection. I hadn't even worn it yet!

Then, my gaze drifted to the limited-edition Hermès Birkin bag sitting next to Bambi's chair.

On the handle, there was a custom-tied Alice in Wonderland silk scarf. I had tied that knot myself!

No wonder I felt like things had been going missing from my closet lately—bags I rarely used, jewelry I only wore once or twice, expensive perfumes.

Whenever I asked, Tyler would lie right to my face.

"Babe, you're just working too hard and forgetting where you put things. Check the drawers again."

It turned out this leech had been treating my closet as his personal free-gift shop!

Unbelievable. Stealing from me to impress his mistress.

Bambi squealed in delight, letting Tyler fasten the necklace around her neck before taking dozens of selfies.

At that moment, Tyler excused himself to go to the restroom, walking toward the stairs.

A second later, my phone rang.

"Stella, are you asleep?"

Tyler’s voice came through, thick with fake exhaustion.

"I'm still out drinking with the client. My head is spinning. But hey, I have to grind for our future."

I forced down my disgust and replied quietly.

"Sounds tough."

Tyler didn't notice the coldness in my voice. He kept making promises.