Chapter 6
He whipped out his phone, probably to check his balance.
But as soon as he opened the banking app and saw his balance, he went completely rigid.
I was sitting right across from him, watching every emotion play out on his face.
First he looked confused, then shocked, then completely in disbelief, and finally, he went white as a sheet.
He probably just realized that every card the Foster Family gave him had been frozen.
Not just the credit cards, even his savings account had been emptied out.
Of course it had.
When my dad gave him the money, the agreement spelled it out. It was for daily expenses, but the Foster Family kept ownership.
He broke off the engagement and violated the contract, so my dad taking back all the money was perfectly legal.
Ryan was gripping his phone so tight his knuckles were turning white.
Emily kept poking at him, her voice getting more and more anxious. "Ryan, what's wrong? Say something!"
Her voice was usually pretty high, but now it was so piercing that everyone in the room could hear her.
The students nearby were starting to gossip.
"What's going on? Did he run out of money or what?"
"No way, Ryan's always been loaded, hasn't he?"
"Dude, his family's poor. Charlotte's family covered his tuition."
"So why'd he go and order all that fancy food then?"
The gossip was getting louder by the second.
Ryan's face went from pale to red, then to green with embarrassment.
He glared at me like he wanted to burn a hole through me.
As if I was the one who emptied his bank account.
I just raised an eyebrow at him, saying nothing, but I couldn't help but smirk.
The waiter awkwardly hovered nearby, quietly asking, "Sir, how would you like to pay?"
Ryan opened his mouth, totally speechless.
At that moment, the principal, who'd been sitting quietly at another table, stood up.
Ryan had specially invited him tonight, hoping to bask in the glory of being the top scorer and show off a little.
Who could've guessed it would all blow up in his face like this?
"Ryan," the principal said, walking over and patting his shoulder, his tone complicated. "The school will cover this for now. You did take the top spot in the state, and we had a 70 thousand dollar bonus set aside for you anyway. But this dinner..."
The principal glanced at the bill and couldn't help but wince.
"This one meal came to 66 thousand dollars. You've burned through the bonus before it even landed."
As soon as he said that, the whole room erupted.
Nearly 70 thousand dollars for one dinner.
And it took the principal to bail him out!
Ryan stood there, his lips pressed into a thin line, and after a long pause, he finally managed to say, "Thank you, sir. I'll pay you back as soon as I can."
The principal just sighed, didn't say another word, and reluctantly pulled out his card to pay the bill.
The dinner ended on a sour note.
People left in small groups, and the way they looked at Ryan was totally different now.
The girls who'd been all teary-eyed over his "true love" speech earlier now had some pretty complicated looks on their faces.
As I walked out of the hotel, I heard someone call my name from behind.
"Charlotte."
I stopped and turned around.
Ryan was standing at the hotel entrance, with Emily right behind him. Both of them wore the same dark, gloomy expression.
"You did this, didn't you?" Ryan stared me down, his voice low and tense. "You had your dad freeze all my cards."
I stuffed my hands in my pockets and cocked my head at him. "Weren't you the one always talking about making it on your own? If that's the case, why are you still mooching off the Foster Family?"
Ryan was momentarily speechless.
Emily tugged at his sleeve from behind, whispering softly, "Ryan, just let it go. We don't need her money to live. Didn't you say she's just a spoiled rich kid? She's really not worth getting upset over."
Wasn't she just the perfect little angel?
Ryan took a deep breath, nodded, straightened up, and looked down at me like he was above it all.
"Charlotte, just you wait. I won't forget the humiliation you put me through today. In three months, I'll show you that I can make it big without the Foster Family. Don't come groveling to me then."
I stared at him for three seconds.
Then I snorted with laughter.
"Sure," I said, waving him off as I turned toward the car. "I'll be waiting to see how you make it on true love and backbone alone.
"And by the way, that 70 thousand dollar bonus for top scorer? You ate it in one night. Do you have anything left for your next meal, or should I lend you some?"
Ryan's face was livid, like he was about to blow a fuse.
Emily stomped her foot next to him. "Ryan, she's way out of line! You have to show her up and make her eat her words!"
"Relax," Ryan gritted out from behind, his voice full of steely resolve. "I'll make sure she regrets it."
I didn't bother looking back.
Once I got in the car, William started the engine and glanced at me in the rearview mirror.
"Ms. Foster, are we heading home?"
"Let's head home," I said, leaning back in my seat, feeling pretty good. "Dad's still waiting for me to give him the rundown on what happened."
As the car pulled out of the hotel parking lot, I glanced at the rearview mirror.
Ryan and Emily were still lingering at the hotel entrance.
Both of them were dressed in faded school uniforms, looking totally out of place against the glitzy hotel doors.
Ryan kept his head down, scrolling through his phone, his face looking more and more upset.
He was probably checking every account he had, trying to see if he was really down to his last dollar.