When I refused to pay the bill at the upscale restaurant, he stared at me as if I were a stranger. His mother smirked in approval, but then he threw wine in my face and hissed, “Pay up, or it’s over.”

By ten o'clock, the dining room had emptied out, leaving only a few quiet couples lingering near the bar. The waiter approached our table holding a silver tray with a heavy leather folder resting on top.

He placed the check directly in front of Rafael with a polite bow. "Whenever you are ready, Señor."

Rafael didn't open the folder. He didn't even look at the total. Instead, he picked up the leather folder with two fingers and slid it across the white tablecloth, stopping it directly against my water glass.

"You pay," Rafael said casually, taking another sip of his wine.

I stared at the leather folder, my hand freezing in mid-air. "Excuse me?"

"My mother brought us here as our guest," Rafael said, his tone turning sharp and demanding. "We cannot embarrass ourselves in front of the staff. Pay the bill."

"Your mother didn't bring us here as guests," I said, my voice dropping into a dangerous register. "She ordered the entire menu without asking me. You ordered two vintage bottles of wine specifically for her. Why would I pay for this?"

Mariana let out a soft, mocking laugh. "Oh, listen to her, Rafael. She acts as if a few hundred euros is a national tragedy. This is why people from her background never truly fit into high society."

I opened the folder. The total at the bottom made my pulse spike.

Three thousand eight hundred euros.

I scanned the line items quickly, my eyes narrowing. Aside from the outrageously priced tasting menus, there were two additional bottles of vintage champagne listed—bottles that had never been brought to our table—and a ten percent "VIP service enhancement" fee that had been manually tacked onto the bottom.

"This bill is incorrect," I said, keeping my fingers firm against the paper. "And even if it were correct, I am not paying for a three-thousand-euro dinner that was used as a weapon to humiliate me."