Riches in Disguise

The moment Tiffany mentioned money, Benjamin froze.

He barely scraped by on his scholarship, surviving on a few hundred dollars a month. How could he possibly have extra to give her?

Before Benjamin could respond, Matthew jumped in. "Money? No problem. Ben's been working part-time. He's saved up a bit. How much do you need?"

Tiffany's eyes lit up with excitement. "Really? I—I did the math before coming. We owe over a hundred dollars in electricity bills and 30 dollars for water. Dad needs medication and a hospital check-up. I still owe 280 dollars in school fees. I was hoping to ask for 800 dollars."

Every family has its struggles, but Benjamin's seemed harder than most.

Matthew's eyes reddened. "Only 800 dollars? I thought it'd be more. Ben's money is with me. I'll give it to you now."

He pulled out his wallet and emptied it, but there was only 600 dollars.

Liam reached for his wallet, but I stopped him. His family wasn't well-off either.

I grabbed mine instead. Between me and Matthew, we managed to pull together 1300 dollars and handed it to Tiffany.

The tension melted from her shoulders as she clutched the cash.

Benjamin looked at us with gratitude.

When we arrived at Paviluxe Restaurant, Amy and Yvonne gasped the moment they stepped out of the car.

"What's wrong?" I asked, worried something had happened.

Amy's eyes sparkled. "Look at all the luxury cars! Is that a BMW? And that- Mercedes, right? Hold on... Oh my god, that's a Porsche! William, take a picture for me!"

Before I could stop them, the two rushed off, snapping selfies with every car in sight.noveldrama

People around us started to stare, but I had no choice but to follow them and play photographer.

By the time we finished, my arm was sore from holding up the phone.

Inside the restaurant, I shook out my arm and turned to Benjamin.

"You'll sit at the head of the table. We'll sit next to you. Order whatever you want. I've already talked to them everything we eat or drink today is discounted. Don't worry about the bill."

Benjamin nodded and said sincerely, "Thank

and

kyou. I'll find a part-time job

pay you and Matthew back as

soon as I can."

I waved it off. "Come on, don't be so formal. We're friends. This money is for

Tiffany. You don't need to pay us back."

I patted his shoulder, and we headed into the main hall.

The moment we stepped inside, not just the girls but even Matthew widened their eyes in shock.

The place wasn't just a restaurant. It looked like an ancient palace. Stone bridges arched over rivers laced with dry ice. Dancers in flowing robe's moved gracefully while musicians played from the corner.

Even Matthew pulled out his phone for pictures.

I had been here before, so none of it surprised me.

As I led them to the table I reserved, I came to an abrupt stop.

A floral display beside the table spelled out Damian Wilde.

I frowned and called over a server.

"This is the table I reserved. Why does it have someone else's name? Who is Damian Wilde?"