After My Wife's Best Friend Ate Free Daily, I Snapped

After she found out I'd opened a restaurant, my wife's best friend started bringing crowds in to eat every single day.

In two months she ran up three hundred thousand dollars, and never once paid a cent.

The place was bleeding money, and I finally couldn't hold back. I mentioned it to her, just asked her to settle the bill.

Her answer, in front of the entire restaurant, was to pick up a big bowl of soup that had just been set on the table and throw it in my face.

"I only bring people here to give your wife face. You should be grateful, and instead you've got the nerve to hit me up for money?"

The scalding soup burned my whole face red, running down over my clothes.

My wife lowered her head and pretended she hadn't seen a thing.

I didn't shout. I didn't argue. I turned and walked out.

Three days later, my wife's best friend got engaged. She summoned every relative from her side and the groom's, booked out the whole restaurant, and gave me her order:

"Jerome Dickerson, today I'm having my engagement party here, whole place to myself. Every table gets your most expensive liquor and your best dishes!"

I glanced at the restaurant transfer contract I'd just signed, and gave a faint smile.

"Sure."

The moment Hailey Swanson threw that bowl of hot soup in my face.

The pain hit like a knife, straight to the bone.

The noisy restaurant went dead quiet.

Every head turned toward me at once.

Everyone except my wife, Maureen Pruitt, who quietly lowered her head and pretended she hadn't seen.

I looked up at Hailey's twisted face, then at Maureen, playing deaf and dumb.

I didn't shout, didn't make a scene. I just walked out of the restaurant.

Behind me, Hailey was still cursing.

"Maureen and I go back to before you even existed, and you've got the nerve to come collecting from me? Try asking me for money again and it won't just be soup you get."

I didn't turn around.

Out on the street, the cold wind hit, and the burn on my face stung sharper.

But inside, I was calmer than I'd ever been.

I took a deep breath, pulled out my phone, and made a call.

"Hi. I want to sell my restaurant."

"I don't care how low the price is. I only have one condition."

Once I'd worked it out with the person on the other end, I didn't go back to the restaurant.

I went straight home instead.

I'd barely reached the door when I heard Hailey's indignant voice coming from inside.

"Maureen, you really need to get your husband under control."

"We grew up close as sisters, thick as thieves, and he's got the nerve to hound his own wife's best friend for money over one meal?"

Maureen sighed, sounding put upon.

"He was in the wrong on this, no question."

"But the restaurant is his own money, he paid for it himself, so I can't really tell him what to do."

Hailey's voice shot up at once.

"So what if he paid for it himself?"

"He's your husband. His money is your money."

"Maureen, listen to me, you can't spoil a man like that. When it's time to smack him down, you smack him down. Look at me today, threw soup right in his face, and he didn't dare make a peep."

"You'd better set him straight later. Don't let some outsider wreck twenty-plus years of sisterhood between us."

Maureen was quiet for two seconds, then said in a low voice.

"I hear you."

The next second, I pushed the door open and walked in.

Both of them turned to look at me at once, displeasure all over their faces.

I ignored them and went straight into the bedroom.

Maureen followed and handed me a tube of burn ointment.

"Put some on. Then go out and apologize to Hailey."

I glanced at her, didn't take it, and opened the closet and started packing my clothes.

Maureen frowned, not getting it.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

I folded my coat and pushed it into the suitcase, calm.

"Packing. I'm moving out."

Her face darkened, and her voice turned impatient.

"Jerome, how long are you going to keep this up?"

"Yeah, Hailey shouldn't have thrown the soup, but you shouldn't have asked her to pay in front of everyone and left her with no way to save face either."

"She's my best friend. You expect me to fight her over you?"

"Can't you just be reasonable and drop that petty, penny-pinching streak of yours?"

My hands paused for a moment.

Then I looked up at Maureen and said flatly.

"Don't worry. I won't do it again."

With that, I folded the last shirt, laid it in the suitcase, zipped it shut, and walked out of the house without looking back.

Behind me, Maureen started to come after me, but Hailey stopped her, certain of herself.

"Maureen, let him go."

"You can't coddle a man. Running off is just his way of trying to squeeze you. Long as you don't take the bait, he'll come crawling back in tears in a few days."

To the sound of Hailey's jeering, I carried my suitcase into the elevator and went down.

Then I checked into a room near the restaurant.

Once I was settled, my phone buzzed.

A message.

After reading it, I smiled, satisfied.

Over the next two days, I went to the restaurant as usual and ran the place like nothing had happened.

I just stepped away now and then to make a few calls and sign a few papers.

Maybe she was letting me stew on purpose, because Hailey didn't come by those two days.

Maureen, who normally couldn't stay away from the place, didn't come either.

But every so often she'd send me a message:

"Jerome, that's enough. Stop making a scene."

"Hailey and I grew up together. Can't you just put up with it, for my sake?"

"Hailey's right, you've been spoiled rotten. If you've got the nerve, stay mad your whole life and don't come back."

I didn't reply to a single one. I just quietly took care of what needed taking care of.

Three days later, right after I signed the last contract, Hailey walked in.

She had on a brand-new dress, her hair styled sleek and fashionable, arrogance radiating off her from head to toe.

On her arm was a young man in a crisp suit.

Her boyfriend, Oliver James.

Maureen trailed alongside the two of them, not looking at me.

Behind them came a whole procession of people.

Most of them were relatives from Hailey's and Oliver's families.

The moment they came through the door, the whole crowd started grabbing seats and settling in wherever they pleased.

Hailey strutted up to the front counter and gave me her order:

"I'm booking out your whole restaurant for my engagement party today. Every table gets your most expensive liquor and your best dishes."

"Australian lobster, abalone, sea cucumber, king crab, premium wagyu beef, deluxe seafood stew, bring it all out. And for the drinks, straight top-shelf whiskey, no cutting corners."

I lifted my head and looked calmly at her, at all that swagger, and confirmed:

"You're sure you want all of this liquor and these dishes on every table? Once the order's placed, there are no cancellations and no returns."

Hailey slammed her hand on the counter and raised her voice to a shout:

"Obviously!"

"I told you to bring it out, so bring it out. Why all the yapping?"

Oliver's relatives all marveled at it.

"Wow, all this good liquor and food, that's got to cost a fortune, huh?"

Hailey waved a careless hand.

"Today's my engagement party with Oliver. It has to be done big."

"Don't worry, every bit of it is on me. You all just eat and enjoy yourselves."

With that, she turned her head and glared at me, hurrying me along:

"What are you standing there for? Go get the food out, now!"

I looked at that smug face of hers.

Then I glanced at the restaurant transfer contract I'd just signed, and gave a faint smile.

"All right."

With that, I walked straight to the front door and hung up the sign: "Privately Booked Today. Not Accepting Other Guests."

Then I went back to the kitchen and gave the head chef and the rest of the cooks their orders:

"Hailey booked out the whole place today. Every dish goes exactly the way she wants it. Australian lobster, abalone, sea cucumber, king crab, premium wagyu, the deluxe seafood stew."

"For drinks, top-shelf whiskey only. Load every table with it. Don't hold back."

The head chef froze for a second, then dropped his voice.

"Boss, there's no way Hailey pays for any of this today. If we really make everything she's asking for, we'll lose our shirts!"

I gave a faint smile.

"It's fine."

"Just do it."

Seeing how set I was, he didn't push it. He turned around and started prepping right away.

Before long the kitchen was in full swing, the clatter of woks and the rhythm of knives rolling one over the other.

The whole restaurant filled with rich, heavy aromas.

Out in the dining room, everyone was heaping praise on Hailey and Oliver, sparing nothing:

"Hailey, you're really something. Most engagement parties, the groom's side pays and does all the work. Not only are you not making Oliver pay, you've thrown in the best food and liquor and made the whole thing this grand."

"Right? I really envy Oliver, marrying a woman as capable and generous as Hailey. Once they're married, he's got it made!"

Under all the flattery, Oliver's mouth curled up high, his face full of pride.

"Of course. If there's one thing Hailey's never short on, it's money."

Hailey soaked up the praise as if she really were some rich, successful somebody.

Soon the heavy dishes started coming out, one after another.

Australian lobster, braised abalone with sea cucumber, the deluxe seafood stew, king crab sashimievery plate elegantly presented, every one clearly worth a fortune.

The whiskey came in by the case, servers hauling it out and setting bottles on every table.

Looking at all that expensive food and drink, Hailey's relatives stared, eyes glazing over.

"My God, they're really bringing out this much good food and liquor? This engagement party is so classy."

"Right? A spread like this, most people never get to eat like it their whole lives."

"Having a relative as impressive as Hailey is an honor for the whole Swanson family!"

Oliver's relatives were just as dumbstruck by the display.

"Heavens, all this abalone and sea cucumber, the top-shelf whiskeyI've only ever seen this stuff on TV. Never thought I'd get to taste it myself in this lifetime."

"Hailey spends big and thinks big. She's definitely going to do great things someday."

"This daughter-in-lawthe James family is sold!"

Buoyed by all the praise, Hailey rose with a glass in hand and spoke, high-spirited:

"Thank you all for honoring us by coming to my and Oliver's engagement party."

"Eat as much as you want today, drink your fill. If there's not enough, order more."

"I'm covering everything, so don't stand on ceremony with me!"

The moment she finished, the whole room broke into cheers again.

Everyone raised their glasses, toasting Hailey:

"Come on, come on, let's drink to the generous, big-thinking bride-to-be. May she do better and better every year!"

Amid all the toasts and flattery, Hailey felt a satisfaction she'd never known before.

She hooked her arm through Oliver's, thumped her chest, and declared to everyone grandly:

"Starting today, we're all one family."

"From now on, whatever you want to eat, just come to this restaurant and give my name, Hailey Swanson."

"Put it all on my tab. You won't pay a cent."

At that, everyone's eyes lit up, and they crowded around Hailey with another round of heavy praise:

"This girl is the most big-thinking person I've ever met!"

One line after another, until Hailey's nose was tilted clean up at the ceiling.

Riding the endless stream of flattery, Hailey drifted slowly over to the front counter and taunted me under her breath:

"Jerome, don't you love money? Aren't you the one who's always counting every penny?"

"Today I'm going to spend every last cent in your restaurant, and show you what you get for crossing me."

Once, hearing Hailey talk like that would have given me a headache.

But now, it just struck me as ridiculous.

I looked at her and said, unruffled,

"Suit yourself."

When I didn't blow up the way she'd expected, Hailey frowned, a flicker of displeasure in her eyes.

The next moment she glanced at the bill on the table, and a sly look crossed her face.

"This meal only came to eight hundred grand?"

"No wonder you're so calm. Looks like I haven't spent enough yet."

Then she turned to a nearby server and said loudly,

"Bring me the menu. I'm ordering more."

The server glanced at me for permission.

I nodded.

She handed the menu to Hailey.

Hailey flipped through it, taking her time.

"Bird's nest soup, another bowl for everyone."

"Shark fin, one serving each."

"Caviar, bring out everything you've got."

When she was done, she tossed the menu onto the table and gave me a taunting smile.

"Well? Does it hurt yet?"

I tugged up the corner of my mouth and shook my head.

"Not a bit."

Hailey's face stiffened, and she looked thoroughly annoyed.

"Then bring out that bluefin tuna sashimi, two pounds a table."

She swept a look around the relatives from both families, lifted her chin, and added,

"And everyone gets a box of Australian lobster and king crab to take home, plus a bottle of top-shelf whiskey for a late-night snack."

That set the room off again.

"Wow! Not only do we feast, we get to take our own boxes home. Is this what real money looks like?"

Even Oliver looked proud and full of admiration.

"Hailey, I really had no idea. You're even more generous and better off than I thought."

Only Maureen couldn't help stepping up to Hailey, lowering her voice to warn her.

"Hailey, that's enough. Any more and you'll clean the whole place out."

Hailey shot me a taunting glance and gave a cold laugh.

"Cleaning out everything expensive in here is exactly the point. That way certain people learn their lesson and stop nickel-and-diming everything."

Then she looked at Maureen and asked in a low, pointed voice,

"Maureen, we grew up together, best of friends. You wouldn't take Jerome's side and let it come between us, wreck my engagement party, would you?"

Maureen looked at me, and in the end she chose to say nothing.

Hailey, meanwhile, stared down at me from on high, her eyes full of the pleasure of payback.

I smiled and said nothing.

It was the server who looked at me uneasily and asked, quietly,

"Boss, this order, do you really want me to put it in?"

I glanced at Hailey and Maureen and nodded.

"Put it in."

"Whatever they order, we serve."

Seeing how obediently I placed the order, Hailey looked like she'd won a war and flashed Maureen a smug smile.

"See that?"

"He's doing exactly as he's told now, isn't he?"

"I told you. You can't go easy on a man."

With that, she went back to her seat, satisfied, and kept eating and drinking.

Soon the server carried out Hailey's bird's nest soup, shark fin, and caviar, plate after plate, exactly as ordered.

Then dozens of boxes of Australian lobster, king crab, and whiskey were packed up and set quietly beside each guest.

Seeing all this, every guest in the room couldn't help praising her again.

"This is the most lavish, most extravagant engagement party I've ever been to!"

Hailey waved a generous hand and said grandly,

"That's small change, it's nothing. If everyone likes it, we can eat like this every single day!"

I looked at the bill.

Their total had stacked from eight hundred grand up to one point six million.

With every expensive ingredient and bottle in the place picked clean, Hailey was finally satisfied.

Stuffed and content, she leaned back in her chair and let out a burp.

Then she got up, walked over to me, and said with a swagger,

"Jerome, today's meal was enough to teach you a lesson, wasn't it?"

"Remember, stop being so petty about everything."

"Otherwise, I've got plenty of ways to deal with you!"

With that, she led everyone toward the door.

Just then a group of men suddenly blocked the entrance, cutting Hailey off, and the one in front spoke to her without the slightest courtesy.

"You ran up one point six million at my restaurant today, and you think you can walk out without paying?"