The poor Billionaire novel (Ethan) novel Chapter 56
With an awkward smile, Cayson said to Horace, "Oh, I'm sorry. If I had known that you were Della's former classmate, I wouldn't have received your money for the Rolls-Royce you rented this morning. I hope we can get along well. You don't have to be formal or polite to me."
In the heat of the moment, Macie spat at Horace and said, "Eww! Horace, you make me sick. Did you think your status would be elevated and sophisticated girls like us would spare you a glance if you rented a luxury car and treated us to a meal in this restaurant? Humph! This is the most ridiculous thing I have witnessed this year. The only people that can truly afford these luxuries are from wealthy families. In your case, you have only a small amount of money that would run out soon. None of us will fall in love with you, except for Laila!"
Macie put two and two together and concluded why Horace was behaving so rich today. As far as she was concerned, his gimmicks wouldn't work on sophisticated girls. He didn't need to come to a fancy restaurant and hire a car if he just wanted to woo Laila. She felt that Laila would be more than happy if she went to a small and cheap restaurant. The fact that Horace put in so much effort to act like a rich man made her conclude that he wanted to pursue her or another classy girl.
'Jeez! Someone tell me this isn't real. This poor guy has a crush on one of us. He chose this expensive restaurant to impress us. What a dumbass!' Macie concluded inwardly.
Macie's thoughts were so ridiculous and baseless. If Horace could read her mind, he would definitely sneer at her. He didn't want to get into a war of words with these troublesome women. He just wanted to give Laila a memorable birthday party. Money wasn't his problem at all. He could afford to pay for anything here.
Laila's face turned red when she heard Macie's last sentence. After suppressing her embarrassment a little, she cautioned her. "Macie, I think you are mistaken. For me, money is not the only criteria to consider when choosing a boyfriend. His personality and love are more important!"
Like a good friend, Laila's trust in Horace was unshaken despite her roommates' accusations and Cayson's confirmation. She couldn't help feeling displeased with them.
Macie's slander made her a little unhappy. Horace had taken it upon himself to organize this birthday party for her. He was doing it to make her happy. She had anticipated a party void of any drama. She wasn't pleased that Macie made a scene by attacking her best friend. It was inappropriate for her to do something like that.
When Lucinda heard Laila's words, she smirked and remarked disdainfully, "What a little Miss Goody-two shoes! We are not stuck in a fantasy land like you, Laila. Love and a good personality don't fund a relationship. So, don't impose your outdated opinion on us!"
Rolling her eyes, she added, "You are so poor. Have you ever experienced riches in your life?"
"You speak like you have experienced riches yourself. Then would you do us the honor by telling us how it feels like to be rich?" Horace chimed in when he couldn't take her disdainful words to Laila anymore. His chuckle sounded as if he was mocking Lucinda for being an arrogant, but poor woman.
It had been more than thirty minutes since Horace arrived at the Country Music Restaurant. There weren't many customers in the restaurant at this time, but some of the tables had already been occupied.
At this moment, a delivery staff from the Vloni Bakery walked into the restaurant with a digital signature device in his hand. He announced respectfully, "Excuse me, I have some cakes for a customer and the last four digits of his phone number are 8910. Is he here? The cakes he ordered are here. I need him to sign for it!"
With these words, the staff waved at the door. Six employees dressed in the Vloni Bakery's uniforms came in with three different six-layer cakes.
"Oh my God! Are they the tricolored cakes of the Vloni Bakery?" Macie exclaimed as she stared at the three six-layered cakes that were just delivered. With her eyes opened wide, she added, "All three of these cakes are the most expensive in the Vloni Bakery. Each one costs nothing less than eight thousand, eight hundred and eighty-eight dollars. They have three different colors, red, green, and yellow. I have never seen them out of the cake shop before. More so, I didn't expect to see all of them here today. Wow! I wonder which rich guy ordered these cakes and which lucky girl would receive them as a gift. She must be the happiest woman in the world today. How I wish someone could do such a thing for me too!"
After sighing helplessly, Macie turned to look at Laila and asked, "That reminds me, Laila. You also ordered your birthday cake from the Vloni Bakery, didn't you? Which one did you order? Is it the cheapest cake?"
"Huh!" Lucinda suddenly chuckled with disdain. She added, "Macie, do you really need to ask that question? It's should be pretty obvious. Our dear roommate here must have ordered that cake that costs only five hundred and ninety-nine dollars. It's the cheapest one in the cake shop."
The contemptuous attitude of Macie and Lucinda changed to shock in a trice. Their eyes widened when they saw that Horace suddenly raised his hand and called the attention of the delivery staff. "Hey, sir! My name is Horace Warren. The last four digits of my phone number are 8910. I was the one who ordered these cakes!"
"Okay, sir. Please, hold on a second." The delivery staff checked Horace's name on the digital signature device in his hand. After the confirmation, he directed the other employees and they put the three cakes on the table Horace was sitting at.
"Oh, my God! Is he a low-profile rich man?" One of the customers who had just reached the restaurant was stunned when he saw Horace's shabby clothes.
This man wasn't the only one shocked. Other customers were also surprised to see that three top-grade cakes were delivered to Horace's table. He didn't look like he could afford even one of the cakes. The customers could only assume that he was a rich man in disguise.
"Alas!" Another customer glanced at Laila and her roommates who were sitting at the table. "Rich people always have many beautiful women around them," he remarked.
These customers weren't here when Lucinda and Macie made a scene by leveling accusations against Horace. Thus, they subconsciously regarded him as a rich young man. Their guess was right even though they knew nothing about his true identity.
On the other hand, Macie and her friends didn't think so. They knew Horace to be a pauper who even struggled to feed. They all heard the whispers of the other customers. In fury, Macie huffed, "Bah! What rich man? Don't let him fool you. He's just an unfilial son from a poor family. He only has about fifty thousand dollars. The worse thing is that his mother is currently sick. Instead of paying for her treatment, he's using the money to chase girls. Horace, these three cakes must have cost you more than twenty thousand dollars. Have you gone nuts? Do you think the money we donated was plucked from the tree? It was our hard-earned money. Mark my words. I'll tell all our former classmates what you have done today!"
"What? What's going on?" The customers' jaws dropped when they heard Macie's statement. They were all at sea as they stared at the people sitting at Horace's table.
"No, it's not like that!" Laila immediately stepped in. She stood up and scanned through the sea of eyes. On Horace's behalf, she explained, "These cakes are a gift from the Vloni Bakery's boss. We met him yesterday. Horace didn't waste the money we donated!"
"A gift from the boss? Why are you lying through your teeth, Laila? Do you take us for fools? Don't be stupid. How can a poverty-stricken man like Horace know the boss of the Vloni Bakery?" Lucinda retorted with a sneer. She then added sarcastically, "Horace, I had no idea that you were this awesome. You came here in a Rolls-Royce, but you insisted that you didn't rent it. You also ordered the three most expensive cakes from the Vloni Bakery, but Laila claimed that the boss gifted them to you. What other surprise do you have in store for us? Do you plan to say that the boss of this restaurant would foot the bill for our meal later? Wow! You are so powerful, Horace!"
"Alas!" Horace sighed and shook his head slightly. "From the look of things, there's a very low probability that you would believe me if I truthfully explained everything to you. Why then should I bother?" He shrugged indifferently.
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