Chapter 162

Paisley sensed Vivian’s bad mood but ignored it, carrying Serena away from the crowd. Habella trailed close behind. "Mrs. Morgan, keep an eye on her," she warned, "don't let her run off."

Paisley glanced at Habella, then asked Vivian, "What's the retail price of this wine?"

Vivian laughed, a brittle sound. "Ms. Sutton, are you serious? Are you clueless, or just pretending? Asking about the retail price? At retail, you couldn't afford an empty bottle!"

Paisley knew Cloud Crest Reserve’s markup, but this was manageable. "How much is it, then?"

"Two hundred thousand," Vivian spat, certain Paisley couldn't pay. She relished the humiliation to come.

Paisley frowned. Two hundred thousand? That was excessive. She’d need to talk to Lucy; the markup was out of control. She wasn't directly involved in winery operations—Lucy handled that—but she reviewed reports and occasionally crafted premium batches herself.

Vivian sneered. "Don't have it? Well, you could always—" Her phone blared. "Your account received $200,000." The announcement echoed across the room.

Vivian froze, grabbing her phone. Paisley had paid.

"How...?" Vivian stammered.

Isabella and the other parents stared, stunned by Paisley's effortless payment.

"Impressive," Habella muttered, jealousy edging her voice. "I wonder where that money came from."

Paisley, however, was focused on Serena, who seemed upset, though not because of the wine. Serena, raised in abundance, didn’t understand the value of money. Something else was wrong. Serena remained silent, tears streaming down her face.

A furious male voice cut through the stunned silence. "What happened here?!"

Paisley looked up, surprised to see the man from the shared sink.

Vivian rushed to greet him. "Honey!"

Paisley raised an eyebrow. This was Millie’s father, the supposedly charming family man.

Nate pointed at the shattered wine. His face was a mask of rage. "Vivian, what happened?!" His pain was palpable. "Didn't you say you were just showing it? Why is it broken?!"

Vivian, flustered, stammered an explanation to her husband.

Nate followed her gaze to Paisley. His expression shifted, momentarily awkward. That awkwardness didn't escape Vivian; her glare intensified. His earlier interest in Paisley had vanished, replaced by anger over the broken wine.

Kevin intervened. "Mr. Morgan, please. Ms. Sutton has already paid two hundred thousand dollars."

A regular worker would toil for years to earn that much. Instead of calming Nate, it enraged him further. "Two hundred thousand? For my wine?!"

He glared at Vivian. His gentle demeanor was gone. "Do you know this wine was a gift? How am I supposed to present it now?!"

Vivian hadn't considered that. She'd only brought it to show off.

"I—" Vivian sputtered, glaring at Paisley. "Ms. Sutton, what are you going to do?"

Paisley sighed, weary of the noise. "Enough. I'll replace the bottle."

Nate laughed, a cold, angry sound. "Replace it? Try it. I'd like to see you replace it with an identical bottle!"

Paisley calmly called Lucy, providing the address and requesting immediate delivery of a replacement.

Meanwhile, in a private room, Max overheard the commotion. "What's going on out there?"

Leo volunteered to investigate. Returning moments later, he reported, "Max, it's the woman who saved you. She's in trouble."

"What kind of trouble?"

"Her daughter broke a bottle of Cloud Crest Reserve," Leo explained.

Max nodded. "We have that wine. Get someone to fetch a bottle."