“But I didn’t tell you to order such expensive wine!”

“You didn’t tell me not to,” Hope Newton replied calmly, crossing her arms and tilting her chin just slightly, radiating a quiet authority.

Daniel nearly lost it. The thought of three million in wine bills made his heart race and his entire body shiver. There was no way he could pay that. His family was comfortably middle-class at best—their yearly income barely touched that sum. If his parents found out he had splurged three million just to treat classmates, they’d probably break his legs in frustration.

“But I assumed you’d understand. We’re students—none of us can afford to spend that...