Chapter 1: The Check
Ava had been looking forward to this date for a week.
Jason picked a restaurant downtown, the kind of place with white tablecloths and a wine list that took ten minutes to read.
She'd worn the dress she saved for occasions like this.
Everything about the evening felt promising — good conversation, easy laughter, the sense that this could actually go somewhere.
Then the check came.
Jason glanced at it, then looked up at her.
"How about we split it?"
Ava blinked.
"Split it?
Seriously?"
"Yeah, why not?"
She sat back in her chair, the warmth from the last hour draining out of her voice.
"I thought I was on a date, not with someone counting pennies over dinner."
Jason's jaw tightened.
He didn't say anything else.
He just stood up, grabbed his jacket, and walked out.
Ava sat there alone for a moment, mortified, replaying the last thirty seconds in her head.
The waitress approached quietly and started clearing a glass.
"Can you believe he just walked out?"
The waitress paused.
"Ma'am, you didn't have to pay anything."
Ava frowned.
"What?"
"He's actually the owner."
Ava's hand froze halfway to her water glass.
The waitress gave a small, apologetic smile and gestured toward the check still sitting untouched on the table.
"This restaurant.
It's his.
He built it from nothing twelve years ago."
Ava looked toward the door Jason had just stepped through, then back down at the bill she'd assumed was about to ruin her night.
She had no idea what she'd actually just done.
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What does Ava do next — and will Jason ever give her a second chance?
Comment **"NEXT"** if you want Part 2.
