Not one of them would ever confess it, though.

"Thank you," Elise said, offering James a soft smile before turning to Amanda. "Time to pay up."

Amanda's face was a shifting canvas of colors.

Elise had actually managed to wear it! How?!

"A bet is a bet. Are you planning to back out already?" Elise's voice was laced with mockery.

Amanda gritted her teeth. She had foolishly made the wager in front of so many witnesses.

She couldn't possibly disgrace herself by refusing to pay now.

"How much is that gown?" she snarled.

"It's 1.3 million dollars, Ms. Mitchell," a store assistant promptly replied.

"What?!" Amanda was certain she had misheard.

Most designer pieces cost a few hundred thousand at best. This dress was 1.3 million?!

"The gown was entirely handcrafted in Franconia. Every design element was custom-made to specification. The five hundred diamonds adorning it were individually hand-sewn by our master tailor," the assistant explained, presenting the invoice. "The pricing is according to official rates. Please review it, Ms. Mitchell."

Amanda's face turned a sickly green. She would never spend that much on a dress for herself, let alone buy one for Elise for free!

Whirling on Elise, she demanded, "Where did you get that kind of money for a gown this expensive?!"

Elise had expected it to be costly, but over a million dollars was staggering.

She maintained her composure. "That's my concern. You just need to honor your promise and pay for it. Then I'll pack it and leave."

Amanda's eyes burned with frustrated tears. Her bank account didn't hold that much money!

Despite her earnings from the entertainment industry and her family's generous allowances, she was terrible at saving. She had little over a hundred thousand at most!

But she would rather die than admit she couldn't afford something Elise apparently could.

"Use my card," Samuel said suddenly.

Amanda stared, stunned. Sophia looked visibly agitated. "Samuel, that's an enormous amount..."

"Consider it compensation for our breakup. Elise, I expect you to cease harassing Sophia and my sister from now on," Samuel declared, his tone righteous.

Elise merely scoffed. "Amanda lost the bet. But if you're calling it compensation, why not pay for James's tailcoat as well?"

"You're utterly despicable!" Amanda snapped.

"I'm simply learning from the best," Elise retorted coolly.

"What?" Amanda was speechless, unable to form a coherent reply.

Naturally, both Samuel and Sophia were glaring daggers at Elise.

Elise ignored them completely. She turned to James with a gentle smile. "Let's go change now, James."

"Okay," James nodded obediently.

By the time they had changed, Samuel had settled the bill. He couldn't allow his family's reputation to be tarnished.

"Thank you..." Elise said, holding the bag containing the astronomically priced clothes. She deliberately added, "...for your generous compensation."

Amanda was trembling with pure rage, her eyes fixed on Elise with a murderous glare.

Not only had she failed to get any dress she liked, but she had been body-shamed and lost over a million dollars for absolutely nothing!

She would not swallow this humiliation. Not at all.