It was the "getting lied to" part that rankled. If he'd been honest about it things might not have stung as much.
Thank you for the background story, I know the feeling when people don’t honor an agreement, man man man is it frustrating. I had someone cancel on me an hour into a two hour drive. That one made my blood boil. Glad you addressed it directly…sometimes I engage and sometimes my temper is too high and I leave it alone to fight another day. Your pricing strategy is beautiful, it’s definitely the way to go.
I've been ghosted before for even asking a question. I think their brains go "ooh this might be valuable. I'd better check. " And...poof.