Chapter 4

As soon as the words left Alex's mouth, a few others started to chime in.

Sophie let out a loud cough, finally drawing everyone's attention to me sitting in the corner.

She cleared her throat. "Cut it out. Alex and Emily have been together for years. They're solid."

The people around us laughed it off, trying to smooth things over. "Emily, don't mind us. We're just kidding around."

Alex took my hand again, his face turning serious as he addressed the room. "Emily and I dated online for three years. We've been together six years. You're not going to drive a wedge between us with a few cheap jokes."

He turned to whisper to me, "Right, babe?"

I kept my head down, a dull ache pressing against my chest. "I want to go home."

Alex assumed I was just shy. "I'll drop you off."

He held my hand as we left the lounge and walked out to the curb.

I pulled my hand free and stepped back to put distance between us. "Let's stop here. Don't go any further."

Alex froze, his fingers tightening on his car keys. "Fine, hail a cab then. I'll cover half your ride home."

I was ending things, yet he was still talking about splitting the bill.

I watched him pull out his phone to send a transfer, then looked him in the eye. "Alex, you're the one who called me over. You should pay for the full round trip."

Alex knitted his brows. "Since when do you count pennies like this? Babe, are you mad at me?"

My face remained completely blank. "I'm just following the dating rules you set."

I used to think he was being overly transactional, and I'd even playfully complained to him about it.

But he'd told me, "It's not about the money; it's about principle.

"If we don't go fifty-fifty, how will I know if you actually love me, or if you're just after my wealth?"

From that day on, I never brought up money again.

Even if something cost fifty cents, I made sure to split it right down the middle, down to twenty-five cents each.

Alex sighed, opened his car door, and pulled me inside. "I'll just drive you back this time."

*****

When we pulled up outside Sunnyvale Apartments, he turned on the overhead light. Only then did I notice two gift boxes sitting on the back seat.

One was wrapped in high-end luxury packaging, while the other was from a simple department store boutique.

Alex handed me the plain box. "Our six-year anniversary is in a few days. Here's your gift early."

I looked at the other box. "Who's that for?"

"Sophie, her birthday is coming up," Alex replied, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

I opened my box. Inside was a heart keychain. The price tag read thirty dollars.

In all the years we had been together, he had never given me a gift that cost more than thirty dollars.

Once, for our anniversary, I bought him a tie worth over three hundred dollars.

He flew into a rage, "Are you trying to force me to buy you three-hundred-dollar gifts too? Since when did you become so materialistic?"

Seeing how upset he was, I apologized right away, returned the tie, and swapped it for a thirty-dollar pocket square.

I leaned over and opened the bag holding Sophie's gift.

Inside was a diamond-encrusted Patek Philippe watch. The receipt inside listed the price at three million dollars.

A tight knot formed in my throat, choking off my voice.

Seeing my reaction, Alex pinched the bridge of his nose, looking exhausted.

I had always been gentle and compliant around him, never making faces like this.

"Sophie grew up in luxury," he said. "Even her allowance back in school was thirty grand a month, and I've never given her a birthday gift worth less than three million.

"But you're different. You showed me what real, ordinary life looks like, and I want a grounded, everyday future with you."

He took a heavy breath, leaning over from the driver's seat to wrap his arms around me. "Babe, I've never stayed with a woman this long before. I genuinely want to make this work with you.

"Real love shouldn't be measured in dollars and cents. Don't keep score like this, okay?"

I clenched my fists so hard my nails dug into my palms, letting the pain radiate up through my chest.

Love shouldn't be measured in money, but a contrast like this put a clear price tag on everything.

Alex, her gift cost three million dollars, while mine costs thirty.

How was I supposed to believe you love me?

I took a deep breath, fighting down the surge of emotion, and calmly pushed him away. "I get it."

I picked up the simple gift bag, any trace of warmth gone from my eyes.

"Thanks for the gift."

Stepping out of the car, I turned back to look at him as he got ready to drive off. "Alex, I'm leaving. I won't be coming back."

Alex was staring down at his phone screen, smiling as he texted Sophie back, completely deaf to what I had just said.

I opened my mouth, then swallowed the word breakup back down.

Walking away in silence was probably the highest form of grace an adult could offer.

Without another glance, I turned on my heel and walked into the apartment complex.

When I got upstairs, I tore down the photo wall in the entryway and packed everything that reminded me of Alex into cardboard boxes, dumping them straight into the complex's non-recyclable trash bin.

By the time I finished packing my bags for the move overseas, the sun was coming up.

A check-in notification popped up on my phone: [Your flight, AH723, departs in three hours. Please prepare for boarding.]

I sent a lease-cancellation notice to my landlord Margaret Hayes, grabbed all my documents, and rolled my suitcase out of the apartment I had rented for the past three years.

At the airport, I breezed through the priority security lane and boarded the plane.

I had just texted my parents to let them know I was on board when a message from Alex came through.

Alex: [Babe, Sophie's coming over to my place for dinner today. You should come too. I'll officially introduce you to my parents.

[I thought about it all night, and I've decided to end the fifty-fifty rule. From now on, I'll take care of you.]

I didn't text back. Instead, I blocked his number and deleted him from my WhatsApp.

From this day forward, I was done playing the fifty-fifty girlfriend.