Chapter 4

I opened the shared cloud drive and found the documents from the decoration company. In the confirmation section, I saw Emily's name.

The mattress of the master bedroom, curtains, dining table, and all the home appliances were charged to my card.

At the bottom of the acceptance form, it was written that James Lowie and Emily Grant confirmed everything was fine, but my name was nowhere to be found.

"James, who signed these documents?" I asked.

"Emily," he replied.

"Why?"

"You were pulling late nights for a project, barely getting home before midnight. I didn't want you to go through all that hassle."

"So you didn't want me to go through the trouble, and that's why you let her decide what bed I sleep in, what dishes I use, and where I live?"

"She checked with me about everything you like."

"Do you know what I like?"

"Of course I do."

"Then why is the dining table white marble?"

"Emily said it's easy to maintain."

"I've told you three times that I don't like stone tabletops."

He paused. "We can change the dining table."

"How about the mattress?"

"It's the one you sent me."

"So you remembered, but you still let Emily sleep on it first?"

He kept explaining for ten minutes, but he never realized I was asking about the eight years.

When my dad handed me the bank card, he told me that money was my safety net, not a bargaining chip to win anyone over.

James had promised back then that every penny would go into our home.

He wasn't wrong. The money did go into our home. But somehow, I was never really part of that home.

I printed out the transaction records and documents and handed them to Olivia Reed, my best friend, who worked in finance.

Olivia looked up after reading the first page. "This isn't about carelessness. He treats your money like it's the default option."

"Can you make a list?" I asked.

"Sure. Let's itemize the decoration costs, home appliance expenses, parking space fees, and the breakup costs."

"Once you've sorted it out, send it to him."

"So you're really done talking about feelings with him?"

"He started by splitting up the assets, so now I can only settle things with money."

James showed up at the bank, holding a bottle of oatmeal, the kind I used to drink.

After putting the straw in, he handed it to me. "You can't come to the bank on an empty stomach. Your stomach won't handle it."

"I don't drink sweet oatmeal," I said.

"Didn't you use to like it?"

"Emily does."

His hand froze mid-air. "Sophia, I'll pay you back, and I'll add your name to the deed. After eight years together, don't let a few hundred thousand dollars turn us into strangers."

"When you put Emily's name on the deed, didn't you already make us strangers?" I shot back.

"She's just filling a spot."

"Then transfer her share to me."

He frowned. "Her parents would never let that slide."

I nodded. "I see how it is."

"What do you mean?"

"My money's fair game, but her name is untouchable."

Olivia handed me the list, and I set the pen down in front of James. "Pay me back 192,000 dollars within seven days."