Chapter 3

The waiter came over with the bill. "Sir, that'll be 130 dollars."

Benjamin's brow furrowed as he patted his pockets, looking awkward and uncomfortable.

"Sorry, I was in such a rush today. I forgot my wallet, and my phone's about to die..." he said, sounding embarrassed.

He turned to me, giving me an apologetic look.

"Miss Jenkins, could you spot me this time? I'll send it back to you later," he said.

[130 dollars? Are you kidding me? Over a hundred bucks for a crappy coffee? What a rip-off!

[Anyway, we're basically family soon. Her cash is mine, so of course, she should pick up the tab.

[Pay her back later? Please. Who's actually going to do that? I'll just play dead and ignore it.]

I couldn't help but smirk.

I whipped out my card and flashed it at the waiter. "Don't worry, I'll cover it."

Benjamin beamed at me, all thankful. "You're so kind, I..."

"But," I cut him off, "I have a little habit."

"What kind of habit?" Benjamin asked.

"I don't like taking advantage of people, and I don't like being taken advantage of either," I said.

I pulled up the calculator on my phone and, right in front of him, punched in "130 ÷ 2 = 65"

"Let's split the bill," I said.

I turned the calculator screen toward him, flashing an innocent smile.

"Your share is 65 dollars. Mind sending it over now?" I said. "Even family settles accounts, and since it's our first meeting, we should be extra clear, don't you think?"

Benjamin's face darkened instantly.

Benjamin's expression was priceless.

The pop-up messages above his head exploded in a frenzy.

[What's her deal? She actually wants to split the bill?

[Can't she see I'm just testing her? She's totally clueless.

[With someone this stingy, she'll never cough up cash for my family without a fight. Nope, time to switch tactics.]

He coughed awkwardly, scrambling to recover his image.

"Miss Jenkins, you misunderstood me. Come on, it's just a meal. How could I let a lady pick up the tab?" he said, laying on the fake chivalry thick.

Then, like he was about to donate a kidney, he dug out a wrinkled old wallet from his pocket and painstakingly counted out a few bills.

"No need for change," he told the waiter, trying to sound cool.

He slapped the cash on the table, putting on a show like he was some kind of big shot.

I took a quick peek.

Two hundred-dollar bills.

[Damn it, I just shelled out seventy extra bucks. Hurts like hell.

[I'm definitely making her pay me back double for this, just wait.]

I almost couldn't hold back my laughter.

After paying, Benjamin acted like his so-called "generosity" would make me think he was some big shot. He sat back down, putting on a wise, lecturing act.

"Isabella, you're a nice girl, but honestly, you're a bit too independent," he said. "Girls don't need to be so tough. If a woman acts too bossy, guys find it exhausting."

[Translation: You'd better be a bit more naive and simple-minded. It makes it way easier to control.]

I propped my chin on my hand, tilting my head as I looked at him.

"Oh? Is that so?" I asked.

"Of course," he said, launching into his brainwashing routine. "Take today's meal, for example. I was just testing you. If you'd paid without a second thought, that would've shown you're kind and not fussy, the kind of woman a guy wants as a wife."

[Nice save, turned my stinginess into some kind of 'test' for her. Genius.]

I nodded, pretending to have an epiphany.

"Oh, so this was all just a test, huh?" I said. "Well, did I ace your little test?"

Benjamin grinned smugly.

"Of course, you did great," he said.

"That's a relief," I said with an exaggerated sigh, pulling my phone out of my bag and hitting play on a recording. "Mr. Martinez, since I passed your test, does that mean I get to put you to the test now?"

Benjamin looked stunned. "What do you mean?"

I hit play.

His whole dramatic speech from earlier suddenly blared out across the café.

"My parents are just farmers...

"I swear, one day I'll make sure they live the good life..."

And then, that little gem from earlier.

"Pay her back later? Please. Who's actually going to do that? I'll play dead and ignore it." Benjamin had actually muttered this under his breath when he sat down, not realizing my phone was recording.

Only I could see the pop-up thoughts in my system, but this time, he'd let that line slip out loud, and my phone caught it crystal clear.

Benjamin's face went ghostly pale.

The people at the surrounding tables started giving us strange looks.

I turned off the recording and flashed him a smile.

"Mr. Martinez, you're so filial. I'm honestly touched," I said, laying it on thick. "You say you want your parents to live the good life, but you can't even cough up 65 dollars for a meal and have to freeload off a woman.

"You claim you make 100,000 dollars a year, but you don't even have a single piece of clothing worth more than 100 bucks."

I pointed at his ratty plaid shirt. "Let me guess, you send every last cent back home to your parents and your brother, right?"

Benjamin's lips quivered, but he couldn't get a word out.

I kept going, piling on the pressure.