The Freebie Girlfriend

Chapter 4

I dumped the entire healthy meal straight into the trash can.

Everything they had touched felt filthy to me.

After buying a fresh meal, I accompanied my dad through his medical checkups, which confirmed it was just a flare-up of an old injury.

I finally let out a sigh of relief when the doctor said he'd be fine with some rest.

That evening, after settling my parents in, I went to see a lawyer on my own.

We had co-signed the mortgage on the house. Now that we were breaking up, I needed a lawyer to draft the property division terms.

But when I came back with the agreement the lawyer had drafted, the house was in complete chaos.

My parents' clothes and medications were scattered all over the floor.

My mother, eyes red, was crouching in the living room picking up the pills, while my father, ignoring his back pain, bent over to help her fold clothes.

James's mother, Margaret, sat on the sofa, her face full of disgust.

"You're finally back. Hurry up and get your parents out of here. There are only four bedrooms in this house. One for me, one for Nina, and one for her parents. Where are your parents supposed to sleep?"

I rushed over to help my mother up.

"This is James's home and mine. What right do you have to kick my parents out?"

Margaret sneered, "Our family paid the down payment on this house. You've been with him for years, living off my son and spending his money. What right do you have to make any decisions?"

A chill ran through me.

All these years, she had been convinced I was a shameless gold digger clinging to James.

No matter how nasty her words had been before, I had endured them.

I just hadn't wanted to put James in a difficult position.

But now I realized my tolerance had only made them think they could walk all over me and my parents.

"I've been paying half the mortgage since we moved in together—"

"Emma, don't say another word."

My mother pulled me back, her eyes brimming with tears.

"We'll leave. Don't fight with them because of us."

Margaret, however, refused to let it go.

"You should have left long ago. You two restaurant owners smell of grease. I'll have to hire someone to disinfect the sofa your mother sat on. With all these ragged clothes and cheap medicine piled on the floor, people would think a couple of bums had broken in!"

My father's back stiffened, and he slowly lowered his head.

He had been a proud man his whole life. How could he bear such humiliation?

A sharp pain pierced my chest as I turned to look at James.

He stood right beside Nina, completely silent from beginning to end.

"Do you want to kick them out too?"

He avoided my gaze.

"I'm not kicking them out. Nina's father has a bad heart and needs peace and quiet. And it's not safe for a young woman like Nina to stay in a hotel alone. It's just for a few days. Once they leave, I'll bring you and your parents back."

Another wait.

Why was it always my parents and I who had to make concessions?

"She's 30 years old, and you think a hotel isn't safe for her? What about my parents?"

Nina's eyes instantly welled with tears.

"Emma, please don't be angry. I'll take my parents and leave. It's just that my dad's heart is weak. If he has an episode in the middle of the night and the hotel staff doesn't respond in time..."

James interrupted her without hesitation. Looking back at me, he said, "You guys stay. There's a five-star hotel nearby. I'll book the best room for your parents. They won't be uncomfortable."

The last shred of hope I had shattered completely.

Margaret was still sneering beside him.

"A five-star hotel is too good for them. Low-class people staying in such luxury—they're courting bad luck!"

My mother was trembling with anger, yet she still held onto me tightly.

"Emma, we can stay anywhere. Please don't fight."

My eyes burned with unshed tears.

They had put me through college by running a small diner, never owing anyone a dime.

Yet now, because of me, their dignity was being trampled into the dirt.

Holding back my tears, I pulled the breakup agreement from my folder, flipped to the last page, and handed it to James.

"We'll leave. Just sign this."

He barely glanced at it.

"What's this?"

"I ordered a new water heater. I need you to sign for the payment as compensation for today."

Hearing this, he visibly relaxed.

He signed without even reading what was inside.

"There. I'll bring you all back the day after tomorrow."

I tucked the agreement away and went into the bedroom to pack.

A five-year relationship, and in the end, it all fit into just two suitcases.

Aside from those ridiculous promotional gifts, I barely owned anything that was truly mine.

James frowned at the luggage.

"You're only staying out for two nights. Why are you packing so much?"

I zipped the suitcase shut, my tone perfectly calm.

"I'm used to my own things. I don't like using hotel amenities."

He grunted, not thinking much of it.

As I reached the door, he took a couple of steps after me.

"This is a special circumstance. Just wait for me."

I didn't look back.

Because this time, I was done waiting.

I helped my parents into the car headed back to their hometown.

All the way there, they kept apologizing, saying they were useless and had embarrassed me.

I wrapped my arms tightly around my mother.

"You're the best parents in the world. It was my poor judgment in men that brought this humiliation upon you."

After seeing them off, I booked the earliest flight to Havenport.

Before boarding, I posted the breakup agreement on i********:: James cheated during our relationship. Five years of love ends here.

Then I turned off my phone and boarded the plane.

The moment the plane soared through the clouds, I left that wretched relationship completely behind me.