After My Boyfriend Took My Salary

Chapter 2

The server stared me down before she called the police.

As panic seized me, I grabbed her arm, pleading. "Please don't call anyone. I'll pay, I promise."

Getting arrested was the absolute last thing I could afford right now.

It would ruin my new overseas job, especially since my flight was only a few days away.

I frantically searched my pockets. In the end, I had no choice but to take off my necklace and leave it there, along with everything I'd bought, as collateral.

Colton had given me that necklace shortly after we started dating. I'd handed him my debit card, and he'd used my money to make a decent profit from some investments.

He said I'd brought him luck, so he bought me that expensive necklace as a reward.

The irony was, he paid for it with my own money.

He even insisted I wear it all the time, like a stamp of ownership. Over time, it lost its shine, and the color faded. By now, it was practically worthless.

With no cash on me, I had no choice but to walk home. By the time I finally made it back, night had already fallen.

I pushed the door open.

Colton had just come out of the shower, drying his hair with a towel. He barely glanced at me as he walked by. "Took you long enough to get home. Did you go somewhere after dinner? Let me know where you have gone next time. You know I'd worry about you."

His words made me scoff. He hadn't bothered to call me the whole time I was gone. Yet he claimed he worried about me?

I wasn't in the mood to argue, so I just walked inside.

Noticing I'd come back empty-handed, he frowned and caught my wrist. "Didn't I tell you to bring the food home? That was all for Jules. How could you be so careless and lose it all? Why didn't you just get lost instead?"

In that instant, a chill ran through me.

He didn't ask what had happened to me. Every word out of him was an accusation. I was too worn out to speak, but I still shot back, flat and even. "They're your things. Why is it my job to take them back?"

Maybe because I was leaving, I was done swallowing my anger. The old me would have tearfully explained everything I'd gone through that day.

But now, things had changed, and none of it mattered to me anymore.

Colton's frown deepened, displeasure surfacing in his eyes as his gaze dropped to my neck.

"I can't believe you're even jealous of her. You even take off the necklace I gave you. Just because I didn't buy you a bag of chips today, you leave her hungry and throw out our promise necklace? She's just a kid! How can you be so childish?"

His voice rose, each word grating in my ears. I'd grown accustomed to it by now—this familiar refrain that Julie was still just a child who needed protection.

They'd clawed their way up from nothing, and he wore his role as older brother like armor, determined to give her all the best in the world.

But Julie was only a year younger than me.

There was a time when I'd been jealous of the way he doted on her, clinging to his arm and pouting until he bought me the same things she got.

But I'd outgrown all of that. However, he treated Julie was no concern of mine.

If he truly cared about me, he wouldn't have condemned me without hearing my side.

I pulled my hand free and headed for the bedroom.

Colton followed right behind me. "Get the stuff back now, and I won't hold it against you. I'll even smooth things over with Jules for you."

I let out a faint laugh and slammed the door shut in his face.

I didn't need their forgiveness. What I did with my own money was my business, after all.

I pulled out my suitcase and started packing my clothes. I'd make sure to take everything that belonged to me in this house.

After that, I called to cancel my debit card and credit card. The rep told me Colton had just paid off the credit card with my paycheck. Only then did I let out a breath.

His credit card stayed maxed out month after month, always covered by my paycheck. By my count, another due date was coming up any day now.

I smiled thinly.

With the cards handled, I got in touch with an agent to put the apartment up for sale.

Only after all of that did I feel a moment of relief.

I opened the bedroom door to find Colton standing there, waiting for me.

He leaned against the frame and raised an eyebrow. "Ready to apologize now?"