Chapter 1My billionaire boyfriend just dumped me. Over doggy-bagging dessert.
"Wow, Alessia. Didn't peg you for a freeloader."
I froze.
He smirked. "What's next? Gonna beg for cash?"
I was broke—credit cards maxed out from playing his arm candy at five-star spots. He never paid. Not once.
Then my bestie Hazel clicks over.
"Honey, this is embarrassing."
Leif pulls her close. "We're done. Pay me back. Three years. Every. Single. Cent. "
I cracked up.
"Four hundred bucks, Leif. Four hundred. Over three years. And you seriously want a refund?"
---
He texted me at six.
"Riverside. 7 PM. Don't be late. And dress like you actually matter."
I stood outside the subway, staring at my phone.
Bank balance: $287.64.
Paycheck wasn't coming for another eight days.
I went to the mall anyway. Didn't buy anything. Just hid in a bathroom, steamed my wrinkled dress with sink water. Fixed my lipstick.
Hazel gave me that lipstick.
"Babe, you're with Leif now. You can't keep looking so... cheap."
"Men want arm candy. Not a charity case."
So I became arm candy. Three whole years.
His mom needed expensive coffee beans? I tracked them down.
He needed me at business dinners? I paid for gown rentals and smiled till my jaw ached.
The prettier I looked, the broker I got.
The restaurant was all glass walls and river views. Top floor. Stupid expensive.
Leif got there first.
Black shirt. Sleeves rolled. That watch on his wrist could cover my rent for a year.
He looked me up and down.
"...Better."
That was it. Two words. I was a dog that finally learned to sit.
I grabbed a seat. Waiter handed me the menu.
I flipped to the cheapest appetizer.
"Jesus Christ, can you stop counting pennies for once?"
I shut the menu fast.
"You order then."
"God, eating with you is exhausting."
I drank water. Kept my eyes down.
Tables were packed close. Someone nearby wasn't even whispering.
"Wait, isn't that his girlfriend? The gold digger everyone's talking about?"
My hand jerked. Water splashed onto the tablecloth.
Hazel always laughed when people said that. "Ignore them, babe. They're just jealous."
I actually believed her.
Food came. I hadn't eaten all day. My stomach was screaming. But I couldn't eat fast.
Leif hated when I wasn't "elegant."
So I sat there. Perfectly still. A pretty statue.
Dessert showed up last. Chestnut cake. Nobody touched it.
I had two eggs left in my fridge. Couldn't even buy breakfast tomorrow.
The waiter started clearing plates. I spoke up quietly.
"Can I get this boxed up?"
He reached for the container.
Leif's hand shot out and grabbed mine. Hard.
His face went cold.
"Are you kidding me right now?"
I blinked at him.
"What?"
He actually laughed. Zero warmth in it.
"What's the angle here, Alessia? You trying to make me look cheap?"
The whole room went silent.
Everyone. Staring. At me.
My face burned.
"I just thought it's wasteful if nobody ate—"
"Wasteful?"
He stared at me. Pure disgust.
"You want everyone thinking I don't feed my own girlfriend?"
"Or maybe you want them thinking you're so noble? Dating a billionaire but still begging for scraps?"
My throat tightened.
"I wasn't trying to—"
"You're embarrassing me."
I grabbed his sleeve. Voice shaking.
"Leif, I swear, I didn't mean—"
He yanked his arm free.
Long pause.
Then he sighed.
"We're done, Alessia."
Chapter 2
It felt like drowning.
I stared at him, voice cracking.
"Why?"
He frowned, annoyed I even had to ask.
"You seriously don't know?"
"Over dessert?"
"Not the dessert."
He slammed his napkin down.
"It's everything. You embarrass me constantly."
"Checking menu prices. Hunting for cheap rides. The gifts you give are so pathetic my friends feel sorry for you."
"I gave you chances, Alessia. So many chances."
My throat closed up.
Everything he called pathetic? That was me doing my best.
But saying that would sound desperate.
I stood up, trying to fix this somehow.
Then I heard heels clicking.
Hazel.
Gold dress. Valentino heels. Chanel bag, latest collection.
Standing next to her, I looked homeless.
She saw me and her face went all fake concern.
"Oh my god, what's going on?"
She glided straight to Leif's side, fingers landing on his arm like they owned the space.
"Leif, don't be mad. I'm sure she didn't mean it."
He didn't move away.
I stared at her hand touching him and my chest tightened hard.
"Hazel, stay out of this."
Her eyes filled with tears instantly.
"I'm just worried about you, babe."
She turned to Leif, voice dripping honey.
"She just doesn't get how these things work, you know?"
Sounded helpful.
Every word made me look stupid.
Leif stared straight at me.
"Are you broke?"
I blinked.
"What?"
"Every date's a disaster. You act like you're counting pennies in front of everyone."
"If you need money, just say it. Stop dropping hints everywhere."
Something desperate woke up inside me. Maybe if I explained properly—
"I'm not trying to embarrass you. Money's been tight but I wasn't asking for anything, I just—"
"Alessia."
Hazel cut in gently.
Her eyes were warm and deadly.
"Rich guys hate when girls bring up being poor."
"You're making Leif uncomfortable."
Someone nearby snickered.
"Called it. Here comes the poor girl act."
"Next she'll be asking for Venmo."
My face burned white hot.
Leif's patience shattered.
"See? Always an excuse."
I shook my head frantically.
"No, Leif, just listen for one second—"
Hazel sighed like I was exhausting.
"Sweetie, you need to calm down."
I spun around to face her.
"Why do you keep speaking for me?"
She flinched and stepped closer to Leif, playing scared.
"I'm trying to help you two."
Leif's hand landed on her shoulder, easy and protective.
That hurt worse than anything he'd said.
Three years together. He never touched me that way in public. Not once.
Hazel spoke quietly.
"Leif, people are waiting at that dinner."
He nodded and stood, looking down at me with this cold smile.
"You're so good at saving money, aren't you Alessia?"
"Must've stacked up tons of cash these three years."
I stared up at him, completely lost on where this was going.
His voice turned vicious.
"I don't want much."
"Just pay me back. Everything I spent on you."
"I'll waive interest. Consider it a breakup gift."
My brain stopped working.
"What are you even saying—"
Chapter 3
Leif stared at me like I was trash he'd finally decided to throw out.
"You deaf?"
"We're done."
"Now pay me back."
My chest felt like it was splitting open.
Three years. And he turned it into a bill.
The whispers got louder.
"Finally. Gold diggers can't stand receipts."
"If a billionaire wants his money back, she must've bled him dry."
I dug my nails into my palms.
"I never took your money."
Leif laughed, bitter and mean.
"Christ, Alessia, you that committed to playing victim?"
"I paid for dinners. Covered your tabs. Got you into circles you'd never touch otherwise."
"That's not money?"
I stared at him, realizing how insane this was.
"You paid for dinners?"
"When? Every time you made me swipe first and promised your assistant would 'reimburse me later'?"
"Leif, where's later? Still waiting on that one."
His jaw clenched.
"You're really gonna nitpick right now?"
Hazel grabbed my wrist, voice dropping into this desperate stage whisper.
"Babe, stop."
"Just say sorry."
"He's pissed. You give in now, you can still save this."
I ripped my arm away.
Tears flooded her face instantly.
"Why are you doing this?"
"I'm literally trying to help you."
Leif's face went stone cold.
"Apologize. To Hazel."
I looked at him.
He'd just torn me apart in public. Let strangers call me a leech. Didn't tell anyone to apologize for that.
But Hazel cried once and suddenly I'm the one in the wrong.
I was never his priority. Just the girl he dragged along when he remembered.
My voice came out wrecked.
"No."
Hazel sobbed harder, full performance mode.
"Babe, what happened to you?"
"Is this because you're jealous? Of me and Leif?"
Everyone pounced.
"Holy shit, she's jealous of her own friend."
"Gold digger versus actual class. Not even close."
My chest was about to burst.
"I'm not jealous."
"I just want one straight answer."
Leif's voice sliced through.
"Straight answer?"
"You took what wasn't yours. Pay it back."
I met his eyes.
"You say I took something."
"Then prove it."
He grabbed his phone, already typing.
"I'll have my assistant pull the records tomorrow."
"Dresses. Bags. Jewelry. Your living expenses. Everything from three years."
Hazel's face flickered with panic for just a second.
She jumped in fast.
"Leif, just drop it."
"This is humiliating enough for her already."
I caught that flash of fear in her eyes and something clicked in my brain.
Dresses? Bags? Jewelry?
I never got any of that.
My dresses were rentals. My bag was thrifted. My jewelry was one cheap silver necklace.
But Leif thought he'd given me everything.
My hands shook as I opened my banking app and typed "Leif" into the search bar.
Three years of transactions loaded.
One result.
$400.00.
Date: First date.
Note: Movie tickets.
He said he didn't have cash. Told me to cover it.
After the movie ended, he sent me four hundred bucks.
I shoved my phone in his face, tears burning but refusing to fall.
"Leif, you spent exactly four hundred dollars on me in three years."
"You call yourself a billionaire and you're seriously this fucking cheap?"
His arm went rigid around Hazel's waist.
