My boyfriend, Damian Thorne, was the heir to one of the most powerful families in the country, worth hundreds of billions.
To test me, he never bought me a single gift in the seven years we were together. He never spent a dime on me. Even when we bought condoms at the convenience
store, we split the cost.
Later, when my mother fell gravely ill, I borrowed from every friend and relative I had. I was just two thousand dollars short of her surgery fee. But no matter how much I begged Damian, he refused to lend it to me.
I handled
mother’s funeral alone. When I went home to pack my things, I stumbled upon a list of gifts he had bought for his neighbor’s sister.
A mansion in a gated community, luxury handbags, jewelry worth millions…
And a chat log with his friends.
“Damian, is it true that Sophia knelt and begged you for two thousand dollars?”
“Chloe was right,” Damian’s voice, cool and dismissive, echoed from the recording. “Kneeling for two grand? What is she if not a gold digger? We’ve only been toget- her seven years, and she’s already this desperate to get money out of me.”
So, his seven–year test was
nothing more
than a game prompted by his neighbor’s sister.
It didn’t matter anymore.
The moment my mother died, I had
already
dean
to leave him.
1
I had just put the gift list back when the front door opened. Damian stumbled in, reeking of alcohol, and plopped down beside me.
“You disappeared for a few days. I thought you had some backbone, that you wouldn’t come back,” he slurred. “But you just can’t stay away from me, can you? You
came crawling back.”
He was just short of saying I had come back to swindle more money out of him. Maybe, in his mind, that’s all I had ever been–a gold digger, after his fortune.
i didn’t even bother to look at him. I just shifted away, avoiding the arm he tried to sling around my shoulders.
He froze, looking from his hand to me, assuming I was still sulking over the two thousand dollars.
“I’ve had a bit to drink. I’m thirsty. Go make me some soup to sober me up.‘
He always did that, slipping into his rich–boy persona without thinking. But when he was first pursuing me seven years ago, he’d put on a clumsy act, pretending to be poor, and had me completely fooled.
“Sophia,” he’d said, his face earnest, “I don’t have anything. I can’t give you a stable future. But we can work hard together, build a good life for ourselves.”
Looking at his sincere face back then, I had nodded.
I needed money, yes, but I could support myself. I chose Damian because I was moved by his words–we can work hard together, build a good life for ourselves.
But the longer we were together, the more I realized he was different. He would unconsciously show his disdain for anything cheap. He would order me around to do things he could easily do himself.
It wasn’t until I saw him step out of a luxury car at my part–time job, surrounded by an entourage as he entered a high–end club, that I was certain our relationship was built on a foundation of lies. And that he was terrified I was after his money.
Damian’s voice cut through my thoughts. “If you want money in the future, just ask me directly. Using your mother’s health as an excuse… aren’t you afraid of being struck by lightning?”
His words were so absurd I almost laughed. I lifted my eyes and looked at him coldly. “If I ask you directly, will you give it to me?”
He faltered, a flicker of hesitation in his eyes. But then, as if confirming his own suspicions, his expression turned to one of scorn. “Chloe was right. You’re only with me for my money.”
He pulled out his phone and sent me a transfer for $1.88.
The transaction note had two words: Gold Digger.
In seven years together, I had never spent a single cent of his money. On holidays and anniversaries, I would buy him gifts. He accepted them without a second tho- ught, but because he never got me anything, he would sarcastically ask if I thought it was a man’s God–given duty to buy presents for his girlfriend.
This was the man who called me a gold digger. This was the billionaire heir
Vthought of the gift list for Chloe. I thought of my mother, ravaged by illness, dying in pain because I couldn’t afford her treatment.
I couldn’t stand to be in his presence for another second
Chapter 1
08.13
As I stood up to leave, the door opened again. Chloe waltzed in, shrugging off her coat to reveal a sexy outfit underneath. The moment she saw me, she feigned a startled gasp and quickly put her coat back on.
“Sophia? What are you doing here?”
I turned to Damian. “If I remember correctly, this is the apartment we rent together. Not only did you give someone else the passcode, but you’re also letting them just
walk in whenever they please?”
At my words, Chloe put on a look of utter grievance and ran to Damian’s side, clutching his arm. “Damian, how can you call me ‘someone else‘? I just forgot my keys and wanted to crash here for the night. Besides, if it weren’t for you agreeing to split the rent, Sophia would have to pay for this all by herself. If anything, she’s the
one getting the better deal.”
I wondered how many times she had said things like that behind my back.
Damian, far from seeing anything wrong, seemed to think Chloe had a point. “Chloe’s right. I have my own place. Splitting the rent here is a bad deal for me. What’s
the difference between this and paying for sex?”
He pulled out his phone and held up his payment QR code to my face.
“You don’t want people calling you a gold digger, do you? Then pay me back for my half of the rent for the past seven years.”
