I Refused To Be A Walking ATM Anymore

I immediately opened the payment page. My finger hovered over the cancel button.

“Hold on.” I looked up. “The yacht, lodge, and alcohol totaled up to 36,800 dollars. There are fifteen of us, so each of us would need to pay 2,400 dollars.”

Everyone suddenly became very quiet at the jetty.

Ella Reid was stunned for a second before she broke into laughter. “You must be kidding.”

“I’m not.” I turned my phone screen toward her. “Transfer the money to me now, and I’ll immediately make the payment.”

Her expression froze as she turned to Luke Anderson.

Luke walked over with a frown and sounded impatient. “What are you doing now? Everyone is waiting to get onto the yacht.

“Are you going to make all of us stand here just because you changed your mind at the last minute?”

I looked around. My so-called friends were gossiping among themselves. Some of them were taking photos of me with their phones, and others were whispering.

The floating captions appeared again.

[What nonsense is that? Can’t you tell who the main female character is? Those who ship Luke and Ella can get out!]

[But did Harper finally come to her senses? Too bad it’s a little too late. This group of people already thinks she’s a fool.]

“I didn’t change my mind at the last minute.” My voice was calm as I continued, “I didn’t clearly state it before, so I’m making it clear to everyone now. Everyone has to pay for their own expenses.”

Ella raised her voice as she said, “Harper, what do you mean? In the past when we went out, you were the one who always paid. Why is this time different?”

“That was in the past. This is a clean slate.” I looked at her. “If you feel it’s too expensive, you can choose to leave.”

“You…” Ella’s face was flushed red in anger. She turned to look at Luke. “Look at her and her horrible attitude!”

Luke’s face fell. He walked toward me and lowered his voice. “Pay first. We’ll split the bill when the trip’s over, alright? Everyone’s looking at us. Stop throwing a tantrum.”

“Let’s split the bill now.” I held up my phone. “You can transfer the money to me in whatever payment method you prefer.

“It’s 2,400 dollars per person. Once everyone transfers the money to me, I’ll immediately make the payment.”

Luke’s face turned cold.

I waited for three minutes, but no one transferred the money to me.

My friends exchanged glances among themselves. Some of them whispered, “I have to be somewhere, so I’ll make a move.”

Others claimed, “Let’s hang out another day.”

In five minutes, half of the crowd disappeared.

Ella stood rooted in place as she bit her lower lip. She teared up. “Harper, are you targeting me on purpose?”

“I’m not. I just want to know who’s treating me like an ATM.” At that, I looked at Luke.

Luke’s eyes turned extremely cold.

“You’ve changed,” he said. “You weren’t like this in the past.”

“What was I like in the past?” I laughed. “Was I a fool who paid your bills and let her use my card?

“Was I a fool who let all of you order me around because I thought you were my true friends?”

Tears streamed down Ella’s cheeks. “How can you say that? I’ve always treated you as my best friend…”

“Then, pay me,” I said, interrupting her. “Friendship should be a two-way street.”

She sobbed even harder as she looked at Luke.

Luke stared at me for a few seconds before suddenly laughing. His laugh was cynical and mocking.

“I thought you were so generous, but it turns out that you’re a miser. You’re being petty over a few thousand dollars. Harper, being around you is exhausting.”