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Reckoning the Bills, Writing off Love

Reckoning the Bills, Writing off Love

Short Story · Romance
By:  Hazel LakeCompleted
Language: English
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Synopsis

Face Slapping

Bias

Mistress

Tragic Love

Plot Twists

Feel-Good Story

My fiancee, Ruby Gordon, is the richest person in Glenridge. Yet on day one, she demands we split everything 50-50. "It's the only way I'll know you actually love me and aren't just after my money," she says. I really do love her, so I agree. Five years pass like this. We split the cost of the leather shoes she buys me. We split the pre-marital health checkup. We even split our 5000-dollar rent. Then, one week before our wedding, Mom ends up in the hospital after a car crash. Two bills hit my phone at the same time. One is a 12,000-dollar surgery fee for Mom. The other is my 1,000-dollar share for the wedding suit. Looking at my bank balance, which contains less than 1,000 dollars, I text Ruby, asking if she can cover the surgery for now. Her reply comes half an hour later. "So, now that we're about to get married, you're dropping the act? Lennon Stein, you're worse than my ex. At least he was upfront about loving money." I try to explain. She snaps back, "Isn't it a little too convenient? The moment we're about to marry, your mom suddenly gets hit by a car? Maybe our signs just clash." I think she's right. So I return the suit and walk out of Ruby's life for good.

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Chapter 1

Chapter 1

After borrowing cash from my buddies to cover Mom's surgery fees, my account balance stood at 1.78 dollars.

Today was the 7th. Payday was still eight days away.

I hadn't always been this broke.

Then, I started dating Ruby Gordon.

Every meal had to be at some high-end place running over 50 dollars a head, and she insisted on living in a luxury apartment downtown.

Split down the middle, and even a four-figure monthly salary left me scraping the bottom of the barrel in no time.

If Mom hadn't handed over my wedding fund early, I wouldn't have been able to cover her surgery today.

Right on cue, my phone rang.

"Mr. Stein, the balance on your custom suit is due today. Your fiancee only paid her half and said you'd cover the rest. How would you like to settle this?"

Thinking about Ruby's usual attitude and the 1.78 dollars sitting in my account, I gritted my teeth and asked, "If I drop the order, can I get my deposit back?"

The voice on the line hesitated for a second. "Normally no, but luckily, another gentleman eyed that exact suit half an hour ago. If you want to cancel, we can process a full refund."

The deposit was 1,000 dollars. Subtracting Ruby's 500 dollars, the rest would easily float me until payday.

Once they told me I had to come in person, I hopped on a one-hour bus ride straight to the boutique.

The moment I stepped inside, a familiar voice caught my ear. "It looks amazing on you."

I looked up. There was Ruby in a white dress, standing right next to Kobe Boyle, her junior from college.

Coincidentally, he was wearing the exact suit I was going to return.

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12 Chapters
Chapter 1
After borrowing cash from my buddies to cover Mom's surgery fees, my account balance stood at 1.78 dollars.Today was the 7th. Payday was still eight days away.I hadn't always been this broke.Then, I started dating Ruby Gordon.Every meal had to be at some high-end place running over 50 dollars a head, and she insisted on living in a luxury apartment downtown.Split down the middle, and even a four-figure monthly salary left me scraping the bottom of the barrel in no time.If Mom hadn't handed over my wedding fund early, I wouldn't have been able to cover her surgery today.Right on cue, my phone rang."Mr. Stein, the balance on your custom suit is due today. Your fiancee only paid her half and said you'd cover the rest. How would you like to settle this?"Thinking about Ruby's usual attitude and the 1.78 dollars sitting in my account, I gritted my teeth and asked, "If I drop the order, can I get my deposit back?"The voice on the line hesitated for a second. "Normally no,
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Chapter 2
"Do you like it? If you do, I'll go pay right now," Ruby said.Kobe didn't answer whether he liked it or not. He just asked hesitantly, "Ruby, you already picked out a 12,800-dollar suit for me. Isn't buying another 3,600-dollar one as a backup a bit excessive?"Maybe I should just settle for something cheaper. My fiancee is just an ordinary worker anyway. Anything will do."Despite his words, the reluctance written all over Kobe's face gave him away.I caught it, and naturally, so did Ruby."We aren't settling," she said firmly. "You only get married once. You have to wear what you love so you don't live with regrets."Ruby handed her card to the sales associate. "Ring up this one together with the 12,800-dollar suit from earlier."She shot Kobe an affectionate smile. "Professor Boyle has helped me out so much. Gifting you a couple of designer suits is nothing."As I watched Ruby throw money around without batting an eye, my mind flashed back to the day we picked out my suit.
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Chapter 3
Noticing how firm I was, the sales associate wisely stopped probing.While waiting for the refund to process, I overheard a few other sales associates whispering behind me in envy. "That's a hundred-thousand-dollar diamond ring, and Ms. Gordon bought it for her fiance without even blinking.""Shut up. Don't spread rumors. I heard he isn't her fiance. He's just her junior from college.""What kind of friend gifts someone a ten-thousand-dollar suit and a hundred-thousand-dollar ring? He's totally her side piece."My hand froze, leaving an errant streak of ink across the receipt.I let out a bitter laugh as I remembered when we went shopping for our wedding rings.Ruby was an executive, so I had wanted to buy a decent pair so people wouldn't make fun of her. But the moment I brought it up, she tossed me a discount shopping link.Opening it, I saw a pair of cheap matching rings listed for eight dollars.Before I could even process it, she wired four dollars to my account."You d
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Chapter 4
By the time I took a cab back to the hospital, Mom's anesthesia had worn off.Seeing me return alone, she asked, "Why didn't Ruby come with you?"As I hesitated, trying to come up with an excuse, Mom let out a quiet sigh. "Lennon, the doctor said my recovery is going to take a while. What if you and Ruby push the wedding back?"When she saw my stunned expression, her eyes welled up with tears. "You can't get married without family there. If you end up getting mistreated, there won't be anyone around to back you up."A wave of bitterness washed over me.Mom was just a regular person with modest means. She had always felt that dating Ruby was a step-up for me.Because of that, the first time Ruby visited our home, Mom had cooked a massive feast and prepared a 200-dollar allowance for her. But when Ruby arrived, she complained that the food was too greasy and refused the money. She said our relationship was strictly 50-50, and accepting cash meant she'd just have to pay it back la
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Chapter 5
Without another word, I turned and walked away, leaving a stunned Ruby behind.She seemed to take a couple of steps after me, but Kobe's panic cut her short. "Ruby! My dad fainted again!"The sounds of footsteps behind me instantly retreated, replaced by Ruby's irritated shouting. "Lennon Stein, you'd better actually mean it! If you walk away now, I'm not taking you back even if you get on your knees and beg."Don't think for a second I'm going to humor your bullshit just because the wedding's close!"I didn't bother responding.I took a cab straight back to the apartment I shared with Ruby.The moment I stepped through the front door, a sky-blue suitcase sitting in the entryway caught my eye.I froze, remembering Ruby mentioning yesterday that the place Kobe and his fiancee were renting was too run-down. He wanted to borrow our apartment as his wedding venue to make them look better.I had explicitly said no. Yet there the suitcase was.Expressionless, I walked around the sui
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Chapter 6
Just as I got into the cab, my buddy, Joshua Davis, called. His voice dripped with anger as he asked, "Lennon, where are you? How could that heartless bitch do this to you?"The tears I had just managed to swallow spilled over again.Staring out the window, I choked back a sob. "It's fine. It's over now. Ruby tricked me, but I paid her back."That group chat didn't just have our close friends. It had our families and Ruby's business partners too.In the business world, integrity was everything. When people saw that Ruby could even manipulate the person sleeping beside her, prospective partners would definitely think twice before doing business with her again."She brought it on herself!" Joshua barked. "Where are you right now? Which hospital is your mom at? I need to see you today, or I won't be able to sleep."Noticing how insistent he was, I gave him Mom's room number and agreed to meet him there.The moment I hung up, Ruby's number lit up my screen.I ignored it, so she sta
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Chapter 7
It was right in the middle of the evening rush hour.Seeing the passersby throwing strange looks in our direction, I pulled myself together and patted Joshua on the shoulder. "Let's go see my mom first."Joshua nodded. "Does she know you called off the wedding?"I shook my head, then nodded. "I only told her we were pushing it back. I'll break the rest to her once she's feeling better."We headed up to Mom's floor. Wanting to avoid worrying her, I stopped by the nurses' station to leave my suitcase.I never expected to run straight into Ruby. Her eyes were completely bloodshot. "Lennon! What is the meaning of this? You're actually breaking up with me?"I yanked my arm back as she reached for me and coldly stepped out of her range. "Yes. Did you expect me to keep acting as a happy couple with you after you played me like a complete idiot? Ruby, you really think too little of me."Ruby staggered at my words, yet she still walked toward me with a pale face. "I didn't play you! We a
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Chapter 8
Ruby has listed out everything. "I threw out the slippers your mom wore. They were three dollars."I also called a deep-cleaning service for the entire apartment. It was 16 dollars for three hours, so splitting it comes out to 9.50 dollars each."With bloodshot eyes, I scanned the QR code she held out to me and sent the payment.I didn't sleep a wink that night.It seemed like Ruby remembered that moment too. She turned her head away in embarrassment. "I was just out of my mind with anger back then."She paused, her expression twisting into a look of deep betrayal, as if she were the victim here. "Lennon, how could you dismiss our entire five years together as me playing you? Was there really no point where I was actually good to you?"As I looked into her pained eyes, a heavy heat flared up in my chest, burning with pain and resentment.Yet I couldn't deny that Ruby had been good to me at times.When we first moved in together, I didn't know how to cook and couldn't stomach th
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Chapter 9
"Don't worry," Joshua said as he patted my hand. "Your mom's going to be okay. Kobe was acting like a total menace, so I had the doctor transfer her to a private room."His words brought a wave of relief.I turned back to glare at Kobe. "Ruby and I are officially done. If you've got feelings for her, go ahead and make your move."But if you keep stirring up trouble for me and my mom, I am not holding back anymore.""Got feelings for me?" Ruby's voice suddenly cut in from behind, draining the remaining color from Kobe's face.Completely oblivious to the tension, Ruby strolled over with a look of utter confusion. "Kobe, what are you even doing in this room?"Then, as if a switch flipped, her eyes widened in shock as she turned to me. "Lennon, you weren't following me when you came to the hospital earlier… Your mom actually got into an accident?"Before I could say a word, Joshua, who had been itching to tear into Ruby for a long time, stepped up and pointed right at her face. "Wha
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Chapter 10
Kobe lost his mind the second the words left Ruby's mouth.The commotion in the hospital room had already been grinding on everyone's nerves, so when he started screaming, security stepped in and hauled him out.Seeing that the mess was tied to Ruby, they kicked her out right along with him, cutting off her desperate attempts to explain herself to me.The moment the door closed behind them, Joshua turned to me nervously. "You aren't seriously thinking about taking her back, are you?"I shook my head without a second thought. "I just realized Ruby actually does love me. She played me for five years. Dangling a little hope in front of her just to let her fall harder should be a fair game, right?"Joshua stared at me in shock for a couple of seconds before bursting into a laugh. "Now that is the Lennon Stein I know!"After that, Joshua and I went around apologizing to the other patients and their families in the room, handing out fruit baskets to smooth things over.Fearing Kobe mi
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