Chapter 1

My best friend, Cassidy Lockhart, was with my boyfriend, Silas Culburn, when he came home. I could hear their loud banter before they even made it past the threshold.

Silas was holding a tiara, and the moment he walked in, he placed it on my head. "Whitney, I bought this tiara especially for you! Do you like it?"

I took the tiara off and set it on the table. Cassidy had already worn it and posted photos of it on her social media. If Silas had spared even a moment to check his social media, he wouldn't have tried to pass it off as a gift. Or maybe he had seen it and just didn't care.

Cassidy came over and wrapped her arms around my neck affectionately. "Whitney, the event at the princess theme park was incredible. It's a shame you weren't there to see it."

I pulled away from her. "Why didn't you invite me, then?"

Cassidy's lips parted and closed a couple of times, but no words came out. She shot Silas a helpless look.

His tone instantly turned impatient. "We were just being considerate! You're always so worried about spending money. We knew you'd never agree to go to a theme park."

A single ticket cost almost 100 dollars. He was right that I wouldn't have wanted to spend that kind of money on it.

Both Silas and I were college students who'd made it out of a small town, so I was usually thrifty. His family wasn't badly off, but he'd been willing to work part-time jobs with me and save up for our future together.

But what bothered me was that they hadn't even bothered to ask me.

I pointed at the tiara and asked, "Silas, how much did this tiara cost?"

Silas stiffened, then forced out an answer. "It was free with a VIP pass."

"So I'm only good enough for things that cost nothing, is that it?"

I looked at the 200-dollar silk scarf Cassidy had tied around her neck, and a sharp stab of pain went through my chest.

Just last week, I'd broken my glasses. My part-time paycheck hadn't come in yet, and a new pair cost 100 dollars, so I'd asked Silas if I could use the money in our joint account to buy them.

He had told me that that was our wedding fund, and that we'd agreed neither of us would touch it. Since his tutoring job paid daily, he assured me that he'd buy me a new pair as soon as he got paid.

But in the end, he never brought it up again, and he never bought me the replacement glasses.

With a -5.00 prescription, I spent an entire week wearing glasses with cracks in the lenses.

It wasn't that he had no money, and it wasn't like we strictly couldn't use the wedding fund. He just chose to spend it on fulfilling Cassidy's princess fantasy instead.

Silas blinked, clearly not expecting me to get so worked up. Then his expression soured. "You're always preaching about being frugal. Why turn down something free? I brought it all the way back for you, and you're throwing a fit?"

I pulled up Cassidy's social media post on my phone and zoomed in for him to see. "Are you sure it was especially for me?"

Silas went pale, then rubbed his nose guiltily. "Cady only wore it for a little while. It's practically new. Don't make such a big deal out of it."

I looked at him with disappointment. "You spent 6,000 dollars, of which 3,000 dollars was mine. Transfer the money back to me within 24 hours. I'm moving out."

Silas stared at me in disbelief. "You're asking me for money now? Whitney Handel, Cassidy is your best friend, and you were the one who told me to take good care of her! Her family just went bankrupt not too long ago. How can you be so cruel?"

So I was the cruel one now? I was so angry that a humorless laugh escaped me.

Ever since Cassidy's family went bankrupt, I'd been paying her rent. All her meals and coffee were also ordered on my dime, and she always insisted on the most expensive options.

It had been two months, and I had bills to pay too. But when I tried talking to her, she simply refused to listen. She said that every princess had their knight in shining armor to save them. I just never expected her knight to be Silas.

"Silas, if you want to be Cassidy's knight and spoil her like a princess, by all means, go ahead. But you don't get to do it using my money!"