Chapter 2

At that moment, Amy stepped forward again, fanning the flames. She peeked out from behind Harvey, eyes brimming with tears.

"Melanie, please don't be mad at Harvey… It's all my fault. I shouldn't have come.

"Just now, when I was helping him tidy his desk, I noticed the ten thousand dollars he kept in the drawer was gone… I thought maybe you needed it urgently and took it, so I asked him—but he didn't know either…"

She hesitated, her voice dropping even lower.

"I know you work really hard, Melanie. It's not easy for you to earn money. If you needed it, you could've told him… how could you… how could you take it without saying anything…"

The money I had put in that drawer—so Harvey would have living expenses before going abroad—had somehow become stolen in her telling?

I looked at Harvey. The irritation on his face shifted instantly into suspicion. He strode to the desk, yanked open the drawer, and found it empty.

When he turned back to me, his gaze was that of a man sizing up a thief.

"Melanie, why did you take the money from the drawer? That was my scholarship—money I worked so hard to save. Only you and I knew where it was!"

My whole body trembled with anger.

"Harvey, do you have any conscience at all? That ten thousand dollars was what I scraped together from last month's wages, cutting back on everything, just to give you as living expenses! And now you're saying I took it?"

Startled by my outburst, Amy's tears fell even harder.

"Harvey, don't blame Melanie… she must have needed it urgently… we can figure out another way to raise the money…"

Her shameless distortion made me laugh in disbelief.

"Harvey, let's clear up two things first.

"That ten thousand—I handed it to you myself last Friday night. It was my salary from the past few months. Do you remember what you said? You thanked me for working so hard.

"And as for your so-called 'hard-earned scholarship'—last year's went to buying Amy the phone she'd been dreaming about. This year's? Didn't you just use it to upgrade your own computer?"

My words left Harvey's face cycling between red and pale, but he couldn't muster a single rebuttal.

Seeing him at a loss, Amy grew anxious behind him.

"Melanie, how can you say that about Harvey! He… he bought you gifts and paid rent too, didn't he? That cost money as well! If he used his scholarship, that's still part of the household's shared finances!

"You can't keep score like this just because you've contributed. If the money's gone, we can always find another way…"

"The household." "Keeping score."

With a few light, careless words, she twisted my rightful questioning into petty nagging.

And sure enough, Harvey lashed out at me in anger and humiliation.

"Melanie, I give you my heart, and you're here keeping accounts?

"So what if you gave me the money? Once you gave it, it became mine! I put it in the drawer—what right did you have to take it without telling me?

"I know you just can't stand seeing me treat Amy well. Women like you—what's in your head besides money? You're vulgar! Petty! You don't understand what true spiritual compatibility is!

"I've had enough of you! I'm leaving the country tomorrow, and you're still here arguing over ten thousand dollars. Can't you be more like Amy—more understanding and considerate?"

I looked at his furious, distorted expression, and something inside me went completely cold.

He had always believed Amy. The only person in his heart was Amy.

As for me, I was nothing more than an ATM that funded his education.

Not wanting to stir up trouble before his departure, I chose to step back and apologize.

"I'm sorry… I overreacted. I just… I just can't bear to see you go."

Seeing me back down, Harvey's expression softened.

"Alright, stop being upset. I know you've been good to me. When I've settled in, I'll bring you over."

Looking at his sanctimonious face, I forced back the urge to retch and managed a smile uglier than tears.

I walked out of that rundown apartment building and glanced back at what I once thought was "home."

Now, that home had a new mistress.

And it was time for me to leave.