All Chapters of She Forgot That I Own the House: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

I had just woken up at the hotel when I got a call from the realtor, Eric Wood."Mr. Scott, are you sure you want to sell the house?" he asked."Yes," I replied firmly."Is anyone currently living there?"I checked the security cameras on my phone.The living room was a mess. Empty liquor bottles were scattered across the carpet, while the lighting equipment and boxes from last night's livestream were piled on the couch.My girlfriend, Claire Dickson, was making coffee for her childhood sweetheart, Terry Boyle, while Mark Sullivan and Wayne Tucker were still asleep in the guest rooms.The four of them looked completely at home, as if the house belonged to them."It'll be empty by today," I told Eric.After hanging up, I opened the smart lock app.There were four permanent users—Claire, Terry, Mark, and Wayne. My name wasn't on the list.After the renovations were done, Claire had told me the lock system hadn't been set up properly yet and gave me a temporary passcode instead

The photographer continued taking pictures.When we reached the living room, a design statement on the wall caught my eye. Below it sat a thick portfolio, its cover printed with the title, "A Home in Harmony—The Ideal Living Space for Four Lifelong Friends."It was Claire's entry for the National Youth Interior Design Competition.The project description read, "Four friends who have known each other for 20 years come together to create a permanent home built around friendship and shared dreams."The owner's name had been blurred out. But under "Clients", it listed Claire Dickson, Terry Boyle, Mark Sullivan, and Wayne Tucker. My name was nowhere to be found.The house I'd bought with my dad's inheritance was portrayed in her project as a home the four of them owned together."What's this?" I asked, holding up the portfolio.A flicker of unease crossed Claire's face. "It's just how I presented the project for the competition. The judges like projects with a story. Framing it aroun

Claire was silent for a long time before finally speaking. "Designers getting referral commissions is perfectly normal.""What about the duplicate charges?" I asked."My assistant made a mistake," she argued."Then why did you charge me for furniture that the brands sponsored?"Claire pressed her lips together. "My studio is still getting off the ground. I just needed some extra cash flow. It's not like you can't afford it."I stared at her.The house had cost almost all of the inheritance my father had left me. It wasn't that I couldn't afford it. I just never thought I'd need to be suspicious of the woman I was going to marry.When I said nothing, Claire reached for my hand."I'll pay you back once I win the competition," she said. "If you sell the house now, you're not just ruining my entry. It'll hurt Terry's livestream too."I pulled my hand away. "What do your careers have to do with me?"Claire froze. Perhaps she'd expected me to act like I always did, fixing their pro

Not long after, Wayne reached out and asked to talk to me in private. When we met at a cafe, he slid an old phone across the table."This is our group chat. Registering the business at your address was Terry's idea. Mark and I just used the house a few times," he said, clearly eager to distance himself from the others.I didn't call him out. I simply opened the chat.The group name was "Friends4Ever". The earliest message was from before the renovation even started.Terry: "Is Andrew really willing to spend this much on the renovation?"Claire: "His dad left all the money to him. No point letting it just sit there. Besides, we're getting married eventually. I'll be the one managing the house anyway."Mark responded with a laughing emoji. "Save a room for each of us then."Claire: "Don't worry. I'm designing the place around what the four of us like. Andrew works overtime all the time. He's barely home."Further down, they discussed the smart lock.Wayne: "We're not adding Andr

Before the closing, I went back to the house one last time.All four of them had already moved out.The huge group photo had been removed, leaving a clear patch of unfaded paint on the wall. The four pairs of slippers at the entryway were gone, and the livestream backdrop in the study had been taken down.The empty house felt strangely unfamiliar.Claire stood in the middle of the living room with the original design plans in her hands."I found these," she said, unfolding the plans.In her original design, there was a study of my own. The patio had a custom display cabinet for my dad's model trains, and the master bedroom wall featured a photo of the two of us.But one revision after another had stripped all of those details away."I can restore everything to the original plan," she pleaded. "Andrew, just give me one more chance."I didn't take the plans. "Why did you change the original design in the first place?"She lowered her head, saying, "Terry needed a livestreaming