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All Chapters of The Emotional Price List: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

11 Chapters

Chapter 1 The Price of My Tears

As soon as I hung up, Timothy called."The wedding planner just told me you canceled the wedding on your own. What are you trying to pull now?"His voice was tight with anger. "All because I deducted $600 from you? How many times do I have to tell you? That money was going into our future fund anyway. It's money for us to get started when we build a life together."I stared at the emotional price list lying on the desk that Timothy had made for Camilla.My fingertips slowly went cold. "What about the other price list? My tears cost $50, but she gets $50,000 every time she pouts?""You went through my study?""You asked me to help you clean it up."Timothy sighed, completely unfazed."You're different from Camilla. You're my girlfriend. You're the one I'm going to spend my life with, so I need to set you straight. She's always been like this. I just go along with her. Vera, I'm strict with you because I want our relationship to last."I felt a hitch in my throat. "But you spent

Chapter 2 A Love Past Its Expiration Date

Timothy came through the door clutching a wilted rose."I turned down Camilla's invitation to grab a late-night bite so I could come home and make it up to you for Valentine's Day."He shoved a convenience store paper bag into my arms.Inside was a box of chocolates that cost $9.90. A clearance sticker covered one corner, and the expiration date was three days ago.I turned the box over. "These are expired.""They're not expired. They're just past their best-by date. You have a strong gut. A little won't hurt you."He reached up and adjusted the blanket around my shoulders."I went down two streets before I found your favorite flavor, hazelnut. Vera, it's the thought that counts, not the price. Stop fixating on the little things."Five years ago, when I'd suffered acute appendicitis, he'd carried me on his back through the hospital's three-story ER and stayed with me until dawn.Back then, clutching the hospital payment slip, he'd told me that every little thing that concerned

Chapter 3 Never His Priority

The screen was completely black as Camilla scrubbed the keyboard with a rag."What the hell are you doing?"I rushed over, shoved her aside, and pulled the laptop out of the water.Camilla shook the water off her hands, looking innocent. "Your keyboard was so dirty, I thought I'd clean it for you. You're welcome. It was no big deal.""All my company's core data was on there!"Timothy came out of the master bedroom and immediately pulled her behind him. "Camilla was just trying to help clean it. It's just a laptop. I'll buy you a new one."I shot back, "It's the data I'm talking about! Three months of hard work, gone!""Vera, you're unbelievable. It's Camilla's birthday today. Do you have to make a scene every time?"He casually pulled out his phone. "Emotional outburst. Unreasonable behavior. I'll be deducting $2,000."Clutching my waterlogged laptop, I rushed to the office. My supervisor tossed a termination notice onto my desk."We received an anonymous report accusing you

Chapter 4 His Indifference

Timothy glanced at me, then picked up his glass and drained it.Everyone exchanged knowing smiles. His silence said everything.The wheel spun again, this time landing on me.Camilla broke into a malicious grin. "Vera, take a dare. The rule is that you have to take off your clothes until everyone's satisfied."I frowned and looked at Timothy, waiting for him to speak up for me.Instead, he swirled his drink nonchalantly and said in a flat voice, "It's just a game. Take off your jacket first. That'll be enough to go along with the game. Don't make things difficult for Camilla."When I still didn't move, he furrowed his brows, his voice turning sterner. "Vera, don't make a scene here. Your mom is waiting for you at the hospital."I stood there, swallowing my bitterness.Amid the jeering and cheers, I took off one piece of clothing after another. Even when I was left in nothing but my black camisole, they kept pounding on the table."One more piece! No backing out now!"Timothy

Chapter 5 The Lie He Chose to Believe

The moment the cake hit the floor, Timothy stood up. "Which hospital? I'll be right there."The nurse had barely finished giving him the address when Camilla snatched his phone and hung up. "You actually believe that?"Timothy grabbed his phone back, panic rising inside him. "The hospital said Vera's mom died.""It was an unknown number claiming to be a hospital, and you just believed it?"Camilla sounded certain of herself. "She broke up with you, then someone just happened to call and tell you that her mother died? The timing's way too convenient. She obviously arranged the whole thing."A blond guy immediately chimed in. "Timothy, Vera's really going all out to get you to go back to her. She even came up with a scheme involving her own mother's death. If you go running back now, she'll have you wrapped around her finger for good."Voices of agreement rose all around them.Slowly, the tension in Timothy's jaw eased. "She really has been going too far lately. We can't let her g

Chapter 6 A Line He Wouldn't Cross

Timothy put away his car keys. "Then I'll stay and sleep in the guest room."Camilla immediately smiled and linked her arm through his, leading him inside.As soon as Timothy took out his phone, she pressed a hand over his. "My birthday isn't over yet. You promised to give me all your attention."Timothy frowned, but he put his phone away anyway. "Fine. I won't look at it."He thought that if he stood his ground this time, I wouldn't dare threaten to break up with him again.Half an hour later, the bathroom door opened. Camilla stepped out completely naked, her wet hair clinging to her back.Timothy quickly looked away and handed her a bathrobe. "Put this on."Camilla strolled over without a care and perched on the armrest beside him. "I don't like feeling restricted. It's uncomfortable to sleep in clothes.""You're a grown woman now." Timothy's voice grew sterner, a clear warning in his tone.Camilla snorted and leaned closer to him."Why are you pretending to be so innocent

Chapter 7 Too Late

The next morning, Timothy took out his phone.The screen lit up. No missed calls. No unread messages.Our chat was silent.He let out a quiet laugh.So I was really angry this time. I'd gone the entire night without trying to make up with him.He opened his money transfer app, intending to deduct $2,000 according to the penalty list for staying out all night.But when he tried doing so, it failed."Attempt failed. The other party has revoked access to the linked account."Timothy froze and tried again.It still didn't work.In eight years, no matter how badly we'd fought, I'd never touched the account that represented our future together.Even when he'd skipped my promotion hearing to be with Camilla, I'd only turned off my phone for two days. I still made sure my paycheck went into our shared account on time.This time, the account had been unlinked at 11.57 p.m. the night before.He sent me a message. "Link the account again, and I'll let your lies slide."At once, he r

Chapter 8 Every Time

Timothy's eyes were bloodshot. The moment he saw my mom's memorial portrait at the center of the room, his expression changed.He picked up a flower, laid it beside her casket, and bowed his head. "Mrs. Hughes, I'm sorry."I took the flower from beside the casket and tossed it into the trash can nearby."You don't need to play the son-in-law anymore."His hand froze in midair. "I didn't think things would get this bad. It was just a birthday game. Camilla took the post too far. Who could've known your mom would see it? And who could've known she'd be so badly affected by it?"I stared at him. "You didn't think it would happen, or you just didn't care?"He sighed. "Vera, I'm hurting too. Come home with me. I'll get the photos taken down, and I'll make Camilla apologize to you in person. We'll put this behind us and go ahead with the wedding as planned.""Put it behind us?""She's already gone. Dragging this out will only make things harder for the people still alive.""Timothy,

Chapter 9 The Father She Brought Back

The next morning, someone pounded on my door.I had barely opened it when Camilla shoved her way inside with a man in tow. "Vera, I brought someone from your family to see you."The man took off his sunglasses, revealing a pair of eyes strikingly similar to mine.It was my father, Frederick Hughes.I remembered how he'd shown up with his pregnant mistress and demanded that my mom give up the company and the house.Camilla pushed past me and stepped right inside."Your mom's gone. Your father is the only family you have left. I'm doing this for Timothy's sake. He's always worried you don't have a man in your family to protect you."The man burped, then greedily surveyed the room."Vera, now that your mom's dead, I'm entitled to half this house. You're about to marry that rich man from the Wells family, so hurry up and get the deed."My nails dug into my palms. "Get out."Camilla frowned, putting on a wounded expression. "Why can't you appreciate what I'm doing? I'm trying to h

Chapter 10 The End of Us

The next afternoon, I'd just replaced the locks on my old house when Timothy showed up with a tablet.He hadn't shaved, and his eyes were bloodshot. "Vera, take a look."The first document was a bankruptcy liquidation notice and a detention notice.Frederick's shell company was suspected of fraud and had been seized.The second was a set of industry-wide blacklisting orders.The blond guy who'd joined in the taunting at the private room had seen his family's building materials supply chain completely cut off.The third file was a video.Camilla's hair was a mess, and her face was streaked with tears as she repeated the same apology to the camera."I'm sorry. I shouldn't have spread rumors about Mrs. Hughes or caused a scene at her funeral."Timothy swiped to several screenshots of chat records. "I've finished looking into what happened to your company's data."His voice was so hoarse I could barely hear him."Camilla secretly copied the data and sent it to a competitor. She'

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