Chapter 1

On the first day of autumn, marking our third anniversary together, I posted a Snapchat Story:

"Craving the season's first pumpkin spice latte."

Less than a minute later, my boyfriend screenshot it and sent it straight to my DMs:

"You're so materialistic! I can't live with a gold-digger like you anymore!"

From that moment on, he paraded that screenshot around, telling everyone I was a shallow leech.

The very day after we broke up, he strutted in front of me with a glamorous, heavily made-up girl on his arm.

"Nana is way hotter than you. More importantly, she's not obsessed with money. She never asks me for a single thing."

The girl beside him sneered at me with utter contempt:

"Did you really think dating Oliver made you Cinderella? All you did was use him. Oliver is a real man who looks for pure, unconditional love. You're just a clueless, greedy gold-digger!"

I smiled, unlocked my phone, and showed her the screen.

"Sweetie, hate to break it to you... but your number-one top gifter? That's me."

My post hadn't even been up for sixty seconds before Oliver began spamming my DMs.

"I've given you so much! No matter how exhausted I am after work, I still text you every single day!"

"I've given you emotional support, and this is how you repay me? By being this shallow?"

"A fancy coffee costs seven bucks! Falling for some stupid marketing gimmick—I'm not your personal ATM!"

"You're shameless. I can't be with a woman this materialistic."

"We're done!"

Watching the angry messages flood my screen, I smiled with satisfaction and replied with a mocking meme.

Predictably, I got blocked instantly with an exclamation mark.

Calmly, I opened Snapchat and deleted the story that I had set to be visible only to him.

A few minutes later, my best friend Ann sent me a screenshot of Oliver's Instagram post.

It featured receipts from cheap purchases paired with a massive paragraph of self-pity.

The caption was a full-blown rant accusing me of being a "greedy gold-digger" while highlighting his own "selfless devotion."

The comments beneath were sickening:

"Bro, you guys looked so happy together. I had no idea Chloe was like that! Talk about looks being deceiving."

"Hang in there, man. Modern girls only care about the bag. Good thing you cut your losses."

"Ugh, materialistic girls give me the biggest ick."

Scrolling through them, I was reminded once again that birds of a feather flock together.

I took a screenshot of Oliver's furious texts and sent it to Ann.

"You lost the bet."

Ann replied with a facepalm emoji.

"You are evil, girl!"

A moment later, she sent some cash on PayPal alongside screenshots of a certain private chat log.

"Seriously, though. You gave that loser so much, he cheated on you, and all you get at the end is a verbal beatdown? You're really just gonna let him walk away?"

I zoomed in on the screenshots, my eyes turning cold.

"Not a chance."

Yes, I had been cheated on.

It all started two months ago when Oliver became glued to his phone.

No matter the time of day, even while taking a shower, he wouldn't let the device leave his hand.

Then, one night, my laptop crashed. I borrowed his computer to update a quick expense report.

I intended to log into my own account and send the file to my phone.

Conveniently, Oliver's messaging app was already logged in.

I clicked on the chat with my name and hit send.

Just as I was about to shut the laptop down, a reply popped up.

"Why did you send this to me?"

I froze.

Why was my account messaging me back?

Though confused, I quickly regained my composure.

I checked my phone—no incoming messages.

Which meant I hadn't sent the file to myself after all.

I stared at the contact: pinned to the top, nicknamed "Babe," with a profile picture identical to mine. A sinking feeling hit my gut.

Another message pinged.

This time, accompanied by a flirty kiss emoji.

"Oliver, you there?"

"The data in this file looks super confidential... Wow, you really were holding out on me! And here I thought you were just cheap since you're not even my top gifter. Hmph!"

"I guess you can't unsend it now, so I'll just delete it on my end, okay?"

Sweet, obedient, and cooperative.

Anyone with half a brain could tell the documents belonged to high-level corporate finances.

No wonder her attitude had completely flipped.

I stared at the screen, my fingers moving across the keyboard.

"Yeah, sent it by mistake. Thanks."

She replied in a heartbeat.

"Oliver, why are you being so formal with me? You're gonna make me pout!"

Followed by a cute pouty selfie sticker.

Instead of answering, I scrolled up through the chat history.

"Nana is my absolute favorite. Look how many gifts I've sent you during your streams. When are you finally going to meet me?"

"Busy."

"Baby, you're so gorgeous and sexy. You're the only girl I've ever wanted to marry. I just want to hold you forever."

"We'll see."

Hearing the shower water shut off, I knew Oliver would be stepping out any second.