Her mom had a thing for designer handbags but had given up splurging on herself while putting Elena through school, so I made sure she always had the latest collections of luxury brands.
At first, Mr. and Mrs. Humphrey were polite and grateful. But over time, they began treating all that as if it were owed to them.
They even told me straight to my face that I should treat them better than my own parents—otherwise, it meant I wasn’t serious enough about Elena.
I used to put up with it all for Elena’s sake.
But not anymore.
“I broke up with Elena—”
“Because you got bored and thought you could just toss her aside?” her father snapped before I could get another word in.
“You think my daughter’s some disposable thing? Something you can use and throw away whenever you feel like it? Do you have any idea what kind of mess you’re creating? The wedding’s in three days! Everyone’s been invited, the announcements are out and now you want to call it off? If you don’t give a damn about your own dignity, that’s fine—but don’t drag our whole family down with you!”
He just kept going, ranting nonstop while I sat there in silence.
When he finally paused for breath, I clenched my jaw and said, “You done?”
“Good. Now, listen carefully. Not only am I breaking up with your daughter, but I’m also coming after every penny you’ve leeched off me. Every single one of them, I’ll take it all back.”
Then I hung up and blocked both of them.
If they wanted to play dirty, then they shouldn’t expect me to play nice.
After ending the call, I just sat there on the floor, numb.
I kept telling myself not to let this get to me, but everywhere I looked, I saw reminders of her—of us.
It was suffocating.
I called a moving company and told them to clear out everything that had anything to do with Elena.
Only after her things were gone did I finally feel like I could breathe again.
That night, my parents called.
“Heard you and Elena broke up?”
My dad sounded way too cheerful for someone asking breakup news. Well, he never liked her to begin with. Fair say, because he’d been around the block enough in his day to spot a gold digger a mile away—and Elena fit the bill.
He’d never trusted her.
“If you called just to rub it in, I’m hanging up,” I snapped.
“Don’t be ridiculous. We’re just relieved you’re finally out of that nightmare,” my mom cut in. “Don’t worry, son” she added. “I’ve found you a woman. Very decent and definitely more to your league.”
I rolled my eyes.
For years, they’d tolerated Elena for my sake—never once stepping in to stop the wedding.
But now that I’d called it off, they were acting like they’d won the lottery.
Still, I had to admit... after that phone call, I did feel a little lighter.
Just as I was about to head to bed, Dale sent me a disappearing video.
