4: 4
4
After that dinner ended on such a sour note, my fiancé and I didn't speak.
Mom and Dad kept telling me to go and patch things up with him, even offered to cover the car and the wedding jewelry themselves, but I flat-out refused.
On the third day, my fiancé called me first.
"Eve, are you buying the jewelry set and the car or not?"
"If you take me to buy them in the next couple of days, I'll let everything before this slide."
"But if you're going to keep being stubborn about it, then forget it. We're done. No wedding."
My hand tightened around the phone.
It was a moment before I answered, slow and even.
"I already told you I'm not buying them right now. If you want to break up, I won't stop you."
Otto started swearing on the other end.
Even without seeing his face, I could picture exactly how furious he looked.
"Fine, Eve. Don't come crying to me later."
"Go ahead and sit on that dump of a flat. See who'd ever want to live in a place like that."
"Oh, and, did you even bother to check what that dump is worth?"
"Let me tell you, it isn't worth anywhere near what you think, and you couldn't sell it if you tried."
This time, Otto had dropped the act completely.
The line went to a steady busy tone.
After I hung up, I boarded a plane and left for a two-week business trip abroad.
The whole time I was away, my fiancé posted constantly, all photos of eating, drinking, and having a good time.
His life looked pretty sweet.
The night before I flew home, he sent me a photo of himself picking up a new car.
He didn't say a word with it. It read like a boast, plain and simple.
I left it on read.
The moment the plane touched down back home, the feed floated up.
【Your fiancé took out an online loan to buy that new car, but it's registered under Ina Chavez's name.】
【Your fiancé and Ina Chavez know the old flat is slated for demolition.】
【They're about to come to you to buy that cramped, run-down flat back.】
【And this time the demolition payout is better than anything that's come before.】
