“My salary’s high now. I can afford it.” Emily Carter’s gentle voice felt like a dagger twisting into my chest. She had given her first paycheck entirely to her family, and from then until now, she had never spent a single cent on me.
Ryan Foster looked at me. “No, he needs to pay for it.”
Emily turned to glare at me. “Looks like just an apology isn’t enough. You’ll also compensate him. I still have the receipt for this watch—fifteen thousand eight hundred.”
At that moment, my heart went completely cold. “Fine, I’ll pay for the watch. But you should tally up all the money I’ve spent on you over the years and give it back to me.”
“Do you even call yourself a man?” Ryan sneered. “And how do you plan to pay Emily for her wasted youth?”
“Emily, stop talking to him. Just call the cops and let him see who’s going to be paying.”
Emily actually did call the police. The neighbors tried to talk her out of it, saying it wasn’t worth getting the authorities involved over something that could be settled privately.
Before long, the police arrived. Since I had thrown the first punch and broken Ryan’s watch, both facts were indisputable, their solution was for me to pay compensation. As for the years I’d supported Emily, there was no clear legal way to get that money back.
The officers told me that if I compensated them and earned their forgiveness, I could avoid further legal consequences.
Emily pressed the point relentlessly. “Compensate him, then kneel and apologize to Ryan, and I won’t press charges.”
I asked to make a phone call. After the call, I waited patiently. I didn’t expect Emily’s parents to arrive so quickly. Normally, coming in from their rural town would take at least two hours, but they were here in just thirty minutes.
I wanted them to see exactly what their daughter had done, so they could decide whether I should really be the one paying compensation.
“Mr. and Mrs. Carter, what brings you here?” Ryan walked right up to them, greeting them like old friends. Watching this, my heart sank completely.
Ryan, Emily, and her parents huddled together, speaking in low voices.
Soon, Emily’s mother came over, pointing at me. “You’re worse than an animal. Emily wanted to break up, and you threatened her life. And now you’ve actually laid hands on her.”
The words stung. I stared at her. “Search your conscience. Don’t you fear divine retribution for saying that?”
“Pah!” She spat at me. “Now that Ryan’s here, we’re not afraid of you. Don’t think you can scare us anymore. Officers, you need to teach him a lesson.”
Ryan’s gaze was dripping with contempt. “Just like Emily said—kneel down, apologize, and pay up, and I won’t press charges. Otherwise, get ready to rot in prison.”
I looked at Emily. “You really expect me to do that?”
“You’re still trying to threaten my daughter?” her mother barked. “Officers, look at his attitude—trash like him should be locked up.”
“You’ll regret this,” I said, my voice now cold and even.
“Still clinging to your little revenge fantasies?” Ryan smirked. “Guys like you, stuck at the bottom, can only dream through some dime-store novel. I’ll give you ten seconds—kneel and pay, or start counting the days till prison.”
I stared right back at him. “Give me your bank account number.”
Ryan froze for a moment, but still gave it to me.
When his phone buzzed with the incoming transfer, he stared at the notification, double-checking it, then showed Emily. “Didn’t you say this loser handed over all his paychecks to you? Looks like he’s been hiding quite a stash on the side. Guess he’s been up to plenty behind your back.”
