"Zeke was right. You're only with me for my money."
Tessa transferred 1.88 dollars to me via her phone and added a note, labeling me as "Leech".
During the seven years we had been together, I had never spent a single cent of Tessa's. I would even prepare gifts for her during our anniversaries or on special days.
Tessa would accept them without any qualms, but she never prepared anything for me. She would remark sarcastically that men should buy their girlfriends gifts to make them happy, and that it was their duty.
Despite this, she had described me as a leech.
As an heiress from the upper class of Jetland, Tessa was worth tens of billions of dollars.
I thought of the list of presents that she had prepared for Zeke Palmer.
I thought of my mother, who had been tormented by her disease and had passed away in great pain because we hadn't had the money for treatment.
I did not want to face Tessa for a single moment longer.
I had just got up to leave when there was a noise at the door once more.
Zeke called Tessa's name with love in his voice as he walked in, taking off his coat. However, he looked startled and jumped in fright when he saw me.
"Ethan, what are you doing here?"
I turned to look at Tessa. "Unless I'm mistaken, this is the place we rent together. Not only did you give the password of the digital doorlock to someone else, but you even let him barge in."
Upon hearing this, Zeke looked as if I had wronged him immensely. He ran over and wrapped his arm around Tessa's shoulder as he sat down beside her.
"Tess, how could I be an outsider? I only came to stay the night because I forgot to bring the keys to my place.
"Besides, if Tess hadn't agreed to split the rent for this place, you'd have to pay it all by yourself. No matter how you look at it, you're the one with an advantage."
I wondered how often Zeke had made such provocative remarks without my knowledge.
When Tessa heard this, she did not feel like she had made a mistake. To her, Zeke made perfect sense.
"Zeke's right. I have a place of my own, and I'm really the one at a disadvantage here since I have to share the rent with you. This is just like spending money on escort services. There's no difference."
She showed me her bank account number.
"You don't want people to call you a leech, do you? Pay me back for the rent that I've paid over the past seven years."
…
Tessa and I had rented the apartment when we first got together. It was only about 450 square feet in size.
After graduating from university, I stayed in Jetland to work and earn more money. At the time, I had only been able to afford the rent for a cramped place that was far away from the city.
Tessa had been the one who said that the place was too far away and that it would be inconvenient for her to visit me.
It was also Tessa who had said that it wasn't a place fit to live in, and that it would ruin the mood for her to get intimate with me.
She wanted to rent a bigger place with me.
Therefore, I took on the pressure of a high rental fee and got a part-time job with the extra time I had from a shorter commute.
Now, not only did she want me to return her half of the rent for the past seven years, she even felt that she had been paying to sleep with me and that it was her loss.
"Tessa, it's been seven years. What am I to you?"
My expression was filled with humiliation and rage, and I couldn't help but feel regret.
I had wasted seven years of my youth on someone like her.
Her hand was still stretched out in front of me, but it shook slightly when she saw my dejected expression.
She pressed her lips together and withdrew her hand. "I was just joking. After all—"
Before she could finish, Zeke clicked his tongue again and looked contemptuous.
