Chapter 4: Credit Card Roulette

Eventually, my phone buzzed—Derek’s name lighting up. He was calling because he didn’t have enough money to pay the bill. Classic.

I headed over, steadying my expression into something neutral. I wasn’t about to tip my hand before he realized he had no ticket. No need to give away the game early.

Inside the boutique, the air reeked of new leather and overpriced perfume. A Beyoncé track thumped low from hidden speakers. Derek and Lillian lounged on a velvet sofa, surrounded by a halo of sales associates. They looked like royalty, laughing and sipping sparkling wine. When I arrived, the sales team perked up, expecting a big spender. My heart thudded as I saw the mountain of designer purses, perfumes, and skincare stacked on the table—over $15,000, easy.

Derek greeted me with a lazy wave: "That’s all for today. I saw you usually use these, so I picked some for Lillian."

The sheer nerve. Those rare treats I saved up for after months of overtime—he wanted to hand them over like party favors. I felt my lips pull into a cold smile.

Lillian acted like she didn’t even see me, pouring Derek another glass of champagne, but her eyes flickered to the shopping bags, hungry.

The sales associate, friendly but businesslike, pulled me aside. "Are you ready to pay, miss?" Her tone assumed I was their secretary or personal assistant, not their dupe.

When I hesitated, Derek’s face clouded over. "Aubrey, we’re here to have fun, so let’s enjoy ourselves. Seriously, you’re gonna freak out over a few bucks? Lighten up."

My fingers shook as I tapped my card, the little green checkmark feeling more like a slap than a win. I didn’t bother to argue. I just swiped my card and kept my poker face. After all, it was still up in the air whether they’d get to keep any of this.

The comments zipped by again, salt in the wound:

[How can the lead be like this? He’s really living off a woman.]

[The ex is dumb, rich, and willing. Let her be.]

[After they ditch the ex and go home, the love interest uses these things to build her rich-girl persona and becomes a big influencer.]

[Yeah! Later she becomes a star and gets famous overnight. Her fans all say she’s a real heiress.]

[The lead also takes over the ex’s company and becomes CEO, then publicly chases after his wife in the entertainment industry. Ahhh, so sweet! I love power couples!]

...

Watching the comments scroll past and seeing Lillian’s smug smile, I couldn’t help but sneer. They wanted to climb over my back to get their happy ending? We’d see if they even made it to the airport.