Chapter 2

I reached for it, but Ethan pulled his hand back, leaving me grasping at air.

“Give it back!” I was getting anxious. I really loved that cup.

“Go return it! If you’re too embarrassed to go alone, I’ll go with you.” He stood and grabbed my hand, but I shook him off.

“Ethan, it’s not ordinary plastic. It’s heat-resistant, baby-bottle-grade plastic. Fifty-nine dollars for a tumbler this big, made from that material, is already a good deal!”

He let out a disbelieving laugh. Holding up the cup, he said slowly, “Heat-resistant, baby-bottle-grade plastic? Did you even go to school, Claire? That’s still plastic! Fifty-nine dollars for a plastic cup? Only an idiot like you would pay that!”

“Do you have any common sense? This is the kind of heat-resistant plastic used for baby bottles! It handles heat and cold. You can’t compare it to some nine-ninety-nine cup off Wish!”

“I don’t want to hear it. Are you returning it or not?” He raised the cup high, his face grim.

Afraid he might actually smash it, I pretended to give in. “Fine. I’ll return it. Just put it down.”

Only then did his expression ease. He set the tumbler on the table and went back to his usual demeanor. “That’s more like it.”

“Claire, all that baby-bottle-grade plastic nonsense is just a scam aimed at young women like you. Look at that flashy color. Who knows what dyes they added? Drink out of that long enough, and it’ll damage your health.”

He handed me an empty lemon soda bottle with a smile. “I brought this home especially for you. Didn’t you say you needed a water bottle for outings? Just fill this up. And…” He cupped a hand beside his mouth. “People will think you’re drinking lemon soda.”

I stared at him in disbelief. He wasn’t joking. If anything, his expression said, Wasn’t that clever? Go on, praise me.

That confirmed it. Ethan was completely serious about having me refill an empty soda bottle.

When I didn’t respond, he came over and pulled me down beside him. “Claire, I’m not upset that you used our shared account. I just think spending fifty-nine dollars on a plastic cup is unnecessary. It’s a complete waste.”

“We’re going to get married and build a life together. You can’t keep throwing money around like this after the wedding.”

“So from now on, transfer your paycheck to me. I’ll save it for you. That way, you won’t waste it.”

Looking at Ethan earnestly telling me to hand over my income, I suddenly felt as though I’d wasted years of my life.

I put on a smile. “Okay.”

“That’s my girl, sweetheart. I knew you’d listen.”

Early the next morning, Ethan started pushing me to get up and return the tumbler.

He dragged me out of bed. To avoid another outburst, I got dressed without arguing and left with the cup.

I went back to the same home and gift store and spotted an adorable insulated tumbler. I bought it without a second thought.

At checkout, I asked the sales associate if she could refund yesterday’s purchase and then ring up both tumblers together.

After some back-and-forth, she finally agreed.

The refund had barely gone through when Ethan called.

He sounded delighted. “Sweetheart, you really returned it! You’re amazing. Your boyfriend loves you so much!”

“As a reward, I’ve decided to add another hundred dollars to your wedding gift! Aren’t you happy?”

Happy? Not even slightly.

Because of his work schedule, Ethan had Mondays and Tuesdays off. So I decided to spend that afternoon packing up everything I owned and moving it to Chloe’s place.

I didn’t have much. Between the two of us, Chloe and I managed to move all my personal belongings into her apartment that afternoon.

She fully supported my decision to break up with Ethan.

“I’ve been sick of him for ages. He takes paper towels from public restrooms and sneaks food out of buffets. Last time we went to that hot pot chain, I saw him stuffing all the little bottles of mouthwash from the restroom into his pockets.”

“That’s not being thrifty. It says something about his character. You’re the only one who kept insisting he was just good with money!”

My face burned as I listened.

Of course I knew about those habits. At first, I’d thought he was careful with money and didn’t like waste. Over time, I’d realized he simply loved taking advantage.

When I was blinded by love, I hadn’t thought it was a big deal. Now it just embarrassed me.

After an afternoon of work, we finally finished moving everything. To celebrate my new life, Chloe posted a photo of the two of us on social media.

Less than ten minutes later, Ethan called again.

The moment I answered, he shouted, “Claire Bennett! Didn’t you say you returned that cup? Why did I see it in Chloe’s post? Were you lying to me?”