Chapter 2

“That’s none of my business. Maybe you and Fred can beg for some money.”

I carried my computer and walked out of the shop without looking back.

Georgia cursed behind me angrily.

“Nathan, you’re a stingy and selfish person!

“You’ll regret this!”

I hailed a cab and went back to my newly-rented apartment.

I had just sat down when my phone started buzzing.

Georgia was sending me a lot of voice messages.

“I don’t care what you do, but you have to transfer nineteen thousand dollars to me before 8 a.m. tomorrow.

“Fred lost his appetite for dinner over your antics!

“He already has stomach issues. If this makes him more ill and spoils his exams, you’ll get what’s coming to you!”

I listened to those voice messages. Georgia was going insane.

When I had stomach bleeding from working overtime, she was posting about her afternoon tea sessions with Fred.

But if Fred missed a single meal, she got this anxious!

I switched my computer on and went to the banking website.

Then, I plugged in a pendrive and pulled out all of our expenses for the past three years.

I had trusted her in the past, so I had never questioned her spending.

Times had changed, and I wanted to get down to the very last cent.

The screen was covered in lines after lines of expenses. I felt humiliated when I read them.

[Luxury food delivery services, three thousand dollars a month.]

[VIP study room, yearly subscription of twenty-four thousand dollars.]

[Luxury male clothes, single payment of eight thousand dollars.]

I stared at that eight-thousand-dollar expense as my fingers trembled.

I recalled that last winter, the leather shoes that I had worn for three years were biting my soles.

I asked Georgia if I could buy a new pair of shoes for five hundred dollars.

I still remembered what she had said back then.

“Our mortgage is very expensive. Can you be a little more frugal? If the shoes are still wearable, just bear with it. We have to use our money wisely.”

It turned out that she bought custom-made leather shoes for Fred that cost five thousand dollars.

She used the remaining three thousand dollars to buy him a tie.

The reason was that Fred needed to go for an important interview, so he needed to dress for the occasion.

My three-year marriage was a complete joke.

My phone lit up again.

Georgia saw that I was not answering her voice notes, so she texted me a long written paragraph.

[Nathan, you’re an adult. Aren’t you embarrassed of yourself for getting jealous over a hardworking young man? If you transfer me the money, I’ll get Fred to buy you a meal after he passes the examination.]

Immediately after, she sent me a voice message again.

It was Fred’s voice.

“Nathan, I heard from Georgia that you’re in a bad mood. Please don’t be mad at her. It’s all my fault. I won’t go for the examinations anymore. Please don’t fight with Georgia because of me.”

He was trying to play the victim.

As expected, Georgia immediately sent me more texts.

[Listen to what Fred’s saying! He’s such an understanding young man! Look at how calculative and stingy you are in comparison!]

[Transfer the money now! Otherwise, I won’t forgive you!]

I ignored her.

I immediately put all the receipts in a zip file and sent them to a lawyer, who was my university friend.

I also sent him a note.

[Dave, please help me look into this. How much can I get back if she transferred our marital asset to a third party?]

Dave Reid immediately replied with a text.

[How much is the total sum?]

[From my preliminary calculation, it’s more than three hundred thousand dollars.]

[Alright, leave it up to me. I’ll make sure they pay everything, including the interest, back to you.]

I switched off my computer and let out a long sigh.

I decided that I would not just cut them off financially, but I would also make them pay everything they had taken from me.