All Chapters of Kidnappers, Please Bill My Girlfriend Separately: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

"Have you lost your goddamn mind? Are you seriously only planning to pay your own share?" My childhood friend Jace Lloyd's voice practically roared through my receiver. I held my phone slightly away from my ear before answering calmly, "Yep. I've already transferred 75 thousand dollars to the designated account.""Oliver Newman, that's Selena, your girlfriend of three years!""And your point is? It's precisely because we are partners that it's even more vital to adhere to the rules we established together. I'm respecting our three-year relationship."There was a prolonged silence on the other end of the line before Jace muttered, "You're seriously messed up!"I hung up the phone, completely unfazed.My relationship with Selena began with a precise calculation. Three years ago, at an alumni investment summit, she was volunteering for the project roadshows. As a guest speaker, I needed a data analysis report forecasting the new energy market over the next three years.I offered f

I rushed downstairs and, ignoring the security guard's attempt to stop me, stormed into the hotel lobby. Selena was checking in at the front desk with that man. Her body was turned sideways to me, and she wore a radiant, relaxed smile. It was a side of her I had never seen before. "Selena!" I cried out, my voice straining and out of tune with anger. She turned around. The moment she spotted me, the smile on her face vanished, replaced by a cold detachment, as if she were looking at a total stranger. "Can I help you?" she asked apathetically.The man took a step forward to put himself between us, eyeing me warily. "I'd appreciate it if you showed a little respect, sir.""This is between us!" I stared straight at Selena. "Tell me. What's going on here? Who is this man? And that lawyer's call. What on earth are you trying to accomplish?"Selena gently nudged the man aside and took two steps forward. Sizing me up, she responded, "Oliver, my lawyer will be in touch with you regardi

Sitting in the middle of my hollowed-out apartment, I was surrounded by half-packed cardboard boxes. Vivian had come over again with a thermos flask filled with her homemade soup. "Eat up, Ollie. You've gone the whole day without food." She ladled the soup into a bowl and slid it toward me. "Don't worry. Everything will be fine. You can always find another job and rent a smaller apartment. As long as we're together, we can get through anything!"Her words were gentle, carrying an air of unconditional reliance and support. In the past, I would've been moved by such irrational warmth. But now, all I felt was an overwhelming sense of irony. Looking at her, I blurted out, "Vivian, if you were the one who got kidnapped, and the ransom was a million dollars, what would you want me to do?" Vivian froze for a moment and, without a second thought, answered, "Of course I'd want you to come and save me! Even if it meant losing everything you own! Because you're my man!" Right after say

By the time I found Vivian, she was trapped inside a cafe by two men in suits and leather shoes. I recognized them. They were Mr. Smith's assistants. "Mr. Newman," they greeted me politely when they saw me. Vivian spotted me and, as if she had seen her savior, rushed over to hide behind me. "They're trying to arrest me, Ollie! They claim I slandered Sel, and now they're going to put me behind bars."The lead assistant adjusted his glasses with a blank expression. "Mind your language, Ms. Murray. We are merely here to serve you with a cease-and-desist letter and inform you that your actions have caused serious damage to Ms. Jenkins' reputation. We reserve all rights to pursue full legal action against you." "I did not. Everything I said was the truth!" she shrieked from behind me. "Selena's a gold digger. She's the one who wronged Oliver! I was just exposing her!" I looked at her face, which was distorted with anger, and for the first time, felt a sudden pang of alienation and

I had no idea how I had left Rivergate 18. The words "fiance" and "Novis Smith" looped in my head. Like two jagged steel needles, they stabbed repeatedly into my nerves. It turned out that I wasn't even qualified to be the antagonist in her story. From the very beginning, I was nothing more than an insignificant NPC in the script of her life, existing solely to advance the plot. I was a background prop, a joke. I returned to the shoebox apartment I was renting, where the air was thick with a damp, musty smell. I booted up my computer and logged into the backend of that already abandoned SplitMate app. It was the last backdoor I had left for myself as the developer. I wanted to delete it. I wanted to erase all the quantified fragments of my past with Selena. Yet, when I clicked the delete button, the system popped up a window I had never seen before. "Project 'Love' is about to be terminated. Would you like to trigger the final retrospective report?" As if guided by some uns