I had always loved gaming and had a bit of a talent for it. Eventually, I got so good that I dropped out of school to become a professional game booster.

As I improved, my income kept rising.

That’s when I met Maggie.

I had grown up with just my mom and had always been frugal, but Maggie spent money like there was no tomorrow.

I didn’t mind because I loved her and wanted to give her the best of everything.

I skimped on my meals, only buying takeout that cost under $10, and wouldn’t even buy myself a bottle of water.

But I didn’t blink when I sent her $8,000 as spending money.

I only ate one meal a day because I could use the money I saved to buy her a designer handbag so she wouldn’t feel embarrassed in front of her friends.

She asked for steak, salon treatments, new phones – I gave her everything.

I even paid for her and her family to go on vacation.

She talked about marrying me but never introduced me to her parents.

She wanted to buy a house for our future, so I gave her $250,000 for the down payment.

But she never let me set foot in that house.

She never remembered my birthday. I sat alone in my tiny apartment, eating takeout by myself.

That day, I was really craving a burger and fries.

But when I thought of her, I couldn’t bring myself to spend money on something that nice.

So, I settled for a basic sandwich instead.

I thought about adding a side of fries – my mom used to say you should treat yourself on your birthday.

But the fries cost an extra two bucks, and I just couldn’t justify it.

In the end, I stuck with the plain sandwich, and with a coupon, it only cost me eight dollars.

I was thrilled about saving that much.

When Maggie found out, all she did was scold me, “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

I had told her before. She just never remembered.

That day, she hugged me and said a few sweet words. I was so touched that I sent her another $5,000 so she could buy her favorite foods.

She accepted it without hesitation!

I didn’t tell her that those $5,000 were supposed to cover my living expenses for the next six months.

She spent it all in two days.

To keep up with her endless demands, I worked myself to the bone, taking job after job. I even pulled a few all-nighters just to send her every penny I earned.

I never forgot our promise – that I would marry her when I turned 22.

I kept crossing off the days on my calendar, eagerly waiting for that moment to arrive.

But just one week before we were supposed to get our marriage license, she broke up with me.

I couldn’t accept it!

I called her over and over again, only to find out she had blocked me.

For two years, I had given her everything I had.

The long nights and unhealthy lifestyle had wrecked my health. I even collapsed from exhaustion and couldn’t afford to get treatment.

Her breakup was the last straw. I lost all will to live.

A few days later, I walked to the lake.

I mustered the courage to call her one last time.

She didn’t answer!

Filled with despair, I threw myself into the icy water.

As the coldness jolted me awake, I swore to myself: If I ever get another chance, I will never love her again.

This time, I would make it up to the one person I failed the most – myself!

My thoughts snapped back from the memories.

Reading through her reasons for the breakup, I couldn’t help but laugh.

She blamed me for not spending time with her.

Well, of course, I didn’t have time.

I had to work around the clock just to keep up with her demands. I barely had time to sleep.

Whenever she needed money, she never mentioned spending time together. She just told me to focus on work and not get distracted by her.

So, she wants to break up?

Fine by me!

I deleted every single word I’d written trying to beg her to stay.

Instead, I just sent her one line: [Okay.]

But before I could even settle the score with her, she started pretending to be the victim.

[Since you treated me fairly well these past two years, I won’t ask for any breakup fee. Let’s just call it even!]

Even?

What a joke.

I had spent hundreds of thousands on her over the past two years. If I didn’t get that money back, she must think I’m the world’s biggest fool.

I made a list: from the house I helped her buy, the store I funded, to all the luxury goods and bank transfers. It totaled $550,000.

I sent her the list and said, [Check if I missed anything. If not, it’s time to pay me back!]

There was silence for a few minutes.

Then Maggie went ballistic, bombarding me with messages.

[Steve, are you out of your mind? You gave me that money willingly, what right do you have to ask for it back?]

[I wasted two years of my life with you! If you were any kind of man, you wouldn’t be so shameless to even bring this up. I can’t believe I never realized how selfish you are. Breaking up with you is the best decision I ever made! No woman in her right mind would ever love you.]

[I don’t have the money! Sue me if you’ve got the guts!]

She kept flooding my phone with angry texts and even sent a bunch of furious emojis.

Was this the same sweet and gentle Maggie I thought I knew?

This was her true face!

For the past two years, my life had revolved around her – she was my everything.

That’s why, when I lost her, I was so devastated that I drowned myself in the lake.

But now, in this new life, I finally figured it out.

Instead of waiting for someone else to love me, it’s better to love myself. Loving yourself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.

I didn’t bother arguing with her any further and just replied, [Then I guess we’ll see each other in court.]

After that, I realized I was hungry.

I decided to treat myself to some takeout.

This time, I didn’t hesitate. I ordered a burger and fries I had been craving for so long.

After using a discount, it still cost me $40.

That was my food budget for the past four days.

In the past, I would’ve felt guilty spending even a penny more on myself. Now, I just felt pure satisfaction and pride.

Better to spend my money on myself than waste it on someone who never appreciated me.

The burger was absolutely delicious.

From now on, I could eat this whenever I wanted!

After finishing my meal, I scheduled a medical check-up for the next day.

Over the past few years, I had been making money at the expense of my health. I earned a decent amount, but my body was falling apart.

In this new life, I just wanted to take care of myself and avoid repeating the same mistakes.

Soon, the check-up results came in.

The palpitations and fainting were caused by long-term sleep deprivation and a stomach ulcer from an unhealthy diet. I was also diagnosed with malnutrition and moderate anemia.

Luckily, I was still young.

Even though I had seriously overworked my body, with proper care, I could recover.

The doctor prescribed me a lot of medication.

My savings were running low.

In order to focus on healing, I decided to take a break from work and adopt a healthier lifestyle.

To reward myself, I bought two new outfits.

In the two years I’d been with Maggie, I never bought myself a single piece of clothing.

She thought it was a waste of money.

She would always bring me her dad’s old clothes, saying he was about my size and that it would be a shame to throw them out.

But the clothes never really fit.

I never said anything, and I took good care of those clothes just to avoid upsetting her.

Now, I tossed every single one of them into the trash.

Some were yellowed, others had stretched-out collars. They were definitely not the kind of clothes someone my age would wear.

After putting on my new clothes and getting a fresh haircut, I looked at my reflection in the mirror. I felt more determined than ever to take back everything that was mine. I consulted a lawyer.

Maggie had been taking money from me under the pretense of a future marriage, even though she never had any intention of marrying me.

I had even found her posting on social media, openly telling people she was single.

When I confronted her about it, she shamelessly claimed that a relationship was a private matter and didn’t need to be announced to the world.

That’s when I realized I was just one of many guys she kept on the hook.

Given all this, the lawyer said I had a strong case. Even if I couldn’t recover all the money, I could get at least half of it back.