My boyfriend belonged to the untouchables among the capital's elite, with a family fortune worth tens of billions.

To "test" me, he spent seven years never buying me a single gift, never spending a cent on me.

Even a stop at a convenience store for condoms had to be split down the middle.

Then, my mother fell critically ill. I borrowed from every friend and relative I could, but I was still two thousand short to cover the surgery fees.

No matter how much I pleaded, he refused to lend me the money.

I arranged my mother's funeral on my own.

When I went back to pack my belongings, I accidentally found a list of gifts he had bought for the young woman next door.

A private luxury estate. Designer handbags. Jewelry worth hundreds of millions.

There was also a voice chat with his friend.

"Caleb, is it true Jessica actually humbled herself and begged you for two thousand?"

Caleb Brooks let out a low, amused laugh, his tone lazy and indifferent.

"Nevaeh wasn't wrong. Anyone who goes around begging over two thousand — what else is she if not a gold digger?

"We've only been together seven years and she's already trying to get money out of me."

So that was the truth.

Seven years of so-called testing, it seemed, had been sparked by nothing more than a few manipulative words from a young woman next door.

However, it no longer mattered.

The moment my mother passed away, I had already decided to leave him.

1

I had just tucked the gift list away when the front door burst open.

Caleb Brooks stumbled in, a little tipsy, and plopped down next to me.

"You were gone for a few days. I bet you thought you wouldn't come back.

"However, you missed me too much, didn't you? You just had to come back."

He almost said out loud that I returned just to con him out of his money.

Maybe he'd always seen me as just a girl after his cash.

Without even glancing at him, I scooted away, avoiding the arm he tried to drape over me.

He looked at his hand, then at me, confused.

He figured I was just upset about the $2,000.

"I'm a little thirsty from all the drinking. Go fetch me some lemon soda," he said.

He was always like that, bossy and dismissive. A typical spoiled rich kid.

However, when he first pursued me seven years ago, he pretended to be poor.

He had me completely fooled.

"Jess, I've got nothing, and I can't promise you a future.

"However, we can work hard and make a good life together."

I believed his honest face back then and agreed.

I needed money, but I could get by on my own hard work.

I was touched by his promise to work hard together.

However, the longer we were together, the more I realized that he was not like everyone else.

He would turn his nose up at anything cheap.

He would make me do things that he could easily do himself.

It all clicked when I saw him step out of a fancy car and into a swanky club, treated like a star.

That was when I knew our relationship was built on lies.

He was always afraid that I was just after his money.

Caleb spoke up again, snapping me back to the present.

"If you need money in the future, just ask me. Don't use your mom's sickness as an excuse.

"You're not scared of getting what's coming to you, huh?"

His words seemed so silly to me now.

I looked up at him with an icy stare.

"Would you actually give me the money if I asked?"

He paused, looking unsure for a moment.

However, then, as if proving a point, he gave me a mocking glance.

"Nevaeh was right. You're only with me for my cash."

He said that and sent me a transfer of $1.88 on his phone.

The note with the transfer contained two words: "Gold Digger."

I had been with him for seven whole years and had not spent a dime of his money.

I even gave him gifts on holidays and anniversaries.

He took them like he was entitled to them, but he never got me anything in return.

He would mockingly ask if I thought it was a man's duty to buy gifts for his girlfriend.

That was how he looked at me: a gold digger.

After all, he was an heir with billions to his name.

I thought about the gifts he had bought for Nevaeh Smith.

I thought about my mom, who had suffered so much from her illness and died in pain because we could not afford her treatment.

I could not stand to be near him a second longer.

I got up to leave, but then there was noise at the door.

Nevaeh came in, taking off her coat to reveal a sexy outfit underneath.

However, when she saw me, she was startled and quickly put her coat back on. "Jess, why are you here?"

I turned to Caleb.

"If I'm not mistaken, this is our place, isn't it?

"Do you give out the password to just anyone and allow them to waltz in whenever they want?"

Nevaeh looked like I had accused her of the worst crime in the world.

She dashed over and plopped down next to Caleb, taking hold of his arm. "Caleb, I’m not just some stranger to you, right? I only forgot my house key and needed a place to crash for the night.

"And think about it, if you didn't agree to split the rent, Jess would be stuck paying it all by herself.

"Really, Jess is the one who's getting a good deal here."

I wondered how many times I had been talked about like this behind my back.

Caleb listened and did not think he was in the wrong. In fact, he agreed with Nevaeh. "Nevaeh's got a point. I've got my own place, and sharing the rent is just throwing money away.

"It's no different than paying someone to sleep with you."

With that, he whipped out his payment code and shoved it in my face.

"You don't want people to think you're just after money, do you?

"Give me back all the rent I've paid for the past seven years."

The tiny apartment, barely forty square meters, was our first home together.

After college, I stayed in the capital to make more money. Back then, I could only afford a tiny place, far from the city center.

Caleb complained that it was too far to come see me and that the place was so bad it ruined the mood to even be close. He wanted us to rent a bigger spot together. As such, I ended up paying higher rent and even got a part-time job to make ends meet.

Now, he wanted all that rent money from the past seven years. He even thought he had been paying to be with me and that he had been shortchanged.

"Caleb, what have I been to you these past seven years?" The tears welling up in my eyes were just for the time I felt I had wasted.

Seven years of my life, gone on. Wasted on someone like him.

The hand reaching out to me shook just as my tears started to fall.

He pressed his lips together and pulled his hand back.

"I was just teasing you. It’s no big deal..."

He did not get to finish his words.

Nevaeh tutted twice, her face twisted with scorn.

"You say you're not after Caleb's money, but without him, you couldn't even dream of living in such a nice place."

"Caleb, you really should end the lease next month. You can't keep letting strangers mooch off you.

"Or maybe Jess should put it in writing. That seems fair."

If it was not against the law to hit people, I would have loved to slap them both.

However, if I did, they would surely try to squeeze money out of me.

Rich folks lacking class loved playing nasty games.

Seven years was enough. I was done with this charade.

"I won't put it in writing. If you want money, go ahead and sue me. Let's see if the court takes your side.

"I won’t be staying in the house anymore, Ms. Smith. Since you're so keen on spending the night, don't forget to pay Caleb the rent.

"Otherwise, you'll just be another moocher."

I was about to walk away when Caleb grabbed me. His teasing look was gone, replaced by a stern warmth.

"Jess, do you have to be like this? Nevaeh and I were only joking.

"Think about it. If you leave, you'll never find a place as nice as this again."

I was so wrong, so incredibly wrong.

I should not have dropped the idea of breaking up when I learned Caleb was a rich heir, charmed by his words.

I should not have believed in an 'equal love' that was not supposed to be about money.

I should not remember the coldest days of winter, when he would warm my feet with his belly.

The times when I had cramps, when he would gently soothe me with his warm hands.

We really did love each other once, and we had our happy times.

However, our love could not mix with money, not even a little bit.

"Caleb, we should break up."

Only when I said those words did he stop smiling that sly smile.

Then, his face got all panicky.

"Break up? Jess, you're actually breaking up with me?

"I won't accept that. What gives you the right to leave me? You can't just get mad and call it quits."

He always acted like he was better than everyone else. Like dating me was some kind of gift he was giving.

However, I just looked at him emotionlessly.

"I'm not mad, but since you think I'm after your money all the time, you should find someone who matches your wealth and have a fair relationship."

I did not want to talk to him anymore. I turned around, went back to my room, and started packing.

About half a minute later, I heard him yell.

"Jess, you're going to regret this."

I did not listen to his threats, and I did not care when he stormed out with Nevaeh and slammed the door.

I had put up with a love that felt like a crime for seven years.

I never blamed Caleb for not saving my mom.

He did not have to lend me the money.

However, when I needed help the most, even when I begged him with a promise to pay him back to save my mom, he just ignored me, all the while thinking that I was just after his money.

That was when I gave up on him and on our seven years of love.

In the middle of the night, with all my bags, I walked down the empty streets.

In the big city, I had no place to call home and, without my mom or love, there was no reason to stay.

Every second here just made me sadder.

With nowhere to go, I sat in the hospital lobby all night.

The first thing I did when I got to work was quit.

My supervisor was shocked when he got my resignation letter.

"You’re quitting your job? Did Mr. Brooks say it was okay for you to quit?

"Oh, right, since you're leaving, this month's bonus won't be much. We'll put the rest of your pay on a card."