"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."

I scrunched my eyebrows together, trying to make sense of it all. I was so confused.

What did they mean, put it on a card?

Since when did I have a bonus?

However, the biggest question was… What was Mr. Brooks up to?

My supervisor looked just as puzzled as I felt.

"Aren't you and Mr. Brooks a couple? He's the one who told the finance department to split up your pay.

"They give you your regular pay, but the bonus and any extra, they put on a different card. He said you wanted to save.

"I never would've guessed you had a boyfriend like Mr. Brooks and that you'd be so careful with money. That's pretty cool."

It turned out that all these years, I was only getting the salary from when I first started.

I kept asking for a raise, not knowing that my pay hadn’t increased not because I was not working hard, but because Caleb had been moving it to another card.

When I finally asked for my pay records, I noticed the bonus section. It showed a big, shiny $2,000.

Just a few days earlier, I had been scrambling to come up with that last $2,000 and had fallen behind on the hospital bill.

Because of that, my mom did not get her surgery in time and passed away.

The craziest part? The total of all the bonuses Caleb kept from me over seven years would have been more than enough to pay for my mom's treatment.

I had been so silly.

Silly enough to just keep working hard, scared of losing my job and not having money to live.

Silly enough to be tricked by Caleb and not even know it.

I did not want him to think I was after his money, so I never touched it, only to find out he took what I earned.

I stayed in that fake, hurtful relationship for seven whole years.

I clutched my paycheck, ready to confront Caleb, but he strolled up without a care in the world.

"Jess, we had a tiny spat, and you stormed off, threatening to quit," he said.

"It looks like you've got quite the temper."

Nevaeh, trailing behind him, wore a grin that said she loved seeing me in trouble.

She sauntered over, pretending to care, and said. "Jess, that's pretty cold of you. You're spending Caleb's money and living in a house he got for you.

"Could you even make it here in the city without Caleb?"

People without shame could lie so easily, without even a blush.

I was so mad I had to laugh, and was about to snap back. However, Caleb cut me off.

"Nevaeh's right. Without me, you'd have been gone long ago," he said.

"Let's just say you're having a bad day. I'll give you a break and not dock your pay. Come on home with me."

The clearer Caleb's true colors became, the more I saw my own blindness over those seven years.

People around them started to gossip and point.

When Caleb did nothing to stop them, they got louder.

"Mr. Brooks just hid who he was so Jessica wouldn't feel bad. He's always cared that much about her."

"She's living off Mr. Brooks, getting mad at him, and still wants more."

"She thinks she can become something special, but without Mr. Brooks, she's nothing."

The more they talked, the prouder Caleb looked.

Nevaeh kept egging them on, heaping false blame on me.

"Jess, weren't you the one who told a fib about your mom being super sick, just to borrow 2000 bucks from Caleb?

"You sure know how to make a buck and still act like you're the good guy. You're pretty slick."

Her words hit the room like tossing ice water into a frying pan, and everything just blew up.

Everyone glared at me like I was the bad guy, and the mean words just kept coming.

I glanced at Caleb. He did not seem to care at all.

It almost felt like Nevaeh was saying what he was thinking, and that made me feel even worse.

I forced a weird smile onto my face.

I was about to say something when Caleb grabbed me, acting all nice like he was trying to smooth things over.

"Forget about it. What's done is done. I'm not hurting for cash.

"The next time you need money, just ask me straight up. No need for stories."

Caleb's words made everyone even madder. They thought I was being ungrateful.

"Right, Mr. Brooks is loaded. Just ask him for money. There’s no need to make up such a sad story."

"Making up stuff about your own mom for cash? That's just wrong."

"I can't believe Jessica would do something like this. I thought she was careful with money and I even used to share my snacks with her."

"She's the kind of person Mr. Brooks should dump. She’ll find out how just tough it is in the big city."

I saw my old work friends piling on too.

Then I thought about everything Caleb had done.

Suddenly, it all seemed so pointless.

Even if I showed him my paycheck right now, he and Nevaeh would still find a way to get everyone to keep putting me down.

I quietly tucked my paycheck away.

I looked up and gave Caleb a small smile.

"We've been together for seven years. You should figure out how much money you've really spent on me.

"If you can't remember spending anything on me, then I'd like the hundreds of thousands you owe me back, please.

"If not, get ready for a lawsuit, whether it's you or your company."

He always said he did not mix feelings with money.

However, money seemed to be on his mind all the time.

This guy, who others saw as a big spender with endless cash, was actually using the money I had saved for my mom's emergency fund.

Caleb looked worried after thinking hard for a while.

He could not recall a time he spent money on me, as he had not even been willing to buy an umbrella without splitting the cost.

I realized it was not that rich people are stingier, but that I was not worth a cent of his money.

He might have wanted to say more, but I was done listening.

As I turned to walk away, Nevaeh pushed me out of nowhere.

I stumbled and fell onto the ground.

"Jess, stop making things up. Caleb doesn't owe you money.

"Spreading lies, huh? Aren't you scared we'll call the cops on you?

"If you end up in jail or the hospital, who's going to take care of your mom, the one waiting for you to make money?

"You should apologize to Caleb right now!"

Nevaeh thought she could scare me.

However, I had nothing left to lose.

Just then, my supervisor walked by, saw Caleb, and joined the crowd.

He was holding some paperwork.

"Mr. Brooks, Jessica's mom died a few days ago. You haven't signed off on the employee hardship payment.

"And about Jessica asking for a $2000 advance on her salary, I took it back like you said.

"It's a shame, though. Jessica's mom was just $2000 short for her surgery."