Wait…Why Did Everyone I Love Suddenly Call Me a Bitch?! novel Chapter 48

Chapter 1

Three years after our breakup, the court ordered me to repay my billionaire ex-boyfriend $107,023 for expenses during our relationship.

That extra twenty-three bucks? That was from the day I wanted a candy apple on the streets of LA.

The ones at Santa Monica Pier were $23 each-I couldn’t justify spending that much. He’d laughed, called me cute, and bought it for me anyway.

Now that same memory was a knife he was twisting into my chest.

He wasn’t suing me because he needed the money. His wife was bored, so he turned me into her little plaything-something to torture for fun.

He knew my body was falling apart.

He knew I’d been drowning in depression ever since my parents died in that crash-that I couldn’t sleep without pills.

He knew I’d tried to kill myself once, that I’d been rushed to the ICU with a critical condition notice hanging over my head.

And he still did this to me.

What he didn’t know? That $107,023 was every last cent I had. It was also the bill I hadn’t paid yet for my next round of chemo.

This lawsuit-the one crushing me in whatever time I had left-was my punishment for loving the wrong man.

After the court handed down its verdict, I ran into Jackson Reed in the hallway.

He’d changed so much over the years.

The broke student who used to hustle startups out of cheap subsidized housing overseas? He was now a tech billionaire-a tycoon in the AI and clean energy world.

He stood there in a sharp, tailored suit, his gaze ice-cold.

I froze mid-step, instinctively trying to pretend I hadn’t seen him and slip past.

But his voice cut through the air, cold and detached:

“Do you regret it now?”

I blinked, caught off guard.

“What?”

Jackson’s lips curled into a mocking smile.

“Dumping me for money back then. Bet you’re regretting it now, huh?”

The late autumn wind sliced through the air like a blade. I clenched my fingers, but the chill still seeped into my bones.

I took a deep breath and forced a perfect smile.

“Mr. Reed, I’ve already paid you back. And we broke up. Aren’t you worried your wife might get the wrong idea hearing you talk like this?”

I turned-and there she was.

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Isabella Montero, standing a few feet away, looking like she wanted to rip my head off.

But within seconds, she smoothed it over with a sweet smile, burying the venom underneath.

Isabella clicked over in her sky high heels and looped her arm possessively through Jackson’s.

“Babe, so about this $107,023-what should I blow it on? Clothes? Shoes? Or maybe that designer bag I was eyeing last week?”

She shot me a pointed look, her voice dripping with fake pity.

“Wait… that’s not even enough! Babe, come on… that’s all you gave your ex? You could’ve at least been a little generous. This isn’t even enough to buy me a cute hair clip~”

Jackson and I had been together for five years. Back then, he was studying in LA, and I’d fly out to see him every single month.

That $107,023 he dragged me to court over? Most of it was cash he’d scraped together working double shifts-money he’d given me for plane tickets.

Now, he and Isabella had dug up every Venmo receipt, every bank transfer, and had their lawyer tear me apart in court to get it all back.

That hair clip she’s wearing? Latest Chanel drop. $150,000.

She’s right. What they took from me wouldn’t even scratch the surface.

Jackson reached up and gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, voice soft.

“Keep it as pocket money, babe. If it’s not enough, I’ll top you off.”

Isabella’s face lit up. She planted a kiss on his cheek.

“You’re the best, babe!”

Then she turned to me, her smile sticky-sweet and venomous.

“Ava, I’m so sorry about all this. We really don’t need the money. But Jackson and I made a bet, and he just wanted to make me happy, so he… well, you know.”

She came up and took my hand, her gaze full of bragging satisfaction and gloating delight.

“Ever since we got married, Jackson won’t let me work. Says I’m too precious for that. So now I just spend my days doing skincare routines, getting spa treatments, jetting off on vacations… It gets boring, you know? A girl’s gotta find something to entertain herself.”

She grabbed my hand, her eyes gleaming with satisfaction.

“You’ve been such a fun little toy, Ava. And honestly? You helped me realize just how much my husband adores me.”

My chest tightened. It felt like a thousand tiny needles were stabbing into my heart, slow and relentless.

First love? What a joke.

I was just their entertainment-a prop to prove how much Jackson worshipped his wife.

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