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The Test That Broke Us
Novelix
Completed
"When I dated Ethan Whitmore, the youngest son of one of New York’s old-money families, his girl best friend, Chloe Bennett, told everyone I was a gold digger. Later, Ethan said he had gone bankrupt and was buried under nearly a million dollars in debt. Chloe threw the collection notices in my face. “He’s broke now. You don’t have to keep pretending you’re madly in love with him.” I ignored her. I sold my car, emptied my savings, worked my day job, then took night shifts delivering food to help Ethan pay off his debt. He held me and said, “Once the debt is gone, we’ll get married.” I believed him. Until one night, while organizing his repayment documents, I found out the creditor’s receiving account was tied to Ethan himself. I was about to confront him when I heard one of his friends ask, “Chloe, didn’t you say Ethan’s girlfriend was a gold digger? Why hasn’t she left him?” Chloe laughed. “You don’t get it. The debt isn’t paid off yet. This is how you keep the fish on the line.” “I know women like her. Whether she’s a gold digger or not, we’ll see when this is over.” Ethan didn’t argue. He only nodded. “Chloe’s right. There are too many women after money these days. Once Ava helps me pay everything off, she’ll have passed our gold-digger test.” So every dollar I had earned on three hours of sleep, every payment I had made by draining myself dry, had only been a bargaining chip in their test of my love. I called Adrian Blackwood, Manhattan’s most untouchable heir. “You once said you liked me. Is it too late to choose you now?”"
Chapters (3)
第1章
When I dated Ethan Whitmore, the youngest son of one of New York’s old-money families, his girl best friend, Chloe Bennett, told everyone I was a gold digger.
Later, Ethan said he had gone bankrupt and was buried under nearly a million dollars in debt. Chloe threw the collection notices in my face.
“He’s broke now. You don’t have to keep pretending you’re madly in love with him.”
I ignored her.
I sold my car, emptied my savings, worked my day job, then took night shifts delivering food to help Ethan pay off his debt.
He held me and said, “Once the debt is gone, we’ll get married.”
I believed him.
Until one night, while organizing his repayment documents, I found out the creditor’s receiving account was tied to Ethan himself.
I was about to confront him when I heard one of his friends ask, “Chloe, didn’t you say Ethan’s girlfriend was a gold digger? Why hasn’t she left him?”
Chloe laughed. “You don’t get it. The debt isn’t paid off yet. This is how you keep the fish on the line.”
“I know women like her. Whether she’s a gold digger or not, we’ll see when this is over.”
Ethan didn’t argue.
He only nodded.
“Chloe’s right. There are too many women after money these days. Once Ava helps me pay everything off, she’ll have passed our gold-digger test.”
So every dollar I had earned on three hours of sleep, every payment I had made by draining myself dry, had only been a bargaining chip in their test of my love.
I called Adrian Blackwood, Manhattan’s most untouchable heir.
“You once said you liked me. Is it too late to choose you now?”
For two seconds, there was only silence.
“Ava Summers.” His voice was low. “Have you thought this through?”
I gripped my phone until my nails dug into my palm. “I’ll end this relationship first. I’m not coming to you to get back at Ethan.”
“Then handle that first,” Adrian said. He didn’t push, didn’t make promises while I was vulnerable. “Three days from now, I’ll pick you up.”
The call ended.
I opened my banking app.
Balance: one hundred twenty-seven dollars.
Not even enough for a new apartment deposit.
I stared at the scheduled eight-thousand-dollar payment due in three days and tapped cancel.
This time, I wasn’t paying.
When I got home, I had just pulled off my rain-soaked sneakers. The skin on my heel had been rubbed raw, and my sock was stuck to the wound.
Ethan came in carrying takeout. The moment he saw my foot, he frowned.
“How did it get this bad?”
He crouched and carefully cut away the sock, then dabbed medicine over the wound with practiced hands. The familiar tenderness made my nose sting.
Three years ago, when I sprained my ankle, he had carried me for blocks and stayed awake all night because he was worried.
Now I worked all day, delivered food all night, and slept three hours a day.
All for his fake debt.
Ethan pushed the takeout toward me. “I already ate. You have it.”
I didn’t move.
I couldn’t stop myself from asking, “Ethan, in your heart, do I truly love you? Or do I only love your money?”
“Of course I believe you love me.”
He answered without hesitation and even smiled as he rubbed my hair.
“Don’t overthink. There’s only eight thousand left. Once it’s paid, we’ll start planning the wedding.”
I looked at him.
Even when he lied, his eyes were gentle.
“Let’s break up.”
His hand froze in midair.
A second later, he gave a helpless laugh. “Did all those delivery shifts fry your brain? What are you throwing a fit about now?”
“I’m not throwing a fit.” I pushed my phone toward him. “I canceled the last payment. Your debt is yours to pay.”
The smile faded from his face.
“Ava, it’s only eight thousand. You’ve come this far. Why get petty at the very end?”
“Then why don’t you pay it yourself?”
“You know my situation. And didn’t you say you loved me? That you were willing to go through hardship with me?”
Ethan stood and opened a job posting on his phone.
“I asked a friend to get you an overnight inventory shift. Go tonight. It pays twelve hundred. Do a few nights and it’s covered.”
The wound on my heel was still bleeding.
He saw it.
And he still sent me the address.
A while later, the doorbell rang.
Chloe walked in on high heels. Her gaze swept over the takeout on the table, and she let out a cold laugh.
“I heard someone doesn’t want to pay anymore.”
“Ethan’s only been broke for a little while, and you already can’t keep up the act? A gold digger is still a gold digger. No matter how devoted you pretend to be, you came for the Whitmore money.”
I looked up, anger rising. “Why should I pay his debt?”
Chloe acted as if she had heard the funniest joke in the world. “Don’t you love him?”
“Loving him means I should take on his debt?”
“What else? Did you think Ethan was marrying you so you could just enjoy his family’s money?”
I turned to Ethan. I needed to hear his answer.
“Is that what you think too?”
Ethan avoided my eyes, impatience showing in his voice.
“Chloe’s words are harsh, but she’s not wrong. Marriage means two people carry things together. It’s eight thousand dollars. There’s no need to make it this ugly.”
“Eight thousand dollars?”
I forced a smile.
“I sold my car, emptied my savings, and paid back over nine hundred thousand for you. I slept three hours a night and worked myself sick. Now there’s eight thousand left, and you call it nothing?”
Ethan’s expression stiffened.
Chloe stepped in front of him.
“Stop acting like selling your car was some great sacrifice. Trading a car for the chance to become Mrs. Whitmore is a pretty good investment. Now that Ethan has no money, you can’t wait for the payoff anymore, so you’re turning on him.”
I stopped arguing.
I went to the bedroom, pulled out my suitcase, and packed my clothes one by one.
When I picked up Ethan’s jacket, a folded receipt slipped from the pocket.
A luxury restaurant.
Dinner for two.
Total: eight thousand six hundred dollars.
Chloe had made the reservation.
Ethan had paid.
I stared at the number, then at the overnight job address on my phone.
Ethan wanted me to drag my bleeding foot through a night shift for the final eight thousand.
But that eight thousand wasn’t even enough to cover one dinner for him and Chloe.
第2章
The next day at work, I passed out at my desk.
When I opened my eyes again, the sharp smell of disinfectant filled my nose.
The doctor frowned at me. “Low blood sugar and severe sleep deprivation. If you keep going like this, your body is going to give out.”
I took a photo of the medical report and sent it to Ethan.
Ten minutes later, he rushed into the exam room, sweat on his forehead.
“Ava, what’s wrong? Where does it hurt?”
He grabbed my hand, panic in his eyes so real that for a moment, I almost believed yesterday’s $8,600 receipt had been a hallucination.
“The doctor said low blood sugar and severe sleep deprivation.”
“Then don’t go to the night shift.”
The words had barely left Ethan’s mouth when Chloe walked in.
She glanced at the report and laughed. “How convenient. She doesn’t faint earlier or later—only when the last eight thousand is due.”
Ethan frowned. “Chloe, don’t say that.”
“Am I wrong? It’s low blood sugar. People get that all the time. She just wants you to feel guilty so she can dodge the last payment.”
Ethan hesitated.
Then his hand slowly loosened around mine.
I looked at him. I had expected the answer, but it still hurt.
“You think I’m faking too?”
“That’s not what I mean.” He looked away. “Rest for half a day. Just don’t be late for the shift tonight. Do these few days, and it’ll all be over.”
I ripped the cotton pad from the back of my hand.
Blood immediately welled up.
He saw it, but he only said, “Remember to eat,” then left with Chloe.
That evening, I had just returned to the apartment when the door was pushed open.
Ethan came in with Chloe and several friends. They froze when they saw me at home, then immediately started questioning me.
“Aren’t you supposed to be at work tonight? Why are you here?”
I gave a cold laugh and reminded him again.
“Ethan, I said I’m not going. And from now on, I won’t pay another cent of your debt.”
Before Ethan could speak, Chloe stepped forward.
“Everyone, look. This is what a gold digger looks like. She says she’ll suffer with him, but she won’t even pay the debt.”
“Ethan and I have broken up,” I said. “I won’t pay his money back anymore.”
At the word broken up, the room went quiet.
Then someone scoffed.
“So now that Ethan has no money, you want to break up, but you still say you’re not a gold digger?”
“You sold your car and acted devoted. Now that there’s no reward, you’re done pretending.”
I looked at Ethan, still hoping he would defend me just once.
He said nothing.
“Ethan, I paid over nine hundred thousand for you. In your friends’ mouths, that was all just an act?”
His face turned ugly.
Finally, he said, “You did give a lot.”
Chloe instantly sneered.
“Exactly. She gave so much, so she can’t bear to walk away. Now she’s quitting because she can’t keep acting. She won’t even pay the last eight thousand. Does she love you? No. She only loves money.”
The tiny wavering in Ethan’s eyes disappeared.
He stared at me, his voice dark.
“Ava, say it in front of everyone. Are you paying the last eight thousand or not?”
“No.”
I went into the bedroom and locked the door.
My IDs, bank cards, employment contract—I packed everything that belonged to me into my bag.
Outside the door, someone lowered their voice. “Ethan, she’s already like this. Are you still not ending the test?”
The living room fell silent.
Ethan sounded uncertain. “Maybe we should stop. I’ll tell her the truth. It’s only eight thousand anyway.”
“We can’t stop,” Chloe said through the crack in the door. “The last eight thousand is the key. If you soften now, she’ll use the fact that she sold her car and paid the debt against you for the rest of your life.”
After a long while, Ethan answered.
“Fine. We’ll wait.”
My phone lit up.
The chat showed “typing” at the top, then went blank.
He had deleted whatever he meant to say.
I typed one sentence and sent it.
“Ethan, we’ve broken up. I won’t pay your debt anymore.”
The notification sounded outside the door.
Then came Ethan’s careless laugh.
“She sold the car and drained her savings. If she leaves now, all that suffering was for nothing.”
He paused, certain.
“She did all of this so she could marry me. She won’t leave.”
So deep down, Ethan had always believed everything I did came with an agenda.
It didn’t matter anymore.
I was leaving soon.
The next morning, I called Adrian.
“I’ve broken up with Ethan.”
第3章
“Okay,” Adrian said through the phone. “What time are you leaving tonight?”
“Ten.”
“I’ll pick you up.”
I gripped my phone and asked nervously, “Adrian, aren’t you afraid I’m using you?”
“Ava.” He paused. “Leaving someone is your freedom. As for whether you’re using me, time will prove it.”
After the call ended, I stood under the glaring sun for a long time.
Real respect didn’t require me to sell my car.
It didn’t require me to stay up all night.
It didn’t require half my life as proof.
I went back to the apartment, gathered my documents, and backed up every transfer record for the more than nine hundred thousand dollars.
Once my paycheck hit, I would leave.
That evening, Chloe sent me the address of a restaurant and said she needed to talk.
I arrived at the private dining room and opened the door—only to be hit by a burst of confetti.
“Happy birthday, Chloe!”
The room was full of Ethan’s friends.
Chloe sat in the center, wearing a diamond necklace. Under the lights, the stones flashed so brightly they hurt my eyes.
Someone recognized me and whistled. “Look who’s here. The devoted girlfriend who sold her car to save her man.”
Chloe touched the necklace and smiled.
“Don’t call that devotion. It’s an investment. A hundred-thousand-dollar car for the chance to marry into the Whitmores? Pretty good deal.”
Laughter exploded around the table.
Ethan sat beside her and didn’t stop them.
I stared at the necklace. “Did you buy that?”
Ethan set down his glass. “It’s Chloe’s birthday. It’s just a gift.”
“Aren’t you bankrupt?”
The room went silent.
Ethan’s eyes flickered.
Chloe quickly laughed. “It’s fake. A few hundred dollars. What, you want to control that too? You haven’t even married into the Whitmore family, and you’re already auditing his spending?”
I looked at Ethan.
“Yesterday you wanted me to drag my bleeding foot to earn the last eight thousand. Today you have money to throw her a birthday dinner. Ethan, say it clearly in front of everyone. Between me and her, who is your girlfriend?”
His face darkened.
“Chloe and I are just friends. After I went bankrupt, she helped me a lot. It’s her birthday. Do you really have to embarrass everyone?”
I almost laughed.
His bankruptcy was fake, yet he used it like a noble excuse.
“Enough.” Chloe pulled a document from her bag and pushed it toward me. “Sign it.”
I lowered my head.
Voluntary Gift Confirmation.
The agreement stated that every dollar I had transferred before was a gift made of my own free will. I could never claim it as debt repayment, demand repayment from Ethan, or seek compensation.
I flipped through the pages.
At the end, I saw Ethan’s signature already there.
“Why would I sign this?”
Ethan’s hand tightened around his glass.
Chloe cut in. “Because you’re a gold digger. Sure, you paid money for Ethan, but what if he gets rich again later and you use it to blackmail him? Are you signing or not?”
“So you didn’t ask me here to talk. You were afraid I’d ask for the money back.”
Ethan finally spoke.
“Ava, if you truly love me, why are you so obsessed with getting the money back?”
The last dull ache in my chest disappeared.
He knew the debt was fake, yet he still wanted me to personally give up my right to hold him accountable.
I photographed the agreement and account information, then tossed the pen back onto the table.
“I’m not signing.”
“Ava Summers,” Ethan said coldly. “If you walk out that door today, don’t expect me to chase you.”
I didn’t look back.
Before the door closed, I heard Chloe ask, “You’re really not going after her?”
Ethan scoffed. “No need. Once she cools down, she’ll come back and apologize.”
Outside the restaurant, my phone buzzed.
Ethan had sent a message.
“Transfer the last eight thousand tomorrow morning, and I’ll keep my promise to marry you. Don’t make me think you really are a gold digger.”
I screenshotted it and sent it to my attorney along with the photos of the agreement.
“Please trace this receiving account.”