He Gave Her a Million-Dollar House, He Gave Me a 5000 Monthly Allowance Chapter 01

He Gave Her a Million-Dollar House, He Gave Me a 5000 Monthly Allowance Chapter 01

My best friend Melissa became pregnant unmarried, and my boyfriend Pierce Martin, the man who’d always bickered with her, had gone completely quiet.

He’d only drop off baby supplies and snacks from her hometown, and help her move apartments, just like I’d asked him to. No matter how Melissa teased him, he never said a word.

I was about to organize a get-together to patch things up between them when I stumbled onto an online post.

[Pretending every single day with my husband is exhausting. He’s all over me at night, yet we have to act like strangers in front of my best friend during the day.]

[He used to be my best friend’s boyfriend.]

[She’s brilliant and driven, but she weighs him down. When the pressure gets too heavy, he comes to me to unwind.]

[Then we accidentally conceived our child, and he fell madly in love with me. He just bought a luxury mansion fully under my name, paid in full.]

[Meanwhile, my best friend still lives with him in a drafty run-down apartment. All she gets is the small paycheck he hands over each month.]

[We have to keep up this charade to protect her pride.]

My hands shook the second I recognized the profile avatar.

Pierce’s button-up shirt slipped off his shoulders and hit the floor. A long bank statement rolled out from his pocket.

$1,673,800. Wired to Melissa—my best friend.

I’d been foolishly proud, thinking he handed over every cent of his salary to me. I’d begged my parents for money to cover wedding plans, a home down payment, and savings for our future.

All this time, he’d already given his love, his fortune, and that sprawling mansion to another woman.

My phone pinged. Pierce’s monthly salary transfer and his message came through.

[Babe, all my paycheck’s yours this month. Take good care of yourself, okay?]

I clutched the bank statement tight in my hand, opened Venmo, and sent every cent right back.

[Pierce, I don’t want to manage your money anymore.]

—

He spent the whole afternoon blowing up my phone. I ignored every call, unsure what I could possibly say.

He left work half an hour early that evening, carrying my favorite yogurt drink. He found me sitting alone in the living room and wrapped his arms around me.

“What’s wrong, baby? Are you upset because you think I don’t earn enough, that I’m letting you down?”

“Nicole, trust me, this is only temporary. I work overtime nonstop, pushing myself to the limit every single day. I’ll get a raise soon. Then I’ll buy us a big house, get you anything you’ve ever wanted.”

He’d repeated those words countless times. A crushing helplessness washed over me. “Pierce, doesn’t putting on this act for seven years wear you out?”

“What?” Pierce stared back, thoroughly confused.

“Seven years. How tired are you of faking it every single day?”

Pierce fell silent. The only sound in the room came from the spinning electric fan, a shrill, irritating hum.

I walked over and switched it off, then held out the bank statement I’d kept in my pocket. “Aren’t you going to explain?”

Pierce froze on the spot.

“Nicole, I only helped Melissa out because she’s your best friend. There’s no need for you to jump to conclusions.”

“What about your child together? Did you help her have that baby out of consideration for me too?”

All color drained from Pierce’s face. He opened his mouth, struggling to find his voice. “It was just an accident. You know Melissa’s health is fragile. I couldn’t just—”

Melissa’s call cut him off. Through the speaker, a toddler’s muffled voice called out for his daddy.

“Pierce, grab some shrimp on your way over. Julian’s begging for the fried shrimp you make.”

“Get extra, too. You can bring the leftovers to Nicole afterward. She’s been skimping on meals and losing weight, from what I’ve seen. Also pick up some pads for me. I’m on my period this week, so don’t expect too much from me.”

Pierce cut her off awkwardly. “Melissa, I’m at home. Nicole’s right here next to me.”

The line went quiet for one second, then the call ended abruptly.

Tears stung my eyes as I stared hard at Pierce. “How long has this been going on?”

“Nicole, calm down first. It’s not as bad as you think. Don’t—”

“I asked you, how long have you two been together?”

Pierce dodged the question. I snatched his phone and frantically scrolled backward through his chat logs.

One year.

Two years.

Three years.

Six years.

Two thousand, one hundred ninety days.

Every chat message sliced through my nerves like a dull blade.

They first slept together when I sent Pierce to help Melissa find work after her job search fell apart.

The second time they gave in to temptation was the night my grandma had a stroke. I’d panicked, convinced Pierce was stuck at work, and dared not disturb him.

I worked part-time jobs to save up for our marriage and miscarried our baby—all while Pierce sat beside Melissa at her prenatal checkups.

Seven years of loving Pierce with my whole heart, trusting he was the person I’d spend my life with.

In the end, every sacrifice I’d made turned out to be nothing but a joke.