He Gave Her a Million-Dollar House, He Gave Me a 5000 Monthly Allowance Chapter 02

He Gave Her a Million-Dollar House, He Gave Me a 5000 Monthly Allowance Chapter 02

Pierce sighed and stood up straight. “I admit I messed up. Name whatever amount you want as compensation. Is 880,000 enough? If not, how about 1.88 million? I can pay it. Pick any house or car you like. Just stop being angry.”

I stared at him in disbelief. “Do you honestly think this is about money?”

Pierce raked a hand roughly through his hair, frustrated. “When I couldn’t afford our wedding, you fought with me. Now that I can, you still fight. What exactly do you want from me, Nicole? Are you determined to drive me crazy?”

“Who’s losing their mind here? I’ve been played for a fool for years, kept completely in the dark. You already have a child with her, yet you planned to marry me anyway. What exactly am I to you, Pierce?”

My words hit home. His composure shattered, and he hurled the yogurt container onto the floor. It struck the glass table, shattering it instantly. Shards sliced my calf, blood trickling down my leg as yogurt splattered across the tiles.

When he saw the blood on my leg, Pierce snapped back to his senses. He rushed to grab the first-aid kit to treat my wound.

“Nicole, please don’t dwell on this. Melissa said she’s satisfied having her son, she won’t interfere with us. We can go back to how things used to be—”

Melissa called again before he finished speaking.

“What is it now?” Pierce asked, irritation thick in his tone.

There was a pause on the other end; she clearly hadn’t expected him to sound so aggravated.

Then Julian’s screaming wail burst through the phone speaker. Pierce’s features softened instantly. “I’m sorry, baby. Daddy didn’t mean to snap.”

He stood up anxiously, knocking over the iodine bottle. Brown liquid streamed across the floor.

Melissa’s gentle, hurt voice came through the receiver. “I hate to bother you, Pierce, but Julian won’t stop crying for his dad. I don’t know what else to do.”

Pierce clenched his jaw, glanced at me with obvious conflict, and then made his decision. “Clean your cut yourself. I’ll be right back.”

I said nothing, standing silent by the window. I watched him hurry out. He caught his jacket on the e-bike parked by the building entrance, and he flew into a rage, kicking the bike over.

That e-bike was the gift he’d bought me our first year dating.

It couldn’t shield me from wind or rain, but it meant I no longer needed to squeeze onto crowded subway trains. I’d been overjoyed the day I got it, riding it around the block again and again, laughing while he jogged behind me.

The love and happiness I’d believed in… just like that bike, overturned and shattered on the pavement.

I turned back inside. His computer monitor was still lit, the chat program icon flashing nonstop. Pierce had forgotten to log out.

My hands trembled as I clicked open the window. His conversation with Melissa loaded immediately.

Melissa: [What do we do now?]

Pierce: [We have to lock this down with a marriage to keep Nicole steady.]

Melissa: [Are you really going to marry her? But we just got our marriage license.]

She sent another message right after: [I don’t mean to compete with Nicole. I know she brought me to New York when I barely graduated high school; I wouldn’t have this life without her. I just worry Julian will suffer discrimination without a father for school and friendships. Don’t stress over it though. It’s our fate. We can accept it.]

Pierce replied with a comforting pat sticker: [You’re every bit as good as Nicole. I’ll never let you or Julian suffer. I’ll never make it legal with Nicole. I won’t hold an official wedding with her. I promise Julian won’t face any hardship.]

Melissa: [But she knows about us now. What if she finds out the license isn’t real?]

Pierce: [She fought with her parents for our engagement. I’m her whole world. All she’s dreamed of for years is marrying me. Once she gets that license, she’ll be overjoyed. She’ll never suspect a thing. Look how attached she still is to that beat-up e-bike I bought her on a whim.]

Melissa sent an obedient nod.

Tears dropped onto the keyboard one after another. I wiped them away roughly and typed, letter by letter: [You two disgusting liars. Why don’t you rot.]

The program crashed the second I hit send.

Pierce’s incoming call popped up instantly; I declined. Melissa called too; I ignored her as well.

That same night, I packed my luggage and moved out.

When we first moved into this cramped rental apartment, I’d joked with Pierce. “I won’t buy too much furniture. It’d look terrible if I got into a fight and you kicked me out, hauling suitcases everywhere.”

Who could have guessed it would come true.

Rain poured heavily that night. I dragged my suitcase through the downpour. Rainwater soaked into my open wound, the sting sharp and relentless.

It struck me: the day we moved into this apartment, it had rained just as hard.

He’d given me the best raincoat and boots he owned. He carried all our bags, shielding me from the passing cars and the downpour as we walked.

When we reached the building, he was soaked head to toe, a total mess. I hadn’t gotten a single drop of rain on me.