My Boyfriend Gave My House to His Three Childhood Friends Chapter 04

My Boyfriend Gave My House to His Three Childhood Friends Chapter 04

That night, I moved into a temporary apartment provided by my company.

While going through the renovation accounts, I discovered that the total cost had exceeded the original budget by nearly $180,000.

Ethan had told me the overrun was because material prices had gone up.

I trusted him, so whenever he sent me an updated budget, I paid it without questioning a thing.

But as I went through the invoices, I found several material charges for exactly the same amounts.

The suppliers had different names, yet the money ultimately ended up in Ethan’s design studio.

I contacted one of the lumber suppliers.

After checking their records, the person on the phone sounded hesitant.

“Ms Carter, Mr Walker received a fifteen per cent referral commission from us on this project.”

“A commission?”

“Yes. It’s a standard industry fee for designers who bring in a project. Also, although you paid the full cost of the materials, Mr Walker separately applied to us for partial sponsorship by listing the house as a competition project.”

—

After ending the call, I contacted the other suppliers.

There were undisclosed commissions on the tile, lighting, appliances and custom cabinetry.

Two furniture orders had even been supplied by the brands for free, yet Ethan had still charged me the full retail price.

I gathered all the records together.

His so-called free design work had been a business deal from the very beginning.

He’d used my money to renovate the house, entered my property into a design competition, and used my address to register Sophia’s studio.

In the end, he’d even used my home to show everyone just how close the four of them were.

—

The next day, Ethan came to my office.

He placed a property authorisation form on my desk.

“Take the house off the market and I’ll add your fingerprint properly.”

I looked at him without saying anything.

He assumed I was still angry about the night before, so his tone softened.

“I was wrong to lock you out last night. But we’d all had a drink. If you’d come in, we’d have ended up arguing on the spot. I told you to stay at a hotel because I was trying to stop things kicking off.”

—

Even now, he still thought the person who’d been locked out of her own home was the one who would cause trouble.

“I’m selling the house.”

I didn’t change my mind.

The patience vanished from Ethan’s face.

“Then what am I supposed to do about my competition entry?”

So that was why he’d come.

Not because I’d been thrown out of my own home on my birthday.

Not because something my father had left me had nearly been given away.

He was worried about his competition.

“Pull out.”

“Why should I?”

“Because it’s my house.”

His fingers curled tightly.

After a moment, he said, “Isn’t the whole problem that this place doesn’t feel like your home? Fine. I can ask them not to come round as often.”

He paused.

“Or put my name on the title. Once the house actually belongs to both of us, maybe you’ll stop thinking I put them before you.”

—

His logic was almost laughable.

I was the one who’d bought the house.

I was the one who’d been locked out of it.

And somehow, his solution was for me to hand him half the ownership to prove my commitment to him.

“Ethan.”

I slid the records of the commissions and duplicate charges across the desk towards him.

“So how do you explain these?”

He barely made it through the first page before all the colour drained from his face.

—

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