My Boyfriend Gave My House to His Three Childhood Friends Chapter 05

My Boyfriend Gave My House to His Three Childhood Friends Chapter 05

Ethan stayed silent for a long time before finally speaking.

“Supplier commissions are normal in this industry.”

“What about the duplicate charges?”

“My assistant made a mistake.”

“And the furniture the brands gave you for nothing? Why did you still charge me full price for that?”

His lips tightened.

“The studio had only just got going. I was only borrowing it to tide us over.”

“You weren’t exactly short of money.”

I looked at him.

Buying that house had used up almost everything my father had left me.

It wasn’t that the money meant nothing to me.

I’d simply never imagined I’d need to protect myself from the man I was planning to marry.

When I didn’t respond, Ethan reached for my hand.

“Once I win the prize money from the competition, I’ll pay it all back. If you sell the house now, you’re not just ruining my project. Sophia’s livestreaming career will take a hit as well.”

—

I pulled my hand away.

“What has any of that got to do with me?”

He froze.

Maybe, in his mind, I was still supposed to be the same person I’d always been, the one who fixed every problem for them the moment he asked.

“Erin, you’ve changed.” His voice dropped. “You never used to keep on at me over things like this.”

I nodded.

“Because before, I thought we were going to get married and build a life together.”

Hope appeared on his face at once.

“We still can. Put my name on the title, and we’ll put all of this behind us.”

I stared at him and finally understood.

He didn’t believe he’d done anything wrong.

He simply wanted to use marriage to make everything he’d taken from me seem acceptable.

“I’ll have my lawyer work out exactly how much you owe me.” I paused. “As for us, we’re finished.”

He shot to his feet.

“You’re breaking up with me? Over a door lock?”

—

“No.” I met his eyes calmly. “That lock showed me who you thought this home really belonged to.”

His eyes were red when he left.

That afternoon, the real estate agent messaged me to say the first group of prospective buyers hadn’t even managed to finish the viewing.

Sophia had been livestreaming in the study and refused to open the door.

The second group had barely stepped into the living room when Claire told them the soundproofing was terrible and that there were constant leaks upstairs.

When the third group went out to inspect the terrace, Megan deliberately knocked over the grill, splattering grease across the floor.

The real estate agent eventually called me, sounding helpless.

“Ms Carter, I don’t think they want you to sell the house.”

I opened the security feed.

On camera, the four of them were sitting in the living room discussing how to sabotage the next viewing.

Sophia laughed.

“If we drag this out for a few weeks, she’ll get fed up with the hassle and give up.”

Claire nodded.

—

“We’ve been living here this long. She can’t just throw all our stuff out.”

Ethan sat between them and did nothing to stop them.

After a long while, all he said was, “Just don’t take it too far.”

Just as he’d always let them treat my home as if it were theirs.

He knew exactly what they were doing.

He simply took it for granted that, in the end, I’d be the one to cave in.

—

Let me know if you’d like me to continue with **Chapter 6** or clean up any other segments!