Chapter 1

My fiancee, Winona Ziegler, moves her childhood sweetheart, Caeden Gardner, who has just come back from abroad, into our future marital home.

When ordering takeout, I add an eight-dollar omelette and a five-dollar caramelized onion soup to the order, but Winona deletes them all in disgust.

"Caeden can't stand the smell of onions. Do you want to make him throw up? Can't you just have some plain water?"

Moments later, she orders a seafood feast worth a thousand dollars for him, complete with king crabs and a premium seafood boil.

Holding a glass of plain water, I watch her fuss over Caeden with endless concern.

Then, my phone vibrates. My bank account has just been charged 1,000 dollars.

She uses my money to spoil her childhood sweetheart, yet refuses to even buy me an omelette that costs eight dollars.

Five years of love completely fall apart in that moment.

This time, I don't argue or beg like I used to. I simply pick up my phone and press "Freeze Authorized User Card".

Chapter 1

The food that my fiancee, Winona Ziegler, ordered arrived half an hour after the order was placed.

She eagerly placed the king crabs worth over 1,000 dollars in front of her childhood sweetheart, Caeden Gardner, then set a huge serving of premium seafood boil right by his hand.

Then, she pushed a glass of plain water toward me. "Ansel, don't just sit there. Have some water! Plain water is good for you. Aren't you always going on about staying healthy?"

Caeden looked at the table full of seafood, then at the glass of water in front of me, looking troubled. "Winnie, this doesn't feel right. Ansel doesn't have anything to eat at all. Why don't we give him some of the king crabs—"

Winona cut him off immediately. "Cade, don't worry about him! He's just greedy. Your stomach isn't well, and you've suffered so much abroad. You need to eat something good to replenish yourself."

With that, she put on disposable gloves, skillfully cracked open a king crab claw, and placed it on Caeden's plate.

I stared at that crab claw.

Last week, I had a high fever and wanted a hot meal. But Winona complained that delivery fees were too expensive and told me to just go to the kitchen and have some cereal. Now, she'd just dropped 1,000 dollars without batting an eye.

After the meal, the table was littered with seafood scraps.

Caeden leaned back on the couch and rubbed his lower back. "Maybe it's jet lag, but my back feels a tad sore."

Winona immediately grew anxious. Not even bothering to take off her gloves, she said, "Cade, your back hurts? I'll buy you a massage chair and have it delivered to the door right away."

She grabbed her phone and opened a shopping app. "How about this one for five thousand dollars? It has the most complete features. I'll order it now."

But when she entered the pin number to make the payment, a red exclamation mark popped up on the screen.

"Payment failed."

She froze for a moment, then tried again. Still, it failed.

Winona's brow furrowed, and she turned to glare at me. "Ansel, did you secretly cancel the card? Why can't I pay for a massage chair? Are you really such a miser?"

I sat at the dining table, looked at the confirmation in my banking app that her card had been successfully frozen, and calmly turned off the screen.

"It might have hit the spending limit and gotten flagged by the bank's risk control system. I'll go to the bank tomorrow and ask about this."

Winona eyed me suspiciously, her expression sour. "Of all times, it had to get flagged right when Cade needed it. You did this on purpose, didn't you?"

Caeden sighed beside her, putting on a show of being understanding. "Winnie, forget it. Don't blame Ansel. Five thousand dollars isn't a small amount. I can do without the massage. I'll just tough it out."

But because of the pitiful act he put on, Winona felt even more sorry for him. She shot me a look of pure disgust.

"Cade, you're just too nice! That's why people take advantage of you!"

She stood up, pointed at the master bedroom door, and issued me an order. "Cade needs to adjust to the time difference. Since the bed in the master bedroom is softer, he'll sleep there tonight. You can go sleep in the guest room."

Chapter 2

Winona had a completely justified expression on her face.

I had bought this apartment in full with my own money, and the bed in the master bedroom was one I had personally picked out and spent over three thousand dollars on. But now, she was telling me to go sleep in the guest room.

I didn't argue and just stood up. "Fine."

Upon walking into the master bedroom, I didn't grab my pajamas. Instead, I opened the safe at the bottom of the closet and entered the code.

I packed the original copy of the property deed, the vehicle registration documents, and several valuable pieces of jewelry my mother had left me into a black backpack. Then, I picked up my suitcase and walked out of the master bedroom.

Winona was in the middle of pouring warm milk for Caeden. When she saw me coming out with my suitcase, she scoffed, "Who are you trying to impress with that act? Are you dragging a suitcase around to scare me?"

I walked to the entryway and put on my shoes. "I'm heading to the office. Working overtime."

Winona raised her voice behind me. "If you have the guts to leave, don't bother coming back! I'm sick of your attitude!"

Nevertheless, I pushed the door open and stepped out. The night air was chilly.

As I dragged my suitcase out of the residential complex gate, I pulled out my phone and opened the banking app. On the authorized user management page, I found Winona's name, tapped on it, and removed her as an authorized user.

…

Early the next morning, the first thing I did when I arrived at the office was open the property management app on my phone. In the owner access control settings, I found Winona's facial recognition access permissions, tapped on it, and deleted it.

A notification from the property management system immediately popped up. "Access permission for this resident has been revoked."

At 10:00 am, my phone started buzzing nonstop with calls from Winona. But I didn't pick up any of her calls.

Then, a short while later, our mutual friends' group chat exploded.

Winona posted three screenshots in a row. The first was a declined payment receipt from The Beaumont, a shopping mall, for 48,000 dollars, the second was her chat log with the sales associate, and the third one was her tearful complaint.

"Ansel, you actually froze my card over an eight-dollar omelette? How petty can you be?

"I was picking out clothes for Cade at the mall, and when I tried to pay, it said my card was frozen! Do you have any idea how humiliated I was? The sales clerk looked at me like I was begging for scraps! Are you happy now?"

The chat fell silent for a full minute.

Winona's best friend, Prudence Hopton, was the first to jump in.

"Seriously, Ansel? Winnie has put up with so much for you! Besides, Caeden just came back! What's with the jealous fit? Are you really freezing her card over that? That's a whole new level of petty! Winnie, don't bother with him. A cheapskate like him doesn't deserve you."

A few other friends chimed in as well.

"Ansel, that's really not cool. You're in a relationship! Why blow things up over a few bucks? Hurry up and unfreeze the card already!"

As I watched the messages popping up on-screen, I typed a few words and hit send.

"It's my card. I get to freeze it whenever I want."

The moment that message went out, the group chat blew up.

Winona called me immediately. I answered and casually turned on the voice recording function.

"Ansel, you've got some nerve now, huh? How dare you embarrass me in the group chat? I'm telling you, if you don't unfreeze my card by tonight, the wedding next month is off!"

Chapter 3

Winona's voice was shrill and sharp, carrying a tone of condescending certainty. She thought I'd beg and grovel like I always used to.

I looked at the pulsing waveform on the recording interface. "Fine. Then cancel it."

Silence fell on the other end of the line.

Winona seemed dumbfounded. "You… Wh-what did you say?"

"I said the wedding is cancelled. I've already saved the recording."

Then, I ended the call straight away.

In the afternoon, I received a text from the moving company. "Mr. Leyland, the items in the guest room have been cleared out according to Ms. Ziegler's instructions."

I opened the hallway surveillance photos sent by the property management. My clothes, books, and a few collectibles I hadn't had time to take were all thrown into the hallway like trash, scattered all over the floor.

Winona posted another message in the group chat. "I threw all his junk out! Just looking at it annoys me!"

Prudence immediately liked the message. "Well done! That's exactly what he deserves."

I carefully saved all the surveillance photos and the group chat records.

A while later, my phone screen lit up with a private message from the property manager. "Mr. Leyland, a locksmith has arrived at your door. He says Ms. Ziegler called him in to change the door lock. Should we stop him?"

"No," I replied.

She could change it. The sooner she got it changed, the worse it would be for her.

At 6:00 pm, I received a call from Winona's mother, Francine Tilney.

The moment it connected, I pressed the record button. "Ansel, Winnie's just hot-tempered. Don't take it to heart."

Francine sounded earnest, carrying that typical tone of an elder relative trying to smooth things over. "She called me today, crying, saying you froze her card because of some outsider. You really did make a mountain out of a molehill on this."

An outsider?

A mocking laugh escaped me, but I remained silent.

Francine continued, "But I've talked to her about it too. So how about this? Bring the property deed tomorrow and add Winnie's name to the title of your marital house. Consider it a gesture to give her some sense of security, a way to make her feel better. Then we can put this behind us."

She said it lightly, as if she were deciding what to have for dinner.

"I bought the apartment in full. I'm not adding her name to the title," I answered calmly.

The voice on the other end suddenly shot up an octave. "Ansel, what do you mean by that? Winnie has been with you for five years! What's the big deal about adding her name to the apartment? Why are you acting like you can't trust her? If that's how you're going to behave, then don't bother getting married at all!"

"I've already agreed to cancel the wedding. Goodbye, Mrs. Ziegler."

Then, I hung up and blocked Francine's number.

When I opened my social media feed, the first post I saw was a nine-grid collage Winona just posted. The photos showed the master bedroom with an entirely new look and a table full of lavish takeout.

In the middle was a shot of Caeden in pajamas, his back to the camera. The caption that went along with it was, "New life, new beginnings! Throwing out all the toxic trash! Housewarming party tonight—everyone's invited!"

Below it were likes and comments from Prudence and the usual crowd.

"Whoa! Cade looks amazing from the back!"

"You finally got rid of the miser! Congratulations on having the place all to yourself, Winnie!"

I saved screenshots of the post, including the one of Caeden's back.

Shortly after, I received a call from Mom.

"Ansel, I saw Winnie's post. What's going on? Who's that man?" Mom's voice was filled with anxiety.

"Mom, it's nothing. There's just been a slight misunderstanding. You and Dad shouldn't worry about it. I can handle this."

After reassuring my parents, I opened my chat with the locksmith, Ethan Talbot.

"Mr. Talbot, please bring your full kit with you and come to Willow Creek Residences, Apartment 1201 at 8:00 pm."

Chapter 4

I then called the local police station.

"Hello, I'd like to report an incident. Someone changed the locks on a residence under my name and illegally entered it without my permission while I was away. Yes, I have the original copy of the property deed."

After I hung up, my phone buzzed with a text from Winona.

"Ansel, get back here before 8:00 pm tonight and make a toast to Cade as an apology. While you're at it, bring the property deed so we can add my name to the title tomorrow. Otherwise, don't even think about setting foot through that door for the rest of your life."

I read the ultimatum and took a screenshot of it.

At 7:50 pm, I stood in the lobby of Willow Creek Residences. Behind me were two uniformed police officers and Ethan, who had his toolbox with him.

I checked the time on my phone. At 8:00 pm sharp, I led the officers toward the apartment I'd bought with my own money.

From behind the door of Apartment 1201, blaring music and raucous laughter spilled out.

Even from outside, I could make out Prudence's shrill voice. "Winnie, this place is amazing! Over two thousand square feet of open space, and the decor is gorgeous! A cheapskate like Ansel never deserved you! Cade's so much better! He's so handsome and thoughtful."

Winona's smug voice followed. "Eat and drink to your heart's content, everyone! Feel free to open any bottle of wine in the cabinet. From now on, this is Cade's and my home, so drop by any time you like!"

Caeden put on a show of modesty, but he couldn't hide the pride in his voice. "Winnie is too kind. Though the place may not be huge, as long as everyone is happy, this can be our hangout spot from now on."

Outside, the two police officers exchanged a glance and frowned. "Mr. Leyland, who exactly are these people inside?" the lead officer, Mason Gilmour, asked.

"Trespassers," I replied calmly.

The laughter inside continued.

Prudence asked, "Winnie, is Ansel really not coming back? He's the one who bought this place, after all."

Winona let out a derisive snort, her voice loud enough to carry through the security door. "Him? I know that coward better than anyone."

She checked the time. "It's 8:00 pm now. Just watch—Ansel will come crawling back with the property deed any second, begging to come back. If he doesn't get on his knees and apologize to Cade, I absolutely won't be letting him through that door tonight!"

The words had barely left her mouth before I raised my hand and rang the doorbell.

The noise inside went dead for a second, then erupted into a wave of laughter.

"See? What did I just say?" Winona exclaimed, her voice dripping with triumph. "Dogs always know who their owner is. I'll get the door. Have your phones ready, everyone! I want to capture the moment he comes crawling back to me!"

The click of heels sounded behind the door, followed by the turn of the lock.

Winona yanked the door open with her chin held high, her face full of arrogance. "Ansel, you finally—"

Then, her voice died in her throat. The smug grin froze on her face, replaced by sheer terror.