Chapter 2Using My Card to Pamper Her Old Flame

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 "Access permission for this resident has been revoked."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!"