Chapter 2The Perfect Boyfriend's Perfect Scam

First thing the next morning, I requested a few days off work and stayed home specifically to investigate Rachel.

Sure enough, after a few hours of digging, I finally found her Twitter account.

Besides retweeting giveaways, her entire feed was dedicated to showing off her relationship. The timeline spanned years, proving they had been together for at least three years.

Almost all the photos were of her and Ethan.

Many of them were taken in hotel rooms. At a glance, I could tell they were cheap, rundown motels—worse than a Motel 6.

Both Rachel and Ethan came from rural, struggling families.

At first, I actually felt bad for Rachel. Whenever I bought something nice, I’d buy two and give her one. I even let her carpool with me on the way home from work.

But my kindness had fed a monster!

She actually set her sights on my family's assets!

The whole picture was crystal clear now.

I took screenshots of every single tweet and saved them all to a hidden folder. I lay on my bed, my mind racing with plans.

I wasn't going to just let this go.

Since they had the guts to target me, they had to pay the price!

They want money, right? I'm going to make them vomit up every single cent they have!

...

According to their conversation on the dashcam, Ethan was going to ask me for money for the third time very soon.

Before this, he always claimed he was starting a business. To support him, I gave him all my savings.

I even stopped driving my car. Afraid he was working too hard running around for his "business," I gave him my keys and started taking the subway to work.

But while he claimed to be out hustling for his startup, he was actually driving my car to take Rachel out on dates!

Rachel even had the shameless audacity to post pictures of my car on her Twitter, acting like it was hers!

I suppressed the fury threatening to consume me and waited for Ethan to make his move.

Sure enough, two days later, Ethan started acting dejected, moping around in front of me.

He wouldn't say anything first. He just kept sighing heavily in my presence, waiting for me to ask.

I watched his performance with cold, detached eyes. After a while, he clearly started getting impatient, and his sighs grew louder and more dramatic.

"What's wrong?" I asked, pasting a look of deep concern on my face, deciding to play along with his little act.

Ethan glanced at me, pretending to hesitate, before continuing his performance: "Forget it, it's nothing."

I gave him an out: "What is it? Just tell me!"

"Sigh. I wasn't going to tell you, but a large shipment of my inventory got held up at customs. I don't have the cash to order new stock right now. If this keeps up, I'm afraid my company is going to go under!"

I sneered internally.

Company? I had already run a background check. There was absolutely no company registered under his name.

He didn't even know how to lie properly.

Blinded by love, I used to actually believe this garbage and transferred money to him time and time again.

I feigned distress: "But I don't have any money left either. That $15,000 I gave you last time was everything I had left..."

I watched Ethan's expression out of the corner of my eye.

His face tightened slightly, but he quickly adjusted and nodded: "I know. As a man, I shouldn't be asking you for money anyway.

"I was just venting..."

If this were any normal day, I would have already been frantically trying to find a solution for him.

But today, I acted like I didn't hear a thing and completely ignored his bait.

Ethan watched me for a moment. When I didn't take the bait, he pulled a makeup gift set out of a shopping bag and handed it to me.

"Tomorrow's Valentine's Day! An early gift for you!"

I took the set. One glance was all I needed to know it was a cheap counterfeit.

Ethan had given me counterfeits before, but he always claimed he bought them through a personal shopper. I used to think he had just been scammed and felt too bad to tell him the truth.

Thinking back on it now, he just didn't want to spend money on me. He bought fakes on purpose!

Tomorrow was Valentine's Day. He was definitely planning to go out on a date with Rachel.

I thought about it and decided to just hand him the perfect opportunity.

"Thank you, baby. But it sucks that I have to go out of town on a business trip tomorrow and the day after. I won't be able to spend it with you..."

Ethan froze, quickly putting on a disappointed face:

"Ah, that long... I'm going to miss my wife so much. Can you try to get out of it?"

I looked him dead in the eyes and smiled: "Then should I just call in sick?"

Ethan choked, his expression turning incredibly unnatural:

"I was just kidding. Work comes first. I'll just have to endure it."

My stomach churned with disgust, but I played the charade to the end:

"I'll be back the night after tomorrow. You have to come pick me up from the airport."

...

That afternoon, I pretended to pack my bags. While Ethan was out of the apartment, I installed several hidden pinhole cameras around the place.

To save money, Ethan would never pay for a hotel room. I bet he would use my "business trip" as the perfect excuse to bring Rachel back to my apartment.

I grabbed my suitcase and went back to my parents' house. I pulled out my phone and kept an eye on the dashcam feed.

These two disgusting grifters definitely wouldn't be able to wait until tomorrow.

Sure enough, as soon as evening hit, the dashcam feed came alive.

The car pulled into Rachel's rundown, older apartment complex. When she got in the car, Ethan seemed to pull something out and hand it to her.

"Wifey, early Happy Valentine's Day!"

Rachel let out a gasp: "La Mer?! This is super expensive! I saw Chloe using this at the office."

Then she playfully slapped him: "So what did you get her? La Mer too?"

Ethan chuckled smugly.

"Are you kidding? I got her a counterfeit set I bought off some guy on Facebook for a hundred bucks. That dumb bitch can't even tell the difference."

Hearing that, a violent tremor wracked my heart.

I had been using La Mer since high school. How could I possibly not know the difference between the real thing and a cheap fake?

I only pretended to be thrilled because I knew Ethan's financial situation was tough, and I wanted to protect his fragile ego.

I never expected my genuine compassion to be so thoroughly trampled on by him.

Rachel's laugh was laced with pure malice:

"Who knows, maybe the stuff she used before was fake too. I hope her face rots off!"

...

Exactly as I predicted, Ethan drove the car back to my apartment building.

The moment Rachel walked through the door, she made a beeline for my vanity, opening every single one of my skincare products.

"I heard this one is super expensive. Like three hundred dollars a bottle!"

She aggressively scooped a massive glob out of my face cream jar and smeared it on her face: "She won't notice I used it, right?"

Ethan hugged her from behind, completely indulgent: "It's fine. If she notices, I'll just say I used it."

I felt a surge of pure rage shoot from the soles of my feet straight to the top of my skull!

No wonder my skincare products were running out so insanely fast!

Every time I asked Ethan, he claimed he was just curious and tried some.

It turned out Rachel had been using them!

I was so incredibly disgusted I sprinted to the bathroom and scrubbed my face raw.

While I was washing my face, Rachel had put on one of my dresses and was posing in front of the mirror, wearing one of my designer bags.

"Hubby, this bag is gorgeous. When are you going to buy me one?"

Ethan's face stiffened awkwardly:

"That one's pretty expensive... like four thousand dollars..."

Rachel stroked my bag, her face twisted with greedy longing, begging him:

"All my coworkers have bags like this. I'm the only one carrying a fake every day. They all look down on me..."

She was talking absolute, unfiltered bullshit.

Our office was so insanely busy everyone was running around like headless chickens. Who the hell had the time to care what kind of bag she was carrying?

I often went to work carrying a canvas tote bag, and literally no one ever said a word.

Hearing this, Ethan looked deeply conflicted.

After a long while, he gritted his teeth and said: "If you like it, just take it.

"She has so many bags, she probably won't even remember. If she does notice it's missing, I'll just say I accidentally ruined it and threw it away."

Rachel's eyes lit up. She leaned over and planted a massive kiss on Ethan's cheek.

"Hubby, you're the best!"

...

Watching from the other side of the screen, I was so furious I wanted to crawl through the phone and stab these two scumbags to death!

Using my skincare, stealing my bags. How fucking cheap can you get?!

I took a deep breath, forcing my rage down as I watched them aggressively making out and rolling around on my bed.

My dad had bought me that bed. The mattress alone cost over three thousand dollars.

The silk sheets they were ruining cost eight hundred.

I was extremely particular about my bedding. It had cost me almost an entire month's salary at the time.

And now, these two pieces of human garbage were rolling around on my expensive silk sheets, making nauseating, grotesque sounds.

Ten minutes later, Rachel lay on Ethan's arm, cuddling him and talking.

"My parents said we need to get the dowry money together ASAP. My brother is waiting on it so he can marry his girlfriend."

Ethan rubbed his temples, sounding exhausted:

"I know, but we need money, and that bitch refuses to give me any more.

"Fuck, rich people are the worst. They all deserve to die!"

Rachel traced circles on his chest, whispering poison: "Just PUA her! (Pick-Up Artist/Gaslight her)

"Pick apart all her flaws, make her feel like she's not good enough for you, and she'll naturally want to please you.

"Haven't you seen the news? Girls who get PUA'd are willing to die for their men."

A flash of venomous malice crossed Rachel's face:

"What right does she have to live such a good life? Just because she was born lucky?"

Ethan fell deep in thought, playing with Rachel's hair.

"I'll give it a try."

A freezing chill ran down my spine.

I had truly believed I was treating Ethan with my whole heart, and I had always looked out for Rachel at work.

I never imagined that some people are born as parasitic, man-eating wolves, lurking in the gutters, waiting to tear the flesh off anyone who walks by.

My fingernails dug deep into my palms. Shaking, I saved the video files and backed them up to my laptop.

Ethan. Rachel.

I am going to make absolutely sure every single drop of your malice blows up right in your own faces!

04

The next day, I packed my bags and went back to the apartment.

The very first thing I did was take all my skincare products and bedding and throw them straight into the dumpster.

Even though it hurt to lose the money, the thought of them being contaminated by Rachel was too disgusting. I physically couldn't bring myself to use them anymore.

After cleaning the apartment, I sat in the living room and waited for Ethan to get home.

At 6 PM sharp, Ethan walked through the door.

Seeing the apartment looking different, he looked surprised: "What put you in the mood to clean?"

I brushed it off: "It felt a little dirty."

Ethan nodded, a bright smile plastered on his face as he walked over to hug me:

"I missed you so much! Let me hold you!"

I stiffened as he wrapped his arms around me. Ethan paused for a microsecond, then said casually:

"Chloe, did you gain weight?"

I sneered internally. Here we go.

"Really?"

Ethan, following Rachel's script, started picking me apart: "Yeah, you definitely look a little thicker than before. You're getting a muffin top."

I gripped the armrest tightly and looked up at him: "So, do you want to break up with me?"

Ethan's expression froze, but he quickly recovered: "How could I? I'm the only one who wouldn't be disgusted by you. Why would I break up with my wife?

"Speaking of which, wifey, do you have any more cash? Can you think of a way to help me cover this week? Ten grand is all I need!"

He sat down next to me, wrapping his arm around my waist, coaxing me:

"Once I make it big, I'll buy my wife a massive mansion. How does that sound?"

He rested his head on my shoulder, looking incredibly pitiful: "I started this company right out of college. I'm just short this little bit of cash... Wifey, I really don't want to give up on years of hard work!"

I looked conflicted. I hesitated for a long time before saying:

"Baby, I really am completely broke. I gave you everything I saved."

Ethan looked noticeably impatient, but he suppressed his frustration:

"What about your parents? Your family has money, just ask your parents for a loan."

If this were the past, Ethan would never be this aggressively impatient.

He would constantly hint at me, but he would never explicitly ask.

It seems Rachel's family was putting severe pressure on them for the dowry.

"My dad's company just had a massive shipment delayed. He's really tight on cash too..." I turned my head, looking at Ethan hesitantly:

"But..."

"But what?" Ethan sat up straight instantly.

I bit my lip and said: "But I heard my dad say he has a connection to get two cheap luxury villas.

"He said someone foreclosed on them or something. It's guaranteed to be a massive profit, but my family just doesn't have that kind of liquid cash right now.

"If we could just buy them and flip them immediately, we could easily make a million or two in profit."

Hearing this, Ethan's eyes instantly lit up with a greedy fire.

But then he remembered I just said I didn't have any money, and his expression deflated.

"Is there no other way?"

I shook my head: "My family really can't pull the cash together. You know how I am with you. If I had it, of course I'd give it to you.

"Sigh, this deal would make us two million overnight. It's such a shame..."

Two million. To Ethan, this was a life-changing amount of money.

There was no way he was going to let this go.

Sure enough, Ethan hesitated for a moment before asking: "How much are you short?"

I controlled my tone carefully:

"Those villas are worth at least six million on the market. My dad has about five million tied up in receivables he can pull together, so we're just short about a million."

I looked down, my expression totally defeated: "I originally thought if I bought the house, I'd put your name on the deed. The timing for this is just terrible!"

I used to be entirely open and honest with Ethan.

When he needed money, I never hesitated to give it to him.

Because I never really valued money that much. I always put love and relationships first.

My friends called me a hopeless romantic and an idiot, but I didn't care.

Looking back, I truly was an absolute, naive idiot.

Ethan didn't suspect a thing. He looked down, calculating rapidly:

"Baby, I still think this opportunity is too rare. Flipping it for two million in profit...

"Two million! Think of how many designer bags that could buy you!"

I leaned against him and sighed heavily.

"I know. But what can we do?"

Ethan thought for a moment before saying: "Let me figure something out! I'll help you scrape together that million!"

I kept my head down, the corners of my mouth curving into a sharp, cruel smile.

"Okay, hubby. I'm counting on you."

05

Ethan left the apartment immediately after dropping that promise.

A guy like him shouldn't have believed me so easily.

But he knew my family was wealthy, and my uncle was the director of the City Planning Bureau. He truly believed my family had elite connections.

Combined with the fact that I had never hesitated to hand him cash before, he had absolutely no reason to doubt I was lying.

But where the hell was he going to get a million dollars?

Even subtracting the twenty-odd thousand I had given him before, the remaining amount was not a small number.

Would he ask Rachel? Or would he go back to his parents, who had broken their backs farming their whole lives?

I sat on the sofa, filing my nails, meticulously planning my next move.

Rachel and Ethan. I wasn't going to let either of them off the hook.

For greedy, money-obsessed parasites like them, money was the only thing they truly cared about.

How could I force them to vomit up every single cent they had?

...

Ethan came back half an hour later.

He looked at me, his expression much less frantic than before.

"Chloe, that villa you mentioned... is it legit?"

He quickly explained: "I don't mean anything by it, I'm just afraid your dad might get scammed."

I knew exactly what had happened. He had definitely stepped outside to call Rachel.

Rachel was suspicious of what I had said.

Ethan continued: "Where is the villa anyway? Can we go take a look?"

I nodded easily.

"Sure. It's right off Ocean Drive. Oakwood Estates. You know it, right?"

Ethan's expression froze for a microsecond, then the corners of his mouth uncontrollably curled upwards into a massive grin.

"What?" I smiled at him. "You know the place?"

Ethan quickly suppressed his smile, trying to act casual:

"No, just heard people talk about it. They're single-family homes, right?

"Those are super expensive. Probably three hundred a square foot. A three-thousand-square-foot house would be pushing a million...

"If we can snag it for six hundred thousand and flip it for a million..."

He couldn't help but ramble on, his eyes growing brighter and brighter. He was clearly already fantasizing about the luxurious life he and Rachel would live in that villa.

It seems Ethan's feelings for Rachel were genuine.

Rachel said she loved Oakwood Estates, and Ethan had actually done the research.

However, with their salaries, they could never afford a place like that in this lifetime.

I looked at Ethan's excited face and sneered internally.

Be happy now. Your agony is coming.

...

I don't know what Rachel said to Ethan, but despite his verbal promises, he never actually transferred the money to me.

To completely eliminate their suspicions, I took him for a drive around Oakwood Estates the next afternoon.

"That's the one."

I pointed to a house and told him: "My dad said the owner's cash flow dried up and he desperately needs money. This house was signed over to my dad's contact as collateral.

"Honestly, a normal sale would be fine, but there aren't many buyers who can drop that kind of cash upfront. Plus, my dad had inventory tied up with that guy, so he asked my dad if he wanted it."

"Oh."

Ethan's eyes were glued to the house. He walked around the perimeter, his hands behind his back, examining every detail with extreme focus.

That night, Ethan came back very late.

He claimed he was working overtime, but I had already listened to his entire conversation with Rachel on the dashcam.

"...I asked around. The property management confirmed the owner is a businessman. Someone in retail furniture, I think."

Rachel's voice could barely hide her excitement.

"Did she really say that? Her dad can get Oakwood Estates for six hundred grand?"

"Yeah. We're just short a hundred grand now. I told her I'd get it together."

Rachel was silent for a moment before saying: "I still have fifteen thousand here..."

"Fifteen thousand?"

Ethan sounded confused: "Didn't I give you twenty-five thousand?"

Rachel's voice faltered, suddenly lacking confidence:

"...My brother wanted to buy a car a little while ago. My mom borrowed ten thousand from me."

"Rachel! That was the money I saved for the dowry! What are we going to do about the fifty thousand your parents are demanding?!"

Ethan was panicking.

Rachel quickly tried to soothe him: "My mom said she'll pay it back. Don't worry. Besides, once we get the house, are we really going to care about ten grand?"

Ethan took a few heavy breaths, forcing himself to calm down:

"We only have fifteen thousand left now. How are we supposed to buy the house?!"

Rachel's tone softened: "I'll figure something out. I've saved a few thousand over the last two years. We'll just have to go back and beg my parents for a little more."

"Are we asking your family, or mine?!"

"My mom saved thirty thousand for my brother's future wife's dowry... Let me think. If we're flipping this house in two months tops, we should be able to make it work!"

Rachel pondered for a moment: "And there's the money for the car they haven't bought yet. That's another twenty thousand...

"What about your family, hubby? Can your family chip in a little more?"

Ethan snapped irritably: "You know exactly how much my family has. I've drained them dry over the years. The most I can do is make my mom sell her land. That might get us another ten grand!"

Rachel cooed gently: "If she sells it, she sells it. Once you get the house, Mom won't ever have to farm again, right?"

Ethan fell into a heavy silence. The atmosphere between them grew incredibly tense.

When Ethan dropped Rachel off that day, neither of them said a single word.

I rubbed my phone, calculating my next move.

Sure enough, it didn't take long for Ethan to transfer all the money to me.

Exactly one hundred thousand dollars. Nothing more, nothing less.

I have no idea how Rachel convinced his parents. A family that basically sold their daughter to pay for their son's dowry actually coughed up the cash.

But for a family like hers, that money was likely their entire life savings.

When he sent me the transfer, Ethan looked exhausted. He had deep, dark bags under his eyes.

I leaned in close, my voice soft: "What's wrong?"

Ethan shook his head, forcing a strained smile: "It's nothing, baby. When is the house going to close?"

I pretended to think for a moment: "Two months, max. Hubby, do you think we should flip the house or keep it for ourselves?

"If we keep it, I'll put the deed entirely in your name, okay?"

Ethan froze. I watched as sheer, uncontainable ecstasy erupted across his face.

He quickly turned his head, covering my hand: "...Whatever you want. I don't care about the house. I'm just afraid that if I don't have anything, your parents will look down on me when I go ask for your hand in marriage."

"How could they?" I hugged him tightly, whispering, "So, Hubby, since you gave me this hundred grand, should I write you an IOU? I feel like we should keep things clear."

Ethan was terrified I would keep things clear. He knew that if I wrote an IOU, there was no way I'd put his name on the deed. He quickly panicked:

"No need! My money is my wife's money. Why are you trying to draw lines between us?"

I looked up at him and asked: "Hubby, you're amazing. Where did you get a hundred thousand dollars?

"Did you borrow it? Who do you know that's close enough to just loan you that much cash? We should go visit them and say thank you."

Ethan looked completely flustered.

"No, no one lent me the money. It's... it's from my parents selling their land... Look, just don't worry about it, your husband's got it handled!"

"Oh," I nodded, hugging him closer. "Hubby, you gave me all this money and don't even want me to pay you back. You're the best."

Ethan was riding a tiger and couldn't get off. He forced a smile: "Of course. What's mine is yours. It's what I should do..."

I hugged him tight. In a spot where he couldn't see, I pulled out my phone and hit "Stop" on the voice recorder.

Everything I needed, I now had.