Chapter 3

"Why isn't that girl paying yet? What's she waiting for?"

"Didn't they just say her boyfriend puts thirty thousand aside for her every month? I'm so envious."

"She's not paying even this? Is she just being cheap?"

"Maybe she spent it all."

"Oh my god, she spent thirty thousand already? She's so extravagant! Girls these days really..."

Ethan finally realized I genuinely couldn't pay this time.

He shook his head, smiling as he pulled out his phone, "Alright, alright, I'll get it."

As he paid, he explained to his colleagues, "Girls can be a bit stingy. I put thirty thousand aside for her every month, and she's used to spending lavishly. It's gone before the month is out. She's still a student, you know, a bit thoughtless."

The colleagues' looks towards me weren't friendly either. "Ethan, you spoil Hazel too much. Thirty thousand isn't enough for her? That's not right. Hazel, Ethan works hard for his money; you need to be considerate and not squander it."

Another agreed, "Exactly, girls spend without thinking; you can't spoil them. Ethan, you really need to rein Hazel in. She's so generous with herself but cheap when it comes to treating you."

I sat there, frozen with indignation.

Again, thirty thousand! Everyone knew he put thirty thousand aside for me every month!

But who knew I was now working five jobs?

Who knew I couldn't even afford to visit a hospital when I was sick?

Who knew my card balance had never exceeded three digits?

I swallowed back my tears, refusing to cry in public.

That evening, I saw a post from Ethan's mom on Ins:

"My son bought me a new phone. I told him not to get such an expensive one, but he insisted this one was good."

The accompanying photo was of the latest iPhone, seven thousand eight hundred dollars.

I stared at that picture, and tears streamed down my face.

Ethan bought his mom a seven-thousand-eight-hundred-dollar phone without batting an eye, yet in three years, he had never bought me a single cup of coffee.

I scrolled further back through Ethan's mom's Ins.

Ethan gave his mom eight thousand dollars every month, either in cash or by buying things, and his mom would post about it monthly.

Clothes and skincare products worth thousands of dollars were common.

I clenched my phone and opened my SnapChat conversation with Ethan.

Scrolling up, the screen was filled with messages from him asking me to buy things.

"Pay for these shoes for me."

"Car insurance is due; can you cover it first?"

"My phone needs an upgrade."

From small items like socks and underwear to big ones like phones and cameras.

Over three years, the cost of these things added up to over two hundred thousand dollars, crushing my entire college life.

And I, myself, had never bought clothes or skincare products costing over a hundred dollars.

I stared at my phone, my heart growing colder by the second.

He always said he gave me thirty thousand of his forty-thousand-dollar salary, leaving him not enough to spend.

Turns out, his "not enough to spend" just meant not enough to spend on *me*.

His money was always enough. But he knew exactly who it was spent on.

A ringtone interrupted my thoughts. It was my mom calling.

"Mom, how's your health lately?"

"Hazel, I'm fine. Just a bit of tightness in my chest, and I can't catch my breath."

My heart clenched. "Mom, you need to go to the hospital and get checked out."

"It's nothing major, just tired. I'll rest for a couple of days and be fine."

"What if something serious happens?" I got anxious. "Just do it for my peace of mind."

My mom was silent for a moment before speaking. "A hospital check-up costs at least a few hundred dollars. If there's nothing wrong, wouldn't that be a waste?"

"I'm not capable. Other people's kids have an easy time in college, but my daughter has to work part-time to earn her living expenses. I can't drag my daughter down anymore."

My eyes welled up, and my throat felt tight.

Ethan and his mom used the latest phones and wore clothes worth thousands.

Meanwhile, my mom and I couldn't even afford a hospital visit.