You Want My Money Even Though We’re Divorced?

On the third day after our divorce was finalized, my ex-wife, Georgie Anderson, sent me a text message. [Why haven’t you transferred your salary from this month to me?] I thought she was joking. [We’re already divorced.] [So? What does it matter if we’re divorced? You should transfer nineteen thousand dollars from your twenty-thousand-dollar income, just like you did before. The remaining one thousand dollars will be your pocket money. When you were unemployed, I was the one who took care of you. Now that we’re divorced, you’re turning your back on me?] I stared at her text messages and fell silent for a really long time. Throughout our three-year marriage, I gave her nineteen thousand dollars out of my twenty-thousand-dollar salary. She was responsible for "budgeting" our household expenses. However, she spent my money on her civil service exam, afternoon teas with her besties, and even on her study partner, whom I’d never met. As for me, I handled all the house chores—cooking dinner, mopping the floors and doing the laundry. But when I took a little time after work to game, she would yell at me for being lazy. She was demanding money from me even after we were divorced. Her reason was that I might spend the money without thinking. I blocked her number. Three seconds later, she sent me a text message from another phone number. [You’ll regret this. I’m trying to help you one last time.] I laughed. ‘Helping me?’ I thought. Nobody had ever helped me in the past three years. Chapter 1 I pushed the glass door at the mall entrance and walked toward a gaming PC store. I had my eyes on the best gaming setup that cost twenty-two thousand dollars. I was about to pay for the equipment when someone called my name. “Nathan, are you crazy?” I turned around. Georgia Anderson strode over angrily in her high heels and snatched my phone away. She was holding two boxes of delicately wrapped truffle cakes. I recognized the cake shop. One slice of cake cost hundreds dollars. “Why are you spending twenty grand to buy a stupid computer? Cancel your order and transfer the money to me!” Georgia tossed my phone back to me. She turned around and glared coldly at the cashier. “We’re no longer buying this.” The cashier was stunned. “Georgia, we’re already divorced.” “You should know when to stop throwing a tantrum!” she said in a high-pitched voice. People around us were looking at us. “You only earn twenty thousand dollars a month! If you spend all of your money on this, what will happen to the fee that needs to be paid for the civil service examination?” “Who’s it for?” I asked coldly. “Of course it’s for Fred!” Georgia exclaimed. “I planned to set aside some money for him to go for additional classes. If you buy a new computer, how’s he going to pay the fees?” Fred Smith had been her so-called study buddy for three years. I had never met him. I felt nauseated. Throughout our three-year marriage, I ate cheap fast food every day and stayed up late to complete my proposals. I had suffered from gastritis because of that. I put in a lot of effort so I could give her nineteen thousand dollars every month. But what did she do? She used my hard-earned money and bought Fred expensive food because a healthy diet meant a healthy mind. We were divorced, but she was still asking me for money so she could spend it on another man. Georgia thought that my silence meant that I had given in. She softened her tone and reached out to tidy my collars like she used to do. “Nathan, I know you’ve been very stressed from work recently. “But we have to think of the bigger picture. “Once Fred passes the examination, he’ll remember how good you are to him. When you get promoted and earn a higher salary, I’ll definitely give you more pocket money to buy this computer, alright?” She was trying to gaslight me. It was disgusting how she tried to lure me in like that. I took a step back and avoided her hands. “Don’t touch me. You’re disgusting.” Georgia’s hands froze midair as her face flushed. “Nathan, stop being ridiculous! “Aside from gaming, what else can you even do? You’re not motivated for anything! No wonder you’re still working for someone else! “I’m teaching you how to manage your finances, and I’m worried that you’ll simply spend your money pointlessly!” I ignored her. I took out another phone from my pocket and pulled up my virtual card. “Tap this.” [Beep. Successful payment of twenty-two thousand dollars.] Georgia’s eyes widened in disbelief. “How do you have the money? Isn’t your salary with me?” I tapped on her phone before her and found her sub-card in her banking app. Then, I clicked to remove her sub-card from mine. It was done. “I was blind in the past, but I guess I’ll consider that a sort of charity. “Now, your ATM card will no longer work.” Georgia looked at the cancellation page and ignored the fact that we were already divorced. There was only one thought in her head. “If you spent all the money, how will Fred pay the enrollment fee tomorrow?” Chapter 2 “That’s none of my business. Maybe you and Fred can beg for some money.” I carried my computer and walked out of the shop without looking back. Georgia cursed behind me angrily. “Nathan, you’re a stingy and selfish person! “You’ll regret this!” I hailed a cab and went back to my newly-rented apartment. I had just sat down when my phone started buzzing. Georgia was sending me a lot of voice messages. “I don’t care what you do, but you have to transfer nineteen thousand dollars to me before 8 a.m. tomorrow. “Fred lost his appetite for dinner over your antics! “He already has stomach issues. If this makes him more ill and spoils his exams, you’ll get what’s coming to you!” I listened to those voice messages. Georgia was going insane. When I had stomach bleeding from working overtime, she was posting about her afternoon tea sessions with Fred. But if Fred missed a single meal, she got this anxious! I switched my computer on and went to the banking website. Then, I plugged in a pendrive and pulled out all of our expenses for the past three years. I had trusted her in the past, so I had never questioned her spending. Times had changed, and I wanted to get down to the very last cent. The screen was covered in lines after lines of expenses. I felt humiliated when I read them. [Luxury food delivery services, three thousand dollars a month.] [VIP study room, yearly subscription of twenty-four thousand dollars.] [Luxury male clothes, single payment of eight thousand dollars.] I stared at that eight-thousand-dollar expense as my fingers trembled. I recalled that last winter, the leather shoes that I had worn for three years were biting my soles. I asked Georgia if I could buy a new pair of shoes for five hundred dollars. I still remembered what she had said back then. “Our mortgage is very expensive. Can you be a little more frugal? If the shoes are still wearable, just bear with it. We have to use our money wisely.” It turned out that she bought custom-made leather shoes for Fred that cost five thousand dollars. She used the remaining three thousand dollars to buy him a tie. The reason was that Fred needed to go for an important interview, so he needed to dress for the occasion. My three-year marriage was a complete joke. My phone lit up again. Georgia saw that I was not answering her voice notes, so she texted me a long written paragraph. [Nathan, you’re an adult. Aren’t you embarrassed of yourself for getting jealous over a hardworking young man? If you transfer me the money, I’ll get Fred to buy you a meal after he passes the examination.] Immediately after, she sent me a voice message again. It was Fred’s voice. “Nathan, I heard from Georgia that you’re in a bad mood. Please don’t be mad at her. It’s all my fault. I won’t go for the examinations anymore. Please don’t fight with Georgia because of me.” He was trying to play the victim. As expected, Georgia immediately sent me more texts. [Listen to what Fred’s saying! He’s such an understanding young man! Look at how calculative and stingy you are in comparison!] [Transfer the money now! Otherwise, I won’t forgive you!] I ignored her. I immediately put all the receipts in a zip file and sent them to a lawyer, who was my university friend. I also sent him a note. [Dave, please help me look into this. How much can I get back if she transferred our marital asset to a third party?] Dave Reid immediately replied with a text. [How much is the total sum?] [From my preliminary calculation, it’s more than three hundred thousand dollars.] [Alright, leave it up to me. I’ll make sure they pay everything, including the interest, back to you.] I switched off my computer and let out a long sigh. I decided that I would not just cut them off financially, but I would also make them pay everything they had taken from me. Chapter 3 The next morning, I went to Dave’s law firm to do some paperwork. After I signed the power of attorney, Dave patted my shoulder. “Don’t worry. Your case has sufficient evidence. It is a winning case.” I nodded. I had just walked out of the law firm when I saw a new notification from a social media platform. Georgia had posted a long post. [A person who truly loves you will support your career and dream. He won’t be calculative, especially at the most important moment in your life.] [How you behave determines what you’ll get in the end. Some people deserve to rot at the bottom.] [Thank you for accompanying me through the darkest time of my life, @Fred.] Alongside her long post, there was a photo of two coffee cups before a huge French window. I sneered. She was having a good time using my money but was still smearing my name on the internet. Immediately after, Georgia’s closest friends started to spam me with text messages. [Nathan, how can you be this cruel? You’re not even giving her living expenses after the divorce?] [Georgia has suffered a lot with you. Why are you being so stingy? Are you even a man?] [Quick, transfer her some money. Otherwise, we’ll all look down on you!] I immediately blocked all of their contacts. Then, I took a cab to the house that once belonged to Georgia and I. I had paid the deposit of that house before we got married, and we had paid the mortgage together after we were married. It was clearly stated in the divorce agreement that the house belonged to me, and I paid her back for the portion of mortgage that she had paid in the past. I went there because I wanted to retrieve the rest of my personal things. When I opened the door, I was stunned. There was a young man dressed in silk pajamas sitting on the couch in the living room. He crossed his legs and held an expensive crystal glass that I spent two thousand dollars on. The expensive coffee machine that I rarely used because I cherished it so much was buzzing as it grinded the beans. It was Fred. He was staying in my house! When he heard the door click, Fred turned around. He sized me up tauntingly. “Yo, you’re back. Why didn’t you inform us you’d be visiting? I could’ve asked Georgia to buy more groceries.” He wore my slippers and lived in the house that I worked so hard to buy, and he acted like he was the owner of the house. I remembered the extra work I had done for three consecutive months just to be able to save up for the deposit. I had only managed to sleep four hours a day. At that time, Georgia complained that I did not have time for her, so she had a huge fight with me. She had the audacity to bring another man to the house that I had worked myself to the bone for! The bedroom door opened. Georgia walked out with a plate of sliced fruits. When she saw me, she was a little frantic. Then, she acted indignant. “What are you doing here?” She grabbed a cup of freshly made coffee and walked toward me. Then, she passed the coffee to me arrogantly. “You’ve thought it through, have you? Are you here to give us the money? “As long as you transfer the money to me and apologize to Fred, I’ll delete that social media post. “You can visit us in the future. I’ll still make you dinner.” She was still entertaining the delusion that I could not live without her. She believed that as long as she sent some empty promises my way, I would willingly give her the money. I did not accept the cup of coffee. I immediately took out a legal notice and slammed it on the table. “Have a good look. “I paid the downpayment for this house. I’ll pay you back the mortgage that you contributed during our marriage in cash. “I’m giving you three days to move out. “Otherwise, I’ll call the police and sue you for trespassing.” Georgia’s expression fell. “Nathan, how dare you kick me out? “This is my house too!” “Three days…” I glared at her. “If you overstay for even a second after that, I’ll get the security to throw your things into the trash.” Chapter 4 Three days later, at a designer department at Fortune Square, I was accompanying the new acting director of our company, Luna Carpenter. Luna was a decisive woman with a cold and aloof aura. She was previously from a top-tier investment bank. I had just signed a multi-million-dollar research project. She deliberately brought me some new clothes in preparation for the partners meeting dinner. “Mr. Scott, try this suit.” Luna pointed at an expensive suit. I took the clothes. I heard Georgia’s snarky laugh somewhere nearby. “Well, well, if it isn’t Nathan? Weren’t you so broke that you couldn’t even cough out nineteen thousand dollars for me?” I turned around. Georgia held Fred’s arm and stared at me in disgust. They were clearly shopping to make themselves feel better after I told them that I would throw them out of the house. Georgia glanced at the suit that I was holding, then she snorted. “Are you here to enjoy the air-conditioning after I dumped you? “That suit costs a hundred thousand dollars. Will you be able to afford it if you somehow stain it?” She raised her voice and attracted the sales associates and the customers’ attention. She had always been the best at humiliating me in public to pressure me. Fred also spoke up smugly. “Georgia, don’t be mean to Nathan! Nathan’s only looking at the clothes. After all, it’s not as easy for him to earn money.” Georgia snorted and dragged Fred to a watch display. She pointed at a watch that was thirty thousand dollars. “I want this for you.” She looked at me tauntingly. “See? This is what a man should enjoy. Fred’s going to start his job soon. This watch suits him. “As for you, you can be a garbage collector for the rest of your life!” She took out a credit card arrogantly from the bag and passed it to the sales associate. That was the sub-card that I had given to her in the past. She thought that I had only removed her online access. She did not know that I had completely cut her off from my bank account. The sales associate took the card and tried to swipe it. The machine blinked a red light. The sales associate passed the card back to Georgia politely. “I’m sorry, ma’am, the system indicates that this card is frozen.” Georgia’s smug expression froze on her face. “That’s impossible! Try again!” The sales associate tried again, but it still did not work. Everyone was eyeing them. Fred looked embarrassed. He instinctively let go of Georgia’s hand. I sneered and walked forward. “Ms. Anderson, isn’t it shameful that you’re using your ex-husband’s card to buy your lover a watch? “Let me remind you, the legal notice regarding the three hundred thousand dollars’ worth of marital assets that you transferred will be sent to you tomorrow. “Be prepared to pay your debt.” Georgia’s face turned pale as she yelled at me, “Nathan, you’re a cruel man! How dare you set me up like this? “Do you think I’ll be afraid of you just because you froze my card? How dare you taunt me like this, you broke trash?” She rushed over as though she wanted to claw my face off. “Where’s the security? Escort this crazy woman out!” Luna walked with two bodyguards flanking her. She did not even spare a glance at Georgia. She walked directly toward me. “Mr. Scott, can’t you settle this small issue soon? “A few of the board members are waiting for you at tonight’s partners’ dinner.” Everyone fell silent when she said that. Georgia stared at me with wide eyes. “P-Partner?” Luna glanced at Georgia and then turned to the sales associate. She said casually, “Please bag the suit that Mr. Scott likes, along with this watch. “Put these on my tab. Treat this as your welcome gift to the company, Mr. Scott.” Georgia completely broke down. I took the suit from Luna and no longer looked at Georgia. Then, I walked out. Behind me, I heard Fred’s disgusted voice. “Why were you pretending to be rich when you’re not? This is embarrassing!” He flung Georgia’s hand away and walked out without looking back. Georgia sat on the ground and trembled.