Goodbye Billionaire Hello Doctorate

I was a girl raised on dirt roads and dollar-store hand-me-downs. After eight years of dating the heir to one of the wealthiest families in the state, I broke up with him.

The final straw? He called out my name.

You're throwing eight years away just because I drove to your campus and called your name?

"Yes."

Carter's lips twisted into a mocking, exasperated smirk. "Alright, spit it out. What do you want this time?"

I shoved past him, stepping out into the biting evening air.

"I don't want anything. I just want you to leave me alone."

Because as long as he stayed away, I could finally have the one thing I truly wanted.

My dignity.

...

Carter didn't even dignify my demand with a response. His gaze slid right past me, landing on my roommate, Peyton, who was standing a few feet away. Without missing a beat, he slung an arm loosely over her shoulder. His tone was a lazy drawl.

"Tessa, your temper is getting out of hand. I literally just called your name."

"You didn't seem to mind when I was buying you all those gifts. Why didn't you ask for a breakup then?"

He paused, letting his eyes drift back to me before turning his attention fully to my roommate. "Look at her. You're way more reasonable than she is. How about it? Want to be my girlfriend instead?"

My heart seized in my chest.

Peyton didnt shove his arm away. Instead, she leaned into his side, offering a breathy, placating laugh. "Tessa's just throwing a tantrum, Carter. Don't be mad at her."

Carter chuckled, pitching his voice just loud enough to ensure I caught every syllable. "Mad? Why would I be mad? If someone doesn't know how to appreciate what they have, there are plenty of others lining up for the job."

He looked down at Peyton, his fingers casually kneading the tension in her shoulder. "Be my girl, and I'll buy you that new Chanel bag that just dropped next week. Deal?"

Peyton's eyes lit up instantly. She opened her mouth to speak, but Carter suddenly tipped his chin in my direction.

"So?" he challenged me. "Swallow your pride right now, and I'll pretend this never happened. Otherwise..."

He let the threat hang in the air, his hand sliding deliberately down Peyton's arm until his fingers wrapped around her wrist.

I took a shaky breath, the cold air stinging my lungs. I looked at that handthe same hand that had held mine a thousand timesand suddenly, the tears Id been fighting completely evaporated.

When I spoke, my voice was steadier than I could have ever imagined. "No thanks. We're done."

"Good luck to both of you."

I turned on my heel and walked away.

Behind me, Carter's arrogant smile cracked, replaced by a harsh scoff.

"Keep playing hard to get! You'll be crying outside my door in three days."

"But for tonight," he added, dragging the words out so they'd hit my retreating back, "I guess I'll just have to spoil my new girl."

He kept his eyes on me. I knew it. He was waiting for me to turn around.

Instead, I kept walking, letting Peytons giggles and the low rumble of his voice fade into the campus background noise.

I didn't break down until I unlocked the door to my empty dorm room. It was the weekend; everyone was out. I slumped into my desk chair and let the tears fall, hot and heavy, until my chest ached.

Once the sobbing subsided, I grabbed a cardboard box. I packed away the Tiffany necklace, the stuffed bears, the little expensive trinkets hed showered me with over the years. I taped it shut and shoved it by the door. Id mail it back to him in a few days.

By the time I finished, the sun had set. I picked up my phone to check the time, only to be confronted by his latest Instagram post.

It was a selfie. Peyton was sitting in the passenger seat of his Porsche, holding up an iced matcha latte and beaming. The caption read: New beginnings.

Hanging from the rearview mirror in the background was the custom acrylic charm hed bought to appease me after our last fight. It still read: Tessa's Seat.

I stared at the screen for two agonizing seconds. My chest felt dangerously tight. I called my best friend, Jade, powered off my phone, and walked out into the night.

Jade was already waiting in a booth at our favorite diner. She took one look at my swollen eyes, asked absolutely zero questions, and just started shoving an excessive amount of fries onto my plate.

Halfway through the meal, when the tremor in my hands had finally stopped, she gently rested her chin on her hand. "So, why'd you actually end it? Was it really just because he showed up on campus?"

I kept my head down, stirring a pool of ketchup with a soggy fry, and slowly shook my head.

"No."

When I first met Carter, I had absolutely no idea who he was.

He had rolled up to my family's rundown porch in a beat-up, sputtering Chevy van, looking so sketchy that my younger brother actually tackled him to the dirt, thinking he was trying to kidnap me.

It wasn't until much later that I learned his actual cara brand-new Bentleyhad been sideswiped by a tractor, and he'd just borrowed the rusty van to get out of town while his ride was in the shop.

He ended up crashing at our place for a few days to nurse his bruised ribs. Sometimes, he'd pick wildflowers from the overgrown weeds by the ditch and hand them to me.

One afternoon, while I was out in the brutal humidity picking corn, he leaned against the fence post, grinning. "You look pretty out there. Be my girl, and you'll never have to do manual labor again."

I thought he was joking. I said yes, laughing it off. It wasn't until he drove back to our rural county a month later in a gleaming Bentley to take me on a date that I realized I was dating trust-fund royalty.

Jade set her fork down. "So what changed?"

"He started parking his sports cars right outside my lecture halls. People started whispering. They called me a gold digger, a sugar baby. He heard them, Jade. He never once defended me. Worse, hed laugh with his frat brothers and say, 'She threw herself at me, what was I supposed to do?'"

I bit my lip, dropping my gaze as the familiar burn returned to my eyes. "Last month, I saved two months of waitressing tips to buy this gorgeous dress for his fraternity formal. I spent two hours getting my makeup perfect. When he saw me, he didn't even look at my face. He just dragged me back to his hotel room. And when the dress snagged on the clasp of his Rolex, he didn't help me unhook it. He got annoyed and just ripped the silk."

"He does this every time. He treats me like garbage, then buys me a designer teddy bear or a diamond bracelet to make up for it, as if paying the toll makes it okay."

I stared into the cold, half-eaten food. "When he shouted my name outside the library today, everyone stared at me like I was a piece of property he was coming to collect. It was like I suddenly woke up. It's been eight years. I am so tired of being his pet."

Jade let out a long, heavy sigh. She didn't press for more details.

After we paid the bill, she dragged me to a karaoke bar. I gripped the cheap plastic microphone and screamed lyrics until my vocal cords felt like sandpaper, but I didn't shed another tear.

I had two cheap beers in the dimly lit booth, and by the end of the night, my head was spinning. Seeing how out of it I was, Jade packed me into an Uber by ten.

The dorm hallway was pitch black. I fumbled for the doorknob, pushing the door open to an empty room. Peyton's bed was unslept in. My heart sank, plummeting straight to the linoleum floor.

Thankfully, I was too physically exhausted to spiral. I stripped off my jacket and collapsed into bed, dead to the world.

I didn't wake up until noon the next day, jarred out of sleep by my ringtone.

I answered without checking the caller ID. The frantic voice on the other end belonged to one of Carter's frat brothers.

"Tessa, you need to get to Carter's penthouse, right now! He drank half a liquor cabinet last night. Kept screaming that he couldn't live without you. He's barely breathing, Tessa, he's not gonna make it!"

A high-pitched ringing erupted in my ears. My heart slammed against my ribs.

I hung up, didn't bother brushing my hair, didn't even change out of my sweatpants. I grabbed the keys to my electric scooter and flew down the stairs.

I took every shortcut to his downtown high-rise. I was so panicked I took a wrong turn, narrowly avoiding the front bumper of a delivery truck. The driver laid on the horn and screamed something out the window, but I just gripped the handlebars tighter, pushing the throttle to the max.

By the time I reached his floor, I was gasping for air, praying to a God I barely believed in that I wasn't too late.

I shoved the heavy oak door openand froze.

The penthouse was packed. At least a dozen people were lounging around the massive sectional, roaring with laughter. Right in the center sat Carter. He looked perfectly fine. Peyton was straddling his lap, holding a cluster of green grapes, popping one into his mouth as he casually leaned forward to accept it.

He used to tell me he hated grapes. He used to make me peel mangoes for him, and when I brought him the perfectly sliced plate, he wouldnt even eat them. He'd just pat my head and say, Good girl.

Carter noticed me standing in the doorway. He raised an eyebrow, a slow, triumphant smirk spreading across his face. He turned to his friends.

"Told you. I win the bet."

Someone laughed and tossed a thick envelope of cash across the table. Carter caught it, slipped it into Peyton's lap, and then turned his mocking gaze back to me.

"Tessa, Tessa. You really are obsessed with me, aren't you? Heard I was in trouble and came running before you even washed your face?"

The room erupted into jeers. One of the guys hollered, "Damn, Tessa! Carter already said he's sick of you. You guys are done. Why are you still throwing yourself at him? Got nowhere else to go?"

Another chimed in, "Look how desperate she is, man. Probably came rushing over to grovel. Thinks she can get her spot back!"

"Right? Playing the tragic, independent heroine yesterday, and today she's practically begging."

"Breakup? Please. She was just playing hard to get, and she completely folded."

I stood glued to the hardwood floor. Despite my best efforts, a single, humiliating tear escaped, tracing a hot path down my cheek.

Seeing me cry only deepened the vicious amusement on Carter's face. He nudged Peyton off his lap, stood up, and closed the distance between us in three long strides. He pinched my chin, forcing my face up so I had to look him in the eyes.

"What are you crying for?"

He leaned in close. I could smell the stale alcohol on his breath. He brushed his lips against mine, a degrading, fleeting touch. "Regretting it already? Beg me. Say the words, and I'll"

Smack.

The sharp crack of my palm against his cheek echoed through the penthouse. The laughter died instantly. The entire room collectively inhaled.

Carter's face went rigid. The amusement vanished from his eyes, replaced by a dark, glacial fury. He swatted my hand away, his jaw clenching. "Tessa. You dared to hit me? Over this petty bullshit?"

Peyton scrambled off the couch, rushing over to cling to his arm. "Carter, don't be mad. She's just jealous. She's completely lost her mind."

She shot me a venomous glare. "She's always like this in the dorms, you know. Constantly flirting with the guys in our study groups, trying to get attention. She just wants everyone orbiting around her. Don't let her play the innocent victim."

I wiped my face with the back of my hand, my eyes burning red. When I spoke, my voice rang out loud and clear.

"Carter, I was completely blind for the last eight years. From this second on, I will never, ever look for you again. You could drop dead, and I wouldn't even blink."

Carter flinched. For a fraction of a second, genuine panic flashed in his eyes. But he quickly masked it with a cruel scoff.

"Remember the last time you threw a tantrum? It took you three days to come crawling back, clutching that stupid bear I bought you."

"You want to play this game? Fine. I'm waiting."

"Just don't come crying to me when you realize what you threw away."

He turned his back on me, dropping heavily onto the sofa and pulling Peyton into his side. He whispered something into his friends ear, looking entirely too smug, utterly convinced Id break. He didn't even grant me a backward glance.

I didn't stay to watch the circus resume. I turned and walked out.

When I reached the street, I found my electric scooter toppled over against the curb. Both tires had been slashed flat.

I dragged the heavy metal frame all the way back to campus. The streets were pitch black, save for the flickering streetlights. A few drunk stragglers shouted obscenities as they passed. My skin crawled with every step, and I pushed the broken scooter faster, my breathing ragged.

When I finally made it back to the dorm, the cardboard box was still sitting by the door. The sight of it made my blood boil. I kicked it viciously into the corner, threw myself onto my mattress, and passed out from sheer exhaustion.

The next morning, I lugged the heavy box to the campus post office.

When the clerk scanned the barcode for shipping, I tapped my phone to pay. The screen flashed: Card Declined.

I frowned, opening my banking app. My stomach plummeted. Yesterday afternoon, Carter had used the joint-pay feature we set up years ago to drain my checking account. He took exactly $2,350every last cent I had earned from two months of grueling waitressing shifts.

"Miss, are we doing this or not? You're holding up the line!" The clerk's voice was laced with impatience.

The students behind me leaned in, whispering. I caught snippets of the gossip.

"Wait, isn't that the sugar baby who just got dumped? I heard she survived off Carter's credit cards. Guess she's broke now."

Another girl scoffed, raising her voice on purpose. "Sugar baby makes it sound glamorous. She was basically an escort. Didn't she just win some academic award, too? Wonder how she paid for that."

The words felt like razor blades scraping against my eardrums. I gripped my phone so tightly my knuckles turned white.

"Give me five minutes," I told the clerk, practically fleeing to the alley behind the post office. I dialed the only number I had left.

"Mom... I need to borrow a little cash..."

My mother's voice exploded through the speaker, so loud I had to pull the phone away from my ear. "You ungrateful little bitch! I told you not to mess around with those rich city boys! You didn't listen! Now he throws you out with the trash and you come begging me for money? You deserve it! You worthless"

I bit the inside of my cheek until I tasted copper, hanging up the phone without a word.

Defeated, I picked the heavy box back up. Without money for postage, I had no choice but to walk it all the way to Carter's luxury apartment complex. The sharp cardboard edges dug violently into my forearms. A few smaller items spilled out as I tried to readjust my grip; I stooped down, shoved them into my pockets, and kept walking.

Just as I reached the gated entrance of his building, a familiar engine purred. Carter's Porsche rolled to a stop right in front of me.

Peyton was in the passenger seat, buried under a mountain of glossy luxury shopping bags. When she saw me, she deliberately hoisted a Chanel bag higher so it caught the sunlight.

Carter rolled down his window. His eyes drifted to the cardboard box in my arms. A subtle, almost invisible wave of relief washed over his features, quickly replaced by that trademark arrogant smirk.

"Told you you couldn't stay away."

He pointed lazily to a wrought-iron bench near the gate. "Here, wait on the bench. Peyton and I are running down the street to grab a purse she wants. I'll deal with you when I get back."

Before I could even open my mouth to say, I'm just returning your garbage, he gunned the engine. The car shot forward. Peyton leaned out the window, offering me a sickeningly sweet, victorious wave.

...

I dumped the box directly on the pavement outside his building's front door and walked away.

I needed to make money. Fast.

The two grand he stole could just count as back-pay for all the dinners he'd bought me. I considered it the cost of severing the tie.

That afternoon, an urgent email went out to our department. An emergency assembly was being held to honor the recipient of the "University Honors Grant."

My advisor had called me the day before, telling me to prepare a speech because I was going to be the student representative.

But when the time came, the person walking across the stage to accept the plaque... was Peyton.

She was wearing a designer dress I recognized as one of Carter's favorites, her skin glowing with expensive treatments. She clutched the certificate to her chest, making a deliberate detour to walk past my row as she exited the stage.

She leaned down, her voice a poisonous whisper. "Tessa, someone filed an anonymous report about your moral character. Such a shame. Guess the committee had no choice but to give the grant to me."

When I glared at her, her smile only widened. "I failed five classes last semester, you know. But Carter made a few calls to the dean. How else was I ever going to graduate?"

She straightened up, her eyes gleaming with malice. "Oh, and Carter told me to pass along a message. He said, 'All her hard work isn't worth a single word from me.'"

I sat in the auditorium, my fingers crushing the speech I had stayed up all night to write. The injustice of it made my chest ache.

The moment the assembly ended, I marched straight to the department head's office to demand answers. The dean wouldn't even look me in the eye.

"Tessa... Carter's family just fully funded the new STEM wing. Let's not make a mountain out of a molehill, alright?"

I opened my mouth to argue, but my phone vibrated violently. It was a FaceTime call from my mother.

"I'm at your campus gates, get out here right now!"

I could see students pausing to stare at her in the background. Panicking that she was going to cause a scene, I abandoned my argument with the dean and sprinted across the quad.

"What the hell did you do to Carter?!"

The second I was within reach, she grabbed my arm, her nails digging into my skin. "He came to the house yesterday. He said you owed thirty thousand dollars in back tuition! He said you got caught sleeping around with other boys!"

My brain short-circuited. I opened my mouth to explain, but she violently shoved a heavy canvas bank bag into my chest.

"This is the money we made selling the harvest. It's eight thousand dollars. You take this right now, go find Carter, and beg him not to tell anyone in the county about this! Your brother needs a down payment on a house next year to marry that girl, and if her family hears about you acting like a whore, theyll call off the wedding!"

Suddenly, Peyton materialized from the crowd of onlookers. She offered my mother a sweet, sympathetic smile. "Don't worry, ma'am. Carter is just a little hurt. Tessa is always throwing tantrums over the smallest things."

Hearing this, my mother's face twisted in rage. She raised her hand, aiming a sharp slap at my face. "You stupid, ungrateful girl! He treats you like a queen and you pull this nonsense?!"

I flinched backward, dodging her hand. The canvas bag slipped from my grip, hitting the concrete. Rolls of cash and loose bills scattered across the sidewalk.

I dropped to my knees to gather it. Peyton casually stepped forward, using the toe of her designer heel to kick a wad of cash further away.

"Oh, by the way, Tessa," Peyton chirped. "Carter said if you crawl back and beg for forgiveness, he might consider putting your name back on the Honors Grant next year. And he'll take care of your brother's down payment."

"But," she paused, kneeling down so only I could hear her, "you have to apologize to me first. Tell me you were faking being so high and mighty all along."

When I didn't say anything, she leaned even closer, her perfume choking me. "Oh, and he also wanted you to know... he just bought out that coffee shop where you work. So when you show up tomorrow, consider yourself fired."

I didn't know how I was supposed to feel. Was I sad? Not really. I just felt an overwhelming, bone-deep exhaustion.

I methodically picked up every last dollar, stood up, and shoved the canvas bag back into my mother's hands.

"Take this home. Carter is lying. I don't owe tuition, I haven't been sleeping around, and I am absolutely never apologizing to him."

My mother panicked, grabbing the fabric of my jacket. "Are you crazy?! If you don't ask him for help, how is your brother going to pay for his wedding?!"

"That is his problem."

I shoved her hands off me, took a step back, and walked toward the bus stop.

I didn't look back. I ignored the relentless buzzing of my mother calling me again and again.

I knew what Carter was doing. He was systematically barricading every exit, isolating me, starving me out until I had no choice but to crawl back to him on my hands and knees.

But he missed one path.

I pulled out my phone and dialed a number Id saved from a flyer downtown.