My Billionaire Ex-Boyfriend's Sweet Revenge

Ethan, I don't think we're working out anymore.

Chloe pushed the limited-edition bracelet back toward me. It was the exact one I had stood in line for three hours to buy, but right now, her eyes held nothing but pure, unbothered disdain.

I gripped the velvet box, my knuckles turning white.

She had no idea I worked overtime for an entire month just to afford this.

To her, the only thing that mattered was that her best friend just got a one-carat diamond ring, while she was stuck with what she saw as a cheap piece of silver.

"Were just not a match," she repeated, her voice dripping with a sense of relief. "Ive met someone else. Hes just an ordinary guy, but he actually *gets* me. Being with you... I feel like I'm suffocating in a lukewarm bath."

I stared at her perfectly done makeup, catching the spark of excitement in her eyes as she imagined her brand-new life.

I was silent for ten seconds.

Then, I smiled.

"Alright. I wont hold you back."

That was the very last time I would ever indulge her.

Because starting tomorrow, she was going to learn what real suffocation felt like.

My name is Ethan.

I was with Chloe for three years, and I gave her my absolute everything.

When she complained our apartment was too cramped, I stretched my budget to the limit to rent a spacious two-bedroom place in a nice neighborhood.

When she complained about her long commute on the subway, I took the money Id been saving for two years and bought her a white Toyota Corolla.

When she said she wanted to apply for grad school, I paid five thousand dollars upfront for her GRE prep courses without a second thought.

The entire time, she believed I was just a regular, run-of-the-mill software engineer, making a decent living but barely scraping by in this expensive city.

She didn't know that the food delivery app she ordered from every single day ran on code I wrote back in my junior year of college.

She didn't know that the core recommendation algorithm of the viral short-video app she scrolled through every night was designed by me.

And she certainly didn't know that the massive glass tech tower downtownthe one right next to her officewas entirely mine.

I had only wanted to live a normal, quiet life, hoping to find someone who loved me for who I was, not my net worth.

Clearly, I was being naive.

The day after Chloe broke up with me, her new boyfriend came over to help her pack.

I stood by the doorway, watching him.

His name was Tyler. He was a DoorDash delivery driver. Apparently, they met when he delivered her boba tea one afternoon.

He was six feet tall and admittedly looked more athletic and energetic than I did.

"Sorry about this, man," Tyler said with a smug, victorious grin. "But hey, you can't force chemistry, right?"

I smiled back.

"Take good care of her."

Tyler blinked, caught off guard by how incredibly calm I was.

He had no idea that the night before, I had already made a dozen phone calls.

My first call was to our landlord: "I'm terminating the lease on the two-bedroom apartment immediately. Keep the deposit."

My second call was to a used car dealer: "Come pick up the white Toyota Corolla. Sell it at market value."

My third call was to the GRE prep center: "Cancel the enrollment for Chloe. The reason? She wont be needing it anymore. Refund the money to my card."

My fourth call was to my personal assistant, Justin: "Look into a DoorDash driver named Tyler. Contact his regional dispatch manager. Starting tomorrow, assign him only the absolute furthest delivery routes. Make sure he's paid the bare minimum per trip. And put a tracking monitor on all his active delivery zones."

On the other end of the line, Justin paused for a second. "Sir, how far do you want to push this?"

I looked out the window. Chloe was busy loading her heavy suitcases onto the back of Tylers beat-up scooter.

"Just enough so she can see with her own eyes exactly how much the man of her dreams actually makes in a month."

*Chloe, you thought my gifts were cheap?*

*You thought he could give you the thrilling life you always wanted?*

*Fine. Lets see what your life looks like without me.*

Three days after she moved out, Chloe texted me on Snapchat.

"Ethan, I left a few things at your place. When can I come by to grab them?"

I didn't reply.

She texted again: "Don't be like this. Can't we just end things on good terms?"

I still didn't reply.

Then her calls started coming in.

One, two, three times.

I blocked her number.

She probably thought I would be the same old Ethanthe guy who softened up the moment she pouted.

But she didn't realize that this time was different.

I wasn't just angry. My heart had gone completely cold.

For three long years, I had treated an ordinary girl like a literal princess.

Whatever she wanted, I never said no.

When she complained her salary was too low to buy designer bags, I quietly transferred money into her bank account every month.

When she complained that I was too busy with work, I turned down three multi-million-dollar tech projects just to stay home with her.

And what did I get in return?

She ran off with a delivery guy just because he said a few sweet words of encouragement when dropping off her meals.

Fine.

I was going to let her experience what that "true love" really cost.

On the fourth day, Chloe finally showed up at the lobby of my office building.

I was sitting in the corner cafe on the ground floor, watching her wander around through the glass window.

She didn't know which floor I worked on, so she had to ask the front desk receptionists one by one.

Justin tapped on my office door later that afternoon. "Sir, she's downstairs. Do you want to see her?"

"Not yet."

I watched her walk from the east entrance to the west entrance, and then to the north gate, wandering around for a solid forty minutes.

The June sun was brutal. Her carefully applied makeup was beginning to melt, and her face was flushed red from the heat.

Finally, I pulled out my phone and sent her a quick Snapchat message: "Look up. Left window on the second floor."

She snapped her head up, squinting through the glare.

I stood by the glass, giving her a brief wave.

Then I turned and walked downstairs.

She was standing near the lobby entrance, her face slightly sweaty and her hair a bit messy.

The moment she saw me walk out, she instinctively tried to smooth down her hair.

"Ethan..."

"Your stuff is in my car. Wait here."

I went down to the parking garage and brought up a cardboard box. Inside were a few pieces of her clothing, some books, and her half-empty skincare bottles.

She reached out to take it, but I didn't hand it over right away.

"Is this everything?" she asked.

"Everything."

She blinked, surprised by how cold and straightforward I was.

"Also," I reached into my pocket and pulled out a set of keys, letting them jingle. "Here are the keys to the apartment. I've officially terminated the lease."

The keys clinked loudly as they dropped into her palm.

She stared down at them, her lips trembling slightly, but she didn't say a word.

I knew exactly what she was thinking.

We had chosen that apartment together.

She had fell in love with the bay window, the sunny balcony, and the cute coffee shop right downstairs.

I had signed the lease immediately, paying six months of rent upfront without hesitation.

And now, there were still over two months left on it.

"I took back the security deposit," I said calmly. "I calculated the rent daily. I'm refunding you for the exact days you actually stayed there."

"You don't have to..."

"Two hundred dollars," I interrupted her, pulling the cash out of my wallet and tucking it into the side of the box. "Take it."

She didn't reach for it.

I looked at her handsthe hands I had held countless timeswhich were now tightly clutching the strap of her brand-new cheap purse.

"Chloe," I said, putting the box down. "Three years. Whatever I owed you, we are completely even now."

She snapped her head up, her eyes rimmed with red.

"Ethan, what is your problem?"

"Exactly what I said."

I turned around to walk back into the building.

"Ethan!" she yelled behind me. "Why are you acting like this? You only make a few grand a month! You spent almost everything on me these past three years! Do you even have any savings left? You're just..."

I stopped in my tracks.

She kept going, her voice rising. "Do you honestly think I left you because you're broke? No! I left because you have absolutely no ambition! It's been three years, Ethan! Your college friends are already directors or starting their own tech firms, and what are you doing? You're still just writing basic code, working for someone else, just..."

"Just what?" I asked, turning slightly.

"Just coasting through life!" she screamed. "Being with you, I could see the next thirty years laid out in a boring, predictable straight line! Do you know how suffocating that is? Its hopeless!"

I didn't turn around completely.

"Tyler is a delivery guy, sure. He makes barely enough to survive right now, but at least he has a dream! He told me he wants to open his own restaurant, to be his own boss! What about you? Do you even have the guts to try?"

I listened.

I listened to her call me lazy, unambitious, and a loser who didn't even have a dream.

When she finally ran out of breath, I turned and looked at her.

Her face was flushed with anger, her eyes wide and wild. It looked like she had finally dumped out every single resentment she had kept bottled up for three years. She was practically shaking.

"Are you done?" I asked.

She bit her lip, glaring at me.

"If you're done, go back," I said quietly. "Tyler is waiting for you."

I walked into the lobby, crossed the polished marble floor, and stepped into the private elevator.

Right before the doors slid shut, I saw her standing there in the heat, clutching that cardboard box, completely frozen.

Back in my office, I stood by the floor-to-ceiling window and looked down.

She was still standing there.

After a long time, she finally turned and slowly walked away.

She would walk a few steps, pause, then walk a few more.

I watched her figure disappear around the street corner before returning to my desk.

My phone rang. It was Justin.

"Sir, I have the details on Tyler," Justin reported. "He's thirty-two. He's been doing deliveries for a year and a half. Before that, he worked in construction, as a mall security guard, and in used car sales. He never kept a job for more than a few months. He has a heavy mortgage on a small house in the suburbs where he lives with his mother. Oh, and he has a five-year-old daughter with his ex-wife, who has primary custody."

"A daughter?"

"Yes. Theyve been divorced for two years. Does Chloe know about any of this?"

I was silent for a few seconds.

"She doesn't know a thing."

I hung up and looked out at the city skyline.

*Chloe, you think you found true love?*

*Do you even know what it means when a thirty-two-year-old man can't hold down a single job?*

*Do you know why he's still just delivering food after a year and a half?*

*He told you he wants to open a restaurant, but did you ever ask him where hes going to get the capital?*

*Did you ever ask why his ex-wife divorced him?*

*You know absolutely nothing.*

*You just thought he was better than me because he knew how to talk sweet.*

*Fine.*

*Ill let you see the reality.*