He Counted Every Cent, Except the Cost of Losing Me - Chapter 4: Chapter 4

Grayson's face went white as he grabbed my wrist.
"What the hell are you trying to say?"
I shoved him off without hesitation, backing against the door as I spoke coldly: "Get out!"
"Fine, Tessa. I'll be waiting for you to come crawling back."
The moment the door slammed shut, tears I'd been holding back came flooding out.
Seven years with Grayson, and I'd been living in this fifty-fifty lie the whole time.
He'd said: "Modern women need independence. We keep our finances separate—it's only fair."
And I'd believed him.
So no matter how small the expense, he insisted we split everything down the middle.
Even dining out, he'd calculate who ordered more expensive dishes, who ate more food.
But then he'd turn around and throw money at his childhood friend Raven like it was nothing.
If I showed even a hint of dissatisfaction, he'd ice me out:
"Why are you being so petty? She's a single mom—do you know how hard that is?"
The old me was stupid enough to believe in love.
The new me only believes in bank account balances.
Since we'd laid our cards on the table, I decided to find a lawyer and get crystal clear on how marital assets would be divided.
Thanks to Grayson's wonderful influence, I was going to keep splitting things right down to the end.
What wasn't mine, I wouldn't take a cent of.
What was mine, nobody could touch.
Once I'd worked through all of this, I felt incredibly light.
That night I slept better than I had in ages.
The next morning, I wandered out of the bedroom yawning to find Grayson sitting at the dining table with a face like thunder.
I walked right past him and went to the door to grab our breakfast delivery.
In the past, I used to crawl out of bed before 4 AM every single day.
Because of his stomach problems, I'd make elaborate stomach-friendly meals.
But now?
I wasn't wasting another precious minute of my time on pointless shit like that.
"You're eating takeout?"
He frowned with disgust. "That stuff is complete garbage..."
I ignored him and kept unwrapping my food.
His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed, looking conflicted.
"I thought about it all night. You're misunderstanding my relationship with Raven, so I specifically asked her to take the day off and come explain things to you."
He seemed relieved after saying this, like he'd accomplished something monumental.
Then he reached over and took my breakfast, frowning slightly:
"About the divorce thing—I'm pretending I never heard it."
"And next time, make breakfast at home instead of ordering out. This stuff is overpriced and..."
"Fifteen bucks," I interrupted, pushing my payment QR code toward him. "Venmo or Apple Pay?"
His face instantly turned ashen as he shot to his feet, screaming at me: "What did you just say?"
"Coffee was eight dollars, sandwich was seven." I sipped my coffee calmly.
"Tessa! You've completely lost your mind!"
"The fifty-fifty thing was your idea. I'm just playing by your rules. Why can't you handle it now?"
The calmer my tone got, the more agitated he became.
Just then, Raven swept in wearing head-to-toe designer Chanel.
"What's all the drama? I could hear you guys fighting from down the hall."
She shot me a quick look when she walked in, and seeing my sour expression, her eyes immediately lit up with amusement.
Then she turned to Grayson with a fake concerned frown.
"Gray, seriously, why do you keep giving Tessa such a hard time?"
Grayson immediately looked guilty and rushed to explain: "It's not like that, don't say stuff like that."
Raven instantly realized something was off.
Usually when she said things like this, Grayson would immediately join her in criticizing me.
But this time, Grayson had denied it right away.
Her expression shifted as she said self-deprecatingly: "Right, I'm just an outsider anyway."
I looked at her coldly.
She was getting better and better at playing the innocent victim.
But I couldn't be bothered dealing with these two idiots.
I grabbed my breakfast and headed back to the bedroom.