My Billionaire Husband Arrested Me for Taking His Money Chapter 03
I faltered, my empty stomach cramping painfully with hunger.
I had rarely felt this humiliated. When I finally spoke, there was a pleading note in my voice.
“Ryan, can you let it go just this once?”
“No.”
“Ryan…”
I stared at him, but he kept the payment screen pointed directly at me.
“We had an agreement. My money stays mine.”
“I…”
“And one more thing.”
Ryan scrolled through his transactions.
“You passed out at the station, and your hospital bill came to $2,500. The female officer paid it up front, and I reimbursed her. When are you paying me back?”
I clutched the hem of my shirt with one hand and held the other uncertainly over my belly.
“I don’t have any money.”
My voice was so quiet that I could barely hear it myself.
“Then…” Ryan sighed. “You don’t get to eat.”
“Ryan, I…”
“Mrs. Turner, clear the table.”
“Wait!”
I caught the housekeeper by the arm and turned back to Ryan, my eyes already red.
“Can I owe you for it?”
Ryan didn’t answer.
“Please…” My voice broke.
Mrs. Turner’s hand hovered over the table as she looked at Ryan uneasily.
He finally sighed.
“Fine.”
“Thank you.”
A second later, he turned the screen toward me, revealing a set of calculations.
“Based on current lending rates, I’m charging you three percent a year—a quarter of a percent a month.”
“The food and hospital bill come to $6,000. If you repay me in three months, you’ll owe $6,045.”
“Ryan…” My voice trembled. “Do you really have to keep track of every cent between us?”
His eyes narrowed.
“Was I not clear enough?”
I struggled to force the words out.
“I can’t come up with that much money.”
“Then it can keep accruing interest.”
He placed a promissory note on the table.
“If you pay in three months, you owe $6,045. In six months, it’ll be $6,090. After a year, $6,180.”
“The amount depends on when you repay me, so think carefully.”
“If you agree, sign it. Then you can eat.”
I stared at the promissory note as my vision blurred. My empty stomach cramped so badly that I felt sick.
With shaking fingers, I picked up the pen and signed my name.
As soon as I finished the final stroke, Ryan set a bowl of hot oatmeal in front of me.
“You can eat now.”
It smelled wonderful. It tasted better than anything I’d ever eaten.
Still, tears rolled down my face with every bite.
When I finished dinner, I washed the dishes and knocked on the door to Ryan’s study.
“I finished the dishes. You can credit me five dollars for the work.”
He didn’t look up.
“Fine.”
“If there’s nothing else, I’m going to bed.”
“All right.”
I braced a hand against my lower back and turned to leave, but he called after me.
“Lena Bennett.”
I turned around as he placed another agreement on the desk.
“Vanessa already drafted an agreement dividing the use of the house.”
I picked it up in disbelief and read the terms aloud.
“The first, second, and third floors are reserved exclusively for Ryan Mercer. Lena Bennett will pay an access fee of thirty dollars per hour while using these areas.”
“Household chores are exempt. All other activities within these areas, including passing through them, will incur the stated fee.”
“If you don’t have any questions, sign it.”
Ryan held out the pen.
I let the agreement fall to my side.
“Are you saying I have to pay you just to sleep anywhere downstairs?”
“You don’t have to sleep in my part of the house.”
I stared at him as he pointed to an additional clause.
“The fourth-floor attic is designated as a shared marital space. Lena Bennett may use that space without charge.”
“The attic?” My voice trembled. “It’s barely forty-three square feet, and it’s full of boxes.”
Ryan didn’t even raise his head.
“You can always sign another promissory note.”
I stopped arguing. Lowering my head, I signed at the bottom of the agreement.
A tear splashed onto the page as I finished signing my name.
“It’s signed.”
Ryan took the agreement. His thumb passed over the wet spot without pause.