Chapter 1
The moment the winning numbers flashed across his computer screen, Richard felt his heart stop dead in his chest, his eyes darting back and forth between the glowing display and the crumpled lottery ticket clutched in his trembling hand.
"Is this really happening..."
" Oh my god I can't believe it!"
"it worked, it actually worked?!" The words came out as barely more than a whisper, disbelief strangling his voice as the reality of the situation slowly began to sink in.
There it was, printed on that flimsy piece of paper, the exact same sequence of numbers that now stared back at him from the official lottery website.
And the price money was a whopping,Ten million dollars!
That wasn't a small amount, but one that could easily change a person's entire existence, the kind that lifted families out of generational poverty and opened doors he had always assumed would remain permanently sealed for someone like him.
Before Richard could even process the full weight of what had just happened, a pair of slender arms wrapped around him from behind, and the familiar scent of Bridget's perfume flooded his senses as her face pressed against his shoulder.
"Babe! We did it! We're finally rich!" Her voice was practically vibrating with joy, each word tumbling out faster than the last.
A light smile couldn't help but tug at the corner of his lips, because hearing her this happy made him feel warm inside, even if his brain was still struggling to catch up.
"Oh I can't wait for us to go shopping," Bridget continued, her grip on his shoulders tightening as she rocked back and forth in place. "There's this designer bag I've had my eye on for a while now, I wasn't sure if I should've brought it up before but now, maybe we can even get that dress I saw last week, or those beautiful diamond necklaces we saw last month as well."
' W-What...'
The warmth in Richard's chest began to cool rather rapidly, because the way she was talking made it sound like she had already spent half the money in her head, and they hadn't even claimed the prize yet.
"Wait wait wait..." He held up a hand, cutting her off before she could add another expensive item to her growing mental shopping cart.
'The hell is she talking about?' right now, he felt rather uncomfortable hearing her talk like this.
Turning to glance at her from over his shoulder, Richard fixed his girlfriend with a look that was more confused than accusatory. "What exactly do you mean we're rich? Don't you mean, I'm rich?"
Hearing his words, her bright smile began to falter ever so slightly. But she recovered quickly, smoothing it over with a smile that Richard suddenly realized looked somewhat crooked.
"Babe, I don't understand," she said, her voice taking on a gentle tone that somehow made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. "Aren't you going to give me some of the money? I mean we are together aren't we?"
" Is it really that big of a deal if I spent a few tens of thousands"
There it was, the question he hadn't known he had been dreading, and now that it hung in the air between them, Richard found himself staring at his girlfriend as if seeing her for the first time.
"You want me to give you that much?" He repeated slowly. "Bridget, the money isn't even in my hand yet, and you're already making demands to spend more than half of it."
"So? Is that why you're getting upset!" She frowned at him, her arms finally releasing his shoulders as she stepped back with her hands planted firmly on her hips.
Richard let out a long, steady breath, using his fingers to massage his brows. "I'm not getting upset, babe, I'm just saying we should take things one step at a time. It won't do us any good to let this go to our head. Ten million dollars is a huge sum."
"Hmph! If you wanted to tell me you don't love me, you could've just said so," she snapped, clicking her tongue with exaggerated dissatisfaction. "Even after becoming a millionaire, you're still as stingy as ever."
Richard felt his expression darken despite his best efforts. "And what's that supposed to mean?"
"Isn't it obvious! Your poverty-stricken mindset is something you just can't get over. You have a few million now! What's wrong with spending some of that on your own girlfriend?"
' Some of that?! Bridget you just talked about spending tens of thousands of daughters right now as if it was nothing!'
Richard stared at her for a long moment, the silence stretching between them, and he realized with a strange sense of detachment that the woman standing before him was not the same person who had wrapped her arms around him in joy just minutes ago.
"You know what, Bridget? I can't deal with you right now," he said, the words coming out heavy and tired. "Please just leave, we'll talk about this later."
"Richard! Are you seriously sending me away?!" Her face twisted with fresh anger, her arms crossing over her chest.
"You know that's not what I'm saying," Richard groaned lightly.
"Of course it is, just because you got lucky, now you're suddenly too good for me? Is that it?!"
"Bridget please—"
"You know what? Fine!" The words exploded out of her and she stomped her foot against the floor. "I'm leaving! And don't even think of calling me again, you bastard!"
She was already turning toward the door before Richard could respond, and when he called her name, she ignored him completely, her hand closing around the doorknob with enough force to make her knuckles go white.
The door slammed shut behind her with a sound like a gunshot.
Richard sat there in silence, staring at the closed door, and when it didn't swing open again, he let out a long, exhausted sigh before slumping back heavily into his computer chair.
The lottery ticket was still clutched in his hand, crumpled and warm from his grip, and yet, the victory felt considerably less sweet than it had just minutes ago.