Claimed by My Ex's Best Friend

"Break up with her. Cut off her cards." Preston Kensington was sick of me being a gold digger.

He listened to his fratboy friends and decided to teach me a lesson. "Give it three days. She will come crying back to you.

Then you can make her do whatever you want." Preston actually followed their advice and dumped me. I grabbed the edge of his shirt.

He did not even look back. "If you cannot fix this bad habit of yours, do not even think about getting back together." "No, I just wanted to say… every single one of your best friends has already handed me a nolimit Amex Black Card." Silas Sinclair was the most aggressive about it.

A global nolimit card. A massive stack of property deeds. I really could not resist the temptation.

Later, when Preston finally realized I was not coming back, he came looking for me.

He stared in absolute disbelief. "What the f— Did you not say she was a gold digger?" Silas gripped my hand tight. "She just likes money a little bit.

How is she a gold digger?" Chapter 1 Preston and I got together for a very simple reason. He wanted my body. I wanted his money.

When he first chased me, he kept asking what I wanted. I was completely honest. I wanted money. A lot of it. If a man did not have money, he had no business chasing me.

Preston was generous. He was the trust fund heir to Kensington Group. He had more money than he knew what to do with.

When we first started dating, I got whatever I wanted the exact second I asked for it. He actually got a sense of achievement from watching me spend his cash.

He practically begged me to drain his accounts. He told me he only felt secure when I was spending his money like water. But recently, he changed. He got stingy.

I bought one purse this month for seventy grand, and he gave me the cold shoulder. I brushed it off. I figured he just had a bad day at work.

I gave him a quick glance and went back to admiring the massive rock on my finger. Then I swiped his card again.

His face dropped. "When are you going to change this terrible spending habit?" he snapped. "Do you think money just grows on trees?" "Do you do anything all day besides spend money?

What if I go broke one day?" "Why can you not be like other girls and only buy what you actually need?" "You spent seventy grand on a single bag.

Do you know that is enough to feed a normal family for a whole year?" I stared at him. The muscles in my jaw tightened. This was completely ridiculous.

What did other people have to do with me? I was beautiful. I had a great personality. I was born to spend money.

But because I had such a great personality, I reflected on my actions. Maybe I really did go overboard. Preston had not fully taken over the company yet.

Maybe my spending actually stressed him out. I gave myself a pep talk. I turned around, fully prepared to apologize and promise to cut back.

Before I could even open my mouth, he stood up. He glared at me with absolute ice in his eyes. "Let us break up." My breath hitched. "Break up?

You want to dump me because I spend your money?" A short, bitter laugh escaped my throat. "Are you out of your mind?

You literally begged me to spend your money." Preston tightened his jaw. He cut me off before I could say another word. "It is not about you spending money.

I just hate your moneygrubbing attitude." He snatched his jacket off the couch.

He gave me zero chance to argue. "So until you fix this bad habit, we are done." He paused at the door.

He tossed one last look over his shoulder. "Of course, if you actually change your ways, we can get back together." Chapter 2 He made sure to enunciate that last part about getting back together.

Like he was terrified I might miss it. I stared at Preston's retreating back. My jaw clenched so hard my teeth ached. If he wanted to dump me, fine.

But slapping the gold digger label on me? So what if I was a gold digger? Was I supposed to worship him instead? Money was my best friend. Was it a crime to love it?

Beautiful women rarely selfreflect. But I had an exceptional personality. After Preston left, I dragged out everything he bought me over the past year.

A milliondollar necklace from an auction. A threehundredgrand bracelet from a boutique window. Ninetygrand custom leather shoes. Fortygrand runway dresses.

Seventhousanddollar coffee mugs. Fourthousanddollar house slippers. I never held a gun to his head for these things. He practically shoved his credit cards down my throat.

Was he secretly going bankrupt? I chewed on my lower lip. I decided to find him and have a proper talk.

After tracking down his location, I drove over and walked straight up to the door of his VIP booth.

I pushed the heavy wood open a fraction of an inch. "I told you, I dumped her tonight!" Preston's voice drifted through the gap. "You guys have no idea." "When I did it, her eyes got all red.

I almost caved, but I held my ground." The booth erupted into a chorus of voices. "You actually dumped her?" "Are you sure?" "Did she agree?" "Is it completely over?" A fist slammed against a table.

Preston sounded pissed. "What the hell is wrong with you guys?

Why does it sound like you were all just waiting for me to drop her?" "Just messing with you, man," one of his friends said. "I just did not think you actually had the guts to do it." "We are just proud of you," another chimed in. "You should have done this ages ago." "Exactly.

Your girlfriend, sorry, exgirlfriend, has never tasted the real world. Let her struggle out there for a bit.

She will realize how good she had it with you." "Why would I not have the guts? We are getting back together anyway.

That was your whole plan, right?" Preston swallowed the bait completely. "Besides, she is obsessed with me. When I walked out, she literally grabbed my shirt.

If I had not walked away so fast, one more look from her and I would have surrendered." "Obviously.

Guys like you do not just fall out of the sky," a friend said. "You fed her expensive tastes for months.

No other guy can afford her now." "She will come crawling back to you." "Exactly. Look at us.

Are we the type to sweat over cash?" the first guy added. "That seventygrand bag she bought does not even cover a single bottle of our liquor tonight.

But is the money the real issue?" He paused for dramatic effect. "No. Let me break it down for you.

Your girl loves money too much." "That means money is always going to be number one in her heart.

Which makes you number two for the rest of your life." "What if you lose your fortune one day? She would run for the hills. You have to break her.

You have to make sure you are her number one priority." "Get it?" "Right. You have to hold out," the last friend insisted. "Ice her out for at least a month and a half.

Break her down." "Otherwise, the lesson will not stick." Preston leaned back. His voice dripped with arrogance. "I know.

I have everything under control." They kept laughing and discussing their little master plan. Through the crack in the door, my eyes landed on the darkest corner of the booth.

A man sat there, completely detached from the noise. He kept his eyes lowered. A cigarette burned between his long fingers. He did not say a single word.

Chapter 3 "Silas, what do you think?" Preston looked over at him. "Will this actually work?" I followed Preston's gaze through the crack in the door.

I had seen this guy a few times. A handsome face. Barely spoke. It took Silas a long time to answer. "Don't ask me," he drawled. "It's the middle of the night.

I'm dead tired." Since Silas did not shut the idea down, the others doubled down, promising Preston that his little method was foolproof. I stood outside the door. My chest burned.

To say I was not furious would be a lie. Even if I had made a mistake, he could have just closed the door and settled it with me. We could have figured it out together.

Instead, he teamed up with outsiders to tear me down and treat me like some cheap joke. I did not push the door open. I turned on my heel and went straight back to his house.

It only took me two hours to pack my bags. Preston chased me for a whole year, but we were only officially together for a few months. I did not have that much stuff at his place.

I checked my bank balance. I chewed on my thumb, my face dropping at the number. I only had about a hundred and fifty grand left. Was I about to be poor again?

I looked back at the piles of luxury jewelry and designer bags on the floor. My chest physically ached at the sight of them, but I grabbed my suitcase and walked out the door.

Preston thought my brain only processed dollar signs. He did not get it. I did not just spend anyone's money. I was gorgeous.

The men lining up from here to Paris to chase me were proof enough. If I didn't actually like Preston, why would I have spent his money in the first place?

None of that mattered now. Even if he dropped to his knees and begged me, I would never spend another dime of his money. I stayed in a hotel for one night.

By the next day, I had found my own apartment.

I would later learn that meanwhile, Preston had finally returned to his house and realized I was completely gone, taking my luggage with me.

He immediately blew up their group chat. [Him: Fuck, she left. She actually left. She didn't even take a single one of her favorite bags. Did I push this too far?] [Friend: Relax.

This is just the beginning. She left the expensive stuff on purpose so she doesn't look like a gold digger.

Leaving it proves she's definitely coming back for it, doesn't it?] [Him: But she blocked me. Is this really going to work?] [Friend: I guarantee it. Just sit tight.

You have to hold the line, or you ruin the whole plan.] [Him: Fine. But I'm still anxious. She's too pretty.

Now that we broke up, a bunch of trash guys are going to swarm her.] [Good thing I kept the breakup quiet and only told you guys.] [Him: I'm still not comfortable with this.

Silas, you're the most reliable one here. I can't show my face right now.

Keep an eye on her for me.] A long time passed before Silas finally replied in the chat with a single word. [Silas: Sure.] I honestly thought that after blocking Preston, I would never cross paths with his circle again.

But over the next two days, I kept randomly bumping into his friends. I had only seen a few of them once or twice when Preston dragged me out. Some of them I didn't even recognize.

Maybe my title as a gold digger had really made waves in his social circle. Without exception, every single guy who ran into me tried to find a way to throw money at me.

One guy claimed he loved the cheap hairpin in my hair and insisted on buying it off me with a bank card.

Another practically fought me to pay an absurd premium for the coffee I just ordered.

One guy even hopped on the rental bike I had just unlocked, rode off, and tossed a nolimit Amex Black Card at my feet. I was pretty. But I was not stupid.

Chapter 4 Birds of a feather flock together. Anyone hanging with a guy like Preston Kensington was definitely trash.

I refused to get involved with any of them, only for them to complain about my spending habits later.

To prove I was not just some leech, I got a job to fund my own gold digger lifestyle. I majored in dance, so I auditioned and landed a spot at a dance academy.

But working was exhausting. A few days in, I was a corporate slave having my soul sucked out of my body. I was not made for the ninetofive grind.

A woman like me belonged on a private island, sipping soda in the ocean breeze and watching the sunset. My legs ached. I did not want to walk the long stretch to the subway station.

I stopped walking and stared at the car trailing slowly behind me. I slid into Silas Sinclair’s passenger seat.

I sat ramrod straight, clutching the strap of my purse. "Just drop me off at the subway entrance, please." "No problem." He steered the wheel with one hand and threw a glance my way. "It is on my way.

I will drive you." I wasn't stupid. His company was right in the middle of downtown. How was this on his way? He cleared his throat. "I am not actually close with Preston.

I only met him a few months ago." "Oh." I kept my eyes on the window. Utterly bored. He didn't beat around the bush.

He pulled the car over to the curb, leaned over, and hauled a massive pile of boxes from the backseat. I caught a quick glimpse. A Patek Philippe watch. A Harry Winston necklace.

A Bvlgari bracelet. The newest Hermès bags in several different colors. He caught me looking. "Do not misunderstand.

I know you are not a materialistic girl." He dug around in his pocket and pulled out something else.

A crumpled envelope. "This is what I really wanted to give you," he said. "The rest is just extra." My eyes locked onto the two bold words written on the front: Love Letter.

What the hell? Who still writes love letters in this day and age? I shoved the letter back at him and glared, ready to correct his ridiculous delusion. "You are dead wrong.

I am materialistic. I am a gold digger. Not only am I a gold digger, I am vain, shallow, and petty