Elena returned from the capital to find her entire family at home. She greeted everyone warmly, handed out the gifts she had brought, and exchanged a few light conversations before retreating to her room. Exhaustion settled into her bones as she lay down to rest.
Her phone rang.
She glanced at the screen.
Jake.
She answered calmly. "Hello."
Jake heard Elena's voice on the other end of the call. For a moment, he stayed silent, as if gathering courage.
"Elena…" he finally said, his voice low. "I'm sorry. I know you're angry with me. Please… give me one chance. I want to meet you."
There was a brief pause.
Elena's expression didn't change. Her tone was calm—almost too calm.
"Okay."
Just one word. She already knew this wouldn't be a simple meeting. If Jake was calling now, there was always a motive behind it. Still, she wanted to see what he was planning.
The last time they had met at a café, she had asked for her money back. Even then, she knew he wouldn't return it so easily. But since the original owner liked him and Elena didn't want to ruin everything, she had stayed quiet. Two days passed. Then a shoot came up, and she left for the capital. The issue slipped her mind.
Jake hadn't called for an entire month after that. He had assumed it was better to stay silent until her anger cooled down—otherwise, she might ask for the money again, IOUs included.
So when his call came today, Elena wasn't surprised. She already knew what he was trying to do.
After washing and dressing, she went to meet him.
It was a simple garden.
Jake was sitting on a bench. The moment he saw her walking in, he stood up and smiled, stepping toward her as if to hug her.
Elena stepped aside effortlessly.
"Mind it," she said coolly. "If an unknown person touches me, I get rashes. You wouldn't want that, right?"
Jake forced a smile. "I don't mind."
He looked at her lovingly and added, "Elena, you look beautiful."
She looked straight at him.
"I've always been beautiful," she replied flatly. "There was just a time when my eyesight was bad—I started liking just anyone."
His smile faltered.
"Elena… you're still angry, aren't you?" he said, clearly hurt. "I know it was my fault. I didn't contribute anything to our relationship."
He paused, then added softly, "But give me one chance. I'll fix everything. Please… I don't want our relationship to end because of money."
Elena smiled—slow, controlled.
"You want a chance? Fine."
"But first, return double the money I gave you."
"After that, if I feel like it, I might consider giving you a chance."
She tilted her head slightly.
"You're asking for a chance, Jake. Tests come before chances."
His eyes widened in shock.
"Elena, I want to pass your test too," he said quickly. "But you know I can't arrange that much money right now. And since when did money come between us? Saying things like this hurts my feelings."
He went quiet, as if trying to hold back tears.
Elena's expression hardened.
"I'm not saying this to hurt your feelings," she said sharply. "Because honestly—you don't even have any."
She raised her voice slightly.
"What hurts is your self-righteous attitude."
"And yes," she added coldly, "if you're planning to cry, cry first. Then we'll talk about money."
Jake made a wounded face.
"Elena, you—" he started, irritation and anger barely hidden.
Elena walked past him and sat down on the nearby seat.
"Listen," she said casually, "if you're going to cry, do it quickly. A kind, beautiful girl like me is already waiting for you to finish crying—and still ready to discuss money afterward."
She laughed without humor.
"And yet you're reacting as if I've committed some unforgivable crime."
Her voice grew louder, edged with hurt.
"Do you even realize how many years you've been asking me for money? I never once said no."
"But the moment I asked for my own money back, you started crying and turned me into the villain."
She scoffed.
"I gave you money, Jake. So I'm asking for it back."
"You're the one who wrote those IOUs. Not me."
Jake clenched his jaw, thinking bitterly.
I was an idiot to sign those IOUs back then.
Elena looked straight at Jake.
"Jake," she said quietly, but firmly, "this is the last time I'm saying this. Just give me my money back."
Her voice trembled for a second, but she didn't stop.
"Every time you needed money, I gave it to you. Never once did I ask you to pay for anything. Not for me. Not for my family. Not even when your family or your friends needed help."
She swallowed hard.
"You always came to me when you needed money. Always."
Her eyes stung, and she turned her face slightly, trying to hide the tears threatening to spill.
"And today," she continued, her voice breaking despite her efforts, "when I'm the one asking for my own money… you have nothing to give me except excuses."
People around them had started to notice. Whispers spread. Curious eyes turned toward them.
"She paid for him?"
"So he borrowed money from her?"
"And now he won't return it?"
Fingers pointed. Murmurs grew louder.
Jake stiffened, shame crawling up his spine.
Elena noticed it all—the stares, the judgment, the quiet accusations hanging in the air. She took a step forward and raised her hand slightly, her voice trembling but clear.
"Please," she said, looking around at the people watching. "Please don't say anything."
She turned back to Jake, her eyes glossy but steady.
"Otherwise, he'll think I'm saying all this just to make everyone hear it."
She took a slow breath.
"That's not what I want."
Her voice softened, almost painfully calm.
"I wanted this to end peacefully. Our relationship is already falling apart… I didn't want it to turn ugly."
She wiped the corner of her eye quickly, refusing to let the tears fall.
"I just want my money back," she said quietly.
"That's all."
She paused.
"After that… I won't say a single word."
For a moment, the garden felt unbearably silent.
At that moment, Jake finally understood.
This was not the naïve, innocent Elena anymore—the one who used to believe every sweet word he spoke, the one who agreed with a smile the moment he said please.
That Elena was gone.
He looked at her, searching for something—anger, tears, softness.
Elena simply looked back.
She said nothing.
And somehow, that silence hurt more than any words could.
The people around them noticed it too. They saw it clearly—Elena wasn't trying to embarrass him. She wasn't creating a scene. She wasn't playing the victim.
She was giving him space.
Slowly, one by one, people began to walk away. The whispers faded. The judgment lingered, but the audience disappeared.
Jake clenched his jaw.
Nothing is going to happen today, he realized. Not the way I wanted.
He turned, ready to leave.
That's when Elena spoke.
"Jake."
Her voice stopped him cold.
She walked toward him, her expression unreadable, her tone detached—almost emotionless.
"The show is over."
He turned back to face her.
"I want my money back by this evening," she said calmly. "Every single amount."
Jake opened his mouth to speak—
She didn't let him.
"If it doesn't come," she continued, scrolling on her phone with practiced ease, "then this—"
She turned the screen toward him.
"A group chat. Your office group. Seniors. Employees. Everyone."
She looked up at him, eyes steady.
"I'll upload pictures of every IOU you signed."
Her voice didn't rise. It didn't shake.
"After that," she added quietly, "what happens to your job… your reputation… that's something you already understand."
She locked her phone and slipped it back into her hand.
"And don't come to me later saying I ruined your life."
A pause.
Elena took a small breath.
"I've tolerated this till now only because theold me loved you deeply," she said. "I didn't want to drag this. I wanted it to end quickly. Cleanly."
She met his eyes one last time.
"That's the only reason you're still standing here with options."
She stepped back.
"Evening, Jake," she said flatly. "That's your deadline."
Jake stood frozen, the weight of reality crashing down on him.
In that moment, it finally sank in.
There was no way out.
No excuses left.
No emotions to hide behind.
Jake understood it clearly now—he would have to return the money. One way or another.
Elena had already turned away.
She walked out of the garden without looking back, her steps steady, her expression unreadable. The conversation was over. For her, at least.
As she walked, a strange feeling crawled up her spine.
I'm being watched.
It wasn't fear.
It was instinct.
That quiet, warning voice she had learned to trust.
Her pace slowed slightly, but she didn't turn around immediately. Whoever it was—if someone was watching—hesitation would only confirm it.
She stopped near the exit and casually glanced at her phone, then lifted her eyes and looked around.
Nothing.
People walked past. Conversations continued. Everything looked normal.
Too normal.
She turned her head, scanning her surroundings once more. A bench. A pathway. A few strangers.
No one obvious.
Yet the feeling didn't fade.
Someone is watching me, her instincts insisted. I just can't see who.
Elena straightened her posture and continued walking, her face calm, her mind alert.
Whoever it was… they were careful.
And that bothered her more than being seen ever could.