My boyfriend forgot to log out of his Facebook Messenger on my computer. Glancing at the messages, I saw he was chatting in his family group chat.

Mom: [Son, are you really planning to give Juniper $30,000 as a dowry tomorrow?]

Boyfriend: [Absolutely, even if we have to borrow $90,000, we'll give it to her.]

My heart leaped with joy—he truly loved me.

But then, my smile froze.

Boyfriend: [Anyway, once we're engaged, I'll report them to the authorities to get it back. In the end, we'll have a housekeeper for free who's also having my child.]

Dad: [Are you sure? If they return it, she might not want to marry you. Isn't this risky?]

Boyfriend: [If she refuses, I'll use AI to create compromising photos of her, ruin her reputation, and claim she lived with me and had an abortion. She'd have no choice but to marry me then.]

Dad: [That's brilliant, son! What a clever plan!]

Mom: [I always knew my son was smart. Marrying without spending a dime!]

Sister: [I'll help spread those photos, hehe.]

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. It was my boyfriend.

"Juniper, I left my car keys at your place. Can you let me in?"

He knocked as I sat there, trembling, my blood running cold. I quickly collected myself, grabbed my phone, and recorded their chat from my computer.

Tonight, he was coming over for dinner to discuss our engagement. He had logged into his Messenger on my computer to send a file, probably distracted by me calling him for dinner, and forgot to log out.

When I returned to the room, I saw their conversation. At first, when I read Riley was willing to spend any amount on my dowry, I felt lucky to have such a great partner. But I hadn't expected him to be such a scoundrel!

He was right about one thing: if they could get the money back later, any amount of dowry was just a number. On the contrary, the higher the dowry, the more reason he had to report it to the authorities.

Knowing this, I felt a surge of betrayal followed by rage. We were classmates who happened to meet again in this unfamiliar city, and he pursued me relentlessly. He treated me wonderfully, never missing an occasion. Although we'd only been dating for six months, I genuinely thought we were going to get married.

Tonight's dinner was to discuss him proposing to me tomorrow, getting engaged during Thanksgiving, and married by Easter. I was envisioning stepping into a new chapter of life with him, yet he came with nothing but calculations in mind!

Not to mention, I found out from their chat that his family was in debt to the tune of $100,000. Marrying him would mean slaving away to help pay it off!

It's not about returning the dowry or the debt—that's a separate issue. The real malicious move was what followed. After getting the money back, I would likely break up with him, but then he planned to use AI to generate compromising images to destroy my reputation.

His entire family was in on this, waiting to drag me back home as their unpaid housekeeper. My parents value their reputation above all else, and this might drive them to the brink of despair.

The more I thought about it, the calmer I became. Since they schemed against me, I had to find a way to make them face the consequences of their actions.

With that resolve, I slowly made my way to the door to let him in.

I knew exactly why he turned back right after leaving.

He must have realized that his WhatsApp was still open on my computer and was rushing back to see if I had discovered anything. Unable to log out from his phone discreetly, he had no choice but to return quickly.

I casually left my phone on the living room table, rolled up my sleeves, and held a coffee mug as I went to answer the door.

"I was just finishing my coffee. What did you say you left at my place?"

He visibly relaxed when he saw the mug in my hand. We didn't live together; I had said we'd only move in after marriage, and he agreed. So, he mostly just came over for meals but never stayed overnight.

"Sweetheart, I left my keys in your study. I realized it when I got to the car. Let me just grab them real quick."

He hurriedly brushed past me and dashed into the study. Watching his anxious figure, I couldn't help but smile.

There were no keys in the study; I had seen him take them when he left earlier. This was clearly just an excuse. But I wasn't going to call him out on it.

He emerged from the study shortly, still looking a bit flustered.

"Sweetheart, you didn’t go into the study, did you? Did you see my keys?"

Feigning confusion, I replied, "No, I went into the kitchen to finish my coffee right after you left. I haven’t been in the study."

Only then did he relax, a broad smile spreading across his face.

"Alright then, I'll pick you up tomorrow."

With that, he made a quick exit with the keys in hand.

I watched from the floor-to-ceiling window as his car drove out of the neighborhood. Then, I grabbed my phone and headed out, my mind already racing with what to do next.