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<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
When Kyra discovers, by accident, that her boyfriend, Henry, has been cheating on her, she goes completely numb. Until he sends her an invoice for everything that he had ever spent on her. Fueled by her anger, Kyra fights back, exposing Henry for who he is and asking for her monetary rewards in return.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve all heard of crazy boyfriend or ex-boyfriend stories\u2014I mean, when I was in college, it was a common sleepover story.
\nI\u2019ve heard of the boyfriend who wanted to taste everything his girlfriend ate\u2014before she did. And an ex-boyfriend who demanded that his ex-girlfriend help him study for finals because it was her fault that he wasn\u2019t able to concentrate.<\/p>\n
But I didn\u2019t expect my relationship to turn into one of those stories.<\/p>\n
I had been dating Henry for two years. We had met in college at a party and after a night of drunken conversation over fries, we ended up dating.<\/p>\n
Our relationship wasn\u2019t perfect\u2014in fact, over the course of it, we had broken up three times.<\/p>\n
\u201cCome on, Kyra,\u201d Henry said. \u201cWe either get back together or we break up for good.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was the defining moment in our relationship because Henry was the one who wanted to call the shots. He wanted us to stay together, and I wanted us to call it a day.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Over the years, Henry and I had gotten into enough fights, motivating me to turn to therapy to help me cope with the stress of it.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd yet,\u201d my friend Brent said, \u201cyou still remain with him.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was just another ordinary Friday evening and Henry had come over to my place. We were going to eat pizza and watch series until we fell asleep.<\/p>\n
A few hours into the evening, Henry had fallen asleep on the couch and I casually reached over to grab his phone to check the time.<\/p>\n
But I was completely unprepared for everything that followed.<\/p>\n
Just as I picked up Henry\u2019s phone, his screen lit up with a text message from another girl.<\/p>\n
Hey, babe! See you later or are we meeting tomorrow?<\/p>\n
\u201cHey, who\u2019s this?\u201d I asked, nudging him awake and handing him the phone with a puzzled look.<\/p>\n
Henry snatched the phone from my hand in a fury, his face clouding over.<\/p>\n
\u201cKyra, why are you reading my messages?\u201d he snapped, his tone defensive.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was just looking for the time,\u201d I stammered. \u201cMy phone is on charge in the kitchen. I wasn\u2019t snooping or anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Henry stood up, took a swig of his now room-temperature beer, and paced around my living room.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is my private stuff, Kyra,\u201d he accused. \u201cYou shouldn\u2019t be looking at all.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before I could process what was happening, Henry began putting his shoes on, and then he made a final decision about our relationship.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we\u2019re done here. I can\u2019t trust you anymore!\u201d<\/p>\n
And with that, he left my apartment.<\/p>\n
Stunned, I watched him leave. We were over in the blink of an eye after two years.<\/p>\n
I couldn\u2019t understand if I felt relief or devastation. I would miss Henry, of course, but at the same time\u2014I didn\u2019t think that this was the worst thing.<\/p>\n
Henry had been emotionally manipulating me for a long time, but I had felt a familiarity with him. And that had made it easier to stay with him.<\/p>\n
It was the comfort of being with a familiar person, despite the heartache that came with them.<\/p>\n
I could hear my mother\u2019s words loud in my head.<\/p>\n
\u201cKyra,\u201d she would say, \u201cYou\u2019re too smart to be playing a game like this. Let go of the dead weight. Henry has been nothing but dead weight since your first big fight.\u201d<\/p>\n
And she would be correct.<\/p>\n
I decided to take a shower, I needed to lull my body into a sense of relaxation so that I could just let go and sleep.<\/p>\n
And then it truly dawned on me\u2014the reason for the breakup now was because I had caught Henry cheating on me. At first, I was too stunned. I was stunned by the fact that he had walked out on me.<\/p>\n
But I finally managed to realize that he had actually been dating another woman. And had no idea how long it had been going on for.<\/p>\n
The thought was too much for me to comprehend. I had so many questions running through my mind\u2014how long had Henry been cheating on me? Who was the other person? What would have happened if I hadn\u2019t found out?<\/p>\n
The next few days were a complete blur\u2014I felt a sense of relief knowing that I was untied to Henry. But at the same time, I felt hollow and a bit raw.<\/p>\n
I found myself crying\u2014not for Henry, but for myself. And through it all, I couldn\u2019t understand why I was so upset.<\/p>\n
While making a cup of tea, an email pinged on my laptop, signaling me to my desk.<\/p>\n
It was from Henry.<\/p>\n
Hoping for an apology, I opened it immediately\u2014only to find a detailed bill listing every single expense that Henry claimed to have incurred on my behalf over the duration of our relationship.<\/p>\n
Kyra, please make the payment soon. I need to move on, and you need to make things right with me. I cannot believe I wasted so much time and money on you.<\/p>\n
I saw red\u2014a hazy fury took over my sight. My head pounded, and my heart was ready to burst with the flood of feelings that were unleashed by Henry\u2019s email.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is insane!\u201d I screamed at the screen.<\/p>\n
I shut off my laptop and made myself some soup. Henry and his delusional state of mind could wait. I wasn\u2019t going to pay anything back. I was done with him.<\/p>\n
As I cut up some garlic bread, I had an idea.<\/p>\n
My friend, Brent, who hated Henry\u2014was a lawyer and he loved a challenge.<\/p>\n
\u201cHey, it\u2019s me,\u201d I said, calling him while I waited for the soup to get ready. \u201cI\u2019ve got a bit of a situation with Henry, and I think I need to hit back with something clever.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brent was intrigued. He chuckled and asked me to explain.<\/p>\n
\u201cTell me everything, Kyra,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The next day, I met Brent at a coffee shop, where we planned on thinking up the next step where I could get back at Henry.<\/p>\n
Brent ordered us coffee and pastries, while I pulled up the email from Henry.<\/p>\n
As we laid out his claims against my emotional tolls\u2014the late-night anxiety, the therapy costs\u2014he burst out laughing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is actually genius. Let\u2019s draft up a counter-invoice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Our response was meticulously calculated, and I couldn\u2019t help but feel a twinge of satisfaction sending it back to him.<\/p>\n
This inspired me to start a blog about my journey of recovery and empowerment. To my surprise, the blog resonated with many, and soon, a publisher reached out with an interest in turning my experiences into a book.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, Henry\u2019s pursuit for repayment dwindled, especially once he realized the potential public fallout and legal ramifications.<\/p>\n
\u201cI cannot believe that you did that, Kyra,\u201d Henry said. \u201cPeople are messaging me constantly now. Why would you embarrass me like that? Why would you post the invoice I sent you? You owe me!\u201d<\/p>\n
I sat in front of the TV and let Henry vent on speaker.<\/p>\n
I had absolutely no intention of explaining myself. My blog did expose him\u2014and sure, I did post the invoice. But it was my way of healing through the entire ordeal.<\/p>\n
But as always, Henry had to make it about himself. He commented on some of the blog posts, stating that I was yet to pay him for everything.<\/p>\n
In reply, other readers let him have it\u2014calling him out on his selfishness.<\/p>\n
When Brent came over for dinner, he sat down and chuckled.<\/p>\n
\u201cLooks like Henry got the message,\u201d Brent said. \u201cHe has dropped all demands. It seems like he just didn\u2019t want to risk any further exposure.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the end, not only did I manage to counter his pettiness with strength, but I also carved out a new path for myself.<\/p>\n
This wasn\u2019t just about a breakup recovery\u2014it was a rebirth.<\/p>\n
What would you have done?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When Kyra discovers, by accident, that her boyfriend, Henry, has been cheating on her, she goes completely numb. Until he sends her an invoice for everything that… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12383,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12382","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n