Kyra becomes utterly numb after learning—accidentally—that her lover, Henry, has been unfaithful to her. till he bills her for all the money he has ever spent on her. Driven by her rage, Kyra retaliates, revealing Henry’s true nature and demanding financial compensation in exchange.
Crazy anecdotes about boyfriends or ex-boyfriends are nothing new; in fact, throughout my undergraduate years, I often heard them during sleepovers.
There is a guy I know of who always wanted to try his girlfriend’s food before she did. And there was the ex-boyfriend who insisted that his ex-girlfriend assist him in studying for his final exam since he couldn’t focus because of her.
However, I never imagined that my relationship would become one of those tales.
Henry and I had dated for two years. We had hit it off at a party in college, and following a late-night chat over nachos, we went on dates.
We had broken up three times throughout the course of our relationship, so it wasn’t flawless.
Henry urged Kyra to hurry up. “We break up permanently or we get back together.”
Since Henry was the one who preferred to make the decisions, it was the turning point in our relationship. I wanted to end the day with him, but he wanted us to stay together.
I had enough arguments with Henry over the years to know that I needed therapy to help me deal with the stress of it.
“And yet you’re still with him,” my buddy Brent said.
Henry had stopped by at my house on this typical Friday night. Our plan was to watch TV shows and eat pizza until we passed out.
Henry had slept out on the couch a few hours into the evening, so I leaned over to check the time with a casual flick of his phone.
However, I was totally unprepared for what came next.
Henry’s phone screen flashed a text message from another female as soon as I picked it up.
Hello, sweetie! Shall we meet tomorrow, or shall we part ways later?
Who’s this, hey? I questioned, giving him a stern look as I handed him the phone and nudged him to wakefulness.
With a furious expression, Henry grabbed the phone out of my hand and covered his face.
“Why are you reading my messages, Kyra?” I said. With a defensive tone, he snapped.
I stumbled, “I was just looking for the time.” “I’m in the kitchen charging my phone.” I wasn’t spying on anyone or anything.
Henry got up and walked my living room, taking a gulp from his now-room-temperature beer.
“Kyra, this is my personal stuff,” he said. “You ought not to be gazing at all.”
Henry started putting on his shoes before I could even begin to grasp what was occurring, and he then made up his mind regarding our relationship.
We’re probably done here. I refuse to trust you any longer!
He then departed from my apartment.
I watched him go, stunned. After two years, we were done in the blink of an eye.
I was unable to distinguish between relief and tragedy. Of course, I would miss Henry, but this wasn’t the worst thing, in my opinion.
Even though Henry had been emotionally abusing me for a while, I felt like I knew him. And staying with him had been easier because of it.
Even if they brought pain with them, there was something comforting about being with someone you knew.
My mother’s comments were clearly audible to me in my mind.
“Kyra, you’re too intelligent to be engaging in this kind of gaming,” she would remark. Give up the unnecessary weight. Since your first major combat, Henry has been little more than dead weight.
She would be right, too.
I made the decision to take a shower because I wanted to relax my body in order to let go and go to sleep.
It finally dawned on me that the reason we were breaking up at this point was because I had discovered Henry was cheating on me. I was first too shocked. The idea that he had abandoned me astounded me.
However, it took me a while to figure out that he had been seeing someone else. and was unaware of the duration of the situation.
I couldn’t even begin to process the concept. My mind was racing with so many questions: how long had Henry been unfaithful to me? Who was the other individual? What may have occurred if I hadn’t learned?
The days that followed were a total haze, but I was relieved to be free of Henry’s bonds. However, I also felt a little raw and empty.
I started weeping, but not for Henry, but for me. And throughout it all, I was baffled as to why I was feeling so angry.
An email alerted me to my desk while I was brewing tea on my laptop.
It came from Henry.
I opened it right away, expecting an apology, only to discover a comprehensive statement detailing every single item Henry claimed to have paid on my behalf during our relationship.
Kyra, kindly send the money right now. You need to make things right with me so that I can go on. I can’t believe how much money and time I wasted on you.
I saw crimson; my vision became blurry with rage. Henry’s email had me feeling so overwhelmed that my heart felt like it was about to explode.
“This is completely crazy!” I yelled at the display.
I turned off my laptop and had a bowl of soup. Henry could wait with his hallucinations. I had no intention of repaying anything. I had had enough of him.
I got an idea while chopping some garlic bread.
My lawyer friend Brent, who detested Henry, was always up for a good fight.
I called him and said, “Hey, it’s me,” as I waited for the soup to cook. “I think I need to respond with something cunning because I’m in a bit of a situation with Henry.”
Brent was curious. With a laugh, he asked me to clarify.
“Kyra, tell me everything,” he said.
I met Brent at a coffee shop the next day, and we decided to brainstorm the next move I might take to get revenge on Henry.
We got pastries and coffee from Brent, and I opened Henry’s email.
He started chuckling as we outlined his allegations against my emotional tolls, such as the late-night anxiousness and the therapy bills.
“This is very brilliant. Together, let’s construct a counter-invoice.
We carefully considered our response, and when I sent it back to him, I couldn’t help but feel a little bit of pleasure.
I was motivated by this to begin writing a blog about my path to empowerment and recovery. Much to my surprise, the blog struck a chord with a lot of people, and shortly after, a publisher expressed interest in putting my experiences into a book.
Henry, on the other hand, became less aggressive in his demand for money, particularly once he became aware of the possible negative publicity and legal implications.
Henry said, “It’s unbelievable that you did that, Kyra.” “People are texting me all the time right now. Why would you subject me to such humiliation? I sent you an invoice; why would you post it? You are due to me!”
Henry was able to vent on speaker as I sat in front of the TV.
I had no intention of providing an explanation. He was exposed on my blog, and yes, I did publish the invoice. However, it was how I dealt with the whole thing and healed.
Henry had to make it about himself, as always. He said that I still owed him money for everything in a remark on a few of the blog entries.
Other readers chastised him for being conceited in their response.
He sat down to supper and laughed when Brent came over.
Brent remarked, “Looks like Henry got the message.” “He has renounced all requests. It appears that he was simply unwilling to take a chance on any more exposure.
Ultimately, I not only used my power to overcome his pettiness, but I also forge a new route for myself.
This was a rebirth, not merely the healing from a breakup.
How would you have responded in the situation?