My Past Life Was My Greatest Fortune

I'm Not a Pushover

The private room went dead silent. Preston’s face turned red. “You actually want me to get down and lick your shoe?”

Maverick glanced at his shoe, then at him. “Those are your only two options. Choose.”

“This is fucking humiliation!” Preston shoved his chair back and stood up.

Emily cut in quickly, trying to regain control. “Maverick, enough of this. You’ve never acted this way before. Let’s just drop it and talk about the wedding instead, since my brother is already here.”

Maverick’s voice stayed calm. “So what you’re really saying is you won’t marry me unless I hand over another two hundred thousand for the wedding?”

“How did you figure that out?” Emily’s face shifted instantly.

Maverick let out a short, cold chuckle. “I figured out more than that. Your idiot brother Preston has been gambling like a fool, lost a fortune, and borrowed money he can’t repay. If those people don’t get their cash, he’s going straight to jail.”

Emily’s expression turned ugly. “Since you already know the whole mess, the least you could do is give him the two hundred thousand to get him out of trouble.”

“Give him my ass!” Maverick’s face hardened. “That money isn’t mine. My father’s leg got crushed on a job site. The compensation is for his treatment and for my parents’ future. If I hand it to your brother and my father my family would have nothing left to live on.”

Emily raised her brows. “If it comes to that, I’ll take care of your father myself.”

“You?” Maverick’s voice dripped with contempt. “You’re actually saying that with a straight face?”

Even though he had expected something this shameless, the words still lit a fire under him.

“Last time my father stayed over for a few days, you treated him like he was filthy. You took the gift he brought and then practically threw him out. And now you have the nerve to claim you’ll look after him? I don’t believe a single word out of your mouth.”

The more he spoke, the angrier he became. His voice dropped, cold and final.

“Because of that alone, I would rather throw this two hundred thousand at a beggar on the street than let any of you touch it.”

Those words pulled an old memory from the depths of his mind.

'I’ll take care of your father.'

In his previous life he had believed her. He gave her the money without hesitation, thinking he was helping the woman he loved and the family he was joining. All it did was open the floodgates. Preston kept gambling and sinking deeper into debt. Emily came back again and again for more cash. Then her parents started treating him like an endless source of money—rent, food, every expense.

He still remembered the night he broke down in front of her, tears running down his face as he begged her to stop.

'I’m already drowning. How much more do you want from me?'

She told him to go borrow.

Divorce crossed his mind countless times, but by then there was a child. Every time he talked about leaving, she used the child to chain him down. Even if he had walked away, a huge share of whatever he earned afterward would still have gone to her. So he stayed. He worked himself to the bone, took on more debt, and watched his own parents suffer while her family drained him dry.

Only near the end did he learn the truth: the child he had raised for years was never his.

'I wasted an entire lifetime protecting people who never cared about me. Never again.'

“Maverick!” Emily’s impatient voice snapped him back. “Are you giving me the money or not?”

“No.”

Her face darkened. “Then the wedding is off. You refuse to help my brother then we ’re finished.”

Maverick looked at her for a moment, then smiled slowly. “Perfect. That’s exactly the outcome I wanted.”

He stood. “Since you said it first, we’re done. No wedding. No two hundred thousand. And not another cent from me.”

The restaurant went quiet. People at nearby tables had already turned to stare. Everyone knew Maverick used to give in without a fight. Tonight he had refused every demand and ended it himself.

Emily’s shock flipped into panic. Without that money, Preston’s creditors wouldn’t wait. Her brother could end up in prison.

“Maverick!” She rushed forward and grabbed his arm. “At least settle the bill! And you still have to help my brother!”

“I already told you no.”

Emily’s grip tightened, her voice rising in panic. “You can’t just walk away after all these years! I gave you my time, my effort...everything! You don’t get to throw it all away and leave me with nothing!”

Maverick pulled his arm free. “What exactly do you think I owe you?”

“My youth!” The words came out sharp and bitter. “I spent years on you! You owe me compensation for the time I wasted!”

Maverick stared at her. His youth? What about the years he spent working himself into the ground, supporting her family, watching his parents go without? Everything he had went to them. And now this woman had the nerve to demand payment for the time she claimed to have “given” him.

Emily’s face twisted. She lunged, seized the front of his collar, and jerked him closer.

“Foolish Ingrate! You’re going to pay what you owe!” she shouted, shaking him. “Do you hear me?!”

Maverick had reached his limit.

'I’ll reset that stupid brain of yours.'

He swung his hand across her face.

Pahhh!

Maverick gave her the unexpected slap of her life.