Richest Man: It All Started With My Rebate System-Chapter 12: What A Karen

Tara was genuinely surprised by Steven’s words. During the time he had thought they were in a relationship, he had always been sweet to her, treating her like a queen.

But he was cold toward her now. Completely indifferent, which was the total opposite of what she had expected.

Given how deeply in love he had been with her, she had expected some begging, or at least an attempt to win her back.

But instead, he didn’t even look like he hated her. He was looking at her like she was nothing more than an ant beneath his shoe.

Just as she had feared, Steven didn’t care. After saying what he wanted to say, he simply turned his attention back to the car in front of him.

Tara saw this and felt as though someone had walked all over her. She was unwilling to accept it. She felt that Steven should have been the one feeling this way. She was the one who had dumped him, not the other way around.

She was unwilling to let it go, so she stepped closer.

"I should shut up? What? Because you’re applying for a job at a car dealership, you think you’re all that now? What a piece of trash. Let me tell you something before they do — you won’t get the job," she said, raising her voice slightly, clearly trying to draw attention to the situation.

Steven turned and looked at her with an expression that made her feel like an idiot. He understood exactly what she was trying to do. But he had no intention of giving her another response.

Tara saw this and felt her fury rising. She wanted a reaction out of him, but he looked completely unbothered by everything she had said.

She was actually curious about why Steven was here at the car dealership. She knew he had quit his job at the restaurant, so she had assumed he was probably here for a job interview. But he didn’t look or act like someone who was here for that.

Rather, he looked like he was here to buy the grey car in front of him, which should have been impossible given how broke Steven had always been.

Or had he been pretending all along? But that couldn’t be right. If he actually had money, he would have at least gotten a better apartment instead of that chicken coop he had been living in, she thought to herself.

The truth was that she wasn’t here because Watson wanted to buy her a car. He had dumped her the morning after their night together. She had actually spotted Steven walking into the dealership, watched him hovering around the grey car, and saw him hand his card to one of the salespersons. That was what had made her come inside.

Tara thought of something and smiled. She spotted the salesperson from before and walked toward him with an enticing smile.

"Hey. You see that guy over there? I don’t really know what he’s here for, but if he said he wants to buy a car, don’t listen to him. He doesn’t have the money," she said.

The salesperson looked at her like she was a fool. They had already verified Steven’s identity and confirmed that he had more than enough funds to finance the purchase, and that the money was clean. Everything had checked out. And now here she was, telling him Steven didn’t have the money, as though she were his bank manager.

"What a Karen," he muttered, and walked toward Steven.

"Sir, please come with me to the counter so we can process the transaction and sign the paperwork," he said.

Steven nodded once and followed him. The two of them walked to the counter, passing Tara without sparing her a glance.

At the counter, the salesperson pushed the documents toward Steven with a pen on top, then handed Steven’s debit card to the cashier to process.

Steven took the documents and signed in the necessary places, then set the pen down.

The cashier had already run the card and the transaction had gone through.

The next moment, the system notification appeared in Steven’s vision, and a wide smile bloomed on his face — one that the salesperson mistook for the excitement of a happy new car owner.

[You spent $229,960. A 7.5x rebate was triggered.]

[You received $1,724,700. The money has been transferred to your account.]

"Here’s your car key, sir," the salesperson said.

"Thank you," Steven said, collecting the key, picking up the paperwork, and walking back toward the car with the salesperson following close behind.

Tara, who had been standing a short distance from the counter, watched Steven sign the paperwork and receive the key. When she saw him walking back in her direction, she quickly put on a smile.

"Steven. Hi. I umm —," she started, but he walked straight past her without breaking stride.

The salesperson glanced at her and gave a small shake of his head, as if to say she was an embarrassment.

Tara had never felt so humiliated. She rushed after Steven, determined to force him to acknowledge her, but by the time she got there, he had already gotten into the car.

Steven pressed the ignition and heard the engine roar to life. The sound was deep and melodic.

He gripped the wheel, wound the window down, gave the salesperson a single nod, and drove out of the dealership.

He drove down the street, heading back to his old apartment to pack his things.

Back at the dealership, Tara watched the car disappear down the road with a hollow feeling in her chest. She should have been in that passenger seat. Instead, she was standing here, watching him drive away.

She was still standing there when the salesperson’s voice came from behind her.

"Ma’am, if you’re not here to purchase a vehicle or browse our inventory, I’d ask that you leave. We don’t allow loitering," he said.

"I know. I’m leaving. But first — how much was that car he just drove off in?" Tara asked.

The salesperson understood exactly what she was fishing for and suppressed a scoff.

"I’m sorry, but we don’t share information about our customers. You’re welcome to ask him directly, or try Google for a faster result," he said, and walked away, leaving her standing alone.

Tara gritted her teeth and walked out of the store.

*This is all your fault, Steven. You lied to me. You pretended not to have money. If you hadn’t, I never would have broken up with you.*

She pulled out her phone and started typing a message, with Steven as the recipient.