I thought Valentine’s Day was going to save my relationship with my boyfriend, Scott. So I booked a luxury hotel. The kind with marble bathrooms, rooftop pools, and chocolate-covered strawberries waiting on the bed.
Cost me $3K total. We agreed to split it.
Scott promised he’d pay me back his half.
“Don’t worry, babe. I got you. Just put it on your card for now.”
I booked a luxury hotel.
I should’ve known better. But I was desperate.
Our relationship had been falling apart for months. Scott barely texted. Barely called.
When we were together, he was on his phone, scrolling, liking other girls’ posts, and commenting on fitness models’ pictures. I was the only one making an effort.
So I thought maybe a romantic weekend would fix things. Remind him why we fell in love in the first place.
I was the only one making an effort.
We arrived at the hotel on Friday evening. The valet took our bags. The lobby smelled of jasmine and expensive candles. Everything was perfect.
The room was beautiful. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city. A king-sized bed with rose petals scattered across it. Champagne chilling in a silver bucket.
I smiled. “This is perfect, right?”
Scott barely looked up from his phone. “Yeah. Sure.”
“This is perfect, right?”
“Scott, can you put your phone down for like five minutes?”
He sighed and set it on the nightstand. “Happy?”
“Thrilled!”
We went to dinner at the hotel restaurant. I ordered the salmon. He ordered the steak. We sat in silence.
I tried to make conversation. “So, how’s work been?”
“Fine.”
I tried to make conversation.
“Just fine?”
“Yeah, Amy. Fine.”
“Are you okay? You seem really distant.”
“I’m fine. Can we just eat?”
I picked at my food, my appetite already gone. That wasn’t how Valentine’s Day was supposed to go.
The following morning, I woke up to find Scott sitting on the edge of the bed, staring out the window.
That wasn’t how Valentine’s Day was supposed to go.
“Scott? What’s wrong?”
He didn’t turn around. “I need space.”
“What do you mean, space? We’re literally on vacation.”
“I mean, I need to figure some things out.”
“Figure what out?”
He finally looked at me. “I don’t think this is working.”
“I need space.”
By evening, he’d made up his mind. He broke up with me. Over text. While sitting in the hotel lobby.
I was in the bathroom trying to pull myself together when my phone buzzed with a text from Scott:
“I think we should end this. I just need to be alone right now.”
I ran out of the bathroom, mascara running down my face.
“You’re breaking up with me?”
He shrugged. “I thought it would be easier this way.”
He broke up with me. Over text.
“Easier for whom?”
“For both of us. Look, I’m gonna stay here for the rest of the weekend. Clear my head. You should probably go.”
I stared at him, stunned. “You want me to leave? I paid for this room!”
“Yeah, and I’ll pay you back. I already said I would.”
“When?”
“Soon. Just… can you go? I need some time to myself.”
“You want me to leave? I paid for this room!”
So I packed my things. Threw my clothes into my suitcase. Scott didn’t help. He just sat on the bed, scrolling through his phone. When I left, he didn’t even look up.
I cried the entire drive home.
The following day, my phone started buzzing with notifications from my banking app.
Hotel charge: $87 – Room Service.
Hotel charge: $135 – Room Service.
Hotel charge: $220 – Spa Services.
My phone started buzzing with notifications from my banking app.
I stared at my phone in disbelief.
I called Scott. No answer.
I called again. Straight to voicemail.
I called the hotel. “Hi, I’m calling about the charges to my card. I’m the one who booked room 412.”
“One moment, ma’am.” The receptionist paused. “Yes, it looks like the guest in that room has been ordering quite a bit. Room service, bar tabs, and spa appointments.”
I called Scott. No answer.
“Can you stop charging my card?”
“I’m sorry, but the card on file is the one we’ll continue to use until checkout.”
I hung up and screamed into a pillow. Scott was using me.
A week later, I checked my bank account. The final bill had been posted.
Not $3,000. Not four thousand. Almost $6,000.
Scott was using me.
I stared at the screen, my vision blurring.
Scott had put everything on my card. Multiple room service orders. Expensive tasting menus. Champagne. Whiskey. Massages. A couple’s spa package. Wait. Couples?
My stomach turned.
He’d brought someone else. To the hotel I paid for.
Wait. Couples?
I called him. Blocked.
I texted him. Left on read for hours. Then he blocked me there, too.
He hadn’t just dumped me; he’d planned that. He’d used me and disappeared with my money.
I drove to his apartment. I was going to demand my money back. Scream at him. Make him feel even a fraction of what I was feeling. But when I got there, I saw something that made me stop cold.
He’d planned that.
A woman’s clothes on the staircase.
A pair of red heels. A lacy black top. A purse I didn’t recognize.
I walked up the stairs slowly, my heart pounding.
The bedroom door was cracked open.
I heard laughter.
A pair of red heels.
A woman’s voice: “You’re terrible!”
Scott’s voice: “I know. But she was such a fool. Paid for everything. I got rid of her at the perfect time.”
More laughter. “You’re awful. What if she finds out?”
“She won’t. I blocked her. She’ll get over it, eventually. Women always do.”
I stood there, frozen. Not because I was heartbroken. I mean, I was. But mostly because I was absolutely furious.
“What if she finds out?”
I didn’t storm in. I turned around, walked down the stairs, got in my car, and drove home.
Because I had a much better idea.
I went home and started throwing Scott’s things into boxes. Old hoodies he’d left at my place. His toothbrush. His stupid gaming controller. A pair of sneakers he’d been “looking for” for months.
That’s when I found them.
I went home and started throwing Scott’s things into boxes.
A stash of expensive products in my closet. Designer cologne in a sleek black bottle. High-end razors with gold handles. Luxury skincare kits. All still in their packaging.
Then I remembered. Scott was an influencer and a product reviewer. Brands sent him free stuff in exchange for rave reviews and posts on Instagram.
His career was taking off.
Then I remembered.
Twenty thousand followers.
Sponsorship deals worth thousands of dollars.
He was always bragging about it. “Babe, I just landed a deal with a cologne company. Five thousand dollars for one post,” he’d told me once. “I’m really making it, you know?”
And that’s when inspiration struck.
Scott always used Instagram on his phone and every shared device, including mine.
He was always bragging about it.
I grabbed my iPad and opened the app. He’d never logged out.
I smiled.
First, I posted a picture of the hotel bill. All $6K of it.
The caption read: “Just finished the BEST week of my life at a 5-star hotel downtown! Used my girlfriend’s money to live like a king. Treated myself to lobster, champagne, couples’ massages (with my NEW girl, not the old one lol). Cheers to being single and smart! Sometimes you gotta use people to get what you want. 
#NoRegrets #GotRidOfDeadWeight #LivingMyBestLife #SorryNotSorry”
First, I posted a picture of the hotel bill.
I hit “Post.”
Then I scrolled through his recent sponsored posts.
A high-end cologne brand. A luxury razor company.
An expensive skincare line. A fitness supplement.
A watch company.
I started writing reviews.
I hit “Post.”
For the cologne:
Honestly, this smells like expired pickle juice mixed with regret and bad decisions. Gave me a headache for three days straight. My date literally walked away from me at dinner.
Do NOT recommend unless you’re trying to repel humans. 
”
Honestly, this smells like expired pickle juice.
For the razor:
“This razor left me looking like I got into a fight with a lawnmower and LOST. Patchy, bloody, embarrassing. I looked like a crime scene. My barber laughed at me. Zero stars. Negative stars if I could. 
”
For the skincare line:
“This face cream made my skin break out worse than a teenage acne commercial. I looked like a pepperoni pizza had a baby with a strawberry. Save your money and your face. 
”
Zero stars. Negative stars if I could.
For the fitness supplement:
Tasted like chalk mixed with sadness. Gave me stomach cramps for two days. I spent more time in the bathroom than at the gym. Hard pass. 
”
I posted them all, along with a few extras, under his account.
Then I added one more post.
Hard pass.
A selfie from his camera roll with the caption:
“Found an AMAZING new girlfriend right after my breakup. Life moves on so fast! Already forgot the last one’s name lol. 
#UpgradeComplete #NewBeginnings”
I sat back and watched. Within minutes, the comments started rolling in:
“Bro, what happened to you?”
“Why are you trashing brands that literally PAY you?”
“Congratulations! You’ve just blown up your career!”
“You sound unhinged, man.”
“I’m unfollowing. This is embarrassing.”
“Congratulations! You’ve just blown up your career!”
I smiled.
Then my phone rang. Scott.
I didn’t answer. He called again. And again. And again.
I turned my phone on silent and poured myself a glass of wine.
I watched as his follower count started dropping. Hundreds at a time.
The following morning, someone was pounding on my door. I looked through the peephole. Scott was standing there, face red, phone clutched in his hand. I opened the door.
His follower count started dropping. Hundreds at a time.
“What did you do?!”
“Good morning to you, too.”
“I forgot I was still logged into Instagram on your iPad. You posted all that crap pretending to be me, didn’t you?”
“Maybe next time, don’t cheat and leave your passwords behind.”
“You ruined me! SEVEN brands dropped me yesterday! TWO are threatening to sue me for breach of contract!”
I leaned against the doorframe. “That’s unfortunate.”
“Maybe next time, don’t cheat and leave your passwords behind.”
“Unfortunate? Amy, you destroyed my career!”
“You destroyed my bank account. My trust. My Valentine’s Day. And my dignity.”
“This is different! I had DEALS! I had PARTNERSHIPS!”
“And I had $6K charged to my card while you were screwing someone else in a room I paid for.”
He stared at me, breathing hard. “You need to take those posts down. Right now.”
“Or what?”
“Amy, you destroyed my career!”
His phone rang. Scott looked at the screen, and his face went pale.
“I have to take this.”
He answered, putting it on speaker without thinking.
“Hello? Yes, this is Scott. No, I…”
A man’s voice exploded through the speaker.
“DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU’VE DONE?!”
“Sir, I can explain…”
Scott looked at the screen, and his face went pale.
“WE SENT YOU A $50,000 CAMPAIGN, AND YOU POSTED THAT OUR PRODUCT SMELLS LIKE GARBAGE AND REGRET?!”
Scott’s hand was shaking. “I didn’t write that! I swear, someone hacked my account…”
“I don’t care who wrote it! It’s on your account with YOUR name! We’re pulling the contract, demanding our products back, and pursuing legal action for damages!”
The line went dead.
“Someone hacked my account.”
Scott looked at me, his face crumbling. “You destroyed me.”
“Nope! You did! The second you decided to use me, dump me, and celebrate with someone else using MY money.”
“I was going to pay you back!”
“When? After you charged another three thousand? After you finished your little vacation?”
He opened his mouth. Closed it. Nothing came out.
“You destroyed me.”
I picked up a box of his things and handed it to him. “Take your stuff and get out. And hey, maybe change your Instagram password next time. Oh, and don’t forget to log out of all devices!”
His phone rang again.
Another angry voice. “Scott, what the hell is going on with your account?! I’m looking at a post where you’re bragging about using your girlfriend’s money?!”
“Oh, and don’t forget to log out of all devices!”
He grabbed the box and walked down the hallway, yelling into his phone.
“It wasn’t me! I swear! My ex hacked…”
I closed the door.
That afternoon, I checked Instagram. Scott had deleted the posts. But it was too late. Screenshots were everywhere. People were sharing them, laughing, commenting, roasting him publicly.
Scott had deleted the posts. But it was too late.
His follower count had dropped by 5K.
His brand deals were gone. His reputation was in ruins.
And I? I was sitting on my couch, eating ice cream, scrolling through the chaos I’d created.
Some heartbreaks end in tears.
Mine ended with brand cancellations, screaming clients, and a very satisfying “log out of all devices.”
Some heartbreaks end in tears.