Infinite Cashback: My Wealth Rebate System

Amanda found him months later, at some mutual friend's birthday party neither of them had expected the other to attend.

She approached him after dessert, catching him near the exit, the same practiced smile from weeks ago sliding into place, except this time it looked like it cost her something to hold.

“Jason, wow. It's been a while.”

“Has it.” He said it flatly, checking his phone, in no particular hurry to give her his full attention.

“I actually,” she paused and then continued almost immediately

“I found out recently. What Priya said to you that night. After everything. I didn't know she'd actually told you what I said behind your back.”

“Yeah.” He finally looked up, unbothered, almost bored. “That was a while ago now.”

“I've thought about it a lot since.” Her voice softened, edging toward something desperate now, the version of Amanda that used to command a room reduced to someone visibly working to hold his attention for even a few more seconds.

“I was stupid, Jason. Genuinely. I didn't realize what I had until it was already gone.”

He didn't respond right away, just studied her for a second, the same clinical, unhurried look he gave a chess position before deciding how to dismantle it.

“That's rough,” he said finally, entirely without malice, which somehow landed worse than if he'd been cruel about it.

Amanda blinked. “That's it? That's all you have to say?”

“What were you expecting?”

“I don't know. Something. Anything.” Her composure was cracking now, visible in real time, the polished confidence she used to wear so effortlessly dissolving into something raw.

“I'm apologizing to you, Jason. I'm telling you I was wrong.”

“I heard you.”

“Doesn't that mean anything?”

“Not really, no.” He slipped his phone back into his pocket, entirely unbothered, glancing past her toward the door like she was a minor delay standing between him and leaving.

“You know what's actually funny? I used to think if you ever came back around, said the right things, I'd feel something. Relief, maybe. Vindication. Something.”

“And?”

“And I don't feel anything.” He said it plainly, no cruelty behind it, just fact, which made it land far heavier than if he'd shouted.

“I think about you about as much as I think about a phone I upgraded a while back. Worked fine at the time. Don't miss it now that I've got something better.”

Amanda's eyes went glassy, her mouth opening slightly like she wanted to argue but couldn't locate the argument. “So that's it? After everything, you're just done?”

“I was done a long time ago, Amanda. You're just the last one to find out.” He stepped past her toward the door, unhurried, entirely calm.

“Good luck with the birthday stuff, though. Genuinely.”

He walked out without looking back, and behind him, Amanda stood completely unsure of what to do with a silence she couldn't fill.