Amanda was the woman who was shocked when her boyfriend Chris presented her with a bill for the home improvements he did on her house — to the tune of $1,500.

(Not that everything was great before that. There was the time he broke up with her because he wanted to "press the restart button on his life," the time he broke up with her because she didn't make him feel "special," the time he got angry because she asked him to take out the trash, etc.)

She gave him a check, and then called him and asked him not to cash it. He hung up on her.

Here's Amanda with an update:

She says: "He sent me back the check with a four page diatribe as to why he deserved it and how I screwed him over. How there had been many months of neglect to get him to this point in our relationship. And how he would never have done the job for free because I didn't have that kind of credit with him. Then after a couple more back and forths — none of which were face-to-face — he wanted to know what I was going to do to get him back!

"My rebuttal was: 'Why would you want to come back and why would I want you to? Also, what months of neglect? I lost my job, my father who lived with me died three months ago and my family wants to sue me. Sorry, if you weren't number one all the time.' He never addressed any of these issues. He did say we had great sex, but he could have that with many others. Thanks. That really made me feel special.

"I can't wait to see your advice! I need it!"

Amanda, Amanda, Amanda. Even before he sent you the bill, he had already showed you who he was and how he felt about you.

Then we come to the $1,500 bill. This time he showed you in neon writing in the sky. And what did you do? You continued to allow him to abuse you. Why, Amanda? Why?

Chris can so easily be replaced with a vibrator and a frying pan. Every time you think about him, hit yourself over the head with the frying pan, and then use the vibrator.

That's my advice.

BRUCE: I would call Chris a lizard person, but that would be an insult to lizards. This selfish, manipulating con artist should not be forgiven for his behavior. What else can you say about a person who preys on the vulnerable and caps years of conniving, abusive treatment by suggesting a project and then charging for it?

Amanda, he doesn't care about you. He doesn't care for you. He never will. He's probably incapable of a meaningful adult relationship. Are you well rid of him? Of course. But until you figure out why you let him do this to you and break the pattern, you'll probably let him back into your life. You need help — professional would be best — to figure out why you allowed this.

Please, get help and let Cheryl know what happens.

Have you ever been used and abused like Amanda? How did you break the pattern? Send your tale, along with your questions and problems to [email protected]. And check out my e-books, "Dear Cheryl: Advice from Tales from the Front" and "I'll Call You. Not."