My boyfriend caught me stealing GH¢3,400 on CCTV

I had visited him twice before, but about a week ago, I decided to spend the night at his place.

When I was leaving the next morning, he gave me GH¢500. I will be honest; I wasn't happy with the amount.

I knew he had money, and during my stay, I had seen plenty of cash on his table and even some money kept behind his bed. So, in my mind, GH¢500 felt like very little.

I don't know what came over me, but something kept telling me to take some of the money before I left. I became greedy and started thinking that since he had so much, he wouldn't even notice if some was missing.

So, when I was about to leave, I quietly pulled some of the money from the table and put it in my bag. I didn't even know exactly how much I had taken until I got home and counted it. It was GH¢3,400.

I know what I did was wrong, and I'm not trying to justify it. But at that moment, I was just thinking about the money. I had already received GH¢500 from him, and after taking the extra money, I felt like I had gotten what I wanted. I eventually spent everything I had taken, including the money he gave me. I even used it to change my phone to an iPhone 13 Pro Max.

Three days later, he sent me a video. When I opened it, I saw myself clearly on his CCTV camera taking the money and putting it in my bag. I was shocked because I had no idea there was a camera in the room.

He then told me that he was going to post the video everywhere and expose me as a thief. He said my face was clearly visible and that everyone would know what I had done.

I begged him and tried talking to him about our relationship. I asked him what had happened to all the love between us. But he told me that if I really loved him, I wouldn't have been concerned about his money in the first place. According to him, what I did has changed everything, and he can no longer date me.

Now he is demanding GH¢17,000 from me before he agrees not to release the video. I don't understand why he is asking for GH¢17,000 when I only took GH¢3,400. He has money, and I know GH¢17,000 will not make any significant difference to him.

I would understand if he asked me to return what I took, but multiplying it and demanding that amount is something I don't understand.

The problem is that I don't even have GH¢17,000. I have already spent the money. He gave me until the end of the week to pay him, otherwise he says he will start circulating the video on social media.

He even told me he is ready to pay bloggers to spread it everywhere and make sure people know me as a thief.

I know I should never have taken his money, but I also don't know what to do now. Should I somehow find the GH¢17,000 and pay him just to keep the video from coming out, or should I refuse to pay more than what I actually took and face whatever happens next?

I honestly don't know what to do and I need your advice.