The next day, I called Ivy and invited her to go shopping with me at the biggest mall in the city.

It had been a while since we last met. Ivy showed up all decked out in a flashy outfit, like a peacock showing off its feathers, which was a rare sight for her.

That eye-catching red dress she wore was from the latest collection released by a famous brand. It was completely at odds with her usual taste in clothing, which leaned toward a sweet, dainty aesthetic.

I pretended to admire her outfit. "This dress is a new release! I haven't even bought it yet. Did your boyfriend give it to you?"

On Valentine's Day, she uploaded a vague screenshot of the money Michael had transferred to her on social media. All of her friends thought she'd found a boyfriend, and she didn't deny it.

Smiling smugly, Ivy replied, "That's right. My boyfriend dotes on me a lot. He buys me everything I want."

"When are you going to introduce him to me? I'll help you figure out if he's a good guy," I said.

Her doe eyes flashed with just the slightest hint of guilt as she tucked her hair behind her ear and said, "Oh, he's quite busy. Maybe next time."

I scoffed to myself.

Looking at her heavily made-up face, I exclaimed, "Has your skin been acting up lately? Your foundation looks all cakey."

Ivy had always been incredibly obsessed with her face. She claimed that her looks were her most significant asset and had always taken great pride in them.

As expected, once she heard what I said, she took a compact mirror out of her handbag and quickly checked her face, looking all nervous as she did.

"You must have had a lot of late nights, huh? Your skin is suffering because of it. You should buy some skincare products today to pamper your skin a little," I remarked.

As she looked in the mirror, she thought of something, and her eyes flashed with a hint of bashfulness. "I have been staying up quite a lot lately…"

Resisting the urge to roll my eyes, I dragged her into the nearest luxury beauty store. The sales associate enthusiastically showed her every new skincare and makeup line. Since she rarely entered stores like this one, she happily sampled everything.

I picked up a random bottle of face essence and sighed. "All of these products would be perfect for you. It's such a shame you can't buy them all."

Ivy, who was trying on some lipstick, stiffened for a moment, but she soon said somewhat proudly, "I'll get everything today. My boyfriend's got money."

The sales associate grinned from ear to ear when she heard that. She eagerly ushered Ivy to the counter for payment.

Then, I heard the wonderful voice of the system saying, "Congratulations. You have received 10,000 dollars."

As I watched Ivy from behind, my lips curled ever so slightly.

…

When Ivy and I ate together, I deliberately brought up her birthday. "Your birthday's coming soon, right, Ivy? How do you plan on celebrating it this year?"

Ivy took a sip of water before saying nonchalantly, "How else can I celebrate it? I'll just gather some of my friends and have a meal together, like I always do."

I smiled and insisted, "That won't do! It's your 25th birthday—your quarter-life milestone! You need to have a big celebration. Throw a huge bash, maybe? After all, your boyfriend's paying for it."

That last sentence definitely made Ivy waver, so I seized the chance to add on, "I have a contact at an event-planning company that specializes in influencer events. They've handled tons of birthdays and can definitely make you the envy of everyone at your party."

Ivy seemed to be picturing the scene already. She smiled giddily and said, "You're right. I should have a grand celebration."

I smiled just as happily as she did, knowing that the company I recommended was the most expensive in the industry.

This time, someone was about to shell out a fortune.

…

That night, when Michael got home and saw the shopping bags from luxury brands that I'd left on the couch, he frowned and questioned, "Have you been shopping for handbags again? What's the point of these anyway? Can they be used to feed you?

"You know very well that I don't like materialistic women. I fell in love with you because you're not vain and shallow like all those other wealthy socialites, the ones who buy everything they see. Even if you have money, you shouldn't be wasting it on things that are this expensive."

In the past, he could've fooled me with all of his self-righteous preaching.

But now, all I wanted was to smack him in the face with a wad of cash. I was spending my own money, yet he still found fault with it.

Did he just say he didn't like vain, shallow, and materialistic women?

Well, just earlier that day, he spent thousands of dollars on cosmetics for Ivy. He even liked the photo she uploaded of her shopping haul this evening.

Michael obviously had double standards, and I was the sucker.

"These are just some birthday gifts I got for a friend," I explained to him.

Immediately, his expression relaxed, and he asked, seemingly casually, "Which friend? Is it Ivy?"

I looked up at him. "How did you know that her birthday's coming up?"

Michael's eyes flashed with unease as he laughed and brushed me off, saying, "I was just guessing. I think you mentioned it before."

I snorted to myself. I'd never told Michael about Ivy's birthday before. He didn't even remember my birthday, but he sure did remember his girlfriend's friend's birthday.

It was truly a joke.

I didn't bother pressing any further. Pointing at one of the bags, I asked, "Do you think she'll like that color?"

He glanced at it before answering, "It looks nice. She'll like white."

"It's a little expensive, though," I said with feigned vexation.

"How is it expensive? After all, it's a gift for Ivy," Michael blurted.

I snorted again as I recalled what happened the last time he forgot my birthday. He said that he wanted to make it up to me by getting me a necklace, so I sent him the link for one. It cost 888 dollars, and that was the discounted price, too.

However, he ended up saying that it was too expensive, grumbling in displeasure, "Why are you so materialistic? I can't believe you'd ask me to buy such an expensive necklace."

I was stunned.

This necklace was already way cheaper than what I'd normally buy. I'd only picked it out because of his financial constraints, what with his company and everything.

In the end, he gave me a necklace that had supposedly cost 200 dollars. I wore it for just one day before having an allergic reaction. Now that I thought about it, I got the feeling that it probably didn't even cost 20 bucks.

Yet when it came to his birthday, I had given him a watch that cost five figures, and he showed no hesitation in accepting it. He was pretty thrilled with it, in fact.

The handbag I pointed at cost a few thousand dollars, but Michael said it wasn't expensive.

Looking at him, I suggested, "Since you also know Ivy, why don't you buy her a handbag as well? She likes them."

He hesitated for a moment before agreeing to it. He even picked out a handbag that was even more expensive than the one I had gotten.

If not for the money I received in my bank account, I would've slapped him across the face.

…

Ivy's birthday party was indeed a grand event.

It was held on the outdoor lawn of a five-star hotel, which was covered in pink roses. A massive heart made of red roses stood at the center, with her initials in the middle.

When all her friends came to take photos of the decor, they gushed over everything.

"Everything looks gorgeous!"

"I'd be thrilled to death if my husband treated me this well."

"You're so lucky, Ivy!"

"Look at all these lovely flowers. It must've cost a fortune, right?"

On and on they went, while I smiled faintly on the side. Over 200 thousand dollars had been spent on the party. How could it not be gorgeous?

Ivy wore a pink lace gown with a matching tiara, making her look like a princess straight out of a fairytale. Her eyes shone with delight as everyone showered her with compliments.

When I handed my gift to her, I curiously asked, "Why isn't your boyfriend here?"

Ivy glanced at Michael and, her smile shy, said, "Something came up, so he couldn't make it. But since he did all this for me, it feels like he's here, too. I'm very happy."

Smiling, I expressed my pity that he couldn't make it.

I watched as she flitted through the crowd, basking in the looks of envy everyone gave her. Turning to Michael, I said, "I envy her so much. Her boyfriend is such a great guy. When can I have a birthday party like this, too?"

I saw the imperceptible smile that crept over Michael's lips, but what he said to me was, "Don't even think about it. It'd be a waste of money if you throw a birthday party like this."

Then, he even changed the subject. "Besides, if you've got that kind of money to spare, you should invest it in my company instead."

My mood soured. Narrowing my eyes, I studied him.

Ever since we got engaged, he'd been dropping hints—some subtle, some not so subtle—about wanting my family to invest in his company.

He had even brought it up with my father before, but Dad didn't agree to it. His eyes had flashed with an almost undetectable hint of hostility then. He probably took it as his future father-in-law refusing to help him, and that pissed him off.

As it was, Dad simply wanted him to gain more business experience first.

However, it was from that point onward that his attitude started to change.

I took a sip of red wine before asking in feigned confusion, "Isn't your company doing perfectly fine? Why do you keep wanting my family to invest in it?"

Michael's eyes gleamed, and his tone softened as he said to me, "I'm only doing this so that I can give you a better life, Rowena. Besides, why are we still separating our assets anyway? We're already engaged, aren't we? We're basically family now.

"Talk to your father and tell him to invest in my company. It definitely has a bright future."

Ever since I started dating Michael, my quality of life had gone downhill. I bought way fewer bags and clothes. I rarely got to eat out, too.

It wasn't like either of us was hurting for money, but he kept telling me to save.

Yet, here he was claiming that he wanted to give me a better life. I'd already be counting my blessings if my quality of life didn't get any worse.

Still, I faked a smile and agreed to it, which finally brought a smile to Michael's face, too. By some miracle, he even said that he'd take me out for a meal tomorrow, and that I could pick any restaurant I wanted.

Hah!

I had to check whether the sun would rise from the west tomorrow.

…

Since a certain someone wanted to act like a generous man, I didn't mind playing along. I booked the most expensive fine dining restaurant in the city—and not just a table, either. I booked out the entire place.

The restaurant was on the 106th floor of a building with panoramic views through the floor-to-ceiling windows that wrapped around the entire place. We had a night view of the city from every angle.

There were roses, candles, steak, and a special string quartet, which cost an additional 30 thousand dollars a night to book.

Everything about the setting and the ambience was downright romantic.

I took a bunch of photos and uploaded one to my social media, adding the caption, "We booked out the entire restaurant! My fiance says this is the kind of romance I deserve, one that's specially for me."

Only Ivy and Michael could view it.

Whenever Ivy dated someone, she got jealous easily. She had even forced her ex to delete all the photos he had with his female friends.

There was no way she'd be able to stand seeing my post.

As I had expected, we were halfway through our steak when Michael's phone started ringing on end.

His expression was a little stiff as he declined the call, saying that it was probably just a scammer.

Smiling, I sent the rest of the photos I'd taken to Ivy and decided to fan the flames a little.

"Michael dotes on me so much. He knows I like steak, so he brought me here, the best restaurant for it. You and your boyfriend should come and try the food here next time."