As the wedding approached and gold prices skyrocketed, I didn’t want to disappoint my fiancée, so I gave her all my savings—$28,000—to buy the wedding jewelry set.

On the eve of our engagement, Lily secretly bought me a gold engagement ring as a surprise.

“Babe, I know it’s not easy for you to earn money, so I bought your engagement ring myself!”

“It’s pure gold!”

I was deeply moved. Quietly, I took the ring to the jewelry store, planning to return it and add some money to get her a bracelet instead.

“This ring is a free gift. If you want to return it, you’ll have to bring back the $28,000 diamond ring as well.”

The sales clerk smirked as he pushed the ring back to me. I froze, staring at the receipt in his hand.

The next second, I saw Jason’s post on his social media feed showing off a diamond ring.

Being a best friend beats being a boyfriend.

Only when you don’t love someone do you worry about whether a diamond ring holds its value. My girl loves me the most!

As I read Jason’s post, my eyes stung with tears. Rage clouded my mind.

I grabbed my phone and called Lily. Every single call was rejected.

Moments later, Jason sent me a video and a location.

In the video, I saw Lily—who had lied about attending a work dinner—drunk and calling Jason’s name.

In that moment, the last taut string in my chest snapped.

Lily drank a little too much. Come pick her up.

A sentence that used to seem so ordinary now felt like a sharp knife.

I rushed over in a cab.

The nightclub lounge was loud and chaotic, making my head spin. When I pushed the door open, I saw more than a dozen men and women entangled with one another.

And there was Lily, her face flushed, clinging tightly to Jason’s waist as if glued to him.

“Well, look who’s here! The jealous boyfriend checking in!”

“They’re not even married yet and he’s already policing her!”

“Guess we won’t be hanging out with her anymore!”

The teasing and laughter were relentless. My eyes locked on the diamond ring on Jason’s hand, and I trembled with fury. But I knew this wasn’t the time to ask questions.

“Lily, come home with me.”

I reached out to pull her, but Lily batted my hand away, her expression dazed.

“Why would I go home with you? Wherever Jason is—that’s my home.”

Her slurred words ignited the fire in my chest. Around us, people watched with mocking eyes, making it unbearable to stand there.

“Ethan, don’t take it to heart. Lily’s drunk. She doesn’t mean what she’s saying.”

Jason gave me an apologetic look, then lowered his head to comfort the woman in his arms.

“Lily, Lily, wake up. It’s Ethan.”

The way he held her so tenderly, anyone would think they were a couple.

Suddenly Lily shot to her feet, swaying as she pointed at my face.

“Ethan? You mean my idiot of a boyfriend?”

“Jason, do you know, when I gave him that plain gold ring, he was so happy he looked like a fool?”

Laughter erupted around us, stabbing at my chest like fire.

“Jason, I know you’re upset that I’m getting married. But I promise you, I’ll still buy you gifts for every holiday, just like before. Okay?”

“Look, these sneakers I bought for you—they’ll arrive tomorrow.”

Lily pulled out her phone to show him, and I caught sight of the $4,500 sneakers.

Eight years together, and she’d never given me a single gift. Yet for another man, she bought presents every holiday.

And now she was buying him $4,500 shoes?

When she was with me, she never spent a dime. But for Jason, she was generous.

All those years I scrimped and saved to give her everything—every penny ended up in Jason’s pocket.

Thinking back to his social media post, I felt like the biggest joke.

The truth was, Jason and Lily’s relationship had always been a thorn in my side.

Whenever it involved Jason, Lily would rush to him without hesitation. Her excuse was always the same: He grew up without parents in my house. He’s like my little brother. I can’t just ignore him.

But back then, I truly loved Lily. I wanted to marry her. So I endured it.

Until the moment I saw that diamond ring. That was when I couldn’t take it anymore.

I lowered my head, grabbed a glass of liquor, and splashed it on Lily.

Jason screamed and threw himself in front of her.

I couldn’t be bothered with the chaos behind me. I turned to leave.

But Lily grabbed my hand. “You threw a drink at me and think you can just walk away without apologizing?”

She shook her head, regaining some clarity. “Ethan?”

Her brows furrowed with displeasure.

“You’re checking up on me?”

Before I could answer, Jason stepped in.

“I asked Ethan to come pick you up. I know he doesn’t like you staying out so late.”

With just one line, Jason sparked laughter and mockery from the group of so-called friends.

They jeered that Lily hadn’t even married yet but was already expected to play the obedient housewife.

“The main wife hasn’t spoken, and yet the side chick’s already acting strict!”

“Yeah, Jason’s never cared about Lily partying before.”

I locked eyes with Lily and asked slowly, word by word:

“Who’s the main wife?”

Lily straightened up instantly, glanced at Jason’s diamond ring, and sneered:

“Whoever wears the diamond ring is the main one!”

Her words set off another round of laughter.

So it turned out everyone knew—everyone but me.

It felt as though I’d been stripped naked in public, humiliated beyond measure.

“Ethan, don’t listen to them. That ring—I bought it myself. Lily didn’t buy it for me.”

Jason tried to smooth things over. “She’s about to get married, they’re drunk and talking nonsense. Don’t take it seriously.”

I turned to Lily with a cold smile. “Is that true?”

She nodded but said nothing.

“Well, thank you then. A diamond ring bought with a freebie, and you gave the free gift to your best friend’s fiancé.”

I deliberately emphasized the words best friend.

To my surprise, Lily blushed and snapped at me.

“Ethan, what best friend? What nonsense are you spouting?”

“Jason doesn’t even have a girlfriend. Don’t slander him like that.”

Watching her desperately change the subject, my heart went completely cold.

The plain gold ring in my palm felt scorching hot.

“Take this back. Ethan doesn’t need anyone’s freebies!”

“Lily, we’re done. The engagement is off.”

“And you’d better return the $28,000 I gave you for the jewelry. Otherwise, I’ll call the police!”

Lily froze, finally sobering up.

Without looking back, I left the suffocating lounge.

“Lily, aren’t you going to chase after him?”

“Your man’s flying away!”

Their voices jeered behind me as Lily watched my figure fade into the distance, her heart aching.

But her feet stayed rooted to the ground.

She waved dismissively. “So what? He’ll come crawling back in less than three days.”

Her careless words stabbed into my chest like knives.

Lily and I had been together for eight years, since freshman year of college. After graduation, I gave up a high-paying job in New York City to move back with her to a small town and start a business.

Family and friends all warned me not to be a fool for love. I didn’t listen.

Now, karma had come.

The love I thought was so noble dealt me the most crushing blow.

When I got home, a string of credit card statements popped up.

Maybe to provoke me into surrender, Lily had maxed out the secondary credit card I’d given her.

One charge for $800, another for $1,200, and yet another for $300—venue after venue.

After her failed business venture earlier this year, Lily hadn’t looked for work.

But with marriage approaching, I had used all my savings to make the down payment on a house.

For convenience, I had given unemployed Lily a secondary card. Meanwhile, I cooked every meal, packed my lunch, and never dared to spend a cent on myself—just to save for our wedding.

But she had blown through more than a thousand dollars in one night.

Grinding my teeth, I immediately called the bank to freeze her card.

Moments later, Lily called me, her voice sharp with fury.

“Ethan, are you insane? The money in that account—isn’t it all the money I earned over the years?”

I laughed bitterly.

The past few years, she’d been busy with one failed project after another. Half the time, I was even the one buying her meals.

Four years in business, she had lost $75,000, and I had chipped in an extra ten.

She never earned a cent.

“Lily, if something’s wrong with your brain, you’d better get it checked.”

“In these past four years, have you ever made a single dollar?”

I hung up and blocked her number.

That day, I packed all her belongings and left them outside the door.

After that, Lily disappeared for several days.

But Jason’s social media posts kept changing locations, and in every photo, I could spot Lily’s figure.

I couldn’t help wondering—where was she getting the money to spend like this?

Her friends left comments below:

Jason and Lily are the perfect match. No other man compares!

That’s right—congratulations to Jason and Lily on their wedding in advance!

Lily, will you be handing out wedding favors soon?

Though Lily didn’t reply, she posted one photo herself—a shot of Jason’s back.

I pretended not to see it. When I checked again, the post had already been deleted.

The next day, when I arrived at the Miller Group lobby, I found a crowd gathered.

The sound of loud weeping stopped me in my tracks.

Pushing through the people, I froze when I saw her.

“Mrs. Miller? What are you doing here?”

The woman who had been crying on the floor suddenly stood up and pointed at me.

“It’s him! He made my daughter buy him a $28,000 diamond ring, then broke up with her!”

Her accusation drew every eye to me.

I was stunned.

“Isn’t this guy the secretary to the CEO of Miller Group? He looks so proper—how could he do something like that?”

“In this economy, what kind of man refuses to buy jewelry, then forces a woman to buy him such an expensive ring? Vicious!”

“What a gold-digger!”

The crowd, ignorant of the truth, piled on with accusations.

The next second, it felt like they were about to drag me out and drown me.

“Ethan, Mrs. Miller isn’t here to make a scene. She just wants you to return the money and the ring.”