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.”

“Ethan, I just want to ask you—why did you suddenly break off the engagement with Lily?”

Truth be told, over the years Mrs. Miller had treated me well. She often brought us fresh organic produce from a farm, and sometimes even slipped me some pocket money. Whenever she had something good to eat, she would send it over. Once, she even traveled overnight just so I could have fresh eggs.

“Mrs. Miller, I gave Lily $28,000 for the wedding jewelry set.”

“To this day, I haven’t seen the jewelry. The diamond ring you mentioned wasn’t bought for me. As for who it was for—you should ask her.”

Looking at her weary face, I couldn’t bring myself to say harsh words about her causing a scene at my office. I didn’t have the heart to tell her outright about Lily and Jason either. So I chose my words carefully, hoping she would leave.

“That can’t be. Lily told me when she asked for the money that it was to buy you an engagement ring.”

“She even sent me photos!”

Mrs. Miller pulled up the photos of Lily buying the ring and handed me her phone.

I studied them closely, then chuckled.

“That’s not my hand. My wrist bone has a mole.”

I raised my wrist to show the small dark mole. Everyone saw instantly that the ring wasn’t for me.

Mrs. Miller froze, comparing the photo again and again in disbelief.

“Mrs. Miller, some things you really should ask Lily about.”

I patted her shoulder and turned to leave, but she grabbed my wrist with surprising strength.

“You’re not going anywhere. We need to clear this up right now.”

“I’ll call Lily.”

She dialed five times in a row, but no one answered.

Meanwhile, Lily was still out somewhere, likely drinking with Jason.

I sighed, pulled out my phone, and showed her Jason’s social media feed.

“Mrs. Miller, she’s with Jason. The diamond ring was for him—and it was bought with my money.”

The entire room gasped. After all, gossip was everyone’s favorite.

Mrs. Miller glanced at the post, scrolling with a frown, her brows knitting tighter.

“Ethan, if you don’t want to marry Lily, just say so. Don’t make up lies to ruin her and Jason’s reputation. They grew up together—how could they do something inappropriate?”

Confused, I took my phone back and saw Jason had deleted all his posts. Posts that had been there yesterday were gone overnight.

“The money for the ring was from me, and I also gave Lily $30,000 in wedding funds. If you’re not marrying her, then you should at least return that.”

Her words struck me like thunder.

Thirty thousand? I hadn’t seen even thirty.

“Mrs. Miller, I never received any $30,000 wedding funds!”

She shook her head in disbelief. “Impossible. I transferred it to the account Lily gave me.”

“Here, look—the receipt is still here.”

Suspicious, I checked it. The account name was mine. But I had never received that money.

“Mom!”

I turned and saw Lily, whom I hadn’t seen for days.

“Mom, it’s just a ring and $30,000. I’ll earn it back. If a man doesn’t want to marry me, what can I do? I can’t force him.”

Pulling her mother close, her few light words sealed the accusation that I had taken both the diamond ring and the wedding funds.

“That’s not how it works!”

“If you’ve taken our money, then you must marry her. If not, return every cent!”

Mrs. Miller’s face darkened as she clung to me, refusing to let go.

I looked at the mother-daughter duo acting in perfect sync, and dread crept into my chest.

“Lily, tell the truth. Who did you give the diamond ring to? And what about the wedding funds?”

“If I never received something, I won’t admit to it. And you’d better return the $28,000 I gave you for the jewelry!”

I shook off Mrs. Miller’s grip and glared coldly.

“Mrs. Miller, let me see that receipt again.”

But this time she clutched her purse tightly, refusing to show it.

“What’s there to see? It has your name on it. I wired the money myself.”

“Let everyone here judge—what kind of man takes money and then refuses to marry?”

“I’m a sixty-year-old woman. Do you know how hard it is to earn that much?”

Her words, so emotional and manipulative, riled the crowd once more. Many even raised their phones to record videos.

I tried shielding my face with my hand while attempting to push them aside. But Mrs. Miller, like a puppet gone mad, broke free and cried louder.

“My daughter has been with him for eight years. Every cent she earned went to him!”

“Now he not only refuses to marry her, but he took the ring and the wedding funds too! Everyone, tell me, isn’t this outrageous?”

Standing behind her mother, Lily’s eyes gleamed with smug satisfaction.

Watching Mrs. Miller sit on the floor, wailing, I felt any trace of pity vanish.

The truth was clear: the woman who once treated me like her own son was now wearing the mask of a vampire.

“Lily, did you really give me all the money you earned over the years?”

“Do you want me to pull up the records of how much I’ve spent on you instead?”

Her face paled, realizing the situation was spiraling.

“I know you’re angry about Jason, but there’s nothing between us!”

“My mom doesn’t mean any harm. She just wants us to get married. Can’t you just nod and agree?”

She reached for my hand, but I pulled away.

Now I understood—the mother and daughter were trying to trap me.

The $28,000 I gave had bought Jason a diamond ring, and the two extra payments Mrs. Miller claimed were already spent by Lily and Jason.

Now, seeing her daughter couldn’t marry, Mrs. Miller feared I would demand repayment. So they came to make a scene.

“You really think you’re sorry?”

I tested her, leaning closer.

Seeing my hesitation, Lily quickly nodded. “Yes, if you forgive me, I’ll make it right.”

Mrs. Miller instantly jumped up from the floor, calm as ever. The speed of her change was shocking.

“But Mrs. Miller said the wedding funds were wired into my account, and I never received them. We can continue with the wedding, but the money has to be accounted for.”

“I have to call the police.”

I reached for my phone, but before I could unlock it, Lily snatched it away.

Mrs. Miller reached too, as if ready to grab it.

“This little matter doesn’t need the police. Don’t waste their time.”