I Kept His Paper Ring for Years,Then He Proposed to Another Woman

I found a lip balm in Ferris Gilbert's car. Strawberry flavored, a brand-new seasonal release.

Half-joking, I asked him whose it was.

Ferris froze for a split second, then blurted out：“Must've been Samuel Delgado. He rode with me last time and left it behind.”

A flash of irritation crossed his face, and he pulled out his phone, insisting on calling Samuel for an explanation.

“If this makes you misunderstand, babe, I'd never forgive myself.”

The call connected.

Samuel sounded thrilled and immediately complained that he'd been looking everywhere for it.

“I was gonna give it to my girlfriend. Spent ages picking it out, too. Can't believe I left it in your car.”

I listened in silence, then handed the lip balm back to Ferris.

“Return it to him. A gift for someone special should be treated with care.”

Ferris smiled：“I remember you like this brand too. Your lips always get so dry in summer. Want me to buy you one?”

I shook my head, calm on the surface, while something inside me sank inch by inch.

Because that lip balm was already mine.

——

The drive home was ten minutes. It felt like ten years.

Who was she?

How long had it been going on?

One casual phone call and Samuel had understood instantly, played along without missing a beat. Had they done this before?

Cold crept through me wave after wave, my thoughts tangling into knots, my fingertips trembling no matter how hard I pressed them together.

Ferris noticed my silence and tried to lighten the mood：“Don't be mad, babe. Samuel being unreliable is nothing new. Once our anniversary's over tomorrow, I'll make him take us out to dinner as an apology.”

I managed a nod. That same night, I called Samuel.

His voice came out thin, unsteady：“Mel, come on. You don't trust Ferris? One call from you and the guy would drop everything, fly back from the other side of the world. Today was my fault, I'm sorry. Don't overthink it.”

But he was still too green. A few more questions and the cracks showed.

“Honestly, Ferris just felt sorry for her. The new girl's got a rough situation, so he looks out for her a little more……”

A face surfaced in my mind. Soft, pale, delicate.

Hannah Pruitt. Ferris's new secretary.

“The last one just quit, and there's a mountain of work piling up. I'm training her myself so she gets up to speed faster.”

That was what Ferris had told me. At the time I'd been busy making herbal broth for his stomach problems and barely looked up.

“Sounds like you really take care of her.”

Back then, I genuinely hadn't thought twice about it.

Now I knew. He wasn't just working late with her. He'd bought her limited-edition designer bags and expensive coats. On top of that, he'd sent Samuel on late-night errands to bring her ginger tea and ibuprofen for her cramps.

He'd even left me behind with a hundred-and-four-degree fever to drive her to the hospital for a scraped wrist.

“She's not like you, Mel. You're strong. You stuck with Ferris through all the hard years. But she's had it rough. Single-parent home, mom just passed away. Without Ferris, she's got nobody.”

She's had it rough?

I didn't understand.

How was it that blatant betrayal, coming out of his mouth, somehow made it sound like I was the one bullying a helpless girl?

Back in bed, Ferris pulled me into his arms in his sleep. I lay against his chest, cold all the way through.

Every grievance I'd swallowed rose to my throat and turned into tears that fell before I could stop them.

Then the phone on the nightstand buzzed.

The screen lit up.

No need to unlock it. Every word was right there, perfectly legible.

“Ferris, you're going to be a daddy!”

“You promised that once your anniversary is over, you'll come clean to Melody James. The baby and I will be good and wait for you.”

“I got the engagement ring! It's gorgeous. And you said you'd take me to see the snow at Mount Fuji. I've been thinking about it every day.”

I stared at those three messages. Read them top to bottom, then bottom to top.

The screen went dark. I tapped it awake.

Dark again. Tapped it awake again.

They hit me like a slap across the face, so hard my mind went blank and my chest burned with something I couldn't swallow down.