The Necklace

When I found out the truth, I went straight to Samantha and demanded an explanation.

My eyes were bloodshot with anger, but she did not look guilty at all. She did not apologize for lying to me, nor did she even try to explain herself.

Instead, she took out her phone and played the video she had recorded of me apologizing to her. "Ryan was sick. That part was true, wasn't it? So how exactly did I lie?"

Then she smiled and shook the phone in front of me. "Go ahead and make a scene. Tell everyone, if that makes you feel better. Once they see this video of you begging me to forgive you, they'll only think you're crazy."

She pushed me so far that I ended up hyperventilating and had to be rushed to the hospital.

Only then did Samantha seem to realize she had gone too far.

When I woke up in the hospital, she was sitting beside my bed, her eyes tearful and red, apologizing repeatedly. She promised to make up for the missed engagement party and said we would hold another celebration in a week.

She looked so sincere that I forgave her again.

Thinking back on it now, I couldn't believe how stupid I had been.

If Samantha had truly loved me, she wouldn't have hurt me and lied to me over and over again.

We had been together for seven years. I proposed ninety-nine times, and she made our engagement party a public humiliation ten times.

I had nothing left to give.

The only option was to cut her out of my life myself.

From then on, Samantha and I would have no further contact.

I looked at Ryan's message, but this time, I didn't explode the way I used to. I simply deleted the conversation and ignored it.

Over the next few days, Samantha went out drinking and partying every night. Every update she posted was tagged at some bar, lounge, or club, and Ryan was almost always right there beside her.

It was as if she had completely forgotten she still had a boyfriend. We hadn't even officially broken up, but she was already enjoying single life.

That was fine with me.

I had no intention of seeing her again anyway.

After packing everything I owned, I called Linda and apologized again for what had happened at the engagement party.

I knew she had always cared about me. The only reason she said those harsh things was because I refused to listen and kept returning to Samantha, despite how badly I was treated.

"Aunt Linda," I asked, "you used to suggest I move abroad and work with my cousin. Is that chance still open?"

She was stunned at first. Then her voice filled with surprise and relief.

Back then, she had been strongly against my relationship with Samantha. She had advised me many times to study abroad and build a better life elsewhere, but I had rejected her every time.

"Of course it is," she replied. "As long as you're really done with Samantha and that whole mess, I'll support you."

Once we agreed that I would leave at the end of the month, I quickly contacted a real estate agent and listed my house for sale.

I bought the house in cash five years ago.

At the time, I had imagined it would be the home where Samantha and I would build our future.

Now there was no point in keeping it.

While I was packing, one of my closest friends suddenly sent me a video.

He was so angry that his words came out in a rush. "Caleb, watch the video I just sent you. Isn't that necklace around that b*stard's neck yours?"

I opened the video.

It seemed to have been filmed from inside a bar booth. Samantha was tipsy and leaning against Ryan's chest, while Ryan sat there wearing an elegant vintage emerald necklace.

My whole body went cold.

That necklace had belonged to my mother before she died, and it was one of the few things she had left me.

I had given it to Samantha as a promise, something more meaningful than any ring or gift I could ever buy.

Three years ago, she told me she had accidentally lost it. She cried, blamed herself for days, and I comforted her like a fool.

Now, it was hanging around Ryan's neck.

I went downstairs, got into a taxi, and headed straight to the bar using the location my friend had sent me.

I hadn't planned to see Samantha again, but I was not leaving my mother's necklace with him.

My Mother's Necklace

I had to get it back, no matter what.

Using the location from the video as a guide, I quickly found the booth where Samantha was sitting.

A man's tie was wrapped over her eyes, and she was laughing as she played some childish guessing game with Ryan. Her hands reached blindly through the air, and by chance, they landed on me.

"Ryan," she teased, completely unaware that she had touched the wrong person, "have you put on weight lately? I can't even feel your abs anymore."

Ryan's face changed the second he saw me.

He let out a startled yelp, but Samantha was still lost in the game.

"Why are you acting shy now?" she asked with a laugh. "It's not like I haven't touched you before."

The next second, the tie slipped from her face.

Samantha's eyes widened as she finally realized that the man in front of her was not Ryan, but me.

I stood there glaring at her, shaking with anger, but the shock on her face lasted only a second.

There was no guilt. No panic. No shame.

Instead, her expression twisted into disdain. "Caleb, didn't you swear you'd never come looking for me again? It's only been a few days, and you already can't stay away?"

She crossed her arms and scoffed. "Ryan and I were just messing around. Is there really any need to stare at me like that?"

I ignored her sarcasm and looked straight at the necklace around Ryan's neck.

"You knew that necklace was the only thing my mother left me," I said through clenched teeth. "You lied and said you lost it. Now you gave it to him? What the hell is wrong with you?"

I reached for Ryan's neck, trying to take the necklace back.

Before I could touch it, Samantha slapped me hard across the face and shoved me away without hesitation.

I lost my balance and fell to the floor.

"Caleb, I don't owe you an explanation," she snapped. "You gave that necklace to me, so it belongs to me. What I do with it is none of your business."

Then she looked down at me with a cold smile. "If you came here because you want to make up, just say that. Don't use some necklace as an excuse."

My head spun from the fall, and my forehead hit the corner of the table. A sharp pain shot through me, and blood began running down my face.

When Samantha saw that, she only became more cruel.

With a wicked smile, she reached over, took the necklace off Ryan's neck, and threw it toward the crowded dance floor.

"You want it so badly?" she said. "Then crawl around and look for it. Ryan doesn't care about some cheap old thing anyway. You're the only one acting like it's a treasure."

I ignored the pain and rushed into the crowd, terrified that one more second would be enough for someone to step on it and break it.

Behind me, Samantha laughed louder.

"Caleb, you look like a dog!" she called out. "You'd better find it fast. We're heading somewhere else for round two soon."

I searched through the packed dance floor for almost twenty minutes but found nothing.

All I got were a few careless kicks from strangers pushing past me.

By the time I finally gave up, Samantha was already gone.

With my friend's help, I went to the hospital, gritting my teeth through the pain.

The cut on my forehead needed several stitches, and the fingers on my right hand had a small fracture. By the time the doctor finished examining me, they were badly swollen.

My friend looked at me with guilt written all over his face. "Caleb, I only ran into Samantha at the bar by chance. If I'd known this would happen, I never would've sent you that video. I should've just called someone over and dealt with her myself."

His eyes turned red with anger. "She never deserved the way you treated her. You see that now, right? Don't you dare go soft on her again."

I shook my head and forced a weak smile.

Ever since Samantha missed the engagement party for the first time, my friend had stopped talking to me because I was too stubborn to give up on her.

We had barely spoken for more than half a year.

This time, he had only reached out because he couldn't stand what Samantha had done.

The Final Step

My eyes burned, and for a moment, I could barely speak.

I had lost a friendship that truly mattered because of someone who had never deserved that kind of loyalty from me.

For Samantha, I had thrown away my dignity again and again, sinking lower each time just to hold on to a relationship that had been destroying me from the inside out.

I had realized it late, but at least I still had a chance to make things right.

I put an arm around my friend's shoulders and told him I was leaving the country soon.

He looked upset when he heard it, but in the end, he supported my decision. He knew better than anyone that if I made the same mistake again, then whatever happened next would be on me.

…

After Samantha left the bar, she lost all interest in the rest of the night.

Ryan tried the same old trick again. He pulled off his tie and leaned closer, deliberately flirting with her. "Samantha, stop drinking by yourself. You haven't looked happy since we got here. Did Caleb get under your skin?"

Then he moved even closer, lowering his voice. "Come on. You said we were going to have fun tonight."

He tried hard to charm her, but Samantha shoved him away in disgust.

"Enough," she snapped. "I was only putting on a show for Caleb's friend earlier. Caleb still hasn't come to me after all these days, so what else was I supposed to do? I had to push him somehow."

As she spoke, she reached into her pocket, retrieved the necklace, and studied it closely in her palm.

Ryan's eyes widened.

"Wait, you didn't actually throw that thing away?" he asked, startled. "I thought it got stepped on and crushed by now."

Out of habit, he reached for the necklace.

Samantha quickly slapped his hand away. "Don't touch it. This is the promise necklace Caleb gave me, and it's the only thing his mother left him. When I said I was giving it to you, I was only trying to provoke him. Did you actually think I'd give you something this important?"

Ryan's face darkened with frustration and anger.

"What the hell does that mean?" he demanded. "A few days ago, you had me act with you and make those sounds on purpose so Caleb would hear us. You skipped the engagement party ten times. Wasn't that because you hated him and didn't want to marry him?"

Samantha looked down and sighed deeply, holding the necklace firmly.

"It was a test," she explained. "I needed to know Caleb wouldn't give up on me, no matter what. If he could make it through all ten times, then I could finally trust him enough to marry him."

Her voice softened. "He kept his promise to me. I won't put him through that anymore."

After saying that, Samantha stood up from the couch.

Ryan tried to stop her, but she ignored him and walked out of the party without looking back.

Outside, the busy street was bright and crowded. As Samantha walked through the noise and lights, the tension on her face gradually faded.

A small smile touched her lips as she murmured to herself, "You've already taken ninety-nine steps toward me, Caleb. I'll make the last one."

When she passed a bakery, she went inside and carefully picked out several boxes of my favorite pastries.

Then she called me.

"Caleb, where are you?" she asked softly. "I know I went too far before, and I'm on my way home now. Have you eaten yet? I bought you some pastries you like."

However, my voice never came through the line.

All she heard was a cold, automated message. "The person you have dialed is not available. Please try again later."

Samantha had no idea that I had already blocked her number.