It was the fifth year after I broke up with Elliot Blair, and we met again at a class reunion. Right in front of our classmates, he knelt on one knee and proposed to me. “Samantha Adams, will you marry me?” I waved the wedding ring on my finger and told him, “I’m already married. From now on, I’ll be your uncle’s wife.” At the class reunion, I pushed open the door of the private room. The people who had been chatting and laughing merrily suddenly fell silent. They looked at me. After a moment of stillness, a man asked in confusion, “Who… Who is this?” Another man said, “I don’t know. Beautiful lady, did you go to the wrong room?” “Hey, I think she looks like Samantha Adams,” a woman stated. Another replied, “No way. How could Samantha afford to wear a limited-edition Chanel dress?” We had all changed a lot in the past five years. The group of classmates who used to be so righteous were now men dressed in suits and women looking all glammed up, all having that worldly and tactful look. I had changed from a poor student from the mountains who had to save on meals and eat only two instead of three a day to the founder of a jewelry brand that had more than a dozen offline stores and production factories. I couldn’t blame them for not recognizing me. The class monitor, Heather Hall, was the first to stand up and said with a smile, “It’s Samantha. I invited her to the reunion.” As soon as she finished speaking, there was an uproar among the people. One of them said, “Samantha, you’ve changed so much in five years, but you’re still as beautiful as before.” I responded to Heather’s greeting, took the empty seat beside her, and exchanged pleasantries with everyone. This class reunion wasn’t originally in my travel plans. Five years ago, when I was about to graduate, I had been wrongly accused of stealing money, got a criminal record, and didn’t even get my college diploma. All my classmates drew a clear line from me because of that theft incident. After I left Capinuss, I had no more contact with them. It was yesterday when I returned to Capinuss. When I landed at the airport, I accidentally left my bag behind, which contained important things like my driving license, bank cards, and jewelry design sketches. Heather found the bag and recognized me according to my driving license. To express my gratitude, I invited Heather to dinner, but she took the opportunity to invite me to the class reunion. I couldn’t refuse and came as promised. Unexpectedly, just as I sat down, the door was pushed open again, and the people who came in were Elliot Blair and Nora Wilson. The people who had been chatting with me just now fell completely silent.
Elliot was my boyfriend during my college days and was from a wealthy family in Capinuss. Nora was Elliot’s childhood friend, and their family backgrounds were a good match. Because I came from a poor mountainous area, after getting together with Elliot, I was constantly compared to Nora. People couldn’t understand why Elliot, instead of choosing Nora, was acting like a lovesick man to me. During my college years, I was so poor that I wore the same piece of clothing for three years. I was either busy with classes or on my way to a part-time job every day. When we were in a relationship, I could only choose free places like parks or libraries for our weekend dates. But Elliot was dead set on me. He started chasing after me during my freshman year, showing his concern for me. In my junior year, after saving enough money from several years of part-time jobs and having no more financial pressure, I finally agreed to his pursuit. After we got together, our relationship was great, and we never once quarreled. Before our college graduation, Nora lost 20 thousand dollars in the dormitory. Coincidentally, I was going to deposit 20 thousand dollars in the bank that day. So, some people said that I had stolen Nora’s 20 thousand dollars. The 20 thousand dollars was the money I had saved up by setting up a street stall in the evenings when I didn’t have classes. I saved it bit by bit, tens and hundreds of dollars at a time, over half a year. There was no way it could be the 20 thousand dollars that Nora had lost. I didn’t admit it and called the police myself. When we confronted each other at the police station, Nora said, “I just withdrew that 20 thousand dollars from the bank, and all the banknotes are in consecutive serial numbers. There’s a surveillance video at the bank counter. “If Samantha didn’t steal my money, we could check whether the 20 thousand dollars in her hand has consecutive serial numbers, and the truth will be revealed.” Then, the police checked and found that the 20 thousand dollars in my hand not only had consecutive serial numbers but also had the same serial numbers as the 20 thousand dollars that Nora had lost. It meant that the 20 thousand dollars in my hand was indeed the 20 thousand dollars that Nora had lost. With such irrefutable evidence, I couldn’t defend myself even if I tried. Because the incident caused a big commotion, the school finally expelled me, and my classmates all criticized me and distanced themselves from me. Even Elliot looked at me with disappointment and accused me, saying, “Samantha, if you needed money, you could have just told me. Twenty thousand dollars is just the cost of one of my clothes. Was it worth getting a criminal record and sending yourself to prison for such a small amount of money?” In the end, he forced me to apologize to Nora, saying that only if Nora forgave me would she not send me to prison.
What happened back then should have been resolved back then. Now, seeing Elliot again after five years, I felt completely indifferent inside. However, Elliot walked towards me with an excited expression. “Samantha, how have you been these past few years?” I looked at him calmly and smiled, “Thanks to you, I’ve been doing fine.” Elliot was taken aback. In the year we were in love, he had known all my preferences inside out. He could tell what I was thinking just by seeing me frown. Even though five years had passed and everything had changed, one’s personality didn’t change easily. He knew that my smile showed my ease after completely letting go of the past, and his face turned pale instantly. “Samantha, I’ve been looking for you for the past five years,” he said. Ignoring the classmates around us who were watching and not caring about Nora, who was beside him, he continued eagerly, “I even went to your hometown and asked all your family members. But they all said they didn’t have your contact information. Samantha, I’ve been searching for you for five years.” His voice choked up a bit, and his eyes were already red. “As soon as Heather said she saw you yesterday, I immediately flew back from abroad.” No wonder Elliot looked so travel-worn, with his suit all wrinkled, and I almost thought his family had gone bankrupt just now. Heather looked a bit embarrassed and explained to me in a low voice, “Samantha, there were some misunderstandings about what happened back then. I thought it was necessary to call him here to explain things clearly and apologize to you.” What happened back then, of course, referred to that theft incident that left me unable to defend myself. As the dormitory leader, Heather was the one who had first accused me of stealing. She stood up, took a deep breath, and said to me solemnly, “Today, in front of our classmates, I want to clarify one thing. Samantha didn’t steal Nora’s money back then. “That 20 thousand dollars was Samantha’s. I replaced it with the 20 thousand dollars that Nora gave when Samantha wasn’t around.” Nora, who had been silent, stepped forward reluctantly under Elliot’s intense gaze and apologized to me, saying, “Sorry, Samantha. You didn’t steal my money. I framed you back then.” Everyone was immediately in an uproar, and one shouted, “Samantha was too pitiful back then. She not only didn’t get her diploma but also lost her job. I remember she had received a job offer from Chanel back then.” Heather looked pale. “Samantha, I’m really sorry.” I had studied hard for more than ten years, managed to get into university with great difficulty, and worked day and night to get that dream job offer. But because of that malicious frame-up, everything came to nothing. I carried the stigma of theft, and my life changed from then on. Now, could it be resolved just with a simple “sorry”? Smiling, I stood up and told them word by word, “I don’t forgive you.”
There was no point in staying at this party any longer. I picked up my bag and turned to leave. But Elliot chased after me to the door and stopped me. “Samantha, I misunderstood you about what happened back then.” He had a look of pain and regret. “I’ve been looking for you all these years, wanting to tell you the truth.” I looked straight at him. “Now, I know the truth. So what? Are you going to plead for Nora and ask me to let it go?” In the past few years, even though I wasn’t in Capinuss, I had heard about the situation of the Wilson family. Due to some failed investments in the previous two years, the Wilson family owed more than they could pay and was on the verge of bankruptcy. Nora was only willing to admit her mistake to me because her family was in financial straits and her jewelry brand needed Elliot’s financial support. If her family’s wealth and influence were still the same as they were back then, she would definitely not have apologized to me today. Elliot was hit right in the mark by my words, and a look of guilt flashed across his face awkwardly. He said, “Nora already knows she was wrong. Her family is in a tough situation, and she’s suffering now. “Besides, she once saved my life. If it weren’t for her back then, I would have died in the mountain flood.” When Elliot was fifteen years old, he had gone on a trip out of the province with his classmates and gone to a mountain area to escape the heat. Unexpectedly, it rained upstream, and the mountain flood came so quickly that it swept Elliot into the river. Everyone said that Nora had saved him. Because of that, Nora had water in her lungs, and her health hadn’t been good these past few years. “Nora is suffering. But what about me?” I looked at Elliot calmly. “Did you ever think about how miserable I was when I was expelled from school? I came from a mountainous area, and my family had used up all their savings to support my studies. But I didn’t get my diploma and lost my job. How do you think I felt? “What’s more, it was you that Nora saved. What does that have to do with me? Why are you so generous at the expense of my future?” Elliot’s lips twitched. “I’m sorry, Samantha. I apologize to you on her behalf. But it’s been five years already. Can’t you let it go? “Don’t worry. With me around, you won’t have to suffer anymore. I’ll make up for all the hardships you’ve endured in the past five years.” As he spoke, as if he had just remembered something, he suddenly knelt on one knee and took out a diamond ring from his pocket. “Samantha, will you marry me?”
It was absurd. The Elliot I remembered was smart, gentle, and sensible. Now that we had met again, how could he do such a thoughtless thing as proposing to me right after not seeing each other for five years? He completely turned a blind eye to the pain I had endured when I was isolated, wronged, expelled from school, and lost my job. Heather and the others all chased after us. When they saw the scene, they started cheering and shouting, “Samantha, say yes.” One of them said, “Back then, Elliot was going to propose to you, and the venue was all set up. If it hadn’t been for that theft incident that day, maybe you would be married by now and have your baby.” I corrected his words, “It wasn’t a theft incident but a frame-up. Since you framed me back then, you should clarify it now. I want all of you to post on your social media platforms to clear my name.” Heather’s expression immediately turned terrible, but after taking a look at Elliot, she still nodded. “Okay.” Nora stood behind Heather, biting her lower lip with a look of unwillingness. At this moment, a car slowly drove up. After seeing the license plate number, I composed myself, looked down at Elliot, and said, “It’s been five years, Elliot. What makes you think I’d still be waiting for you to propose to me?” Elliot finally seemed to have noticed something, looking at my right hand. “You…” I waved the wedding ring on my finger and told him, “I’m already married. From now on, I’ll be your uncle’s wife.” Elliot was taken aback. “What?” Just then, the approaching car stopped in front of me.
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