The day I got my promotion notice, my sister, Harper, celebrated by gifting me a Rolex watch I’d been eyeing for ages. But my fiancée, Tiffany Hayes, saw it and absolutely flipped out. She insisted I sell the watch and warned me not to get too ahead of myself. “What’s the point of a man like you getting promoted and making so much money? You’ll still end up getting married and settling down, won’t you? Sell the watch, give me all your savings, and I’ll hold onto it for you. We can use it to buy a car later.” “If you really like watches, I can find you some on Wish. They’re like fifty bucks each, I’ll buy you three or four. You can wear whichever one you want.” I sneered. Her bad ideas were exploding everywhere like fireworks, showering me with her true intentions. “Are you out of your mind? Dream on! If I didn’t get promoted and earn money, I’d be stuck with someone like you? My parents spend money on me, and I’d have to look at *your* face for approval?” Tiffany saw my face darken and immediately switched to a gentle tone. “Oh, Liam, I was just a little worked up. Please don’t be mad.” She moved to hug me, but I frowned and blocked her with my car keys. “Alright, what do you want? If it’s nothing, I’m going home.” With that, I turned and headed for the parking lot. I had planned to celebrate with a nice dinner, but Tiffany’s behavior today genuinely disgusted me. As I turned, she grabbed my arm. I looked back, frowning, and told her to let go, but she put on a ‘deeply affectionate’ act. She pulled two crumpled plastic flowers, like the ones handed out at a supermarket promotion, from her bag. “Liam, these are for you.” I took the flowers with my fingertips, mumbled “Thanks,” and practically sprinted to my car. As soon as the car left the complex, I tossed the flowers out the window. Back home, my friend Aiden Miller had already prepared beer and barbecue skewers to celebrate my promotion. All the unpleasantness from earlier instantly vanished from my mind. After a shower, as I leaned back on the couch, I realized Tiffany had called me a dozen times. Annoyed, I turned off my phone, hoping to catch a nap to the sound of the wind outside, but Aiden knocked on the living room door. “What’s up? Just say it.” I couldn’t help but chuckle at his hesitant expression. “Uh, Tiffany seems to be shouting your name downstairs.” I threw off my blanket, walked to the window, and pulled back the curtain. Tiffany really was standing in the wind, calling my name. That annoyed me even more. I grabbed an old jacket from the entryway and headed downstairs, intending to tell her to get lost. Tiffany and I were college acquaintances. She was pretty, with a decent personality, and quite popular on campus. Honestly, I didn’t feel anything special for her. I only agreed to be with her because she publicly confessed her feelings to me at graduation, and I was put on the spot and felt too awkward to say no in front of everyone. If she hadn’t been relatively easy to get along with, I would have broken up with her ages ago. Even after graduation, I didn’t notice any major flaws. But today, this whole thing really made me want to dump her. The moment she saw me come downstairs, her face was flushed and wind-blown from rushing over, and she tried to rush at me. I quickly used my jacket to block her. Her expression stiffened, but she forced a smile. “Liam, I was wrong today. I shouldn’t have yelled at you. I’m sorry, please don’t be mad at me, okay?” Wrapped in my jacket, I stared coldly at her as she made a scene in the wind. She seemed oblivious to my coldness and continued. “Liam, I didn’t mean it like that. Even though we’re still young, getting married and settling down will cost a lot, right? Your current position is already good enough, there’s no need to burn yourself out just for a promotion.” “My dad said that if men get married too late, their energy won’t keep up, and raising kids will be tough. You’d have to hire help, which costs even more. It’s better to settle down while you’re young and still have the energy.” “Spending tens of thousands on an impractical watch is such a waste. You should save it for our future kids.” “Besides, none of your colleagues wear such expensive watches. If you stand out too much, and get ostracized, I’ll be the only one who cares about you.” The more I listened, the more I felt something was off. A suspicion started gnawing at me. My family’s well-off. My parents own a company. We’re not billionaires, but we’re definitely worth tens of millions. I’ve always kept a low profile at school, and I didn’t use family connections to get into this company after graduation. Just because I got promoted and bought a Rolex, Tiffany thinks I’m different from others. There was a controlling vibe in everything she said. I started to wonder if she was trying to brainwash me. I sneered, glancing at her. “You make a good point. So how about I return the watch tomorrow and stop saving my salary?”
As soon as I said that, Tiffany’s face lit up like a flower. “That’s more like it! Sell the watch, give me the money, and give me all the bonuses you’ve saved over the years. I’ll manage it for you.” “From now on, I’ll give you $800 in allowance every month. How does that sound?” I stared at her triumphant face, my stomach churning. I almost threw up the coffee I had this morning. Her calculations were practically slapping me in the face! I sneered, gripping my jacket tighter. “Alright, I’ve saved quite a bit of my own money over the years, probably a few million. How about I hand that over for you to manage too?” At that, Tiffany’s eyes lit up like spotlights, her voice trembling with excitement. “Really?” I honestly wanted to kick her across the street. I was done playing along. I casually shrugged off my jacket and shoved her hard. “Dream on.” Tiffany looked utterly bewildered, asking me what I meant. I gave her a cold stare. “You spend all day scheming, have you thought yourself stupid? Do you think I’m your personal ATM? I’m not an angel; I have no desire to help someone like you.” She froze for a few seconds, her face turning crimson, then she yelled at me: “Liam Reed! Are you messing with me?!” I rolled my eyes, not bothering to respond. I casually tossed the jacket, now tainted with her grossness, into a nearby trash can. “Tiffany, we’re over. The engagement? Forget about it.” With that, I turned and walked upstairs without looking back. Guess I forgot to check the forecast today; serves me right for running into this crap. While waiting for the elevator, I ran into my colleague and our mutual college acquaintance, Kyle Jensen. Aiden, who was worried about me, also came downstairs. Kyle glanced at Tiffany, who was storming off, then looked at me. “Had a fight with Tiffany?” “No, we broke up.” Actually, my bad mood wasn’t because of the breakup, but because Tiffany’s whole scheme had sickened me beyond belief. “Seriously?” Both of them looked completely shocked. Besides the shock, I also caught a flicker of schadenfreude in Kyle’s eyes, like he was waiting for a show. “Why did you break up?” Aiden asked curiously. I just briefly told him about what happened today. Aiden listened, gritting his teeth in anger, finding Tiffany utterly ridiculous. He immediately blasted her: “That woman is really something else.” Kyle, however, stroked his chin and said lightly: “But Tiffany didn’t say anything wrong, did she?” I turned to him, frowning. I hadn’t expected him to defend Tiffany. “You and Tiffany were about to get engaged, you’ll need a lot of money in the future. Besides, what’s the point of a man getting such a high position? Having a stable life after marriage is the most important thing.” “And what’s the use of such an expensive watch, besides showing off? You and Tiffany are engaged, your money is her money. It’s perfectly normal for her to manage it for you.” Aiden, who was still holding my arm, flared up at his words, sneering: “Dude, is your brain running on fumes? That’s some serious carbon monoxide poisoning! If you’re so humble and love serving others, go do it yourself. Don’t tell others what to do here.” “Though with your finances, even if you paid to be with Tiffany, she’d still be wondering if you’re worth it.” Kyle, however, muttered nonchalantly: “It’s just the truth.” Aiden snorted, glaring at him sideways: “It’s windy outside; is there a tornado in your brain right now? Did it just blow away your common sense? My man Liam’s family is super well-off, his folks are happy to spend money on him, what business is that of yours?” “Now that Tiffany and Liam are over, aren’t you totally into her? Go ahead, take your pathetic savings to her, tell her you’re her savior and you’re willing to give her everything you have. She’ll surely be moved to tears.” That’s why Aiden and I get along; his sharp tongue is unmatched. I patted Aiden’s hand, signaling him not to argue with Kyle. As the elevator approached the first floor, I looked at Kyle: “My money, I’ll spend it how I want. My life, I’ll live it how I want. It’s none of your damn business. Stop trying to tell me what to do.” I glared at him, then pulled Aiden into the elevator.
The next day, as I headed out, my sister Harper was leaning against her flashy Porsche, waiting for me. The moment she saw me, she smiled and opened the car door for me to get in. I strode over and plopped down into the passenger seat. She was so considerate to open the door for me, of course I’d enjoy the VIP treatment. As soon as I buckled my seatbelt, she handed me a watch box, a triumphant smile on her face. “I saw this Cartier watch on a business trip recently and thought it’d suit you. So I just picked it up.” “Why isn’t Tiffany with you today?” She glanced at the rearview mirror, asking. My relaxed mood instantly soured at the mention of Tiffany. “Don’t even mention her. We broke up.” Harper, upon hearing about the breakup, first clapped her hands in delight, but then immediately pressed for the reason. I didn’t really want to revisit that whole mess, but she was insistent, so I reluctantly told her everything. After hearing my story, Harper’s face darkened, practically a storm cloud. Her eye twitched, as if she was suppressing immense anger. She told me very seriously: “You should’ve kicked that trashy woman to the curb ages ago.” Then she added: “Don’t take any of her bullshit to heart. Mom’s money will all be yours eventually, and you can have half of mine too. Why put up with that kind of crap from her?” Her words warmed my heart, and my eyes got a little misty. I nodded emphatically. Perhaps worried I was overthinking things, she changed the subject: “Alright, I have a flight abroad this afternoon to sign a contract, so don’t dwell on it. If anything comes up, just tell me. Hurry and get out, don’t be late for work.” While waiting for the elevator, I ran into Kyle Jensen, who had a smirk on his face. I didn’t think much of it and just got into the elevator. But once I got to the office, I noticed my colleagues seemed to be whispering and pointing at me. My usual lunch buddy, Lucas Davies, grabbed me and pulled me to my desk, then showed me his phone. Someone had posted an anonymous message in the company SnapChat, spreading nasty rumors about me. A picture of me getting out of Harper’s Porsche, chatting with her by the roadside, was circulating everywhere. The message had only one line: “Newly promoted manager Liam Reed suspected of finding a rich girlfriend.” Even more outrageous, it included screenshots of that person’s SnapChat conversation with Tiffany. He claimed I looked down on her, and said I was greedy and had no bottom line, willing to do anything for money. She even claimed she deeply loved me, and didn’t care even if I broke up with her for a rich girlfriend. She even said she wanted to “pull me back” and prevent me from going down the wrong path. After reading all this, I was so angry I wanted to laugh but couldn’t. Did Tiffany really think I was some pushover? Whispers gradually filled the air. Lucas, who has a short fuse, was about to stand up and argue, but I pulled him back. I picked up the coffee from my desk, walked over to Kyle, and splashed it right on his head. He jumped up, yelling, asking what I was doing. I sneered: “Just cleaning up your nasty mouth and filthy mind. Don’t mention it; a simple ‘thank you’ or a little groveling will do.” Lucas asked why I didn’t explain. I patted his shoulder and said that the real priority was to expose the mastermind behind all this.
Close to quitting time, I found the contents of my drawer ransacked and piled on my desk. My watch was gone, with only a flimsy plastic bag left behind. Lucas stood beside me, about to say something, when Kyle walked in, looking guilty as hell. Seeing his expression, everything clicked into place for me. I’d bet anything he took my watch, and he had the nerve to be so blatant about it. Lucas and I exchanged a look, and I knew he was thinking the same thing. He grabbed Kyle’s arm. I followed them to the stairwell. Lucas blocked Kyle’s escape, and I stepped forward, grabbing his collar. “Did you take my watch?” He struggled, swatting at my hands, still trying to play tough. “Liam Reed, don’t falsely accuse people.” Kyle was really stubborn, wasn’t he? You won’t give up until you’re completely cornered, will you? I wonder if he’d still be so tough in front of the police. I snorted and told Lucas: “Lucas, call the cops. Let them investigate who stole my watch.” Lucas nodded and pulled out his phone. Kyle seized the chance, shoved me, pushed past Lucas, and ran towards the end of the hallway. Lucas and I chased after him and heard him making a phone call in the corner. He was crying as he told the person on the other end that I had called the police. Standing outside, I faintly heard him say, “Tiffany.” It seemed Tiffany was involved in this too. After the stairwell fell silent, my phone immediately rang. It was Tiffany. Before answering, I told Lucas to stand by and record the call, to save it as evidence of her instigating theft. Before I could even speak, Tiffany’s furious yell came through the phone: “Liam Reed, are you insane?! It’s just a crappy watch, do you really need to call the police?!” Tiffany really handed herself over. I sneered: “Well, well. I just confronted Kyle, and you call me. What, did you tell Kyle to steal my watch?” “Liam Reed, don’t say such nasty things! What do you mean, ‘told Kyle to steal your watch’? I’m your fiancée, isn’t your stuff mine? Can’t I manage your spending?” “Spending tens of thousands on a crappy watch, my parents couldn’t save enough for that in years. I had Kyle take your watch for your own good. You’re about to marry into my family; if you’re so irresponsible with money, people will gossip.” “Besides, if you sell the watch, I’ll give the money to my dad, and he’ll save it for us. It can even be our children’s education fund later.” Tiffany’s shamelessness amazed me; my chest felt tight with anger. “Tiffany, are you a damn broken record? Can you ever shut up? Didn’t your parents teach you to speak properly, or are you too old to even learn sign language? My money is none of your damn business! I’ll spend it however I want, I’d even burn it for fun.” “Calling you pond scum is an overestimation. Are you living in some twisted family fantasy? And me marrying you? Your audacity is so monumental, it could probably win a Nobel Prize for wiping out all shyness on Earth!” “You’d be lauded for curing humanity’s ‘cringefest’ with your sheer nerve! The government, the World Peace Organization, they’d all give you a lifetime achievement award for that!” “And also, let me say this one last time: we’re broken up, and *I’m* the one who dumped you. Second, I’ve already called the police. They’re on their way to the company building to take your little crony away for questioning. I’m giving you 15 minutes to get your ass down here.” Tiffany was still cursing up a storm on the other end, but I just hung up. Lucas stopped recording, looking at me with admiration. I pushed open the stairwell door, grabbed Kyle by the arm, and dragged him towards the elevator, attracting numerous stares. I didn’t care about any of them. If someone messed with me, I’d make sure they knew what ‘no mercy’ meant. The moment I pulled Kyle out of the elevator, I saw Tiffany standing in front of a couple of police officers, trying to charm them. As I got closer, I heard her trying to stop the officers from doing their job. I thought, she went to a decent university, how can she be like a complete legal illiterate?
“Officers, I’m really sorry. My boyfriend and I had a small misunderstanding, and I didn’t mean to trouble you. How about this, I’ll apologize on his behalf for making you come all this way and wasting your time.” As she spoke, she pulled out a pack of cigarettes from her pocket, took out two, and tried to hand them to the two officers in front of her. The officers waved away her gesture, stating they had to see the person who reported the crime and confirm the situation before leaving. Tiffany still wouldn’t give up. A younger officer frowned and said: “Ma’am, this is our duty. Please don’t interfere with our work.” I gave Lucas a look, telling him to keep an eye on Kyle, then I pushed through the onlookers and walked over. “Officers, I’m the one who called you. I’m Liam Reed.” The moment Tiffany saw me, her fawning expression vanished. She tried to drag me away, but the young officer stopped her. She could only force a dry laugh and apologize to the police, then she turned and hissed at me in a low voice: “Liam Reed, don’t push your luck! It’s just a crappy watch, do you really want to embarrass everyone in front of so many people?” I folded my arms, gave her a cold stare, and snorted: “Why should I be embarrassed? I haven’t done anything shameful. What, are *you* scared? Scared everyone will know you told your little lapdog to steal my watch, huh?” I couldn’t be bothered with her, so I turned and told the two officers, in detail, about Tiffany conspiring with Kyle to steal my Rolex watch. They advised Tiffany to return the watch to me. But Kyle, beside her, was still talking tough. “Liam Reed! You say I stole your watch, do you have proof?!” “Exactly, Liam Reed! Don’t talk nonsense without proof! It’s just a crappy watch, do you really need to make such a big fuss?? Hurry up and apologize to me and Kyle, and say sorry to the police, then we can drop this.” As if! I wanted to kick Tiffany and Kyle both so hard they’d never get up. But in front of the police, I had to swallow my anger for now. Lucas stepped forward with his phone, saying he was not only a witness but also had a recording of my call with Tiffany, plus security camera footage of Kyle sneakily taking the watch from my desk. With the evidence laid out for everyone to see, Tiffany and Kyle’s faces instantly went white as paper. I asked Lucas where he got the video. He said while I was in the stairwell confronting Kyle, he’d gotten his buddy in security to pull it. A moment later, Tiffany snapped back to reality, her face red and cursing, she tried to rush forward and snatch Lucas’s phone. “Bastard! You even dared to record it!” The two officers immediately stepped between Lucas and me, sternly warning Tiffany: “Step back! What are you trying to do?!” The police gave Tiffany a stern reprimand, but Tiffany still refused to admit her mistake, stubbornly arguing: “Officers, Liam Reed is my fiancé! It’s just a crappy watch, what’s wrong with me taking it? He spends tens of thousands on a watch; he’s such a vain man, can’t I control him?!” I snorted: “Tiffany, did you hit your head or are you just naturally this delusional? I’m not your fiancé; we’re already broken up.” “And while I’m at it, let me give you a helpful lesson: stealing is against the law. For large amounts, you’re looking at up to three years in prison, detention, or public surveillance. What, are you two so tough you’re eager to get a prison uniform and a new job making license plates?” At my words, Tiffany, who had been jumping up and down, went silent. Kyle’s face was as white as freshly painted drywall. The officers gave them a cold look: “No matter who you are to him, taking someone’s belongings without permission is theft. If the amount is substantial enough, it can be prosecuted by law.” “As for how much the watch is worth, that’s none of your business. It’s his property, and he’s free to use it as he pleases. Neither in terms of emotion, reason, nor law, do you have any right to control it.”
Tiffany was rendered speechless by the police, her eyes burning with rage. The police turned to ask me how I wanted to handle it. Before I could speak, several department heads and managers rushed over, having heard the commotion. They all tried to persuade me, saying it was best not to blow things out of proportion and to settle it amicably. Considering that a huge scene would negatively impact the company, I ultimately decided against sending Tiffany and Kyle to jail. “Alright,” I told them. “As long as Tiffany returns my watch, I won’t pursue this any further.” The police also urged Tiffany to quickly return my watch. But Tiffany’s eyes darted around, and she stammered: “That watch… I already sold it.” I was so mad I almost blacked out. That watch was a limited edition, really hard to get. Harper specifically went out of her way during a business trip to find it. And she just sold it without permission! I suppressed my anger and asked her: “Where’s the money? The money from selling my watch?” She mumbled: “I… I spent it.” I suddenly remembered her earlier clamoring about wanting the latest iPad and a bunch of makeup. Did she use that money to buy them? I really couldn’t stand her double standard. It was wrong for me to spend tens of thousands on a watch, but perfectly righteous for her to spend tens of thousands on electronics and cosmetics. I kept my rage in check and told Tiffany: “I’m giving you two choices: first, return my watch. Second, return my money. Otherwise, you’ll be going to jail!” Under the police’s persuasion, Tiffany finally agreed to return the money. She made a few calls to scrape together the cash, then, witnessed by the police, transferred fifty thousand dollars to me. As soon as the money hit my account, I immediately contacted the Omega boutique and ordered a new sixty-thousand-dollar watch, then called Cartier to order a forty-thousand-dollar necklace. Tiffany’s eyes practically bulged out of her head with rage, and she ground her teeth, threatening me: “You think you’re smart, huh, Liam Reed?!” I put on a scared face, leaned closer to the officers, and half-jokingly said: “Officer, she’s still trying to scare me.” The police pulled Tiffany aside and lectured her again, then took Kyle away. Before Tiffany left, I gave her a challenging eyebrow raise and silently mouthed: “If you’ve got the guts, don’t run. This is just the beginning!” The next day, HR and my superiors took turns talking to me. They suggested that next time I encounter something like this, I shouldn’t rush to call the police. It’s better to solve it internally to avoid affecting the company’s image. I didn’t back down. I replied very seriously: “Calling the police is my legal right as a citizen. I don’t believe I did anything wrong.” I understood they were afraid of the company’s reputation being damaged, but this ‘brushing things under the rug’ approach was something I couldn’t stomach. Unexpectedly, that same evening. Rumors about me spread throughout the company, getting more and more exaggerated. Some even posted the incident online. Faced with these inexplicable accusations, I chose to remain silent, offering no explanation. Then I contacted a friend from college who studied computer science and asked him to help trace the source of the rumors and gather all the evidence. The next day, my parents and Harper somehow heard about it. My mom gifted me a Vacheron Constantin watch worth $120,000, and Harper gave me a new iPhone, comforting me not to take it to heart. Lucas saw the watch on my wrist and laughed, calling me “Mr. Fancy Pants.” To thank him for his help yesterday, I gave him my Saint Laurent sunglasses, which I’d only worn a few times and were worth over thirty thousand dollars. Just then, Kyle shamelessly waltzed over. “Hey, Liam, we’re college buddies and colleagues. Can’t you give me something too?” I sneered. Kyle’s thick skin was truly identical to Tiffany’s. I pulled out a plastic bag from a convenience store out of my drawer and threw it in his face. “I’m counting to three, get the hell out of my sight!” He gritted his teeth in anger, stomped his foot, and ran out, clutching his phone. I was about to call my parents to thank them, but Tiffany’s call came through first.
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