After I got my year-end bonus, I splurged $10,000 on a wallet for my boyfriend. I never expected that the very next day, he’d list it online for sale. I immediately bought the wallet myself, then dialed his number: “Sweetheart, are you happy with the New Year’s gift I got you?” Nealon’s voice was cold. “That wallet? Yeah, I already got it.” I smiled. “That wallet? Oh, that was just the wrapping. The real gift was the watch I hid inside, worth $100,000. Didn’t you see it?” I was browsing Amazon’s second-hand marketplace one weekend when a listing from a local seller popped up. [Handmade Italian leather wallet, only $2000!] My eyes zeroed in on the text, and I froze for a full two seconds. The wallet had my boyfriend’s initials embroidered on it. There was no way anyone else would have an identical wallet, especially with that embroidery. I clicked into the seller’s profile. The IP address showed the seller was in the same state as me. I sat there in stunned silence for a moment, then clicked open the private chat. “Hi, is the wallet still available? Is it authentic? Why is it so cheap?” The reply was instant: “Don’t worry, it’s absolutely authentic. A friend gave it to me, but honestly, the color just isn’t my style, so I’m letting it go cheap.” Right after that, he sent over a photo of a custom order receipt from an Italian designer. It was Nealon, alright. I was the one who’d sent him that very receipt. My fingers went stiff. I took a deep, shaky breath and clicked into his Amazon seller profile, scrolling down. In the six months we’d been together, almost everything I’d ever given him was listed there. The headphones I bought him a month into our relationship, priced at $400. The game console for our 100-day anniversary, priced at $500. The latest model tablet I got him recently because he said he needed it for a project, priced at $800. Every single one of them was marked ‘Sold’. And a scarf. I’d knitted it for him myself last winter, pricking my fingers countless times. He’d hugged me then, promising to wear it forever. Now, it was listed for $50 with free shipping. The description even said: ‘Gift from a friend, not my style, never used.’ Staring at that line, a wave of nausea suddenly hit me. After we got together, Nealon’s requests for gifts were ridiculously frequent. Every time, he had a reason. Our one-month anniversary, our 100-day anniversary, his birthday, his thesis proposal approval… And every time, I bought him something. I’d been working for two years, while he was still in grad school. I figured he had no income, so I tried my best to keep him from spending money. So, even if his return gifts were just snack gift boxes worth a few tens of dollars or cheap little trinkets, I never said a word. I thought I was being understanding. Now, I saw that in his eyes, I was nothing more than a human ATM. Just then, another message popped up in the chat. “Hello? Still interested? If you’re serious, I can knock a bit more off the price. I can ship it today.”
I stared at the message, a storm of emotions churning inside me. Should I just expose him now, break up, and kick him to the curb? That would be letting him off too easy. After a moment of thought, I exited the chat and changed the shipping address to my best friend Chloe’s apartment complex. Once confirmed, I hit ‘Buy Now’. The moment the payment went through, a new message instantly popped up in the backend. “Wow, you’re quick! I see you’re local, so I’ll send it via courier right now! Please confirm receipt as soon as possible after you get it, I really need the money!” I stared at the text and replied: “Okay, send it.” An hour later, I picked up the package at Chloe’s place. The wallet was brand new, the seal perfectly intact. The special greeting card I’d specifically asked the official website to add was still tucked into the side seam. He hadn’t even bothered to open it. “Isn’t that the wallet you gave Nealon?” Chloe peered over my shoulder, frowning. “What’s going on?” I handed her my phone, letting her scroll through the Amazon records herself. Chloe flipped through a couple of pages, her face growing colder and colder. “That jerk!” She gritted her teeth. “What are you going to do now? Go straight to his school and slap him?” I shook my head. “That’s too boring.” If he dared to cash in on my gifts, I’d make him pay dearly! No sooner had the words left my mouth than another message popped up on the Amazon backend. “Hey, the courier says it’s signed for. Can you confirm receipt? I really need the money over here, waiting to buy a birthday present for my girlfriend.” My movements paused. Girlfriend? My birthday was in October, and it was only March. Which girlfriend was he buying a gift for? Chloe saw it too and let out a cold laugh. “Looks like this scumbag isn’t just using you as an ATM, he’s cheating too! What a pig!” I didn’t say anything, just clicked ‘Confirm Receipt’. The instant the money went through, I picked up a small knife from Chloe’s fruit bowl and gently made a cut on the wallet. Then I took a photo and sent it to Nealon’s Amazon account: “Hi, I just opened the outer packaging and found some damage here.” Nealon immediately blew up: “No way, listen, lady, it was perfectly fine when I handed it to the courier! The packaging wasn’t torn at all! You must have damaged it yourself, right?” “You didn’t inspect it on the spot and only mentioned a problem after signing for it. Who knows if you scratched it yourself? Trying to pull a fast one? No chance!” “You’ve already confirmed receipt! Now whether the item is good or bad has nothing to do with me! Don’t even think about scamming me!” With that, he blocked me before I could reply. I suddenly smiled. That’s exactly the guarantee I was waiting for. Whether the item was good or bad, it had nothing to do with him. I switched back to SnapChat and immediately called Nealon. He answered, his voice laced with a smile. “Honey, why the sudden call? Missing me already?” I replied: “Yeah, I wanted to ask you, did you get the wallet?” The other end of the line went quiet for a moment. “I did,” his tone was a little unnatural. “But babe, this wallet, actually, I don’t really like it. The color is a bit outdated.” “Oh? Why?” “Nowadays, young people don’t really use wallets that much.” He paused, then his tone softened deliberately. “I know you meant well, but this wallet really isn’t quite my style.” I curved my lips into a small smile. “Is that so? Well, I guess I’ll just give it to a colleague then. I actually forgot to buy a New Year’s gift for one of them.”
“Don’t!” he cut me off urgently. “Let’s not do that.” “But you don’t like it, right?” I feigned surprise. “I like all the gifts you give me.” His words rushed out. “Besides, how can you give a gift you gave me to someone else?” “You make a good point.” “Exactly,” his tone returned to calm, even taking on a slightly lecturing quality. “Aurora, don’t get me things like that anymore. I’m about to start working. If you really want to get me something, why not buy something practical?” “Like what?” “Like a watch, for example. Or a car would be nice too. Those are more fitting for my status, and they’d make a good impression when meeting clients.” I almost crushed my phone. He was still a student, barely out of college, and he was talking to me about ‘status’ and ‘making a good impression’? No wonder he thought the wallet I gave him wasn’t good enough. Turns out, he wanted something much more expensive. I suddenly remembered that three days ago, when I sent him the order screenshot, he’d only replied with “Oh.” At the time, I figured he was just busy, which was why he hadn’t seemed excited. Now I realized he was probably just too disappointed to even bother faking it. “You’re right,” I slowly said. “I also think that since you’re about to start working, you need some items that suit a mature man.” Nealon immediately brightened. “Right? You think so too? I actually saw a Longines watch I really like, it’s about $3,000. If you…” I cut him off. “So, I actually tucked a watch inside that wallet. A classic Patek Philippe. Didn’t you see it?” The other end of the line instantly fell silent. All I could hear was his increasingly rapid breathing. A few seconds later, Nealon’s voice changed completely. “What?” “A Patek Philippe,” I said innocently. “It was just in the wallet’s inner compartment, wrapped in velvet cloth. Didn’t you open it? There was even a handwritten letter from me inside.” “I…” he stammered. “You put a watch inside the wallet?” “Yeah,” I sighed. “I was just worried the wallet wasn’t expensive enough to express my love for you. So I bought an expensive watch.” From his end of the line, I heard a dull thud, like a fist slamming against a table. Immediately followed by a girl’s muffled, petulant voice: “What are you doing? Why are you so angry…” Nealon’s voice was also lowered, urgent and irritable. “It’s all because you wanted a necklace! Otherwise, why would I have been in such a rush to sell the wallet! Now look! I lost a fortune!” The girl huffed. “I told you, that wallet was handmade, it could even appreciate in value if you waited. You’re the one who insisted on selling it…” “If I don’t sell it now, how will I get it for your birthday!” I pretended not to hear their whispers and asked with concern: “Nealon? What’s wrong?” “Nothing,” his voice was dry. “Aurora, how much did you say that watch was?” “About $100,000,” I said lightly. “I was originally planning to get a new car, but then I thought, you’d need a good watch more for your internship and job interviews to make an impression, so I bought it.” “$100,000?” His voice started to tremble. “Where did you get that much money?” “My year-end bonus,” I said, pretending to be wronged. “I did really well on my projects this year, and my bonus was $90,000, so I bought you a watch.” “You…” He took a sharp breath. “Why didn’t you say so earlier!” “I wanted to surprise you,” I paused, suddenly sounding nervous. “Why do you ask? Is the watch missing?” “I… I might not have noticed…” he stammered incoherently. “I haven’t looked closely at the wallet yet…” “Go look for it!” I urged. “I bought a handmade custom one, even second-hand it’s worth $80,000! If it’s lost, I’ll be absolutely devastated!” Saying that, I sent Nealon the actual watch photo and the store receipt. “See? This style really suits you. It might look a bit mature, but you can wear it for years.”
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