On the day of my fourth anniversary with Ethan Rivers, I stumbled upon a post online. “My girlfriend’s family went bankrupt. I want to break up. Does that make me a scumbag?” The comments section was a mixed bag: “Bankrupt? You better run with a rocket strapped to your back!!” “Her bankruptcy isn’t your fault, but being stubborn about it would be.” “There are plenty of fish in the sea.” The original poster asked again: “How can I get her to break up with me first? I don’t want to be the bad guy. We’ve been together for four years after all.” More people chimed in with suggestions. “That’s easy. Whatever she cares about most, just show you don’t care about it at all.” “If she wants your company, work overtime. If she wants thoughtfulness, be careless. If she gets upset, call her dramatic.” Someone else added: “Just swap out that million-dollar gift for a fake. When she finds out, she’ll definitely confront you. Then you can use that as an excuse to break up.” “Sounds good.” …
I was still in a daze when voices outside the door pulled me back to reality. “Ethan really treats his girlfriend well. Buying a gift worth over a million without batting an eye.” “Of course. When Ethan was starting from scratch, Claire was the one supporting him from behind. Otherwise, how could he have become so successful in just three years?” “I heard Ethan’s planning to use this gift to propose. He’s really putting his heart into this for Claire.” A female voice interrupted—it was Melissa White. “Hey, get your facts straight. Ethan got to where he is today through his own hard work. What does it have to do with Claire?” “She’s just someone who stays home researching recipes and scrolling through videos. Ethan should be grateful he doesn’t mind her.” “Plus, her family went bankrupt. Who knows, maybe her whole family will have to depend on Ethan from now on. Don’t you think Ethan’s carrying too much?” Ethan said, “Melissa really gets me.” Everyone fell silent. My name is Claire Montgomery. My father’s Montgomery Real Estate declared bankruptcy two days ago. I didn’t hide this from Ethan. I couldn’t have even if I wanted to. At the time, he comforted me, saying it would be okay—I still had him. But I didn’t tell him that aside from real estate, my family had other businesses. The door opened. Seeing me sitting quietly inside, they looked somewhat embarrassed. “Claire, when did you get here?” “Not long ago.” Ethan scratched his head. “What we were saying just now… did you hear it?” I pretended not to know. “What? I just came out of the restroom. I didn’t hear you talking.” Hearing this, Melissa came over and linked arms with me, acting as intimate as if she hadn’t just been talking behind my back. “We were just discussing how good Ethan is to you.” “Is that so?” I glanced at Ethan. Though his guilty expression flashed by quickly, after being with him for over three years, I knew him too well. That was definitely the look he wore when he felt awkward. Melissa changed the subject. “Claire, I’m so jealous of you. Having such a wonderful boyfriend like Ethan.” “Really?” I said with a smile. “If you’re jealous, want me to give him to you?” As soon as those words left my mouth, all conversation in the private room came to an abrupt halt. Everyone looked at us. Melissa’s face turned bright red as she looked at Ethan. The entire room fell deathly silent. After a long moment, Melissa finally reacted. “Claire, what are you saying?” She thought changing the subject would be enough. He thought I misspoke. They thought I couldn’t bear to let Ethan go. Little did they know, the moment I saw that post, I had already figured out who posted it.
Ethan’s friends were trying to smooth things over. “Ethan, didn’t you prepare a gift for Claire? Hurry up and show it to us.” “Yeah, yeah, let this poor soul see what luxury looks like.” With everyone egging him on, Ethan took out the gift. Supposedly, this was the “Heart of Eternity” he spent a million dollars on, something that could only be given to the one he loved most. But that post said this had been swapped for a fake. Melissa was very naive, thinking she’d come up with a clever plan when in reality she was digging her own grave. Ethan was equally “adorable,” believing whatever people told him. My family’s real estate went bankrupt, but the keen eye I’d developed since childhood certainly hadn’t. Over the years, I’d spent close to nine figures on jewelry and accessories. I could tell at a glance whether something was real or fake. These two people thought they were so smart, but in reality, they were too clever for their own good. Everyone looked at me, waiting for my reaction. But I remained calm. Melissa couldn’t stand it and urged me to respond. “Claire, why aren’t you moved?” “Ethan treats you so well. Shouldn’t you have some kind of reaction?” I laughed. “Reaction?” “What kind of reaction should I have?” “Should I be thrilled over a fake?” The room fell silent once again. Ethan nearly lost his grip, almost dropping the item. “…Claire, this thing is fake?” “Could you be mistaken?” “Ethan spent over a million on this.” I looked at Ethan and asked him, “Really?” He swallowed hard, stammering, “Y-yes.” Then he said more firmly, “I still have the receipt. How could it be fake? Could you… have made a mistake?” I feigned surprise. “You got scammed. This is definitely fake.” Melissa took a deep breath. “Claire, how can you tell it’s fake?” How could I tell? With my eyes, obviously. “If you don’t believe me, you can get it appraised. If I’m wrong, I’ll pay each of you a million dollars.” Ethan’s buddies went wild. “A million each?” “Ethan, what are we waiting for? Let’s go.” I looked at Melissa and Ethan challengingly. “Are you two coming?” They were clearly panicking. The whole real-for-fake swap was their scheme. They thought that with Montgomery Real Estate bankrupt, I’d lost my confidence, so they planned to deal me a blow with this gift. They hoped I’d make a scene, hoped I’d be unreasonable, so Ethan could naturally break up with me. But I was destined to disappoint them. I was going to expose their tactics right in front of everyone. Seeing my confidence, both Ethan and Melissa grew flustered. One said he’d find time to ask the store later, the other said our celebration was more important—in short, neither dared to go. Looking at the excited eyes of Ethan’s friends, I sneered. Melissa seemed to dislike my calm demeanor and mocked me. “Claire, we all know your family went bankrupt.” “So you don’t need to save face by saying things like that.” “In the past, you could pull out a few million in a heartbeat, but now… aren’t you talking big?” Melissa was laughing. She looked at me and laughed. A mocking laugh. She deliberately said these things, deliberately making me lose face in front of everyone. She wanted to see me in a sorry state. She’d been secretly competing with me for years, always trying to outdo me. The first time I met Melissa, she was handing out flyers on the street. I came out of a sales office and happened to run into her.
Melissa was holding a stack of flyers for Montgomery’s new development, persistently trying to sell me on it. “Miss, please take a look. Montgomery’s properties are really good.” “I see you just came out of that sales office across the street, so you must be looking to buy property, right? Why not consider ours?” “Miss, can you give me a chance to introduce it to you?” That last sentence made me stop. Seeing how hard she was trying, I gave her three minutes to pitch the development to me. Honestly, she worked very hard, put in a lot of effort. I saw myself from years ago in her. Even though she got some of the data wrong, I still gave her a chance. “What did you study in college?” “Design.” “Have you worked with interior design?” “Yes.” “Starting tomorrow, report to the design department. Interested?” I still remember the light in her eyes. “Yes.” She didn’t even ask who I was. She just bounced into the sales hall. At the time, I thought she was just fresh out of college and didn’t understand how the world worked, so I didn’t think much of it. But she truly didn’t disappoint me. In just over a year, she was standing before me. “Miss Montgomery, thank you for the recommendation.” I smiled. “It’s also the result of your own hard work.” She smiled brightly. “I’m going to be a career woman in the future, not some vase who relies on family connections to get ahead.” That comment made me uncomfortable. I felt like she was hinting at me. But I had no proof. And I wasn’t about to become paranoid over a young woman’s comment. I told her to work hard, that Montgomery Real Estate wouldn’t mistreat hardworking people. She said okay. But three months later, she jumped ship to Ethan’s company. Apparently Ethan had poached her. Since they were both family companies, I didn’t think much of it. If Ethan could recruit talent, it meant his company was growing. I was actually happy about it. That way, he’d have more confidence when he came to my family in the future. Later, Melissa started following Ethan everywhere. Construction sites, clients, sales offices—she was everywhere he was. Melissa always branded herself as a career woman who’d reach the top through her own efforts, so she looked down on me as someone who just relied on the Montgomery family and Ethan. She told Ethan more than once that I was backed by a big tree while she climbed up step by step through real effort. The implication was that I was inferior to her. So as time went on, she became more and more presumptuous around me. She’d prepare late-night snacks for Ethan, do his laundry, and keep him company when he worked overtime. All things a girlfriend would do. She wasn’t unaware of my relationship with Ethan. But she did it anyway. And Ethan allowed it. Anyone with eyes could see they had something going on. But they deceived themselves, claiming they simply appreciated each other’s talents. That’s why Melissa could say “Ethan achieved everything on his own.” I laughed. The kind of laugh that comes when you’re at a loss for words. Ethan always thought he got to where he is through his own efforts. In reality, every time he met with clients, I’d visit them again afterward, and those clients would agree to work with him out of respect for me. I never told him this. I was truly blinded by love during that period. But I did it to boost his confidence, to give him a sense of achievement. I even told those clients not to reveal the truth to him. Looking back now, how ridiculous. Of course, all that support was based on him being my future husband. Now that he’s changed his heart because Montgomery Real Estate went bankrupt, I have no reason to keep supporting him. I’ll let Ethan and Melissa know that my family has been in business for three generations. Why should we lose to someone who started from nothing?
Melissa was waiting for my response. Everyone else was waiting for me to speak too. I said, a starving camel is still bigger than a horse… Melissa cut me off, saying I was delusional. I laughed at their ignorance. If they’d bothered to learn anything about me, they wouldn’t say such things, and they certainly wouldn’t… look down on me like this. In front of everyone, I said to Ethan, “Let’s break up!” “You’re not good enough for me!” This statement dropped the atmosphere to freezing. Melissa looked at me in disbelief. She couldn’t understand why I would take the initiative to say this. With Montgomery bankrupt, shouldn’t I be clinging tightly to Ethan? “Claire, what are you being high and mighty about?” Melissa was unhappy. Ignoring her, I said to Ethan again, “Let’s break up. You disgust me.” “I’m the one dumping you.” Ethan put down his fork, looking at me in complete confusion. Like Melissa, he assumed that in this situation, I’d cling to him desperately, maybe even ask him to help the Montgomery family. He never expected me to break up with him. That sense of superiority vanished instantly, leaving both Ethan and Melissa at a complete loss. People, once they get too smug about something, become powerless when they lose what they were smug about. I sent that post to both Ethan and Melissa separately. “You made that post, didn’t you, Ethan?” “And you were the one who suggested swapping the real for the fake, weren’t you, Melissa? Also…” I took a deep breath. “Melissa, what did you want to say to me on Ethan’s behalf?” “Break up?” “Sorry, but I’m not in the habit of being dumped. I’m usually the one who dumps others.” “And Ethan is especially unworthy.” But even now, Ethan was still lying. “Claire, this post doesn’t prove anything. I don’t admit to it.” I closed my eyes. Ethan, you’re so stupid. He said he didn’t admit to it. Did he think I had no recourse if he didn’t admit it? I clicked on the profile and sent him a private message. A notification instantly appeared on Ethan’s phone. “Does this prove it now?” “What, you dare to post but don’t dare to admit it?” As for Melissa, I did the same thing. Having their scheme exposed, both Melissa and Ethan’s faces turned bright red. Ethan was somewhat displeased. “Claire, you tricked me!” “You knew all along that thing was fake, didn’t you?” Actually, I didn’t need to see the post to know whether it was real or fake. After all, as I mentioned before, I’ve spent more money on jewelry than they’ve ever seen. I picked up the necklace from the box and tossed it in front of Melissa. “A fake. It’s yours now.” “And Ethan too. I’m giving him to you as well.” The two exchanged awkward glances. In that moment, Ethan seemed to be blaming Melissa. “Claire, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.” “I… I bought the real one. I just… just…” “Just heard that Montgomery Real Estate went bankrupt and decided I wasn’t worthy of the good stuff anymore?” “Ethan, let me say something arrogant. I was born into wealth. I’ve seen more jewelry than you’ve eaten meals. Whether or not I saw your post, I could tell at a glance if this thing was real or fake.” “I know you think that after Montgomery Real Estate went bankrupt, my family would become a burden to you, so you wanted to break up with me.” “Just like you said in that post—you didn’t want to be the bad guy, so you wanted me to take the initiative.” “Well, now I have. But I’m the one breaking up with you.” Ethan’s face went from white to red. Melissa suddenly stood up and pointed her finger at my nose. “Claire, you bitch, stop pretending.” “Bankrupt is bankrupt. Are you saying all this to play hard to get with Ethan?” I stepped forward and slapped Melissa hard across the face. “Bankrupt? Who told you that?”
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