The next day, I went to the city’s most prestigious jewelry store.
After Darrel’s proposal, I had spent hours carefully choosing a set of jewelry that perfectly suited my style and personality.
If I was not going to marry him, I decided I would at least reclaim what was mine.
But the store owner’s hesitant expression unsettled me.
“Ms. Lynch,” he began awkwardly, “your set of jewelry was picked up a few days ago by Mr. Gonzalez. I assumed he was collecting it for you.”
A sharp pang hit my chest.
It was as if not enough for him to take my love and my patience, the jewelry I had chosen with so much care, meant to symbolize the life we were supposed to build together, was gone too.
All for Ashley.
It was just an engagement, yet Darrel had given her the jewelry he knew was my favorite.
In that moment, I realized that my place in his heart was not even a fraction of hers.
My best friend who was hanging out with me was so angry that she pulled me up and prepared to go find Darrel to settle the score.
“Darrel is such a bastard, he is such a bully! Sylvia, don't be sad, I will go with you to tear that couple apart.”
But I held her back calmly. “Forget it, I don't want this kind of trash anymore.”
Then, I returned home in disappointment.
As soon as I entered the door, I saw a middle-aged woman with heavy makeup chatting with my mother excitedly.
Sitting next to him was a man who looked to be in his forties, with a somewhat vulgar look in his eyes and sparse hair.
Although I was extremely depressed, I still had to greet her, “Hello, Auntie.”
Then I whispered to my parents, “Dad, Mom, who are these two?”
A middle-aged woman greeted me with a broad smile the moment she saw me. "Ah, this must be Sylvia. So nice, so pretty and so polite.
"I was your mother’s colleague when we were young. We were very close at work," she continued, her tone brimming with nostalgia.
Then, her smile turned sly. "I heard Mr. Gonzalez rejected your marriage proposal, so I shamelessly brought my son along to see if we could help you find a good match."
The warmth on my mother’s face drained instantly. Her cheerful demeanor shifted to one of quiet tension.
"Where did you hear such baseless gossip?" she retorted sharply. "Sylvia isn’t in any rush to get married, so there’s no need for your concern."