Chapter 1

At my boyfriend Ethan's birthday party, I managed to snag two VIP tickets to Taylor's concert.

Our friends started cheering: "Ethan, didn't you swear you'd propose to Sophia at this concert?"

My heart fluttered as I looked at him expectantly.

But he turned around and handed the tickets to Nina, sitting quietly in the corner.

She was the girl next door he'd grown up with.

He said indulgently: "Take them. Didn't you spend a whole week crying about not being able to get tickets?"

The private room fell silent instantly. The cheering stopped abruptly.

Ethan didn't even glance my way. He just kept comforting Nina: "Sophia and I have been together for years. We'll have plenty of chances to see concerts. If you like it, take the tickets."

Watching him act so certain I'd be understanding, I smiled slightly.

Since he didn't want to go, I'd just take someone else.

I kept my voice as steady as possible and reached out to Nina: "These tickets are registered under specific names. You can't just transfer them. Give them back."

Her eyes instantly welled up with tears, as if she'd suffered some terrible injustice. She looked up at Ethan.

"Ethan... I'm sorry, I didn't know Sophia cared this much. I don't deserve to go to such a nice concert anyway. My boyfriend wouldn't want to come with me..."

She held out the tickets, but tears suddenly fell onto the back of her hand.

Before I could even touch the tickets, Ethan pushed Nina's hand back.

He turned to look at me, frowning slightly. "Sophia, what do you mean registered names? They're not going to stop someone with valid tickets. You're just being selfish. Nina and her boyfriend just got together. Their relationship is still unstable. We're just helping her out. Don't be petty. We'll go next time, okay?"

I stood there, frozen.

To get these front-row VIP tickets, I'd recruited over a dozen coworkers to help me try.

All because he'd promised to propose to me at this concert.

Now, he was casually giving away my effort to someone else, and calling me petty?

Our friends exchanged glances. The atmosphere was painfully awkward.

Our closest friend pushed Ethan and said with exaggerated expressions: "Come on, they're just tickets, Ethan. That's not your focus today anyway! Didn't you prepare the..."

Before he could finish, Ethan stumbled from the push. Something slid out of his jacket pocket.

A deep blue box fell onto the coffee table.

The lid popped open, revealing a diamond ring.

"Holy shit, a ring!" "Ethan, you're finally making your move!"

The atmosphere instantly reignited as our friends started cheering again.

My heart skipped a beat. I looked at Ethan.

But Ethan's expression had gone rigid.

Before he could say anything, Nina looked at the ring and suddenly burst into tears.

"That's so nice... Sophia is so lucky. Not like me. My boyfriend hasn't given me a single gift. He even says I'm annoying... Will I ever meet someone who treats me well? Does everyone just get to bully me..."

Watching her cry uncontrollably, Ethan's eyes flashed with deep sympathy.

He sighed, picked up the ring box, and suddenly grabbed Nina's hand. "Stop crying. It's not that big a deal."

Then he actually took out the engagement ring and slipped it onto Nina's ring finger.

"Wear this ring for a few days. It'll bring you some good luck. Show your boyfriend that Nina has people who care about her."

Only after doing all this did he turn to explain to me: "Sophia, this ring might be a bit too small. I'll get you a bigger one tomorrow. I'm just lending it to Nina today to cheer her up. You don't mind, right?"