The Price of A Lie

My name is Parker Lewis, and I'm 25 years old. Melody Xavier and I have been in love for two years, and our engagement day is set for next week. Half a month ago, she lay in my arms, saying she wanted a jewelry set, her eyes sparkling. I took those words deeply to heart. To save enough money for the jewelry set, I haven't bought myself a new shirt in three years. The light gray shirt in my wardrobe was bought at a discount store when I first graduated. The collar has faded white, and the cuffs are frayed—I have to carefully iron it every time I wear it. Rent is my biggest expense, and I had to negotiate with the landlord several times to bring it down from 2200 to 2000. The condition was that I help her clean the stairwell regularly, so every day after work, I would sweep the entire building's staircases and then mop them thoroughly. I was even more frugal with lunch; the company's boxed meal priced at ten from downstairs was my go-to choice. Whenever colleagues invited me to eat casual meals costing fifty per person, I always found excuses to decline. In reality, my lunchbox was packed with leftovers from the previous day. By living so frugally, I finally managed to save up 188,000. Every time I saw that number in my mobile banking app, I felt a profound sense of reassurance. That night, I handed the bank card holding 188,000 to Melody Xavier. Her fingers hesitated for a moment as she took the card. She looked up at me, her eyes slowly reddening, then threw herself into my arms, saying I was so good to her. Her tears soaked my old T-shirt; I gently ran my hand through her hair and smiled. I felt as if all the hardships of the past three years meant nothing. Three nights before the engagement, Melody Xavier took a little red box from her bag and handed it to me, saying it was a surprise. I opened the box and saw a plain gold ring inside. The ring was simple in design but sparkled brilliantly under the light. I said, with a hint of tenderness, 'Money should be spent wisely; my ring doesn't need to be fancy.' She blinked and said, 'For an engagement, I have to have a jewelry set.' She even reached out and slipped the ring onto the ring finger of my left hand. I looked down at the ring, feeling a warm glow in my heart. I didn't notice the ring was a bit loose and would slip down with even the slightest movement.