Alexa threw the ring straight at Ethan’s face. It hit his cheek before rolling across the floor.
“You’re embarrassing!” she shouted. “You humiliate me in front of everyone! You bring me to an expensive place and give me a plastic ring? How cheap can you be! Break up with me already! You only belong with women as low-class as you!”
Silently, Ethan knelt and picked up the ring. Tears welled in his eyes.
At the side, Lina could no longer bear the scene. She carefully set the bags down and approached him.
“Sir Ethan… are you okay?” she asked softly.
Ethan looked at her. Memories rushed back—how Lina always gave him water when Alexa made him wait, how she spoke to him like a human being, not an accessory.
Ethan stood up, faced Alexa, then turned to Lina.
“You’re right,” he said calmly to Alexa. “This ring doesn’t suit you. Because it’s meant for a woman who understands true value.”
He gently took Lina’s hand.
“S-Sir?” Lina gasped in shock.
“I’ve noticed you for a long time,” he said seriously. “While Alexa belittled me, you respected me. You were real. No pretending.”
In front of the confused guests and Alexa’s burning glare, Ethan slid the ring onto Lina’s finger.
“Lina, this may be sudden… but let me court you. Will you give me a chance?”
Tears streamed down Lina’s face as she nodded, her hands trembling.
“Yes… Sir Ethan.”
Alexa burst out laughing. “You’re perfect for each other! A useless man and a maid! Enjoy your plastic ring!”
Ethan didn’t respond. He picked up a glass of water from the table and gently poured it over the ring on Lina’s finger.
And then—
Everything changed.
Under the light and the touch of water, the ring suddenly blazed with brilliance. Its clear surface turned into a deep ocean blue, glowing like the sea under the sun.
Alexa froze.
“W-What is that…?”
Ethan smiled.
“For your information, the band of that ring is not plastic. It’s an industrial-grade diamond, laser-molded. And the stone in the center—Blue Benitoite. One of the rarest and most expensive gemstones in the world.”
He turned to Alexa.
“The value you threw away? Fifteen million pesos. And now it’s worn by a woman far more valuable than all your shopping bags combined.”
Alexa’s legs weakened. Her face turned pale. She almost collapsed.
“E-Ethan… I was just joking… it was a test—”
But Ethan had already turned his back on her. He wrapped an arm around Lina.
“Let’s go,” he said. “Let’s leave the fake behind. Let’s eat somewhere simple—but real.”
Hand in hand, they walked away.
And Alexa?
She was left alone in the middle of the luxurious restaurant—crying, humiliated, and consumed by regret—while the eyes that once admired her were now filled with disdain.