For my boyfriend’s mom’s birthday, I gifted her a luxury La Mer skincare set. That very night, I found the exact same gift set listed for cheap on Facebook Marketplace by my boyfriend. I immediately bought it and confirmed the delivery the second I got it back! Then, I dialed my boyfriend's number: "Hey babe, that heavy, solid gold bangle I hid inside the gift box... did it fit your mom's wrist okay?" 1 I was mindlessly scrolling through Facebook Marketplace when a seller's post caught my eye. [La Mer Luxury Skincare Bundle. Unopened, 100% authentic, brand new. Need cash ASAP! Only $400!] At that price, it had to be a knockoff, right? I had just bought that exact bundle at the department store yesterday for nearly $800! But wait... the longer I looked at the photos, the more familiar it seemed. Wasn't this the exact set I gifted to Brad's mother? Even the luxury gift bag was the one I specifically picked out. The silk ribbon on top was tied exactly the way I had tied it. I clicked on the seller's profile to check the details. ID: B-Rad. Location: Los Angeles, my exact city. I opened a direct message chat. [Hi, is this still available? Is it authentic? Why so cheap?] "B-Rad" instantly replied with an audio message. "Hey gorgeous, 100% authentic. It was a gift from someone else, hasn't even been opened yet!" That voice... it was unmistakably Brad, the boyfriend I had been madly in love with for the past three months. I scrolled through his seller history and discovered something even more sickening. Over the past few months, every single valuable gift I had given him had been listed and sold on this page. Thinking back on our three-month relationship... If it wasn't his birthday coming up, it was his little sister's birthday. Just last week, he wouldn't stop dropping hints in my ear about how his mom's birthday was right around the corner. Turns out, he was just using me as a personal ATM to liquidate goods for cash! In that moment, I wanted to confront him directly and dump him on the spot. But on second thought, that would be letting him off way too easy. With a smirk, I changed the delivery address to my neighbor's house. I used the name and phone number of my family's housekeeper, Maria. Making sure there was nothing to tie the purchase back to me, I hit "Buy Now." The moment the payment went through, a message popped up. [Awesome, you're a fast buyer! Since we're in the same city, I'll just order an Uber Connect courier to drop it off right now!] [Make sure you hit "Confirm Receipt" on the app the second you get it!] I played along enthusiastically, while keeping my eyes glued to the tracking link. Watching the courier get closer and closer to my neighbor's house, I quickly sent Maria next door to wait for the drop-off. Everything went smoothly. The luxury box was back in my hands. Even though I already knew it was the La Mer set I had bought for Brad's mom, seeing it with my own eyes still felt like taking a blunt force object to the chest. The ribbon on the box was completely untouched. Every single crease was exactly how I had tied it. That piece of trash didn't even care enough to open it. He just couldn't wait to flip it for a quick buck! Right then, my phone buzzed with a Marketplace notification. "Hey gorgeous, I see it got delivered!" "Could you do me a huge favor and confirm the receipt on the app ASAP? I really need the cash!" I pointed my phone at the gift box and recorded a short video. [Hi there, I shook the box and heard something rattling inside. Did the glass bottles break?] In the video, I gently shook the box, strategically playing a pre-recorded glass-clinking sound effect from my iPad just out of frame. Brad totally panicked. He fired back three voice memos in a row, his tone filled with anxious rage. "It was in perfect condition when I handed it to the courier! No rattling at all! You must have broken it after you took it inside!" "You didn't open it in front of the driver, so that's on you! You need to hit confirm receipt right now!" "Let me tell you something, don't even try to scam me or get a refund! The second that box left my hands, it was no longer my problem. Whether the bottles are shattered or there's literal gold inside, it has nothing to do with me!" Perfect. That was exactly what I wanted to hear! I immediately hit "Confirm Receipt." The second the $400 hit his account, the Marketplace chat displayed: [You have been blocked by this user.] That trash bag blocked me the second he got his money. That's fine. I was absolutely certain that in about five minutes, he’d be crawling back like a pathetic dog, begging me. 2 I called Brad on FaceTime. The moment it connected, his eyes crinkled with absolute joy. "Hey babe, miss me already?" I smiled. "You look happy. Did something good happen?" Brad paused for a second, quickly fabricating an excuse. "Oh, we were just at the dinner table talking about some funny childhood memories. Just feeling nostalgic and happy!" I pressed on. "Did your mom like the gift I sent her?" The mention of the gift made Brad's face instantly awkward. Behind him, I could see his mother, Mrs. Jenkins, and his younger sister, Maya, sitting on the couch. Both of them smirked with clear mockery on their faces. "Uh... Chloe, about that gift... my mom actually wasn't too thrilled." "She's never been one to wear expensive creams and makeup. She's not high-maintenance and obsessed with her looks like you are!" I quickly cut in. "Oh! Since she doesn't like it, why don't you bring the skincare set back to me?" Brad panicked the second he heard that. "Chloe, I can't do that! Who takes back a gift after giving it?" "My mom already opened it and started using it! Even though she hates all those chemicals..." "...she wanted to give you face because it was from you!" "If anyone says you're a bad girlfriend, I'll be the first to defend you!" After saying that, Brad even turned around and gave his mom a pointed look. His mom forced a fake smile and nodded at the camera, but her eyes were full of disdain. Listening to his incredibly flawed, patched-together lies, I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing out loud. Seeing that I was still in a "good mood," Brad struck while the iron was hot. "Babe, next time, you really shouldn't buy such impractical gifts!" "They cost a fortune, and they don't hold their value at all!" "If we ever needed cash in an emergency, you can't resell that stuff for anything... Not like..." I took the bait. "Not like what?" Brad's mom immediately jumped into the frame. "Not like gold! Gold holds its value and even appreciates! It's way more practical than a bunch of little jars and bottles!" Ah, now I completely understood! No wonder when I pulled out the luxury gift box at dinner, his mom's initially glowing face instantly dropped. Hah. They were mad that my gift wasn't something they could easily pawn for maximum cash. Since they were dropping hints about wanting gold, I figured I'd grant their wish right now! "You're so right, Mrs. Jenkins! Gold definitely holds its value best!" "So, the solid gold bangle I put inside... does it fit? I hope you... liked it?" 3 Before I even finished my sentence, Brad jumped like he had been electrocuted. "Ah!!! What gold bangle?! You bought a gold bangle?!" I looked at the screen, curving my lips into a cute, playful smile. "Yeah! Didn't your mom open the box already? Didn't she see the heavy solid gold bangle inside?" Brad's face drained of all color, turning a sickly pale. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead. The two women behind him panicked just as hard, pacing frantically around the living room in circles. I could even faintly hear his mom hissing at his sister, Maya. "Why didn't you open it and check?! How did you not see a gold bracelet inside?! You idiot!" Maya defended herself, looking incredibly wronged. "I told you I wanted to keep it to use! You and Brad insisted on selling it for cash! You said I didn't deserve to use such expensive skincare!" "I wanted to open it to post on Instagram, but you guys wouldn't let me break the plastic wrap! Now look what happened!" Brad clicked his tongue impatiently, and the mother-daughter duo finally shut their mouths. I pretended I didn't hear a word of it, dragging out my words with fake concern. "Babe, what's wrong~?" I elongated the syllables, dripping with just the right amount of innocent worry. "Does your mom not like it?" "It's my fault, really!" I sighed softly, my tone laced with self-blame. "I just wanted to buy something with a heavy carat weight to show how much I respect her!" "But you know how it is... when the gold is too heavy, the bracelet can look a bit chunky and lose its delicate charm." "If she really doesn't like it, I'll take her to the Cartier store tomorrow to exchange it for a different style!" "A 2.5-ounce solid gold bangle is pretty heavy. We could melt it down into a thinner bracelet, a necklace, and some earrings..." I was still speaking slowly and methodically when Brad abruptly interrupted me. His voice was trembling with uncontrollable panic. "Chloe, you... you put 2.5 ounces of solid gold inside that gift box?" "Why didn't you tell me?! How do you even have that kind of money?!" I immediately put on a deeply wronged expression. "I used all the savings from my trust fund allowance! I just wanted to make a perfect impression on my future mother-in-law!" Then, I shifted gears, raising my voice in feigned shock. "Is the bracelet missing?! Did you guys lose it?!?" Dead silence on the other end of the video call. For a full thirty seconds. Finally, Brad's mom, thinking on her feet, stammered out an excuse. "No... no, of course it's not lost. I was just so focused on applying the face cream that I must not have noticed it!" I pretended to breathe a massive sigh of relief, patting my chest. "Oh, thank god. You scared me to death. As long as it's not lost. That's 2.5 ounces of 24-karat gold!" "At today's market price, plus the jeweler's crafting fee, that's nearly $8,000!" "If it was really lost, I would have been sick to my stomach!" Saying that, I pulled out the actual receipt for a 2.5-ounce solid gold bangle and waved it at the camera. "Look, here! With taxes and fees, it came out to $8,450!" I even snapped a photo of the receipt and the picture I took of the bracelet at the jewelry counter, sending it to him in the chat. "Babe, look! Isn't it gorgeous? It's going to look so classy on your mom!" The truth was, the day I bought the skincare, I actually did go to the jewelry department next door and bought a $8,000 solid gold bangle. Except, that bracelet was a birthday present for my mother, whose birthday was next week. "Eight thousand... eight thousand dollars..." Brad looked like his soul had left his body, just muttering the number repeatedly. Mrs. Jenkins leaned in to look at the photo of the receipt, then frantically started pinching her precious son's arm out of sheer anxiety. "Chloe, I gotta let you go. Maybe we just didn't unpack the box all the way, we'll go look!" Before I could even reply, the call was ruthlessly disconnected with a click. A second later, Maria's phone started blowing up, and my Facebook Marketplace notifications went absolutely crazy. 4 [Hey!! Do you still have that La Mer bundle you just bought?! Please tell me you didn't open it!] [I'll pay you extra! Name your price! $1,000? No, $1,500! I'll Venmo you right now!] [Where are you? I'll come pick it up myself! I am begging you, please!] I stared at the screen, laughing so hard my stomach hurt. My fingers flew across the keyboard: [I was just about to open it when your messages distracted me!] He replied instantly, his voice memo literally cracking with tears: "I was being an asshole earlier! There's something else inside that box! Something extremely important! My mom needs it desperately!" [What's inside?] Silence for a solid ten seconds, before he sent a frantic, incoherent block of text: [It's a cheap little trinket my girlfriend gave my mom!] [It's not worth any money, but it has huge sentimental value!] [I'll give you $2,000, please just give it back to me!] [If my girlfriend finds out I sold her gift online, she'll break up with me for sure!] Brad kept heavily emphasizing that it was "cheap," obviously terrified that the seller wouldn't want to return it if they knew the real value. Seeing that I wasn't replying, he panicked and spammed me: [What is wrong with you? Do you have no morals?] [Give it back right now. I have your address, do you think I won't drive over there right now?!] [If you don't return it, I'm calling the cops!] I calmly screenshotted the voice memo he had sent me earlier—“Whether there’s literal gold inside, it has nothing to do with me!”—and sent it back. [Call the cops? And tell them what? That I scammed you? Or that you pawned your girlfriend's gift and now you have seller's remorse?] The "Typing..." bubble danced on the screen for a long time before he finally sent one sentence: [I'm sorry. How much do you want?] I looked at the gift box sitting on my table—the one he had treated like garbage, but was now desperate to redeem—and typed a number: [$3,000!] I thought Brad might try to haggle, but he replied instantly: [Post the custom listing. I'm buying it!] Well, from his perspective, even paying $3,000 meant he'd still walk away with a net profit of over $5,000 once he retrieved the "gold." I recorded a video. The camera slowly panned from the perfectly intact plastic wrap all the way down to the immaculately tied ribbon. Just to prove that I genuinely hadn't opened it. Then, I ordered an Uber Connect courier and sent it right back to the address on his seller profile. While it was in transit, I purposely spammed Brad's personal phone with a bunch of sweet texts, all of which went completely ignored: [Did your mom put the bracelet on? Does she love it?] [I guessed her wrist size, is it a good fit?] [Babe, why are you ignoring me? Are you super busy?]... I made sure to slip the Uber driver a $50 cash tip, specifically asking him to record a video of the exact moment he handed the package over to Brad. I also instructed the driver not to hand over the bag until Brad clicked "Confirm Receipt" on the Marketplace app in front of him. Cash in my account, box in his hands. When I told Brad these terms over the app, he agreed immediately. After all, for every second that box was out of his possession, he was probably having a heart attack. The courier was fast. In less than thirty minutes, the app showed "Delivered." The second the notification popped up, Brad's text finally came through on my personal phone: [Babe! My mom said she absolutely loves it. She said it's the most beautiful gold bracelet she's ever seen in her life!] 5 Seeing his text, I knew Brad hadn't even opened the box yet. He was just rushing to appease me so I wouldn't get suspicious. But that fake peace only lasted for exactly one second. The next second, my Facebook Marketplace inbox completely exploded. Brad spammed me with voice calls, video calls, and relentlessly blew up Maria's phone number, all of which I swiftly rejected. Then, a tidal wave of vile, unhinged abuse flooded the chat. [You lying bitch! You said you didn't open it! The gold bracelet is gone!] [Hand over the bracelet right fucking now or I'm calling the police!] [You fucking **** I'll **** Give it back!] [****, go **** yourself, I see you reading these, reply to me!] [I'll kill your whole fucking family, you stole my shit and scammed me out of $3,000!] [Go to hell, rot in hell!] Honestly, I've heard my fair share of trash talk, but this was nothing. What shocked me was that I had never heard language this filthy come out of Brad's mouth. He had chased me for six months, and we'd been dating for three. In all that time, I had never even heard him raise his voice. Whether it was to me, his friends, or total strangers, he was always perfectly polite, gentle, and refined. Clearly, that was all just a carefully curated persona designed to hook me. The maniac behind the screen right now was his true self. Unhurried, I sent him three video clips. The first was Maria taking the perfectly sealed package from the first courier. The second was me handing the completely untouched, sealed package to the second courier. As for the third... it was the video the Uber driver just took of Brad receiving the box. Three videos. Ironclad proof. Evidence that from start to finish, I never once unsealed the box. [Go ahead and call the cops! When the police investigate, they'll definitely have to call your girlfriend to verify the contents.] [If your girlfriend finds out you sold her mother-in-law's gift on the internet for quick cash, do you really think she'll stay with you?] After sending those two messages, I switched over to iMessage and replied to his sweet text as "Chloe": [I'm so honored that your mom loves it!] [Take a picture of her wearing it for me!] [I want to post it on my Instagram to show off what a great future daughter-in-law I am! Gotta score those brownie points! ?] 6 Total radio silence from Brad on both platforms. I kept launching psychological attacks on his iMessage. [Babe, why aren't you replying? You're acting so weird!] [Did you actually lose the bracelet?] [Or... did you lose the whole gift box?] On Facebook Marketplace, the "Typing..." bubble kept appearing and disappearing, but a message never came through. I knew exactly what was happening. He was spiraling. He was absolutely calculating the domino effect of calling the police, and weighing the catastrophic consequences it would bring. Honestly, I was slightly worried he actually would call the cops. After all, three grand wasn't a small amount of money to him. Not that I was afraid of getting charged with fraud. The account was under Maria's real identity, and those three videos proved we never tampered with the box. Most importantly, Brad was the one who voluntarily offered to pay a premium to buy it back. If push came to shove, I could just claim I "forgot" to put the bracelet in the box, have Maria refund him, and the police would treat it as a civil misunderstanding and drop it. But if that happened, it would be way too boring! It completely ruined the script I had mapped out. I quickly made a phone call, arranging the final pieces of my plan, and waited quietly. I was certain Brad would never call the cops. Sure enough, a few minutes later, a message popped up on Marketplace. [You're ruthless. Make sure you look both ways crossing the street with that dirty money.] I let out a sigh of relief. My read on him was spot-on. Before I could even type my next attack on iMessage, Brad actually initiated a FaceTime call. "Chloe, you really are my lucky star! I love you so much!" "How did I get so incredibly lucky to find a wife as kind, beautiful, innocent, and generous as you?" This sudden, aggressive barrage of flattery almost made me break character and laugh out loud. I forced a coy, slightly pouty expression, playing the part. "If you love me so much, why were you ignoring my texts? Were you chatting up other girls?" Brad quickly laughed it off, his voice dripping with barely concealed excitement. "You silly girl, of course not! I have amazing news. I just got the job at Sterling Enterprises." "Their HR just called me. I start next Monday!" I played dumb, raising my voice in fake awe. "Oh my god! Really?! Sterling Enterprises has insanely high standards!" "If my mom knew my boyfriend was that capable, she'd force me to marry you tomorrow!" Hearing that, Brad's smugness and excitement practically radiated through the screen. "Babe, it's all because of you. Ever since I met you, my luck has been off the charts!" "My life is just getting better and better. You must be an angel sent from above!" I mirrored his blissfully happy expression, dialing up the cutesy act. "Then you better cherish me! If you lose a treasure like me, it'll be the biggest loss of your life!" Brad enthusiastically agreed, smiling so wide his eyes disappeared into slits. Of course it was because of me. I was the one who just called my family's HR department and told them to push Brad's hiring paperwork through. I even had HR drop subtle hints that the only reason he got his foot in the door at a multi-million dollar corporation was because of his connection to Chloe Sterling. Even an idiot would realize what the name "Sterling Enterprises" meant by now. Brad didn't expose the truth directly. Clearly, he intended to keep playing along with this "rich heiress testing the poor boy" trope. After all, as long as he locked me down, he was set for life. He would never have to work a day again. Back when I was just playing the role of a comfortably upper-middle-class local girl, he stuck to me like a leech, entirely focused on draining me for free meals and gifts. Now that he realized my family was this powerful? He'd rather die than let me go. Following the flow of the conversation, I pressed the issue: "So what about the bracelet? Is my future mother-in-law happy with it or not?" 7 I thought this question would finally make him stutter, but surprisingly, he looked completely relaxed. "Of course she's happy! She's literally at the mall right now showing it off!" "Hold on... let me go find her and video call you so you can see!" Before I could react, he hung up. What the hell kind of game was Brad playing? Was he actually going to bite the bullet, drain his bank account, and go buy an identical solid gold bracelet to cover his lie? Brad's house was close to a luxury outdoor mall. Ten minutes later, he sent a FaceTime request. When I answered, Mrs. Jenkins's giant face filled the screen. "Chloe! Look, doesn't it look beautiful on me? Doesn't it make me look like a wealthy socialite?" "I just ran into some of my girlfriends, and when they saw the bracelet you bought me, they were so jealous! They kept saying how blessed I am!" As she spoke, she purposefully raised her wrist, shoving the bracelet right up to the camera lens. With one glance, I recognized it. It was the exact same model I had at home. Looking at the background behind her, they were standing mere feet away from a fine jewelry counter. Did Brad seriously drop eight grand to keep up the lie? After a few minutes of fake, overly sweet small talk, we hung up. I was sitting there, utterly confused, when Jessica—the sales rep who sold me the gold—called me. I always went to her for my jewelry, so we were pretty close. "Miss Sterling, a man just came to my counter holding a photo of your receipt and a picture of the bracelet you bought." "First, he used your photos to aggressively confirm with us that you were the one who bought that exact piece two days ago." "After we confirmed it, the older woman with him demanded to try on that exact display model. She wore it for several minutes, got on a video call with someone, and bragged about how her 'daughter-in-law' bought it for her! We honestly thought it was some kind of scam and my manager called security. Thankfully, she hung up the phone and handed the bracelet back." Jessica paused, then added, "I just felt like the whole situation was incredibly sketchy, and since it involved your name, I wanted to give you a heads-up." I thanked her and hung up, bursting into uncontrollable laughter. I laughed at how utterly blind I had been to ever fall for a guy like this. If he had actually gritted his teeth and spent the money to buy a real bracelet to cover his tracks, I might have respected him a tiny bit. Who could have predicted his family would pull off a stunt this pathetic and absurd? Did he think he could fool me for a day, or did he think he could fool me for the rest of our lives? What went through his head? His brain was on a completely different frequency than the rest of humanity! Just as I was gasping for air from laughing so hard, a notification popped up from Temu. (I had downloaded the app ages ago when Brad begged me to use a referral link for him.) I absentmindedly clicked the notification, and my jaw hit the floor. Exactly five seconds ago, Brad had placed an order for a $4.99 "gold" bangle. I rubbed my eyes, wondering if I was hallucinating. Are those human words? $4.99? Gold bangle? I clicked on the item details. The design was a direct ripoff of the Cartier-style bangle sitting in my room. Scrolling through the review photos, the fake actually looked shockingly realistic from a distance. Instantly, I understood. Brad was planning a bait-and-switch!
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