The Proposal I Didn't Get, and the Wealth He Never Saw Coming

Courtney, clearly annoyed, stormed over to Darryl’s side and launched into a tirade.

“June, watch your mouth! Don’t you know that in a relationship, the one who’s not loved is the wrecker? Darryl has stopping from loving you for a long time ago. That makes you the homewrecker here! If he wasn’t so kind and worried about you not being able to handle the truth, he would’ve dumped you ages ago. You should be thankful he let you hang on for a few extra days as his girlfriend!”

She crossed her arms and sneered. “And you’ve got the nerve to ask why he didn’t choose you? Seriously, June, know your place! Marriage isn’t just about love, family background counts. Your parents are just some broke bakers selling buns on the street. They probably scrape by just to make ends meet. And you? Your income’s a joke. It’s not stable and you don’t even have a real job! Darryl deserves someone like me—my dad’s a corporate manager, my mom’s a teacher and I make over ten grand a month. Isn’t it obvious who he’d choose?”

Hearing this, my heart sank. I thought about my dad, who owned nine high-end restaurants and brought in millions annually, yet still enjoyed tinkering with new recipes for pastries and bread.

I looked at Darryl, needing to hear it from him directly. “Is that true? You looked down on me because of my family?”

Darryl hesitated but then nodded. “Courtney’s not wrong. Your parents sell buns—they’re probably just barely making enough to survive. And you? Instead of finding a stable career, you insist on being some…dream painter. What does even that? If you got order, you might make a few thousand bucks and if the next month, you got no clients, then you got nothing. Even if I’m working my ass off, I still could keep up afloat! I can’t keep living like that.”

Courtney clung to Darryl’s arm, her voice turning sickly sweet. “Baby, today’s a big day for us. Don’t waste your time arguing with her. Just get her out of here, all right?”

Her friends chimed in as if they’d rehearsed this scene.

“Come on, June, don’t force it. No one likes a bitter ex.”

“Exactly. This is their engagement party. If it were me, I’d have left already. Why stick around and make a fool of yourself?”

Darryl added, “You hear that? We’re about to start our celebration. Just leave, June. You can get your things some other times.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but a faint scent of durian hit my nose. My eyes darted upward to see Courtney walking over with a box. She pulled out a piece of the fruit, took a bite and then held it up to Darryl’s mouth. Without hesitation, he took a bite, showing no sign of disgust.

The scene stopped me cold.

Durian had always been one of my favorite fruits, but in the two years we’d been together, I’d barely touched it because Darryl claimed he couldn’t stand the smell. He said just a whiff made him sick. I’d once brought a durian home without knowing this and before I even had the chance to open it, he’d demanded I throw it out. If I insisted on eating it, I’d have to do so elsewhere, brush my teeth and wait for the smell to completely disappear before coming back.

But now, Courtney was eating it in our living room and he didn’t just tolerate it—he joined her.

Courtney noticed me staring at the durian. Smirking, she waved it in front of my face. “What? You want some? You see, Darryl bought this just for me because he knows I love it and I am not sharing with you.”

Then, she stuffed the rest into her mouth, chewing dramatically like she was putting on a show.

I wasn’t angry at her. The realization that Darryl had never loved me was what cut deep. For two years, he’d never made exceptions for me—never prioritized me the way he clearly did for her.

“Everything’s been said, so just leave already!” Darryl snapped, grabbing my arm and trying to push me toward the door.