Low-Key Heir Gets Dumped

After the breakup, my ex mocked me and called me a coward scavenging for scraps, then lured me to her new lover's winery just to humiliate me in front of everyone. Later, she accidentally shattered a bottle of priceless red wine and tried to pin the blame on me.

What she didn't know was… the winery belonged to my family.

On my birthday, I spent hours decorating a restaurant, ready to propose to Dolly Porter… until I happened to open a social feed.

There, in a freshly posted video, my girlfriend was on stage in a nearly transparent skirt, wrapped around Steven Chase as they danced provocatively. A matching pair of couple rings gleamed on their fingers.

I stared at the screen for a long time, my chest tightening with a cocktail of emotions.

Just a week ago, I had collapsed from exhaustion while caring for her through a fever. The moment she recovered, she rushed to attend a concert with Steven. When I tried to stop her, she abandoned me—burning with fever, left alone in the pouring rain—while she drove off into the night and never came back.

When I confronted her, she scoffed that I didn't even have a "real job," only ever tinkered with "worthless antiques," and shamelessly claimed she was doing it all to introduce me to something "respectable." Since then, we had been given each other the cold shoulder.

She had no idea who I truly was—the only craftsman alive still mastering the ancient art of a special joinery. Collectors from all over the world offered me fortunes to come out of seclusion. I was never the freeloader she branded me to be.

That day was my birthday, the first time she had ever reached out to reconcile. I had even decided to seize the chance—not just to propose, but to finally reveal my true identity.

But after waiting five long hours, all I received was her sultry dance video.

I stared at the dozens of missed calls flashing on my phone, and suddenly, the weight lifted. Quietly, I packed up the untouched cake, took it home, showered, and sank into sleep.

The next morning, Dolly returned. Tossing her coat onto the sofa, she spoke with barely concealed excitement.

"Good news! Remember the job I asked Steven to find for you? He finally came through. Aren't you happy?"

The same as always. Not a single word of explanation.

The last trace of hope in me crumbled. I forced a faint smile. "Mm. Yeah."

I walked past her toward the dining table, intending to put away the antique ring I had once chosen for her. But she snatched it first, turned it in her fingers, and sneered.

"Where'd you dig up this piece of junk? Can't you stop wasting time on garbage and learn to be ambitious, like Steven?"

Deliberately, she raised her hand, showing off the dazzling diamond ring on her finger, her face twisted with disdain.

I ignored her. Taking the copper turquoise-inlaid ring