He Gave My VIP Tickets to Her

At my boyfriend Ethan's birthday party, I managed to snag two VIP tickets to Taylor's concert.

Our friends started cheering: Ethan, didn't you swear you'd propose to Sophia at this concert?

My heart fluttered as I looked at him expectantly.

But he turned around and handed the tickets to Nina, sitting quietly in the corner.

She was the girl next door he'd grown up with.

He said indulgently: "Take them. Didn't you spend a whole week crying about not being able to get tickets?"

The private room fell silent instantly. The cheering stopped abruptly.

Ethan didn't even glance my way. He just kept comforting Nina: "Sophia and I have been together for years. We'll have plenty of chances to see concerts. If you like it, take the tickets."

Watching him act so certain I'd be understanding, I smiled slightly.

Since he didn't want to go, I'd just take someone else.

I kept my voice as steady as possible and reached out to Nina: "These tickets are registered under specific names. You can't just transfer them. Give them back."

Her eyes instantly welled up with tears, as if she'd suffered some terrible injustice. She looked up at Ethan.

"Ethan... I'm sorry, I didn't know Sophia cared this much. I don't deserve to go to such a nice concert anyway. My boyfriend wouldn't want to come with me..."

She held out the tickets, but tears suddenly fell onto the back of her hand.

Before I could even touch the tickets, Ethan pushed Nina's hand back.

He turned to look at me, frowning slightly. "Sophia, what do you mean registered names? They're not going to stop someone with valid tickets. You're just being selfish. Nina and her boyfriend just got together. Their relationship is still unstable. We're just helping her out. Don't be petty. We'll go next time, okay?"

I stood there, frozen.

To get these front-row VIP tickets, I'd recruited over a dozen coworkers to help me try.

All because he'd promised to propose to me at this concert.

Now, he was casually giving away my effort to someone else, and calling me petty?

Our friends exchanged glances. The atmosphere was painfully awkward.

Our closest friend pushed Ethan and said with exaggerated expressions: "Come on, they're just tickets, Ethan. That's not your focus today anyway! Didn't you prepare the..."

Before he could finish, Ethan stumbled from the push. Something slid out of his jacket pocket.

A deep blue box fell onto the coffee table.

The lid popped open, revealing a diamond ring.

"Holy shit, a ring!" "Ethan, you're finally making your move!"

The atmosphere instantly reignited as our friends started cheering again.

My heart skipped a beat. I looked at Ethan.

But Ethan's expression had gone rigid.

Before he could say anything, Nina looked at the ring and suddenly burst into tears.

"That's so nice... Sophia is so lucky. Not like me. My boyfriend hasn't given me a single gift. He even says I'm annoying... Will I ever meet someone who treats me well? Does everyone just get to bully me..."

Watching her cry uncontrollably, Ethan's eyes flashed with deep sympathy.

He sighed, picked up the ring box, and suddenly grabbed Nina's hand. "Stop crying. It's not that big a deal."

Then he actually took out the engagement ring and slipped it onto Nina's ring finger.

"Wear this ring for a few days. It'll bring you some good luck. Show your boyfriend that Nina has people who care about her."

Only after doing all this did he turn to explain to me: "Sophia, this ring might be a bit too small. I'll get you a bigger one tomorrow. I'm just lending it to Nina today to cheer her up. You don't mind, right?"

Our friends, who had been cheering moments ago, were now completely stunned.

Nina showed a hint of smugness.

I smiled wryly. "Fine. Whatever makes you happy."

With that, ignoring his surprised look, I turned and headed home.

Five years. I'd lost count of how many times Ethan had put me in embarrassing situations for Nina's sake.

At 3 AM, Ethan came home.

As the birthday boy, he naturally had to stay out with his friends until dawn.

He stumbled into the bedroom and hugged me tightly from behind, reeking of alcohol. His voice was slurred but placating: "Sophia, still awake... I'm sorry. It was my birthday. Everyone was there, and Nina was crying like that. I couldn't just embarrass her. I swear, first thing tomorrow morning I'll take you to buy the biggest, shiniest diamond ring to make it up to you. From now on, I won't care about anyone but you, okay?"

I closed my eyes. I didn't struggle or respond.

I just listened to his breathing gradually even out, my heart like a completely dried-up well.

The next morning, just after seven o'clock.

A piercing phone ringtone shattered the bedroom's silence.

Ethan groggily pressed answer. Nina's sobbing voice immediately came through.

"Ethan, my boyfriend broke up with me! He dumped me! He said I came home too late from your birthday party last night. He said I have no shame... Ethan, I feel terrible. Now I have no one to go to tomorrow's concert with... I feel like life isn't worth living. I want to jump off the building..."

Ethan, who'd been half-asleep, instantly jolted awake and sprang up from the bed.

He hurriedly pulled on clothes while anxiously comforting her on the phone: "Nina, don't do anything stupid! If no one will go to the concert with you, I'll go with you! Where are you? I'm coming right now!"

He hung up quickly and turned to grab his car keys.

When he met my calm gaze, he paused briefly, but anxiety quickly took over. "Nina's in trouble. Her boyfriend broke up with her because of last night. She's having a breakdown right now. I need to be there for her."

I sat on the bed, watching him so flustered he'd buttoned his shirt wrong, and asked quietly: "What about what you promised me last night?"

Ethan frowned, his tone carrying a hint of reproach: "Sophia, how can you worry about that at a time like this? This is life and death! We'll buy the ring next time. Just be understanding."

With that, he rushed out without looking back.

I watched the direction he'd left in and suddenly felt ridiculous.

I immediately pulled out my phone and canceled his registration on the concert ticket.

Then I posted the ticket code online.

[Rare front-row VIP ticket, original price.]

Less than a minute after posting, someone messaged me.

I didn't care who it was. I sold it immediately.

Up until the day of the concert, Ethan hadn't come home once.

He'd occasionally send a message or two on Snapchat, reporting his whereabouts.

As if simply reporting them made him still a dutiful boyfriend.

"Nina's mood is still really low. I took her on a road trip to clear her head. Took her to an escape room today..."

I didn't reply to any of them.

I was packing things for the concert.

And cleaning out everything that belonged to me, planning to take it all with me.

Five years of our relationship had seeped into every corner of this place.

I'd thought discarding these things would hurt, but when I actually did it, I discovered that when your heart dies to a certain degree, you can't feel pain anymore.

That afternoon, as I was folding the last few pieces of clothing into my suitcase, Nina sent me a Snapchat message.

No words, just three photos in succession.

One showed Nina wearing an extremely luxurious wedding dress with a long train, wearing a tiara, smiling like a real bride.

Another showed Ethan's back as he bent down to adjust Nina's dress train.

The last was a photo of them together, Nina's hand resting on Ethan's arm, the engagement ring still on her ring finger.

Half a minute later, Nina's text came through.

[Sophia, please don't misunderstand. I've only met bad boys my whole life. No one's ever really cherished me. Ethan took me to try on wedding dresses just to let me experience what it feels like to be a happy woman. Ethan's also checking out dress styles for you in advance. This one is really beautiful. You'll definitely look even better in it than me.]

Looking at the words on the screen, my stomach churned.

I didn't reply to Nina. Instead, I called Ethan directly.

The phone rang for a long time before someone answered. In the background, I could faintly hear a sales associate saying "Sir, your wife is so beautiful."

"Hello, Sophia?"

"You took Nina to try on wedding dresses?" I asked calmly.

There was a second of silence on the other end, followed by an irritated sigh.

"From your tone, are you interrogating me? You know I grew up with Nina. I've always treated her like a little sister. She just went through such a huge blow. She's lost all faith in love. I took her to try on wedding dresses just to help her rebuild her confidence. Besides, I'm also checking out which stores have good styles for you."

Listening to this string of justifications, I actually laughed in anger.

"Ethan, since you care about her so much, why don't you go all the way and be her groom. Let's break up."

His breathing caught sharply on the other end, followed by a low roar: "Sophia, you want to break up with me? Just because I went with Nina to try on a wedding dress? Are you serious? When did you become so unreasonable!"

"Think whatever you want."

I didn't want to hear another word from him. I hung up directly.

Looking at the empty closet, I zipped up my suitcase.

I'd spent five years figuring out that a man's so-called "sibling affection" was just ambiguity and favoritism without boundaries.

Now, I didn't want it anymore.

On the evening of the concert, I'd just found my seat in the front row center.

Before long, the empty seat beside me was filled as a tall figure sat down.

The man wore a high-quality black shirt with the cuffs slightly rolled up. His profile showed sharp, handsome lines.

Seeing me, he nodded politely, his voice deep and pleasant: "Hello, are you Miss Sophia? I'm the buyer from the resale platform."

I smiled at him: "Hello. Are you satisfied with the seat?"

"Absolutely perfect." The corner of his mouth curved into a slight smile. "Thank you for selling it at original price. I've been looking for this seat for a long time."

We exchanged brief pleasantries. The atmosphere wasn't awkward at all.

Just then, all the lights in the venue suddenly dimmed.

The outer screens and the center stage screen lit up simultaneously.

The pre-show warmup interaction began -- the classic kiss cam game.

The camera swept wildly through the audience. The big screen kept flashing couples' surprised and shy faces.

"Next, whoever the camera stops on, if you're a couple, you have to kiss! If you're not a couple, then give the person next to you a warm hug!"

I was laughing and watching the fun when a dazzling spotlight fell on me and the man in the black shirt beside me.

Our two faces instantly magnified on the big screen.

I froze, my heart skipping a beat.

The man turned to look at me. Text appeared at the bottom of the screen:

[Not a couple? Give each other a hug!]

Under the gaze of tens of thousands of people, a gentle smile flashed in the man's eyes.

He saved me from embarrassment. He turned openly and extended his arms toward me like a perfect gentleman.

At that moment, outside the stadium at the ticket checkpoint.

Ethan stood in front of the VIP entrance, touching the diamond necklace in his pocket.

He was calculating how to coax me after the concert.

"Ethan! Hurry, they're checking tickets!" Nina excitedly pulled his arm.

They walked to the gate. The security guard said coldly: "Please show your tickets for facial recognition entry."

Nina eagerly placed the ticket Ethan had given her on the scanner.

"Beep -- "

A harsh red alert sounded.

[Identity mismatch. No purchase record found.]

Nina froze and turned to look at Ethan with grievance: "Ethan, what's going on?"

Ethan frowned: "They must be checking strictly."

He took out his own ticket and placed it on the scanner.

Another harsh red alert.

The security guard looked at them expressionlessly: "You two, neither of you has ticket information under your names. Please step aside."

"That's impossible. My girlfriend bought these as connected seats!" Ethan's voice rose sharply in panic.

The guard checked his device and looked up coldly: "Sir, the system shows the primary purchaser kept her own seat. Your companion registration was unbound by her one day ago."

Unbound? Ethan froze.

The line behind them started complaining impatiently.

Nina felt utterly humiliated. Her eyes instantly reddened.

Amid a chorus of jeers, Ethan retreated from the crowd in complete embarrassment.

He quickly pulled out his phone and pulled up my number through gritted teeth.

Suddenly, thunderous cheers erupted from the giant broadcast screen on the plaza's outer wall.

Ethan instinctively looked up.

On the screen, he saw my image, smiling as I embraced a handsome man beside me.