His Luck Ran Out

For my boyfriend’s birthday, I gave him a jar of lucky stars, each one folded by hand.
He took the glass jar with a smile, then his expression shifted.
“You know, you’ve really got some nerve.”
I froze, the words not computing. “What do you mean?”
“I bring you to a hundred-dollar-a-plate restaurant for my birthday, and this is what you give me?” Ryan lifted the jar, his fingers curled around it in distaste. “Look at what Tessa got me. Look at what my friends got me. This thing isn't even garbage.”
He continued, his voice dripping with condescension. “Spending a few bucks on craft paper to get a fancy meal… this is the first time I’ve dated a girl who’s so… calculated.”
And with a flick of his wrist, he tossed the jar into a nearby trash can.
I walked over, retrieved it, wiped it clean, and placed it carefully inside my purse.
Tessa, Ryan’s best-friend-who-happened-to-be-a-girl, had given him a pair of Air Jordans. His other friends had given him gifts worth a few hundred dollars.
None of them could compare to what I’d given him.
If Ryan didn’t want the Maybach, well, I guess I’d just have to drive it myself.
1
A brand-new Maybach was parked at the restaurant's entrance, gleaming under the valet lights. Ryan and his friends had been drooling over it since we arrived, their conversation a chorus of longing for that kind of wealth.
“If I could afford a Maybach, my ancestors would probably rise from their graves to throw a party,” one of them said.
Tessa winked at Ryan. “Just wait. When I make my first million, I’ll buy one. And the passenger seat is all yours.”
I hadn’t paid them much attention, my mind buzzing with anticipation for the moment Ryan would see his gift.
After the dinner plates were cleared and the cake was cut, it was time for presents. As his girlfriend, I assumed I would go first. I was just reaching for my bag when Tessa shouldered me aside.
“Back off, everyone! I get to give the first gift to the birthday boy.”
“Go for it, Tessa. No one’s fighting you,” Ryan said, his smile indulgent. His eyes never once landed on me.
A prickle of annoyance went through me, but I swallowed it down. It was his birthday. I wouldn’t make a scene.
Tessa produced a shoebox, shoved it into Ryan’s arms, and then playfully punched his shoulder. “So, birthday boy, want me to help you put them on?”
Ryan’s face lit up. It was obvious he loved the Jordans. If I hadn’t been there, I’m sure he would have taken her up on the offer.
After a few other friends had given their gifts, Tessa tilted her chin toward me. “Paige? What about you?”
Honestly, at that point, I didn’t want to give him my gift anymore. But before I could say a word, Tessa snatched my purse.
“God, you’re so slow,” she grumbled, her impatience a performance for the group. “Always so hesitant. I’ll get it for you.”
As if she couldn’t wait to humiliate me, she pulled out the glass jar of paper stars and burst into laughter.
“Holy shit! I had no idea people still did this. Folding stars for a birthday present?” she howled. “Ryan, man, you hit the jackpot. Found yourself a real keeper. She sure knows how to get a good meal.”
The whole table erupted in laughter.
Ryan laughed, too.
He took the glass jar from her, turning it over in his hands. Then, he looked at me, and his smile vanished.
“Paige,” he said, his voice suddenly cold. “You know, you’ve really got some nerve.”
2
I blinked, certain I’d misheard him. Why would he suddenly curse at me?
Ryan let out a short, bitter laugh and started his tirade.
“I bring you to a hundred-dollar-a-plate restaurant for my birthday, and this is what you give me?” he asked, his voice rising. “So what if you folded them by hand? I don’t feel the love. I just feel insulted. Like you’re just trying to get by with some cheap gesture.”
He held up the jar, his face a mask of disgust. “Look at what Tessa got me. Look at what my friends got me. This thing isn't even garbage.” He leaned in, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper that was loud enough for everyone to hear. “Spending a few bucks on craft paper to get a fancy meal… this is the first time I’ve dated a girl who’s so… calculated.”
And with a flick of his wrist, he tossed the jar into a nearby trash can.
I bit down on my lip, a sour, bitter taste filling my mouth. The man who had been my intimate partner just hours ago was now a stranger, his words sharper than any knife.
I knew, in that instant, that this was over.
“Ryan, if my gift is that embarrassing to you, then I’ll take it back.”
I walked to the trash can, fished out the jar, and used a napkin to wipe away the grime, piece by piece.
“Hey, Ry, maybe you should just keep it,” Tessa chimed in, her tone dripping with fake sympathy. “The poor girl probably stayed up all night folding those. You can take it home and worship it like a family heirloom.”
She was pretending to help, but her eyes were dancing with glee.
“You want it? You can take it home and worship it,” Ryan shot back. He then turned to me and held out his hand. “Give it here. I’ll accept your… cheap gift.”
He paused, then added, “But Paige, I think you owe me a real present. Either that, or you can Venmo me for your share of dinner. Everyone goes dutch these days. Even if we’re a couple, you can’t just take advantage of me like this.”
Cheap?
Take advantage of him?
Suddenly, I knew I couldn’t just let this go. At the very least, I no longer had any reason to protect his ego.
“Ryan, I put my heart into preparing this gift for you. And you call it cheap, throwing it in the trash without even opening it,” I said, my voice steady and clear. “You knew my stomach has been acting up and I can’t eat spicy food, yet you ordered every single dish with extra chili. I haven’t had a single bite. And you have the audacity to say I’m taking advantage of you?”
I took a breath. “Fine. Let’s tally it up. Let’s calculate everything we’ve spent on each other over the past year and see who’s really been taking advantage of whom.”
Throughout our relationship, I had always been the one to yield, to smooth things over. Even when we fought, I never embarrassed him in front of others.
Now, being confronted so publicly, Ryan’s face flushed with anger. He lashed out.
“What was I supposed to do? Unfold every single star to see if you wrote some cheesy love note inside?” he sneered. “Or were you going to tell me you hid a Maybach key in there?”
He took a step closer. “Paige, get real. We’re about to graduate. You’ve said it yourself, you’re going back to your small town to take over the family business. I’m different. I just signed with a top firm. My future is bright. Unlike yours, which is… back in the middle of nowhere.”
3
I understood.
The graduation breakup.
It all made sense now—why Ryan had been picking at me all night. He’d landed a big job, decided I wasn’t good enough for him anymore, and was engineering a way out. And in his mind, my "hometown" was synonymous with "the middle of nowhere."
Looking at Tessa’s smug expression, I had a feeling she had something to do with him getting that job offer.
“And what if I told you,” I said, my voice quiet but firm, “that there really is a Maybach key in there?”
Every head at the table swiveled toward me.
The silence lasted for three seconds.
Then, the entire room exploded with laughter.
“A Maybach key? You mean like a lighter or a kid’s toy? Hahaha!”
“Dude, Ryan, you better open that jar! I want to witness you becoming a Maybach man! Hahaha.”
“Ry, your taste in women is something else. She’s a world-class daydreamer, hahaha!”
Amid the cacophony of ridicule, Ryan looked like he wanted the ground to swallow him whole.
“Alright, Paige, that’s enough,” he said, his voice tight with humiliation. “I won’t ask you for another gift. Just go home. Don’t embarrass yourself any further.”
Of course, I was leaving.
But I had a few more things to say first.
“Ryan, you say my gifts are cheap? The watch you’re wearing right now, the electric razor you use, the cologne you spray, the Converse on your feet—which one of those didn’t I give you?” I demanded. “Since you think they’re so cheap, give them all back.”
His eyes flickered for a moment before he hardened his expression again. “You’re the one who wanted to give them to me. It’s not like I asked.”
He was right. I had given them to him willingly. It was my first serious relationship, and gifts were my love language. Anything he ever mentioned wanting, anything he didn't have, I wanted to buy for him.
Thinking back on our year together, it was a one-way street. I was always giving; the gifts he gave me could be counted on one hand. The most significant one was the silver necklace I was wearing.
I still remembered what he said when he put it on me.
“Paige, I know silver isn’t gold. But trust me, once I graduate and land a great job, I’ll make real money. I’ll buy you a gold necklace, a gold bracelet, I’ll have you dripping in gold.”
And now, he’d landed that great job. And the first thing he did was humiliate me in public to force a breakup.
The promises of men. A cruel joke.
It was laughable, really.
4
Perhaps realizing he sounded a bit like a freeloader, Ryan started trying to defend himself.
“It’s not like I never gave you anything. And I paid for most of our dates, and I sent you money on holidays.”
He sighed, trying to sound reasonable. “Paige, a relationship is supposed to be about mutual affection. It gets ugly when you start keeping score.”
Ugly was one word for it.
The truth was, I paid for most of our dates. The few times he paid were for small things, like fruit from a stand or a couple of milk teas. As for the holiday money, he’d Venmo me $52, and I’d send him $520.
In this relationship, my investment, both emotionally and financially, dwarfed his. I had no idea how he could stand there and accuse me of taking advantage of him.
Whatever. Arguing with a scumbag was a waste of time. I’d just have to chalk it up to a bad investment of my heart.
Since I was the one who pursued him, I would be the one to end it.
“You’re right. It has gotten ugly,” I said calmly. “Ryan, we’re done.”
I grabbed my purse and turned to leave.
Tessa blocked my path. “Leave the jar. Ryan promised I could take it home and worship it.” She smirked. “And that necklace he gave you? Leave that too.”
“Please move,” I said, my voice low.
She didn’t budge. I stepped to the left; she mirrored me. I stepped to the right; she blocked me again.
I stopped, took a deep breath, and slapped her across the face.
Caught completely off guard, Tessa stumbled sideways, knocking into the table. As she was about to fall, Ryan lunged forward to play hero. She collapsed dramatically into his arms.
The next second, Ryan’s hand flew up and he slapped me back.
My face stung, the force of it bringing tears to my eyes. But I ignored the pain. I drew my leg back and kicked him, hard, in the shin. He yelped and buckled, pulling Tessa down with him.
He must have tried to cushion her fall, but by some strange twist of fate, as they tumbled to the ground, their mouths crashed together in a clumsy, disgusting kiss.
The scene was both ridiculous and nauseating.
People always say the "girl best friend" is just an excuse to have a backup on the sidelines. I never believed it, because Ryan always said, “We’ve known each other since middle school. If something was going to happen, it would have happened by now.”
Now, I had no choice but to believe it. The air between them had been thick with unspoken things for a long time.
A surge of impulse shot through me.
I took two steps forward and gave Ryan another kick for good measure.
You want to kiss? Go on, then. Kiss all you want.
5
I walked out of the restaurant, my mind racing as I tried to figure out how to get home.
Ryan came chasing after me, Tessa and their friends trailing behind.
“Paige, I’ll pretend I didn’t hear you say we’re breaking up. And I’ll forget about you kicking me. But you hit Tessa. You need to apologize to her.”
Seriously? Was a clean break really this difficult?
“Why should I apologize to her?”
Ryan looked at me with an expression that said, don’t be difficult. “Just apologize. Tessa helped me a lot with landing this job offer. As my girlfriend, you should be thanking her, not slapping her. It’s completely out of line!”
“We already broke up,” I said coldly. “What does your job offer have to do with me?”
When I’m in love, I can be a hopeless romantic.
When it’s over, I’m decisive and I don’t look back.
That was a rule I made for myself.
“Ry, don’t waste your breath on her,” Tessa said, stepping forward. She was holding a beer bottle. “You think you can just hit me and walk away? Not that easy. Today, you either get on your knees and apologize, or you take this bottle of beer and…”
“Ah—!”
Tessa’s foot slipped, and she stumbled. The beer bottle flew from her hand, arcing through the air and crashing right into the window of the Maybach parked at the curb.
A collective gasp went through the group.
“Holy crap! My dream car just got hit.”
“A car that expensive… how much is that repair going to cost?”
“I have no idea.”
“Damn, Tessa really knows how to make an entrance.”
…
The color drained from Ryan’s face. He didn’t even move to help Tessa up. Instead, he rounded on me, his eyes blazing.
“Paige! Look what you’ve done!”

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