Dumped for a Fake: The True Heiress Returns

A sharp crack.

A twelve-million-dollar diamond ring was violently smashed onto the floor, the diamond refracting blinding light off the cold marble.

Christina White narrowed her eyes slightly, watching Austin Lewis with his arm around his dream girl Mary Johnson, looking at her with disgust, his words arrogant and condescending.

"Christina, you think buying a fake diamond ring to force me into marriage will make me marry you? Let me tell you, even if you die, I'll never let a lowly woman like you marry me."

As he spoke, Austin glanced at Christina's phone screen, still lit up in her hand.

On the screen, a diamond ring sparkled on Christina's slender finger.

Austin smirked. "Want to post it on Instagram? And say what? That I proposed to you? Christina, your tricks just keep getting more pathetic."

His aggression left Christina torn between tears and laughter.

If she didn't say anything, who would believe that the Austin standing before her was the boyfriend she'd dated for three years?

Then again.

She already knew that for these three years, Austin had just been using her as Mary's replacement, didn't she?

Too bad Austin thought that seeing Mary would make her cling to him, even force him to marry her.

Austin didn't know that this ring he'd smashed on the floor was an engagement gift from her billionaire fiancé, Gabriel Stone.

"Force you into marriage?" Christina laughed coldly. "Austin, tell me, why would I suddenly try to force you into marriage? Is it because your first love came back? Or because I know that for three years you've just been using me as Mary's replacement, and now you can't even choose between the two of us?"

"You!" Austin was stunned. How did Christina know all this?

Christina glanced at Mary beside Austin, her eyes clearly conveying 'you think you're special to him, but you're really not,' cutting deep into Mary's heart.

The store clerk crouched down, carefully picking up the ring, not daring to get involved in their business.

Christina looked at the ring—the diamond was already cracked. What a waste of Gabriel's thoughtfulness.

But even if it wasn't broken, she wouldn't wear a ring Austin had touched.

Once she finished dealing with things here, she'd go pick out a pair of rings with Gabriel.

Christina lifted her chin. "You broke the ring, I don't want it anymore. Remember to pay for it. As for these three years, I'll just consider them wasted."

"Christina, cheap stuff like this, I could pay you back a thousand times over, but explain to me what you mean by 'wasted'!" Austin grabbed the ring and smashed it again. This time, the diamond shattered completely, just like Christina and his relationship.

"If you're blind, go get it treated. Open your eyes and look carefully—this is a top-tier custom diamond ring. Not only is it worth thirty million dollars, it's not a custom piece just anyone can order."

With that, Christina gave the clerk a look, and the clerk immediately went to get the custom certificate.

She threw the certificate at Austin. "See it clearly. I'm waiting for your compensation!"

Austin held the certificate, unable to believe Christina could actually afford such an expensive ring. "How is this possible?"

Christina glanced at them, not wanting to waste more time, and turned to leave.

Back then, her family arranged a marriage for her, and her match was Gabriel, her neighbor of over ten years.

At the time, she really did see Gabriel as just a regular friend, and she couldn't accept a wealthy family's arranged marriage with no feelings involved.

For various reasons, Christina ran away from the wedding and left Aurora City.

After arriving in Harborview City, she was penniless and suffered a lot at first, but gradually life got better, and she met what she thought was love.

Who knew that three days ago, when she went as usual to pick up Austin from a drinking party where he'd gotten drunk.

She accidentally overheard them mention Mary and herself, and that's when she learned what bullshit love—for three years Austin had just been using her as Mary's replacement.

Now that Mary was back, Austin was actually hesitating between Mary's old flame and her beauty, unable to make a choice.

It disgusted her.

That night, after getting caught in a heavy rain, she made up her mind. She called home and agreed to go back and marry Gabriel after handling things here.

Who knew that when she got Gabriel's message to come get a "surprise," she'd run into Austin and Mary.

Christina was just thinking about how to smooth things over with Gabriel when Gabriel's call came.

"I heard the ring got smashed?" Gabriel's cool voice revealed no emotion.

Christina pressed her lips together. "Mr. Stone really has eyes and ears everywhere—you even know what just happened in Harborview City."

"Of course. I know everything about you."

Christina wanted to ask if Gabriel knew about everything that had happened around her these past three years.

After thinking about it, she didn't ask.

With Gabriel's capabilities, it was just a matter of whether he wanted to know or not.

When Christina didn't respond, Gabriel had to continue.

"I'm abroad today. I've already had someone arrange the flight route. I'll fly back right after the meeting."

Since he'd gone that far, Christina quickly responded, "Are you free then? Come with me to pick out new engagement rings."

"Okay. See you tomorrow."

So soon?

Christina raised an eyebrow but didn't ask such a mood-killing question.

She thought about it and decided to go home and pack.

It was already evening, and tomorrow would come quickly. She couldn't let Gabriel arrive while she was still living with Austin.

Pushing open the door, Austin had somehow already gotten home. Seeing her finally return, he snorted and threw a check on the table.

"I don't care who you borrowed the money from. Take the check right now and pay them back. Don't embarrass me!"

Christina froze for a moment, then immediately realized Austin had confirmed the ring was real, but after confirming it, he obviously assumed she'd borrowed the money from someone.

Christina picked up the check and waved it in her hand. "The ring was bought by my fiancé. But breaking someone's stuff means paying for it—that's only fair. I'll take the check."

A thirty-million-dollar check.

After three years together, this was the first time Christina discovered Austin could be so generous with her.

But Austin frowned. "Fiancé?"

He looked Christina up and down. Austin said dismissively, "Christina, if you want to make me jealous, try something else. Don't use these little tricks on me. Everyone in Harborview City knows you're my girlfriend. In Harborview City, you can't even find a man to play along with your act. You think I'd believe such an obvious lie?"