The sun was setting, painting the city in orange and pink hues. Emma, a graphic designer, was dining with Daniel, her businessman boyfriend of three years, at a fancy restaurant. They were having a good time, laughing and talking.

But then, Daniel seemed nervous. He took Emma’s hand and said, “Emma, I’ve been so happy with you. You make my life better. I want us to always be together.”

Emma smiled, feeling happy but also a bit surprised. Daniel then presented a ring and asked, “Will you marry me, Emma?”

Some diners turned to look at them…

But Emma noticed something on the ring — a certain pattern — that made her feel unsure about saying yes. It made her doubt Daniel, but she didn’t show it.

“Daniel, it-it’s beautiful,” she replied, although her intuition said Daniel had betrayed her. Where have I seen this ring?

Not sensing her worry, Daniel asked again, “Will you marry me?”

Emma felt stuck. She didn’t want to create a scene by saying no to him in front of the people watching them.

“I-I need a moment, please,” she replied and went to the restroom to think.

When she came back, she took a deep breath and faced Daniel calmly. “This is a lot to think about all at once, Daniel,” she said. “I love you, but I need some time.”

Daniel nodded. “Take your time,” he said with a calm smile. “I just want you to be happy. I’ll be waiting for your answer.”

***

The next day, Emma sat at her computer, feeling uneasy. She remembered seeing Daniel’s proposal ring before and started looking through his Facebook photos. While at it, she found a picture of Sophie, his ex, wearing the same ring.

Emma felt betrayed because Daniel never told her he had been engaged to Sophie. Yes, she knew Daniel and Sophie had dated for two years, but when did they get engaged?

When Daniel came home, Emma showed him the photo. “This ring, you proposed to Sophie with it, didn’t you?”

Daniel looked worried and said, “Yes, but it’s a family ring. It’s important, not because of Sophie, but because it’s from my family.”

“So you gave me your ex’s ring?” she asked.

“Emma, it didn’t work out with Sophie, so she returned it. I wanted you to have it because it’s special.”

Emma was upset.

“Look, Emma, I love you,” he continued. “I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you. I’m sorry I never told you about the engagement with Sophie. It’s an episode I wanted to bury. Please understand.”

“Is there anything else I should know?” Emma asked angrily.

“I promise you, Emma, there’s nothing else. Sophie is history. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and you only. I’ll be in my office in case you need to ask anything else.”

With that, Daniel retreated to the home office, leaving her alone with her thoughts.

Emma’s gaze drifted back to her laptop, the photo of Sophie and the ring fueling her doubts and clouding her mind.

She clicked through her own photos and it was then she noticed things that didn’t match what Daniel had told her. For example, a late night he’d said he’d spent at the office, his location tagged him elsewhere.

She felt confused and called her friend Lena for advice.

“I think Daniel’s been lying to me,” she told Lena.

“What? Wait, what happened?” Lena asked.

Emma explained the proposal, Daniel’s ex’s ring, and other lies. Lena suggested, “You need to talk to him and clear this up.”

Emma agreed and decided to talk to Daniel.

She went to him and said, “We need to talk more about the ring.”

“Why are you bringing this up again?” Daniel asked, getting upset.

“It’s about trust, Daniel. Why didn’t you tell me you were engaged to Sophie?”

“Where is this coming from, Emma?” Daniel stood up, his brows furrowed in anger. “I don’t understand why you’re making such a big deal out of this. Yes, it was the ring I gave Sophie, but it’s just a ring!”

“Just a ring?” she asked, her voice rising in anger. “It’s a symbol of your past, Daniel. A past you never shared with me. How can I trust you when you hide things like this?”

“I thought it wouldn’t matter,” Daniel argued. “The ring doesn’t change how I feel about you. I love you, Emma, not Sophie.”

“But it does matter to me,” Emma replied. “I need honesty.”

“What do you want me to do, Emma?” Daniel asked, sighing.

“I need time to think about us, about everything.”

“Take as much time as you need,” he said. “I’ll sleep on the couch tonight.”

***

The next day, Emma was at a café, her mind occupied with last night’s events. Suddenly, her phone rang, distracting her. It was Jenna, another friend of hers.

“Hi, Jenna. What’s up?”

“Emma, I thought you should know something,” Jenna said hesitantly. “I saw Daniel with Sophie a few days ago. They seemed—close.”