Chapter 13 - The Engagement Ring
Victoria asked for the ring back.
Fair.
Legally, engagement-ring rules vary.
Our counsel advised us to resolve privately.
I had removed it from her finger during the party and placed it on the table.
Security later collected it with her belongings.
The ring cost approximately $185,000.
Too much.
My mistake.
She said it was a completed gift.
My lawyer said state law could treat engagement rings as conditional depending circumstances.
I did not care enough for litigation.
“Give it back.”
Miriam stared.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t want six months of discovery about a diamond.”
Victoria received it through counsel.
Then sold it eight months later.
Apparently.
Her property.
Fine.
The more important issue was removing it physically.
Had I hurt her finger?
No injury.
Still, I had asserted control over an object on her body during anger.
I asked security footage to be preserved.
Not erased.
During my own therapy, Dr. Anthony Russo asked:
“What did taking the ring accomplish?”
“Ended engagement.”
“Could words do that?”
“Yes.”
“Then?”
“Public certainty.”
There.
I wanted everyone to see the relationship was over.
Marconi instinct again.
Make the message physical.
Visible.
No ambiguity.
Like my grandfather putting contracts on tables with armed men standing behind him.
I was better than that legally.
Not always emotionally.
I apologized to Victoria through counsel for forcibly removing the ring.
No reconciliation.
No:
Sorry for ending engagement.
Specific.
“I should have told you the engagement was over and asked you to remove it yourself.”
She did not answer.
Fine.
May you like
Accountability is not a negotiation for warmth.
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