This Redditor kept her engagement ring even after her fiancé passed away, but then his family sued her to get the ring. She won the case in court, but now everyone has turned on her!
Happy Start
OP (Original Poster) dated her fiancé, John, for four years. They were a happy couple, and everything was going well.
Planning for the Future
When John popped the question, OP had no doubts and immediately accepted. It was almost a perfect scene, but the ring John had bought and used to propose was two sizes too big for OP.
Always Get the Receipt
They weren’t going to let this slow them down, though. So, given the ring size, OP and John went to the store where he’d bought the ring two weeks before the proposal.
Luckily, John had kept the receipt. Without any issues, they were able to easily keep the same style of ring and change it to the correct size to fit OP’s finger.
Waiting Is the Hardest Part
With that matter taken care of, all that was left was to save money.
OP and John planned to get married in about three years, giving them plenty of time to plan the wedding and save up for it.
Tragedy Strikes
Ten months of bliss with her fiancé passed for OP before something terrible happened.
Sadly, John was involved in a terrible car accident and died from his injuries. OP was, obviously, grief-stricken.
The High Cost of Dying
It wasn’t long before John’s parents messaged OP and told her they couldn’t afford his funeral. Still, amid her shock and grief at John’s death, OP agreed to pay for all the funeral expenses.
She reasoned that maybe his parents couldn’t afford the funeral because their daughter, John’s biological sister, was about to start college. Since the wedding with John wouldn’t happen, OP figured she should put the wedding fund they’d saved together to good use and cover all the funeral costs.
Taken Advantage Of
Wallowing in grief, though, OP didn’t remember that John’s parents owned “most of the businesses and housing accommodations in town.” They were, in a word, loaded.
All That Glitters Is Not Gold
Then, it’d only been one day since John was buried before OP’s harassment began. John’s brother showed up at OP’s doorstep and demanded she hand over her engagement ring.
She asked him why, and he claimed the ring had been “passed down in their family for five generations.”
Discovery of Treachery
OP knew that he was lying, though. She told him his claim was “b*******” because she had proof that the ring had been bought specifically for her less than a year ago.
Not Giving up Easily
John’s brother didn’t appreciate that OP stood her ground. He got angry and argued with her but finally stormed out.
OP thought the ordeal was over, and she’d be allowed to keep her precious engagement ring in peace.
A Brewing Storm
Unfortunately, John’s family wasn’t done with OP. Soon after, OP received multiple calls from various members of John’s family.
They all called her a “liar” for her claim that the ring had been bought and demanded she give them the ring.
Court Summons
The worst was yet to come. John’s family sent OP a letter from their lawyer, stating she was being sued and needed to give them the ring and reimburse them for John’s funeral costs.
OP knew this was ridiculous. For one, how could she reimburse them for the funeral costs when she had been the one to foot the bill?
Looking at the Facts
At first, OP thought maybe the letter from John’s family was fake and just being used to scare her into compliance. So, she contacted a friend who was a lawyer, explained the situation to him, and let him look at the letter.
After looking at the receipts she had for the ring and funeral costs, OP’s lawyer friend decided to help and represent her in court.
One Ring to Rule Them All
During the court proceedings, OP presented solid evidence. Though she admitted she was scared and confused most of the time, she spoke the truth and showed all of her proof.
One of the things she had to produce evidence for was the ring, but it was no problem for OP since the design of the ring itself made it clear that it was not a family heirloom. OP shared that she and John had initially met at a Lord of the Rings event and had decided to hold a LotR-themed wedding; the ring John had bought had been through a company established after 2000, and it specialized in producing jewelry based on movies.
The Truth Will Come Out
With receipts to prove that the ring had been purchased less than a year ago, it was clear that OP’s engagement ring couldn’t be a “family heirloom” that’d been with them for “five generations.” On top of that, if there’d ever been any “family diamonds” on the original ring, OP noted that John would have asked to get the first ring resized and altered—not get a different ring in a different size but with the same style.
Also, after OP and John had gotten a different ring, they showed it to John’s parents. Not once did they mention anything about it being an heirloom ring or there being any family diamonds until after the funeral.
A Shocking Discovery
During the trial, OP also discovered that John had life insurance, which had been awarded to his parents and was twice the amount of the funeral costs. She had to wonder exactly why his parents couldn’t afford his funeral when they had received such a large payout.
After the judge looked at the evidence, he handed down his judgment, and OP won the case. The judge awarded OP to be “reimbursed for funeral costs, legal fees, and emotional distress.”
Craziness Doesn’t End
OP thought everything would finally be over, but it wasn’t long before John’s sister started texting her. She said that John would “want her to have it, and it would feel like John was a part of her next step in her life, and it’d let his spirit know he wasn’t forgotten,” but OP refused.
Sadly, one of OP’s friends was present when OP received some messages from John’s sister; her friend also knew about the complicated situation surrounding the engagement ring. Despite this, OP wrote, “The friend from brunch, who saw the messages from his sister and told the others about this, read his sister’s first message asking for the ring. Friend believes these are good, valid reasons from sister. My friend also believes that the ring should actually be used, not stuck in a box somewhere or most likely lost.”
Putting up Her Defenses
OP, however, argued that the ring was being used. She used it during their engagement, throughout all the madness in court, a year after winning the case, and during dates of importance between her and John.
Sadly, OP’s friend still wasn’t on her side. OP said, “My friend called me a sad, selfish a**hole and stormed off. The next thing I knew, my other friends started messaging me about me being an a**hole and telling me that his sister should get the ring.”
The Community’s Two Cents
Redditors were incensed at the emotional abuse OP was subjected to and appalled at how greedy and full of lies John’s family was.
One top commenter said, “Talk to a lawyer. You are being harassed by the greedy, lying, litigious family of your deceased partner. None of them deserve a d***** thing from you, much less your engagement ring your fiancé bought you. His sister can get her ring out of a gumball machine for all you care. It is not your problem or responsibility to provide her with jewelry. Not the a**hole. And you need better friends if they are siding with the sister. Your ring was important to you. It is yours. Why would you ever lose it?”
“They’re horrible, disgusting, inconsiderate, greedy thieves. Ignore your friends. Don’t give the ring to those lying leeches. It’s yours. Install security cameras in and outside of your house. File a restraining order against them. Sorry for your loss. Not the a**hole,” someone else said.
Do you think OP should give up? What would you tell her?
More From Quote Ambition
This Redditor turned to the community for advice after being called out for being a horrible woman for not wanting to raise a baby born from her ex-husband’s affair. Was she wrong to refuse?
An Entitled Woman Refused to Vacate His Assigned Seat on a Five-Hour Flight. So, He Kicked and Yanked the Chair Every Two Minutes, Ensuring There’s “Extra Turbulence” All Flight Long!
He got annoyed when a woman wouldn’t budge and get off his assigned plane seat, saying she was “already comfortable.” So, he devised a plan to make sure she’d regret every second of it!
She Left Her Cousin’s Wedding and Took Her $1,000 Gift Back After the Groom’s Family Ruined Her Dress for Being “Inappropriate.” They Want the Money Back, but It’s Too Late
OP (Original Poster) was stoked to attend her favorite cousin’s wedding. However, little did she know it would become one of the worst experiences of her life yet!
A Woman Noticed Their Security Cameras Glitched Only When Her Husband Was Home Alone. He Flipped Out After Being Confronted, but She Wants to Get to the Bottom of Things!
This Redditor’s home security cameras kept on glitching whenever her husband was home alone. Suspicious of what was causing this, she asked her husband, but instead of remaining calm, he got defensive!
He Begged His Neighbors to Extinguish Their Fire So His Dying Dog Could Spend One Last Day Outdoors, but They Showed No Sympathy. So, He Ensured They Learned Their Lesson!
He only wanted to give his dog a day in his backyard before putting her down. However, things didn’t go as planned when his neighbors decided to light a fire so close to them!
This post first appeared as She Refused to Return the Engagement Ring Her Late Fiancé Bought Her. Now She’s Being Harassed by His Family, Taken to Court, and Labeled a Selfish “Jerk!” Was She Wrong? on Quote Ambition.
Read Next:
- She Refused to Give Her Kids the Inheritance Their Father Left After They Opted Out of His Funeral. She’s Disgusted by Their Lack of Empathy and Plans to Donate Everything, Now They’re Furious!
- He Banned His Fiancé’s Sister From His Wedding After Discovering She Invited Everyone They Were Close With but Him to Her Big Day!
- He Boycotted His Sister’s Wedding After She Deliberately Scheduled It on His Late Fiancé’s Birthday. Now His Family Thinks He’s “Selfish” and “Immature” for Choosing Grief Over His Family!
