i (22f) have a sister (28f) who’s been pretty successful. she’s always had a way of making everything she has sound so... perfect. recently she got engaged to a guy who is loaded—like trust fund, private jet, the works. they’ve been flaunting their wealth since they started dating, and it’s been wearing me thin. it feels like everything she posts on social media is about how amazing her life is and how “humble” she is for still shopping at discount stores for certain things.

i get that she’s excited and all, but it feels like she’s constantly trying to make me feel inferior. for context, i’m still working on my degree, i work part-time, and i’m just barely scraping by. i’ve never been the “rich” one in the family, and my sister is well aware of that.

the thing that really set me off was when she showed me her engagement ring. it’s huge. i mean, absurdly huge. it looked like something from a magazine. she spent 15 minutes telling me how much it cost, how it’s from this exclusive designer, and how she could’ve bought a smaller house with that money but decided “this was worth it.” i don’t know why, but hearing her talk about it just pushed me over the edge.

i went to her house a week later when she wasn’t home. i knew where she kept her ring, so i grabbed it, took it to a pawn shop, and sold it. i know, i know—this was an extreme decision. but in the moment, it felt like the only way to level the playing field. i got a decent amount of money for it, too.

when she found out, she was livid. she’s been calling me selfish, a thief, and saying she’ll never forgive me. my parents think i went too far but also agree that she’s been rubbing her wealth in my face for too long. part of me feels justified, but now i’m wondering if i took things way too far.

AITAH for taking her engagement ring to pawn?