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Real life MMD: Should I ask my ex for the ring back?
An engagement ring is a gift. It's not a price you pay to buy a wife - you don't get refunds. Buying people is actually illegal in this country, though some posters in this thread don't seem to have got the memo.
If the ring belonged to your family, then she ought to give it back as it's worth more to you than to her, though I doubt you could force her to. Otherwise, it was a gift, just like any other, and asking for gifts to be returned is the height of bad manners.
Morally she should give it back, of course. No matter who broke up with who. The ring is a sign of the promise you both made and if that promise goes unfulfilled, I think the ring should rightfully be returned to you. Similarly if she got a ring for you, you too should return it to her.
But, having said that, in my experience, embittered ex-fiancees tend to sell the ring and keep the money - feeling they deserve it in compensation for the heartache they have endured. In anycase, possession is 9 tenths of the law and she will find any number of ways to prevent you getting the ring back if she prefers not to give it to you (e.g. saying she has lost it).
I think it is probably best to take a deep breath, maybe swear a little under it!, and then move on.
