Guy de Maupassant. Matilda Loisel desires a luxurious life but is middle-class. She borrows a diamond necklace from rich friend Madame Forestier for a party — loses it. They secretly replace it (taking 10 years of debt). When Matilda finally meets Forestier and tells her, Forestier reveals: the necklace was fake/paste (not real diamonds)! Ten years of suffering for nothing. Theme: Vanity and pretension lead to ruin; honesty is better than pride.