I didn't say I don't trust them anymore. I wonder if you're also making assumptions about whether this has changed our relationship at all, too, when it hasn't, unless she's feeling things I'm not aware of. It's the same as always, but I was curious as to how to possibly approach the situation of asking her about it, because, like I said to someone else, if she didn't like the gift, I don't want to get another one like it and make her feel frustrated, and I don't want her to feel guilty about a gift never getting to me, either, but that I am a little miffed that I know that she could've and that she knew well in advance that I was getting her one and had plenty of opportunity to either call off the annual gift exchange or let me know that she wasn't able to get me one.

My biggest irritant is the high likelihood she lied to me about it. That hurts my feelings. If she felt it was too much and didn't say anything, it'd also hurt my feelings, because we both promised to be candid with one another (and I plan to, but I was seeking advice before doing so). Last year I also spent more money on her than she did on me (a lot of what she went was hand-me-down things she'd already had) but she also knew how much I loved everything she sent to me.

I'm hurt, not distrustful. I just want to know the truth, want to know what went wrong (whether she forgot, etc), want to know if she avoided gushing about the gifts I got her because she felt bad she didn't get me something in return, and most importantly, whether she liked the stuff I got her because there's another one I want to get her for her birthday or this Christmas if she did like the last gift.