Fighting back my rage, I called Marco and his mom into a lounge, intending to get to the bottom of things as soon as possible.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" Marco asked with a smile, looking like the perfect doting boyfriend.

"Whitney, what's going on? It's a big day, and we already gave you the dowry, didn't we? There are so many relatives and friends outside waiting. Why did you call us in here?"

As if a sudden thought struck her, Sylvia widened her eyes and pointed accusingly at me.

"Let me tell you something! All those guests outside are watching! Don't even think about raising the price at this point, or I'll call everyone in here to settle this!"

Hearing the contempt in her voice, I saw no reason to hold back anymore. I hurled the bank card at Marco.

"Why is there no money in this card? Where's the money? Didn't you say you'd already transferred it?

"What? You can't even afford 80 thousand dollars as dowry these days? You thought you could cheat us?"

Marco froze for a second, and then quickly tried to comfort me.

"It must be a misunderstanding, sweetheart. We transferred the money long ago. Maybe it just hasn't gone through yet. Let's not argue over this today, okay? Let's get engaged first, and I'm sure the money will show up by tonight."

As he spoke, Marco glanced at his mom and tried to pull me out of the room.

I yanked my hand away. "Fine, then. I'll call the bank and find out why the transfer hasn't gone through. If it's their mistake, I'll file a complaint."

Marco's eyes began to dart around nervously, and my heart sank.

Hearing that, Sylvia suddenly became agitated.

She snatched the bank card from me and jabbed her finger in my face while shouting.

"Well, well, Whitney Frye, you and your mother sure know how to be thorough, don't you? How calculating! You even went to check the balance. Let me tell you, there's no money in it.

"So what? Are you not going to marry my son just because there is no money in the card?

"I'll tell you this. You're no longer a virgin and are so filthy. Who else would want you besides my son? I suggest you stop causing trouble today and just go through with the engagement. As your future mother-in-law, I will overlook this little tantrum of yours."

Marco joined in, half coaxing and half threatening, "Whitney, the guests are already here. Let's just get through the banquet. Your family is in business, and you know how important reputation is. If you keep causing a scene, it won't be good for anyone. Isn't it?"

I was furious. They'd tried to deceive me with an empty card, plotting to rob my family, even cursing my parents. And now they dared to act like they were doing me a favor? Forgiving me?

Moral blackmail, really?

How dare they? I just wanted to slap this old woman across the face.

Marco was just a poor guy from a rural village, while I was a pampered, well-off young lady.

Ever since we started dating, I had hidden most of my family's wealth to protect his fragile ego, only showing him a small portion of it.

Even with that, his family had been plotting to take everything from me. I didn't even want to imagine what would have happened if, in a moment of foolishness, I had revealed my family's full financial situation. Who knows what dirty tricks they might have used, just like you read about online.

Considering his family's circumstances, my parents had only asked for a symbolic dowry of 80 thousand dollars, a gesture of good fortune. But they had prepared a dowry worth millions of dollars for me.

Originally, I had planned to surprise Marco with the dowry during the engagement ceremony. Little did I expect that before I could give him that surprise, I would be shocked myself.

Fine.

Did you want to threaten me into going through with the engagement? Just as you wished.

I handed my phone, with the recording, to my cousin Shane Warner, instructing him to make sure everything was arranged properly.

The engagement ceremony began. The emcee went through all the formalities, and then, as instructed by me, read out the list of my dowry to the entire gathering.

As the long list of houses, cars, shops, and savings was revealed, there was a collective gasp from the guests, followed by murmurs. Some people whispered to each other, saying that Marco was incredibly lucky to have landed such a treasure, winning the lottery and climbing the social ladder overnight.

Marco and his parents' faces shifted from shock to disbelief, and finally to poorly concealed elation.

Sylvia straightened her back as if she had already become a wealthy matriarch.

Marco gripped my hand, trembling with excitement.

"Sweetheart, you are... How can I even begin? You've given me such an amazing surprise. I love you so much. I promise, for the rest of my life, I will cherish you."

I pulled my hand away. "Wait a moment. There's one more surprise."

I took the microphone from the emcee and addressed the crowd. "Hello, everyone. I've prepared another surprise for all of you today. I hope you enjoy it."

I nodded toward Shane, who immediately understood.

The next moment, the entire venue echoed with the recording of Sylvia's vile comments, including how she and her son had bragged about handing me an empty card.

Some people in the audience, always eager for drama, had already begun discreetly raising their phones to record the scene.

Marco's face turned gloomy like he'd just swallowed something disgusting. He rushed over and grabbed my arm, his earlier tenderness gone, replaced by malice.

"Whitney, what are you doing? Do you really want to make such a scene? Stop the recording, now!"

I had no intention of giving in to him. I yanked my hand free.

"Don't try to pull me around. This is your family and friends here. If you have anything to explain, say it now, right in front of them."

The murmuring from the guests grew louder, with various comments.

"Is this guy even a man? Trying to deceive her with an empty card? He can't even afford an 80 thousand dollars dowry. Pathetic."

"Yeah, and the worst part is they're trying to take all her family's money. If they got married, who knows what would happen? I've read stories about families like this. They'll stop at nothing, even ruining the bride's family."

The relatives who had been envious just moments before were now eager to see this engagement fall apart.

There were always some who scorned you when you were poor and feared you when you were rich.

Sylvia couldn't sit still any longer. She jumped to her feet and shouted, "Whitney, what are you doing? Fine! So the dowry was short 80 thousand dollars. I'll make it up to you! But do you have to insult us just because you come from a wealthy family?

"That was just me speaking out of anger. After all, you were so arrogant in our house before!

"Besides, what did I say that was wrong? After all, once you're married, what your parents own belongs to the two of you. So what if I said something about taking your family's inheritance? Don't make it sound so bad."

Then, she dropped to the floor, rolling around and wailing, putting on an exaggerated display of victimhood. She cried about how hard her life had been, how she had always been kind to me, only to be humiliated in public.

I had never seen anyone twist the truth so shamelessly in my life. Even Shane couldn't stand it any longer. He stood up and spoke with biting sarcasm.