When Nancy realized that the guests believed her lies, her eyes filled with pride.
"Jessica, hurry up and call the hotel staff. Tell them to bring out the dishes we originally ordered: chicken, fish, seafood, all of it.
"We won't hold this against you. After all, Erick likes you."
I curled my lips slightly. My cheek still stung.
She still wanted seafood? Did she deserve it?
"Sure," I said calmly. "As long as you pay for it, you can eat whatever you want."
Erick seized my arm, anger blazing across his face. "Jessica, do you even have a conscience?"
I let out a sharp, icy laugh and tore myself free. "That's funny. You're the one who doesn't.
"Your mom only gave me 1,000 dollars for the wedding, but told everyone it was 15,000.
"Why should I spend my own money to make your family look good?"
Nancy panicked when I exposed her so directly and shouted at me. "You little liar! What nonsense are you talking about? I gave you 15,000! Don't try to deny it!"
Erick looked at me with disappointment.
"This is my wedding! My mom isn't my enemy, so why would she give you a thousand just to embarrass me?"
The guests nodded, thinking that he made sense.
Even a cheap buffet costs more than 1,000 dollars. How could a hotel wedding be done with that?
They all started criticizing me.
"People get married to build a life together. You got married just to scam your in-laws."
"One wedding and you got 130,000 dollars. Why even work? Just marry someone rich."
Their words felt like knives stabbing into me.
"A woman this cruel deserves consequences."
I did not argue anymore. Instead, I turned on the giant screen in the hall.
The transfer records and chat history Nancy had sent appeared clearly for everyone to see.
…
She had only transferred 1,000 dollars, clearly labeled as wedding preparation money.
Nancy was always like that; she would spend the least to gain the most reputation.
From the first time I met her, she gave me only 100 dollars but told others it was 10,000 to show how much she valued me.
Back then, Erick comforted me. He said his mom was short on money, but did not want others to think they did not value me.
Later, he made up the difference, so I let it go.
However, when it came to the wedding, she went even further.
Every time money was involved, she rushed to transfer a tiny amount, then exaggerated it afterward.
For my wedding dress, she sent 100, then claimed she spent over 10,000.
Then, it was about the wedding fund and the gold jewelry. She either exaggerated the amount or completely made it up.
When I complained, she confidently said, "This is for your reputation. If people knew we gave you 130,000, they'd envy you.
"Our relatives will see how much we value you."
I told Erick about it. He promised to talk to her.
However, after talking, he ended up believing her lies instead.
The guests looked at each other.
"It really is only 1,000 dollars. Nancy, that's not right."
Erick frowned.
Nancy panicked.
"I…I must have transferred the wrong amount! Yes, that's it; I sent the wrong amount!"
Then, she turned and blamed me.
"I clearly transferred 15,000 dollars back then! How could it be just 1,000?
"I'm getting old. My eyesight isn't what it used to be. That's normal. However, why didn't you remind me sooner? Why wait until the wedding to say anything and humiliate me in front of everyone?"
I was just about to pull up another chat record when Erick shot me a look full of disgust.
"Jessica, did you do this on purpose? Are you trying to embarrass my family?
"We already gave you 130,000 dollars for the wedding, and you're still making a scene over my mom transferring the wrong amount. Do you really have to make this so ugly?"
I looked at Erick and felt like I did not even know him anymore.
That gentle, considerate man had changed in an instant into someone blind and completely ruled by his mother.
I let out an icy laugh and looked at both of them.
"Oh, so it was a mistake? Well, the hotel already prepared everything based on the 15,000-dollar menu.
"If you pay the remaining amount now, everyone can still eat."
I had wondered before if Erick had really been fooled just because he trusted his mother too much.
He knew his family's financial situation better than anyone.
They could not even come up with 15,000 in total. How could they possibly afford 130,000 in wedding money for me?
Sure enough, when Nancy heard what I said, her face froze.
However, that idiot Erick was still not satisfied.
"You seriously embarrassed my mom, didn't even say sorry, and now you still expect her to pay?
"Apologize to my mom right now! And you're paying for today's expenses, too! Otherwise, forget about this wedding!
"And that 130,000 dollars? Return every cent of it. A woman like you doesn't deserve a single dollar from our family!"
The moment he said that, Nancy quickly grabbed his arm.
"No, Erick! As long as you can be with the person you love, I don't mind suffering a little."
Erick gently patted the back of her hand, his tone firm and resolute.
"No. You're my mom. If I were to let you suffer, what kind of man would that make me?
"Today, I'm going to stand up for you no matter what!"
Most of the guests were Nancy's relatives, so of course, they took her side.
"Nancy, you're just too kind. Who knows how badly you'll be bullied in the future?"
"Exactly! Erick is doing this for your own good. You can't hold him back."
"Spending 130,000 to marry a wife, only to let your own mother be treated like this? No decent person would do that."
As the situation spiraled further out of control, everyone kept bringing up the wedding money.
Nancy was so flustered that she did not know what to do.
…
Her voice started to tremble, almost breaking into tears as she kept tugging at Erick.
"Erick, it's a happy day. Let's finish the wedding first, and we can talk about this privately later, okay?"
Then, forcing herself, she turned to the guests.
"The banquet… I'm truly sorry for making everyone witness this. I sincerely apologize.
"I hope you can still stay and witness my son's wedding."
Not once did she mention paying the bill.
Erick, frustrated and disappointed, grabbed Nancy's hand tightly.
"Mom! You don't need to be this humble!
"You've raised me all these years. If I let you be wronged because of an outsider, then I'm an unfilial son!
"What's more important, getting married or standing up for you?"
Nancy's heart skipped a beat. No matter how hard she tried, she could not force a smile.
"No, I'm not wronged at all. I'm begging you, please. Let's just finish the wedding first, okay?" Nancy said, her voice pitiful and strained.
Erick refused. He turned to me.
"If you still want to marry into the Jones family, then apologize to my mom and return the 130,000 dollars!"
The Jones family relatives immediately gave him an approving thumbs-up.
"That's right! You only have one mother. If a wife doesn't behave, you can always replace her."
"I seriously don't know what's so special about this Jessica. What makes her think she can demand 130,000 dollars for the wedding?"
"Don't let an outsider break your mother's heart."
The more Erick listened, the more convinced he became.
"Jessica, hurry up and apologize and return the money for the wedding!
"Otherwise, this wedding is off!"
Nancy tried to say something, but her relatives pulled her back. All she could do was look at me with pleading eyes.
I almost laughed. If she dared to do that, why be afraid of getting exposed?
Still, I figured she had learned her lesson.
Erick and I had once shared real love. Even though I had no intention of going through with that wedding anymore, I was willing to leave his family a shred of dignity.
So I said to Erick, "Arguing about this in front of so many people is embarrassing for everyone.
"Let's have the guests leave first. Then, we can sit down and talk it out in private."
However, Erick suddenly raised his hand again, about to slap me.
"Don't even think about it! I've spoiled you too much. That's why you think you can bully my mom like this!
"Today, you will apologize, and you will return the money! Otherwise, I won't let this go!"
Nancy had no choice. She broke free from her relatives and rushed forward, grabbing Erick's arm just in time to stop his hand from hitting my face.
"How about this, Jessica? Just return the card that holds the money for the wedding."
As she spoke, she shot me a meaningful look.
My eyes flickered, but I agreed.
The moment I took out the card and handed it over, Erick snatched it first.
He knew Nancy's ID information and her usual password, so he quickly checked the balance on the app.
Then, he turned the screen toward everyone and let out an icy laugh.
"Jessica, you really have no shame. Out of 130,000 dollars, you're only planning to return 1,300?
"Let me tell you, you will return every single dollar of that 130,000. Otherwise, I'm calling the police!"
At that point, there was no going back. Nancy gave up pretending and said, "Jessica, how could you do this? Just return the full amount. If this ends up at the police station, you'll be the one embarrassed."
I had already given them a chance. They were the ones who refused it. If that was the case, they could not blame me for being ruthless.
I pulled out my phone and dialed the police.
"Fine. Let's call them. Let the police confirm whether I've even spent a single cent from that card!
"Spreading lies and making false accusations can land you in jail, too!"
…
Nancy let out a sharp scream, rushed forward, grabbed my phone, and smashed it to pieces on the ground.
I almost laughed from anger.
"So, you don't want me calling the police? Fine. We can check the bank records. That will prove I'm innocent just the same," I said.
Nancy's eyes darted around, and she suddenly started acting hysterically.
"I'm just a country woman. How would I know anything about bank records? Who knows if you tampered with them in advance?
"I see it clearly now. You just don't like me. Fine, I'll just go and die, okay?"
With that, she ran toward a pillar and slammed her head forward, though she was clever enough to sneak glances at everyone's reactions.
