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.

So, of course, she was stopped before she could actually hit the pillar.

The way Erick looked at me, it felt like he wanted to devour me alive.

Some of the relatives could not help frowning.

"Bank records aren't something an ordinary person can tamper with. Nancy, you're overthinking this."

Nancy struggled free and rushed toward me. She grabbed my arm tightly, her fingers digging in, and lowered her voice as she begged.

"Jessica, I was wrong. This makes me look really bad.

"I swear I'll never lie again. Just help me with this once. Transfer the 130,000 dollars, okay?

"Once this is over, I'll pay you back!"

I shook her off and stepped back.

I was not stupid. That was 130,000 dollars.

Leaving aside whether she would ever pay it back, the moment I transferred the money, it would be like admitting I had taken an outrageous amount of wedding money and deliberately targeted Nancy.

I would be stained for life, with no way to clear my name.

So I said calmly, "I won't transfer a single cent unless you can prove that you actually gave me 130,000 dollars for the wedding."

Erick, as if something had snapped in his brain, kept saying things that made no sense. "Jessica, my mom would never lie to me. If she says she gave you 130,000, then it must be that amount!

"She's just a simple woman from the countryside. She wouldn't understand all these tricks, and she'd never imagined you could be this vicious. Why would she think to keep any evidence?"

Quite a few relatives nodded in agreement.

"Jessica, just return the money. Nancy is trying to protect you by stopping you from calling the police. If this turns into a fraud case, you'll go to jail!"

"Did you spend it all already? Is that why you can't return it? Then, at least write an IOU."

"If you're that desperate for money, go earn it honestly. Why scam decent people?"

They surrounded me, pressing in from all sides, completely unreasonable.

Of course. They were Erick's relatives. Who else would they side with?

I looked straight at them and said, "I was only given 1,300 dollars. I will not return any of the so-called 130,000.

"Check the bank records or call the police. I'll go along with either."

Suddenly, Erick kicked me to the ground.

A sharp, piercing pain shot through me. My face went pale, and my body curled instinctively.

A warm sensation spread beneath me.

I was just about to check what it was when Erick grabbed my hair again and slapped me across the face.

"Jessica, I must have been blind to fall for someone as vicious as you!

"From the very beginning, you were only with me for my family's money, weren't you?"

The pain in my abdomen twisted like a knife, over and over, until my whole body trembled.

Blood spread beneath me, staining my white wedding dress.

My child…was gone because of Erick's kick.

That realization wiped away the last trace of feeling I had left for him.

He knew I was pregnant…

Struggling, I reached into his pocket and yanked out his phone.

Then, I bit down hard on his wrist. When he cried out in pain, I shoved him away and quickly pulled up the bank records.

My eyes burned red as I shouted at everyone.

"Look carefully! From the start, this card has never had more than 1,500 dollars in it!"