Hearing that someone actually believed her nonsense, Emerald’s eyes gleamed with satisfaction.

“Jonathan, hurry up and contact the hotel staff. Ask them to bring out the food we originally ordered. Have them serve all the good food they have.

“We won’t hold this against you. After all, Amelia loves you.”

The muscle in my cheek twitched, although I forced a smile.

“Does she even deserve to enjoy all that good food?” I thought.

“Sure. As long as you pay the bill, you can eat whatever you want.”

Amelia dug her nails into my arm, and her face was filled with fury.

“Jonathan, have you lost your conscience?”

I smirked and pried her hand off.

“I think you’re one who’s lost yours!”

“Your mom only gave me 1,000 dollars for the banquet, yet she told everyone it was 100,000 dollars.

“Why should I pay out of pocket just to protect your family’s dignity?”

When Emerald saw me blurting out everything, she panicked and shouted at me, “What nonsense are you spouting, you jerk?! I really did give you 100,000 dollars. Don’t even think about denying it!”

Amelia looked at me with disappointment.

“This is my wedding, and my mom isn’t my enemy. Why would she give you only 1,000 dollars for the banquet to embarrass me?”

The guests thought she made a good point.

A proper feast for a family of four or five already cost around 1,000 dollars. How could anyone host a wedding banquet with that amount?

The guests criticized me again, “People get married to build a life together. You got married just to scheme against your mother-in-law, didn’t you?”

“If everyone could get a million dollars just by getting married, why bother working? They might as well get money by taking a wife.”

Their gazes were as sharp as blades that could kill.

“A man as wicked and cunning as you would’ve been beaten to death back in the old days.”

I did not bother arguing with them anymore. Instead, I walked over and turned on the giant screen in the banquet hall.

Everyone could see the record of Emerald’s transfer to my bank account as well as our chat history.

It was a fact that she had given me only 1,000 dollars for the wedding banquet.

Emerald was the kind of person who wanted to spend the least but earn the most praise.

The very first time I met her, she had deliberately given me 101 dollars.

However, she went around telling people she had given me 10,001 dollars as a show of respect for me.

At that time, Amelia comforted me and told me that her mother was short of cash. She did not want others to think that they did not take me seriously.

Later, she made up the difference, so I let it go.

However, when it came time to discuss marriage, Emerald’s behavior only worsened.

Whenever money was involved, she would quickly transfer money to my bank account.

When I bought my wedding suit, she only transferred 100 dollars, but she told everyone that she had spent over 10,000 dollars on it for me.

After that, she exaggerated the money spent for my wedding gift and car. She made everything up.

I complained about it a few times, but she said matter-of-factly, “I’m just making you look good. If they hear that your wedding gift’s worth 880,000 dollars, they’ll be so jealous.

“Our relatives will also see that we respect you, and they won’t look down on you.”

I told Amelia about it, and she promised she would talk things through with Emerald.

However, she ended up believing her mother’s lies instead.

The guests exchanged looks in shock.

“Mrs. Jones, it clearly shows a transfer of 1,000 dollars to his bank account. That’s very dishonest of you.”

Amelia frowned, while Emerald panicked.

“I-I must have transferred the wrong amount of money to his bank account. Yes, that’s it! I sent the wrong amount to him.”

Then, she put the blame on me. “I clearly transferred 100,000 dollars to your bank account at that time. How could it be just 1,000 dollars?

“I’m old. It’s only normal that I can’t see things clearly at this age. Why didn’t you say anything at that time? Why did you have to wait and bring it up at the wedding? Why do you have to embarrass me at a time like this?”

I was about to show another chat record when Amelia shot me a look of disgust.

“Jonathan, are you doing this on purpose to embarrass us?

“We’ve given you a wedding gift that’s worth 880,000 dollars. Why are you making such a big fuss simply because my mother made a mistake transferring the money?”

Looking at Amelia, she felt like a complete stranger to me.

I knew her as a gentle and considerate woman. At this moment, she blindly sided with her mother.

I stared at the duo and said in a mocking tone, “So, it’s a mistake, huh? Actually, the hotel staff already prepared the food worth 100,000 dollars, which we had agreed upon earlier.

“If you settle the bill now, everyone can still enjoy a feast.”

Honestly, I doubted if Amelia had been fooled simply because she trusted her mother too much.

She knew her family’s financial situation better than anyone.

If they could not even come up with 100,000 dollars, how could they possibly afford a wedding gift that was worth 880,000 dollars for me?

Sure enough, when Emerald heard my words, she froze.

Amelia was still as foolish as ever and unhappy with me.

“You’ve embarrassed my mother and haven’t apologized to her yet. How can you still expect her to pay the bill?

“Apologize to my mother now. Also, you’re paying for the banquet. Otherwise, don’t even think about going through with the wedding!

“As for that 880,000-dollar wedding gift, return it to me. A man like you doesn’t deserve a single penny from us!”

At her last sentence, Emerald quickly grabbed her arm.

“Don’t do that! Amelia, I don’t mind suffering a little grievance as long as you can be with the man you love.”

Amelia’s heart hurt for Emerald as she patted the back of her hand. She firmly said, “No way! You’re my mother. I wouldn’t be a worthy daughter if I allowed you to suffer such grievances!

“I have to make him pay for this!”

The guests were Emerald’s relatives, so they naturally spoke up for her. “Mrs. Jones, you’re too kind. You’ll be taken advantage of again in the future.”

“That’s right. Amelia’s doing this for your sake. You shouldn’t stop her.”

“No one would spend 880,000 dollars on a wedding gift and marry a man only to cause her mother pain.”

As the farce escalated and everyone harped on the wedding gift, Emerald appeared to be at a loss.

Her voice trembled as she tearfully tugged at Amelia. “Amelia, this is a happy occasion. Let’s get through the wedding first. We can talk about this privately later, okay?”

After that, she looked like she was fighting back her embarrassment while saying to the guests, “I’m sorry for making a scene. As an apology, we’ll return everyone’s gifts.

“I just hope that you’ll still stick around and witness Amelia’s wedding.”

Emerald avoided mentioning paying for the feast or having the food served.

Meanwhile, Amelia was frustrated that her mother would not stand up for herself. She grabbed Emerald’s hand.

“Mom, you don’t need to be so humble!

“You raised me all these years. I’d be an ungrateful daughter if I allowed an outsider to offend you!

“Between getting married and doing what’s right, which one do you think is more important to me?”

Emerald’s heart skipped a beat, but she could not force a smile.

“No. I’m not offended at all. I beg you. Please go through with the wedding first, okay?”

Amelia did not listen to Emerald. Instead, she turned to me.

“If you still want to marry me, apologize to my mother. Also, you need to return the wedding gift to us!”

Emerald’s relatives gave her an approving thumbs-up.

“That’s right. You only have one mother. If your husband doesn’t behave himself, you can always remarry.”

“I wonder what makes Jonathan think he’s so special that he’s worth an 880,000-dollar wedding gift.”

“Don’t let an outsider break your mother’s heart.”

The more Amelia heard statements like this from the guests, the more convinced she became.

“Jonathan, apologize and return the wedding gift now!

“Otherwise, I’ll call off our wedding!”

Emerald tried to say something, but her relatives pulled her back.

All she could do was look at me with pleading eyes.

I almost found it amusing. If she had the nerve to do all this, why the need to be scared of the truth?

I figured she had learned her lesson this time.

Amelia and I had shared moments of genuine affection before. Even though I no longer planned on going through with this wedding either, I wanted to show her family some dignity.

Hence, I said to Amelia, “Arguing about this in front of so many people is really embarrassing. We can ask everyone to leave first. Then, we’ll talk things through in private.”

To my surprise, she was about to slap me across the face again.

“Don’t even think about it! I’ve given in to your whims so much that you think you can mistreat my mother so willfully!

“You’re apologizing to her today no matter what. You also need to return the wedding gift to us, or else, I won’t let this go!”

Emerald stopped holding back and broke free of her relatives’ grasp. She charged at Amelia and grabbed her hand just in time to stop her from slapping me.

“Jonathan, why don’t you transfer the money for the wedding gift to me instead?” While saying this, she gave me a subtle wink.

Amusement flashed in my eyes, and I agreed.

The moment I opened the bank account on my phone, Amelia grabbed it.

She knew my ID and password, so she quickly checked the balance through the application.

After that, she showed everyone the balance.

She smirked. “Jonathan, how shameless of you! You only want to return 8,800 dollars to us when you’ve already received a wedding gift that’s worth 880,000 dollars.

“Let me tell you this. You’re returning all 880,000 dollars to us, not a penny less. If not, I’ll call the police.”

The situation came to a point of no return. Emerald gave up on trying to control things and said, “Jonathan, how could you do this? Just give us back 880,000 dollars. Taking this to the police would make you look bad, right?”

I had already given them a chance, but they failed to appreciate it. Fine. They could not blame me for not showing them mercy anymore.

I took out my phone and called the police.

“Fine. I’ll call the police, then. Let them confirm if I’ve spent any of this money at all.

“Spreading lies and defaming someone can get you jailed!” Emerald screamed in a high-pitched voice. She charged at me and smashed my phone.

I was so angry that I laughed.

“You’re not letting me call the police. Fine. The bank statement can prove my innocence just as well.”

Emerald’s calm facade shattered, and she started to throw a fit.

“I’m just a country bumpkin! How am I supposed to know what a bank statement is?! Who knows if you’ve tampered with it?!

“I get it now. You hate me. Fine. I’ll take my own life right now!”

Right after that, Emerald slammed her head against the pillar. She was scheming because she sneaked glances at everyone’s reaction before doing it.