In my previous life, the night before the wedding, Hale didn't return home.
It wasn't until four in the morning that he came back, reeking of alcohol.
When asked, he claimed he was helping his sister and had accidentally fallen asleep after having a few drinks.
Now, it seemed likely that it had something to do with Eden.
I gave her a call.
"Hello, honey, what's up?"
The moment I heard her voice, I felt a wave of nausea.
Her voice was sickly sweet, something I used to love in my previous life. How could I have ever liked it?
Suppressing the urge to vomit, I asked her.
"Darling, how's the setup on your end? Do you need any help?"
She refused repeatedly, "No, no, no need. In our hometown, it's tradition for the bride and groom not to meet before the wedding. Stay put and don't come over. We have enough people here. Love you!"
After saying that, she hung up quickly.
We began analyzing the situation.
Her hometown wasn't far from the city, only about a half-hour drive.
Eden didn't like the idea of getting married in the village, so she had me book two five-star hotel rooms, supposedly for her and her bridesmaids.
She didn't have many friends, just the two bridesmaids.
So two rooms seemed a bit extravagant.
Seeing my face grow darker, Dick volunteered to go and observe secretly.
There wasn't much else we could do.
After Dick left, I received a call from Eden's mother.
"Daniel, there's a change of plans, and I need to tell you in advance!"
I was taken aback and put her on speaker.
"Sure, go ahead, Auntie."
"Well, two buses might not be enough. Hurry and get another one. The whole village is coming, and many people from Eden's grandmother's side are also attending."
"And tomorrow, we've arranged for twelve people to block the door. Prepare a red envelope with 666 dollars for each. It's a good omen and looks impressive!"
"Oh, and prepare a big red envelope with 10,000 dollars for the master who matched your horoscopes and chose the auspicious date. We owe him thanks. Without his approval, we wouldn't be willing to let our daughter marry you!"
John silently cursed beside me, calling them shameless.
A plan suddenly formed in my mind.
They cared about appearances, right? Tomorrow, I'd make sure their entire family lost face!
Suppressing my anger, I replied as gently as possible.
"Okay, Mom, I understand. Is there anything else?"
"Yes, tomorrow you must have your parents give Eden a 50,000 dollars fee to change her form of address. Our precious daughter will be part of your family, so you must show enough respect!"
"And add Eden's name to the title deed of your house as soon as possible. Make sure it's notarized to give her half. Our daughter can't afford to gamble. Marrying you and bearing children is a matter of life and death!"
I sneered and agreed.
After hanging up, John burst out cursing.
"Are they out of their minds? How dare they increase demands at the last minute? Didn't you already pay a dowry of 200,000 dollars?!"
Yes, my parents had exhausted their life savings to buy a new house, and the dowry and banquet money equaled my annual salary.
I could afford the additional demands from her mother since my small internet company was doing well, having saved over 600,000 dollars in two years.
Half of this money was meant for the wedding, and I planned to let my parents keep the rest for emergencies.
After all, they were getting old and didn't earn much.
Eden's mother agreed to our marriage because she saw me as a potential success.
Moreover, during our two-year relationship, I often brought expensive gifts to her home.
All just because Eden's mother wanted to show off to the widow next door.
The widow's son-in-law often parked his BMW in front of Eden's house, and whenever Eden's mother asked him to move it, the widow would mock her for not being able to afford such a car.
The two often quarreled, forming a deep grudge.
With my frequent gifts worth tens of thousands, Eden's mother had regained some face.
Unfortunately, that face would be lost entirely tomorrow.
Knowing the wedding would definitely not happen, I felt at ease.
I even went back to sleep.
Around eight or nine in the evening, Dick's call woke me.
"Daniel, check your Twitter!"
Rubbing my eyes, I opened my phone and instantly woke up.
Dick had sent a video.
In the dimly lit private room of a restaurant, Eden was toasting with Hale and his sister.
"Congratulations on your wedding, Eden! Goodbye to single life!"
They clinked glasses and drank in one go. Hale's eyes were red, seemingly upset.
Lillian sighed.
"Hale, you need to let the past go. If it weren't for Daniel, you and Eden wouldn't have met again. It's just fate."
Eden's thoughts seemed to drift upon hearing this. She sighed and said.
"Yes. Who would have thought my high school first love would end up being my boyfriend's good friend."
Hearing this, Hale downed another glass, his face showing bitterness.
"If it weren't for your parents' disapproval, we should be together now!"
"They just think I'm not as successful as Daniel. I've tried my best. Why couldn't you wait for me?"
I was stunned.
So they knew each other even before I did. They had been together since high school!
"With only us three here, I'll be honest. Hale, you understand me better than Daniel. I haven't completely forgotten our past, but Daniel treats me very well, and my parents prefer him, so please, forget me! After today, we're just normal friends."
This seemed to hurt Hale. He downed another glass of wine, looking even more bitter.
Lillian patted his back, sighing.
"I also hoped you'd become my sister-in-law, Eden. But since you're marrying Daniel, you should avoid getting too close to my brother. You should avoid suspicion."
"Avoid what? We've known each other much longer than she has known Daniel! Why should we avoid each other?!"
Hale seemed drunk and yelled angrily.
A flicker of pain crossed Eden's face, and she asked Lillian to leave the room for a moment.
Lillian sighed, shook her head, and walked out.
The camera shook, and the door quickly closed.
The screen went black, as if the phone had been put in a pocket.
