My boyfriend, Fredric Noble, gave me a betrothal gift of 40,000 dollars before we got married, but as soon as the wedding started, my mother-in-law asked me to return it on the ground, saying that my father-in-law was sick.
I handed the card over with a smile, without any reluctance.
In my previous life, I could not get over this and refused to hand over the money, but was accused of being ignorant.
My mother was also accused of selling her daughter because she spoke up for me.
My boyfriend broke off the engagement in public and rebuked me, “Children raised in single-parent families are cold-blooded.”
Amid the ridicule of the crowd, my mother had a stroke and fell to the ground and I was labeled a “gold digger."
I was so angry that I dropped the card and left, but my boyfriend's family called reporters and blocked my mother's operating room, scolded me for cheating them.
My mother died tragically on her hospital bed and I was so angry that I died together with my boyfriend.
When I opened my eyes again, I was back at the wedding scene. In this life, my boyfriend asked for the betrothal gift back in public and everyone praised me for being sensible.
A few days later, my boyfriend was thrown into jail.
——
“I wish the bride and groom a happy marriage!”
Amid the sounds of blessings, I woke up as if from a nightmare, my heart pounding.
The pain from my past life was still lingering and I took a deep breath to steady myself.
“Leta, what's wrong with you? Are you feeling uncomfortable?”
After hearing Fredric's concerned voice, I suddenly felt nauseous.
Who would have thought that someone who cared so much about me would end up pointing at my nose and calling me a gold digger?
I shook my head to indicate that I was fine and took out the gift card he gave me.
“Fredric, I thought about it yesterday. I've always been extravagant with my money, so I'll leave the betrothal money with you!”
I deliberately spoke very loudly and sure enough, I attracted the attention of a group of guests.
I handed the card to Fredric in public, intending to get this done before my mother showed up.
But unexpectedly, when the wedding was halfway through, Fredric’s mother rushed onto the stage again.
She angrily threw the card in front of me, covered her chest and pointed at me breathlessly.
“Leta, what do you mean? My family clearly gave you 40,000 dollars as a betrothal gift, so how come there is only 4 dollars in the card?
“Your father-in-law is still lying in bed. Hurry up and hand over the money! This is your father-in-law's medical treatment money.
“We are all a family from now on, so don't play such tricks.”
Faced with my mother-in-law's accusations, I was stunned for a moment and then I suddenly understood that this was what Fredric's family was planning.
Fredric and I met in college. He was gentle and considerate and everything about him was good except his family background.
Because I took his self-esteem into consideration, I never asked him for a penny when we were in love and even for the betrothal gift, I only asked for 1,500 dollars.
Fredric took the initiative to offer me 40,000 dollars, saying that it was compensation for my efforts over the years.
But then it seemed that he probably only gave me 40,000 dollars from the beginning, but deceived me into giving him 40,000 dollars later.
I was speechless for a while, pointing at the card and said, “I haven't touched this card since Fredric gave it to me. You should ask your son about the money missing from it, not me!”
After saying that, I deliberately glanced at Fredric and sure enough, his face was full of panic.
But my mother-in-law refused to give in.
She held my arm tightly, digging her nails into my flesh through my clothes and sneered, “You are talking nonsense! You must have transferred the money away, right? My son clearly gave you 40,000 dollars.
“Hand over the money quickly, or this wedding won't happen. Your father-in-law is still lying in bed, how could you bear it?”
The noise she made on the stage finally attracted everyone's attention and the guests began to whisper.
My face turned pale and I subconsciously looked at my mother in the audience, afraid that she would have a stroke because of these rumors, just like in her previous life.
Although I already knew what kind of person Fredric was. But, because of our relationship over the years, I still habitually pulled on the corner of Fredric's clothes, wanting to ask him for help.
Fredric took a step back, leaving my hands hanging helplessly.
He was no longer as gentle as usual and his eyes were as cold as ice.
“Leta, be sensible and hand over the money first. My dad is really sick. I will give you back the money later.
“I know you want to use the betrothal money to prove your position in my heart, but 40,000 dollars is really too much. How about you deduct 12,000 dollars from it as your betrothal money?”
He said this as if it was me who forced him to give me so much dowry.
As expected, many guests were led astray by him and blamed me.
“Leta, 12,000 dollars is already a lot of money. This is the standard for marrying off daughters in our village. There is really no need for you to ask the Noble Family for so much money.”
“Yeah, who would ask someone for 40,000 dollars just for no reason? Are you trying to drain all of their savings?”
“Oh, you don't know this yet, but now there is a kind of people called "gold diggers” who cheat the bride price under the name of marriage and then run away.”
“That's enough! What nonsense are you talking about?!” My mother was so angry that she stood up, pushed my mother-in-law away and stood in front of me.
“At the beginning, my daughter only wanted a betrothal gift of 1,500 dollars. Didn't your family raise the betrothal gift to 40,000 dollars? Even if it is a sky-high betrothal gift, it was your family who proposed it.
“Besides, if you go around the streets and ask around, who would ask for the betrothal gift back on the wedding day?!”
As soon as these words were spoken, the noises around suddenly became quieter. After all, what the mother-in-law did was indeed not fair.
Seeing that public opinion was not in their favor, Fredric fell to her knees in front of my mother.
“Mother-in-law, I know that our family has let Leta down, but my father is lying in the hospital bed right now. I can do anything you ask me to do, but I just ask you to ask Leta to return the money to me first.”
My mother was so angry that she covered her chest and gasped for breath.
I quickly patted her on the back to help her calm down.
“Fredric, stop talking.”
Fredric seemed to be encouraged by my mother's painful expression and said to me, “Leta, you have your own little thoughts when you are in love, I will tolerate you, but marriage is a matter of two families, you can't ignore my father's life and death.
“I know you grew up in a single-parent family and have never experienced fatherly love, but I promise that as long as you are willing to take out the money to save my dad, my dad will definitely treat you as his own daughter in the future.
“Leta, consider this as a plea from me.”
Fredric became more and more excited as he spoke. He was sure that I did not want to see my mother suffer and wanted to force me to give him money in this way.
However, just as he took a step forward and was about to say something else, a shrill siren suddenly sounded outside the door.
Fredric's face changed. He asked in panic, “You, why did you call the police?”
I supported my mother and looked at him coldly.
“Shouldn't we call the police if we lose such a large sum of money? Or, Fredric, what are you afraid of?”
“How dare you talk like that? My son has nothing to be afraid of. You are a gold digger and you dare to call the police. I think you will not cry until you see the coffin.
“Police officer, I have evidence to prove that she was the one who stole my family's money.”
My mother-in-law was furious and handed the phone to the police before I did and she deliberately looked at us with a mocking look.
Looking at the smug look on my mother-in-law's face, my mother and I looked at each other, both of us with confusion in our eyes, wondering what the so-called evidence my mother-in-law was talking about was.
“Ms. Day, please take a look at this first.”
The police frowned and showed me a screenshot, which clearly showed that the balance in the card was indeed 4 dollars.
What is going on?
Could it be that someone really touched this card?
Before I could explain, my mother-in-law sat down on the ground, slapping her hands and crying.
“Everyone, come and take a look. This is the life savings of my husband and I. We spent it all on marrying Leta and now she won't acknowledge it.
“My husband is lying in bed. At worst, we can just not get married. Just return the money and let my husband get treatment.
“My poor son, how could you be so foolish as to be fooled by this vixen?!”
Fredric's face was also filled with tears as he helped his mother to stand up. “Mom, please stop talking. I was wrong.”
The two of them sang the same tune and wanted to put the blame on me.
My mother nervously pulled my hand, afraid that I would really be accused of this crime.
I smiled at her soothingly and replied firmly, “Comrade police, a picture cannot be counted as evidence. I can edit a screenshot like this to show any balance I want. If you really want to know how much money was originally in this card, you should check the bank statement.”
Before the police said anything, Fredric had a humiliated expression on his face and looked at me with great sorrow. “Enough! Leta, is money really more important than me in your eyes?
“Even if you check the bank records, you will only find that I gave you 40,000 dollars as a betrothal gift.
“Leta, I always thought you were a very good girl. If you really made a mistake because of momentary confusion, it doesn't matter.
“As long as you are willing to return the money, I can forgive you.” He said this with such sincerity, as if I had really done something to let him down.
I was almost amused by this person's shamelessness. There was no point in talking if he did not agree with me.
I ignored his shouting and urged the police to check the bank transaction records. After all, I could not wait to see this shameless mother and son get slapped in the face.
When the bank transaction records were retrieved, I was dumbfounded.
The first income on this card was actually 40,000 dollars. However, after a few days, most of the money was transferred away, leaving only a ridiculous 4 dollars.
What was going on?
Did I really wrongly accuse Fredric?
But whether in the previous life or this life, I could be sure that I had never seen the 40,000 dollars, let alone taken the money out.
“Oh! What else do you have to say now?”
Seeing that the situation was in her favor, Fredric’s mother immediately jumped up and down, showing off her ability as a villain to the fullest.
She waved the transaction record exaggeratedly, wishing she could project it onto the big screen for every guest to see.
“My son really gave her 40,000 dollars as a betrothal gift, but this little bitch just refused to admit it. Now she's been slapped in the face!
“Everyone has seen it. She is acting in concert with her mother to defraud me of my life-saving money. She even had the nerve to call the police. She is really the thief crying thief!
“I checked online and found that the law supports the man in recovering the betrothal gift. There have been cases in which the woman was sentenced for refusing to return the money. Leta, you'd better return the money right now, or we'll send you to jail now!”
