Chapter 1

My fiancé, Kevin, handed me a five-dollar AI-generated picture to use as our official wedding photo.

Then, he sent me a split-bill payment request for two dollars and fifty cents.

"We have to be smart with our money," he said. "A photo is just a formality. There's no point in wasting cash on vanity."

Yet just moments earlier, I had seen a receipt for sixty-six thousand dollars in his briefcase.

Paid in full at a luxury photography studio—for his ex, Chloe.

Seeing that I hadn't accepted the request, Kevin sent a barrage of texts.

"Why haven't your parents wired the hundred grand yet? If they can't cough up the cash, I'm charging them by the hour for their chairs at the reception."

Looking at the cold calculations flooding my screen, I couldn't even shed a single tear.

He had no idea that four years ago, in order to pay off the loan sharks chasing him down, my parents had crashed their car during a blizzard and died on impact.

I had worked three jobs just to scrape together enough money to buy their cemetery plots.

For four years, I gave him everything.

In return, I received nothing but cold disrespect and humiliating math.

I folded the twenty-year renewal receipt for their cemetery plots into our gold-embossed wedding invitation and express-couriered it directly to his office.

From this moment on, we were done. In this life, we would never meet again.

"Natalie, are you seriously going to hold out on two dollars and fifty cents?"

Kevin pushed the apartment door open and tossed his jacket onto the coat rack by the entryway.

His sigh sounded weary and put-upon.

"I know you're feeling a little hurt. You think an AI picture isn't as grand as renting out a studio."

He walked over, sat beside me on the couch, and took my hand, gently rubbing his thumb over my knuckles.

"But we're building a life together. Every penny we save now is security for our future family, right?"

I looked down at his long, slender fingers resting over mine.

On his ring finger was the silver band I had bought him years ago for thirty dollars.

"Studios are pretty expensive," I said softly.

"See? I knew you'd understand."

Kevin smiled, his eyes crinkling warmly.

"Those bridal studios are total scams. They charge tens of thousands just to snap a few pictures that end up collecting dust in an attic. Only suckers fall for that."

"So is Chloe a sucker for wanting them for her wedding?"

The smile on Kevin's face stiffened.

It lasted only a fraction of a second before he reached out and casually ruffled my hair.

"Why bring up Chloe out of nowhere? Her family arranged everything. She's got an ego to feed, and she can't help it. Natalie, you're not like her. I love how grounded and sensible you are."

His voice was deep, soft, and soothing—the very picture of a loving, devoted partner.

"Did you talk to your folks about the hundred thousand?"

He let go of my hand, pulled out his phone, and tapped into his budgeting app.

"I ran the numbers for the banquet on the drive home. If their hundred thousand comes through tomorrow morning, I can upgrade the main table to the premium catering package. But if they don't pay up, I can't take a loss. Business is business, even with family."

"And charging them by the hour for their chairs—is that part of your business, too?" I asked.

"Natalie, don't get dramatic."

Kevin frowned, keeping his voice carefully level and controlled.

"The main table sits right in front of the stage. Prime real estate. Breaking down the venue cost per seat is completely standard. I'm not picking on your parents. I just need you to understand that when two people get married, both families have to show real commitment."

"Commitment?"

"You saw how hard I fought to get my startup off the ground these past four years," Kevin sighed, leaning back against the sofa cushions.

"If I hadn't busted my ass day and night, would we be living in this downtown condo right now? Asking your parents for a hundred grand is just a gesture. It's about showing face, proving to my relatives that your side has skin in the game. You can't expect me to shoulder the entire financial burden alone."

I stared at his crisp, immaculately ironed collar and offered a faint smile.

"A hundred thousand really isn't that much."

"There you go. I knew you'd see reason."

Kevin's brow cleared, and he leaned in to wrap his arms around me.

"Now hurry up and send me that two-fifty. My budgeting app is out of balance, and my OCD is driving me crazy."

I pulled out my phone and opened PayPal.

Tapping the screen, I sent him two dollars and fifty cents.

A green checkmark confirmed the transfer.

Satisfied, Kevin accepted the payment. He looked up at me with deep, focused tenderness.

"Natalie, once we're officially married, I'll link an authorized user card to my account for you. Whenever you want to treat yourself to a snack or coffee, it's on me."

He stood up, walking toward his study, then paused at the doorway to look back.

"Make sure your parents wire the money on time tomorrow. They're older, and I know they tend to drag their feet. We can't afford delays."

A sudden draft rattled the door slightly.

I sat frozen in the silence, staring at the empty coffee table, and powered off my phone.

On the edge of the wood was a scratch left behind from when we moved in four years ago.

That year, to scrape together his initial capital, I had lived on plain ramen noodles for three straight months.

I hadn't even dared to splurge on a bottle of sesame oil to flavor the broth.

Inside the study, the sound of Kevin typing on his keyboard drifted out, followed by his low, affectionate chuckles as he recorded a voice memo.

"Chloe, I looked over the raw proofs. That mermaid gown looks stunning on you. That sixty-six thousand was worth every penny."

The light outside slowly faded into dusk. I didn't turn on the lamps.

In the shadowy gloom on the corner of the table, the receipt for an express courier package glowed with a faint, pale sheen.