Chapter 1

On our wedding day, the $50,000 cash gift my parents gave us for a house down payment went missing.

I tore apart the entire bridal suite looking for it, frantic with worry.

My new husband, Tyler, sat on the couch, scratching his head with guilt. After squirming for ages, he finally mumbled that he had taken the money to buy a new car for his sister, Mia.

"Come on, we’re already legally married anyway. What's wrong with pooling our money together?"

"Mia needs a decent car for work, or she’ll look bad in front of her coworkers. As her sister-in-law, shouldn't you help her out?"

He even thought I was making a mountain out of a molehill, patting my hand to calm me down.

"We're family now. Don't be so petty. I'll pay you back once I make more money later."

He sounded so righteous when he said it.

As if my $50,000 was naturally meant to buy his sister bragging rights.

I turned around, swept every single envelope of wedding cash off the dresser straight into my purse, and handed it directly to my younger brother, Liam, who had just walked through the door—right in front of a room full of guests.

"We’re already legally married anyway. What's wrong with pooling our money together?" I echoed coldly.

"Liam will need to buy a house when he gets married one day so he won't look bad. As his brother-in-law, shouldn't you help him out?"

Tyler sprang off the couch like a launched rocket, grabbing my wrist in a vice grip.

"Chloe, what the hell are you doing?!"

His voice boomed so loud the entire floor could hear him. His grip was brutal, pinching the bone of my wrist.

"Are you seriously throwing a tantrum over $50,000? Do you really have to humiliate me in front of all these people?"

I stared back, articulating every single word.

"Didn't you just say family shouldn't keep score?"

"What, are you saying we aren't family?"

"Fine then. Give my $50,000 back."

Tyler froze for a second, then let out a scoffing laugh. He let go of my wrist and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Fifty thousand? I can make that in a year."

"Chloe, why are you so materialistic? We just got married and you’re already drawing lines between yours and mine. How are we supposed to build a life together?"

I almost laughed in his face.

Make fifty grand in a year?

He took home barely three thousand a month. Even if he starved himself and didn't spend a dime, it would take him years to save that much.

"You make three grand a month. Where on earth are you going to get fifty thousand?"

I pinned him with my gaze.

Tyler's mouth opened and closed, completely at a loss for words.

Beside him, his precious sister Mia was lounging on our wedding bed with her legs crossed. She was glued to her brand-new phone, not giving a single damn about the commotion.

Ignoring Tyler, I turned back and swept the remaining cash on the vanity into my bag.

Tyler panicked, lunging forward to snatch it.

"That wedding money is mine! Most of the guests here are my relatives!"

"Well, I'm not giving it to outsiders either," I snapped, tucking the bag behind me and taking two steps back.

Choked with rage, Tyler pointed a trembling finger at me.

"Are you picking a fight with me on our wedding day?"

I looked at him coldly.

"Give back that fifty thousand, and we can move past this."

That money was scraped together by my parents, penny by penny.

It was supposed to be our down payment for a two-bedroom apartment so Tyler and I could live on our own.

We had agreed on this long before the wedding.

Yet behind my back, he handed it straight to his sister.

I took a deep breath, suppressing the burning rage in my chest.

"You gave my housing fund to Mia. How are we supposed to buy a home now?"

Tyler waved his hand dismissively, acting as if it wasn't even worth discussing.

"We can just live with my parents for now. It’s not like they don’t have an extra room."

I stared at him in disbelief.

"We agreed before we signed the papers—just the two of us."

"Did he ever agree to that?"

A shrill voice cut in from the doorway.

Tyler's mother, Brenda, walked in holding a fruit platter. She had that smug, mocking look plastered all over her face. She slammed the platter onto the table and rested her hands on her hips.

"Chloe, now that you've married into our family, you're one of us. What's wrong with living together? Isn't that what families do?"

"What, looking down on our house because it's too small for you?"

She shot me a dirty look, the corners of her mouth pulling down in disgust.

"Besides, I should be asking you: your brother doesn't belong to this household anymore. What do you mean by handing our money to an outsider?"