Chapter 3

Halfway through her sentence, she spotted Liam behind me, saw my empty hands, and her expression instantly shifted.

"What happened?"

Standing in the entryway, looking at my mom's graying hair and my dad poking his head out of the study, a wave of tears stung my eyes.

But I choked them back.

I told them everything, start to finish.

When I got to the part where Tyler transferred the fifty thousand to his sister, my mom slammed her hand against the table with a loud crack, making the teacup jump.

"That shameless scoundrel!"

My dad stormed out of the study, his face turning dark purple with fury. His lips trembled for several seconds before he could squeeze out the words.

"That was our life savings! Who gave him the right to just hand it away?!"

"What does he think our family is? An ATM?!"

Tears welled up in my mom's eyes. She grabbed my hands, checking them over and over.

"I told you not to marry him! You insisted! Fifty grand wasn't even enough for them? Do they think we're rich, or do they just think our daughter is an easy target to push around?!"

Liam stood beside us, his knuckles cracking as his fists clenched tight.

"Dad, Mom, let's go get that money back right now. This marriage is over."

My mom wiped her tears, shot to her feet, and marched into the bedroom to change.

"Let's go! Right this second! I want to see what kind of nerve that family has!"

My dad went to grab his coat, moving three times faster than he usually did.

Ten minutes later, the four of us stood at Tyler's parents' front door.

The door wasn't locked. The living room was still filled with wedding guests who hadn't left yet.

Brenda was carrying dishes to the dining table. Seeing our entire family standing in the doorway, she nearly dropped the plate in her hands.

"What... what is all this?"

A fake smile strained across her face, but panic flashed through her eyes.

My mom didn't give her a chance for pleasantries. She cut straight to the chase.

"The wedding is off. Return our daughter's fifty thousand dollars."

The living room went dead silent.

Every single pair of eyes snapped toward us.

Tyler came bursting out of the bedroom, his hair disheveled, looking like he'd just been punched in the gut.

"Chloe, you brought your parents here? Are you seriously doing this?!"

"Yes, I am," I looked him dead in the eye. "Give the fifty thousand back."

Before the words fully landed, Mia poked her head out from her room, dangling a car key from her fingers.

Seeing the crowd, she didn't look scared at all. Instead, she rolled her eyes.

"Return what? The money is already spent on the car! The paperwork is signed!"

"It's a brand-new car. I picked it up this morning. What are you gonna do, return it?"

She jangled the keys deliberately, looking like she was enjoying provoking us.

My mom was shaking with rage, pointing a finger at her.

"You little brat! That is our hard-earned money! Don't you have a shred of conscience taking it?!"

"What do you mean, your money?"

Brenda whipped off her apron, tossed it onto the couch, and charged up with her hands on her hips.

"Chloe married my son, so that fifty thousand belongs to our family now! That's how marriage works!"

"If you want to back out of the wedding, fine! Return the fifteen thousand dollars we contributed toward the wedding, and we won't complain!"

She was talking about the fifteen thousand dollars Tyler's family had put down for the venue.

Swapping fifty thousand for fifteen thousand—she sure knew how to run the numbers in her favor.

My dad took a step forward. His voice was low, but every syllable carried the weight of iron.

"How marriage works? Let me tell you how the law works. That fifty thousand was given to my daughter, not yours."

"Your son took fifty thousand dollars without asking my daughter's permission. That is called theft."