Chapter 2

At ten PM, the bridal suite was so quiet I could only hear the ticking of the wall clock.

I sat on the sofa, checking the number of USB drives in tomorrow's wedding favors.

One hundred and twenty drives. Each one contained Sophia's "highlight reel" from the past three years.

My phone suddenly vibrated. It was Sophia's mother, Margaret, calling.

I pressed answer and put it on speaker.

"Ethan, are you asleep yet?"

Her voice carried the calculating shrewdness of a penny-pincher.

"Not yet. What's up?"

"Here's the thing — I was just thinking, three hundred thousand isn't going to be enough."

My fingers stopped typing on the keyboard.

"Didn't we agree the wedding would cost three hundred thousand?"

Margaret snorted coldly on the other end.

"That was before. Prices are rising so fast now, and Sophia's brother is getting married next year. He needs to buy a car worth five hundred thousand. If you don't have the five hundred thousand ready tomorrow as a wedding gift to our family, don't even think about marrying my daughter!"

I heard Sophia's voice on the other end. She was clearly standing next to her mother.

"Margaret, why are you explaining so much to him? If he can't come up with this money, we're calling off the wedding."

She came closer to the phone, her tone dripping with manipulation.

"Ethan, let me tell you — men chasing after me could line up from one end of the street to the other."

"Benjamin offered to buy me a Porsche yesterday. If I wasn't being loyal to you, do you think you'd have a chance to marry me?"

I listened to this mother-daughter duo's performance, mockery flickering in my eyes.

That Benjamin — forty-five years old, balding with a beer belly, owner of a building materials company.

The only reason Sophia didn't marry Benjamin was because he had a wife. She could only be his mistress in the shadows.

And me? I was the honest sucker she'd carefully selected.

"Five hundred thousand is a bit difficult." I deliberately slowed my speech, pretending to be troubled. "I don't have that much cash on hand."

Margaret immediately panicked, her voice rising an octave.

"What do you mean you don't have it? You still haven't transferred that downtown apartment to Sophia, have you?"

"Just go get a mortgage loan! I don't care how you do it — if I don't see five hundred thousand tomorrow, there's no wedding!"

I looked at the hotel records of Sophia and Benjamin on my computer screen, a cold smile tugging at my lips.

"Margaret, there's no way I can get a loan processed in time."

I paused, then dangled the bait.

"How about this — tomorrow, in front of all the relatives, I'll write you an IOU for five hundred thousand with my personal signature. It'll have legal validity. Would that work?"

Silence on the other end for a few seconds.

Margaret seemed to be discussing it with Sophia.

A moment later, her voice came back, tinged with satisfaction.

"At least you know what's good for you. An IOU works, but it has to state payment within one month, or I'll make a scene at your company!"

"No problem." I agreed unusually readily.

"But Margaret, tomorrow's wedding is Sophia's big day. You and her brother need to arrive early, right? And you've notified all the relatives and friends?"

"You think I need you to tell me that? Our family's relatives are taking two charter buses tomorrow. It's going to be lively."

Afraid I'd back out, Margaret added a few more reminders before hanging up.

I looked at the darkened phone screen and saved the call recording, renaming it "Extortion Evidence — Backup."

Just then, a SnapChat message from Sophia came through.

It was a voice message.

I clicked it. What came out wasn't Sophia's voice, but a middle-aged man's greasy panting.

"Baby, tomorrow's your wedding day. Won't you come out and have one last wild night with me tonight?"

Then came Sophia's coquettish laughter.

"Oh stop it, Benjamin~ I have to get up early tomorrow for makeup. After I get back from the honeymoon, I'll make it up to you properly~"

The voice message existed for only two seconds before being quickly recalled.

Immediately after, Sophia sent a text message.

"Honey, I accidentally sent the wrong message. That was a client from my work group joking around. Don't overthink it."

I stared at those words, almost able to see her smug face on the other end.

She knew I was "honest." She knew I was "head over heels for her." So even her lies were this perfunctory.

I didn't call her out. Instead, I played along.

"It's okay. Work is important. Get some rest early."

"By the way, is Benjamin coming to the wedding tomorrow?"

Sophia replied quickly.

"Yeah, he's one of my big clients. I specially reserved a VIP table seat for him."

I looked at the VIP table seating chart and closed my laptop with satisfaction.

At that table sat not only Benjamin, but also Lucas, the gym trainer Ryan, and the company intern Liam.

An entire table of ex-boyfriends. They'd definitely get along great tomorrow.

"Ethan, my mother worked hard to raise me. What's wrong with you writing an IOU?" Sophia sent another voice message, her tone dripping with condescension.

I held down the record button, my voice gentle as stagnant water.

"Fine. I'll write it. I'll hand it to her in front of all the relatives tomorrow."