Chapter 1
The night before Bryant Cooper proposed, my mom was suddenly diagnosed with a malignant tumor.
Even after pooling every cent I had, I was 70 thousand dollars short of the surgery fee.
I called Bryant in tears, asking him for money, but unexpectedly, the Bryant who picked up was from three years in the future.
"Bryant, my mom got better, right?" I asked. "You'll find a way to save her, won't you?"
Bryant was silent for three seconds before answering, his voice cold. "Your mom died.
"When you asked me for money, I didn't lend it to you. But I bought your best friend a necklace worth 100 thousand dollars."
I gripped my phone tightly, my hand shaking so badly that I could barely hold the diagnosis report.
He let out a cold laugh. "Honestly, your best friend has been all over me for ages. I only held back because of you.
"But I never thought you'd be so money-hungry, coming to me for 70 thousand dollars."
The next day, when Bryant got down on one knee, holding out a ring and asking me to marry him, I suddenly remembered the last thing the future Bryant had said before I hung up last night.
He had said, "If nothing goes wrong, tomorrow night will be the first time I sleep with your best friend.
"Of course, you can choose not to ask me for money. But without my charity, your mom will die faster.
"How you decide it is all up to you."
*****
"Will you marry me?" Bryant asked.
As soon as he finished speaking, both our phones rang at the same time.
I got a text from the hospital, urging me to pay up.
His WhatsApp kept blowing up with notifications, chiming nonstop.
"Who's texting you? Show me," I demanded.
Seeing a flash of guilt in his eyes, I lunged for his phone, my eyes red with tears, desperate to see the truth.
He scrambled to dodge me, but I managed to catch a glimpse of the message on the screen.
The sender was none other than my best friend from childhood, Edith Dudley.
Edith: [I know you're getting married, but stay with me tonight, okay?]
In a daze, I lost my balance and crashed to the ground.
A jagged stone cut into my palm, and blood welled up instantly.
Right then, the fireworks Bryant had set up for me exploded behind him.
The sky was ablaze with color, but to me, it was nothing but a spectacular joke.
I gave a bitter laugh and yanked the veil off my head.
Blood welled from my palm, staining the white veil like a splash of crimson on fresh snow.
Tears fell one by one, blurring the face of the man I'd loved for five years.
My voice came out hoarse. "Forget it, Bryant. I'm not marrying you."
With that, I spun around and bolted in the opposite direction.
Bryant instinctively got up to chase after me, but his phone rang unexpectedly, making him freeze for a moment.
Behind me, Bryant's voice was carried by the chilly wind. He didn't sound disappointed at all.
Instead, there was an elusive sense of relief and lightness in his tone.
"Yeah, I tried to propose, but it didn't work out," he said. "Alright, stop crying. I'm coming to you now."
At the hospital, I stood outside the ICU, staring through the glass at my mom, her face twisted in pain, almost unrecognizable.
It all happened so fast. No one expected that after she collapsed without warning last night, we'd be handed a terminal diagnosis.
The nurse said, "Ms. Bernard, the money you've put down for treatment won't be enough for the next round of chemo.
"Please go to the first floor to settle the bill."
I gripped the hem of my shirt, pulled out my phone, and opened my banking app to check my balance.
Even after scraping together every cent I had yesterday, I only had 13 thousand dollars.
That was less than half of the 70 thousand needed for the follow-up treatment.
I used to have enough money to cover my mom's treatment.
But half a month ago, Edith borrowed all the money I'd saved up over the years, saying she needed it to start her own business.
She clung to my hand, tears streaming down her face, looking so miserable.
She sobbed. "Andrea, I'm not lucky like you. I don't have a rich boyfriend to rely on.
"If you don't help me, I'll probably have to marry some old guy my family picked out for me."
I lent her the money without a second thought, not even asking for a receipt.
Unexpectedly, she also walked off with the man I was about to marry.
I took a deep breath and dialed Edith, the words "pay me back" barely out of my mouth.
Suddenly, I heard a familiar voice on the other end.
"I'm done with my shower. Who's calling?" Bryant asked.
"Uh, wrong number," Edith started, but her tone shifted as something seemed to amuse her.
She suddenly chuckled.
Then, she stretched out her words on purpose. "Bryant, do you think Andrea turned you down because you didn't give her enough bride price?"
"She told me before that as long as the bride price was high enough, she would marry whoever."
I never said anything like that.
But Bryant went quiet on the other end.
He didn't say a word or try to defend me.
Soon, I could hear the unmistakable sounds of kissing and moaning coming through the phone.
So this was probably their first time hooking up, as Bryant said.
The call ended abruptly with a sharp click.
Frustrated, I dialed again, but no one answered.
I crouched on the ground, my sobs slipping through my fingers.
With my emotions in shambles, my stomach twisted violently.
The next second, I was retching so hard that my vision blurred.
For the first twenty-five years of my life, there were only three people in my world.
They were my mom, Edith, and Bryant.
I never thought that in one night, I'd lose all three of them.
I'd never borrowed money from anyone before, but now I was calling every friend and relative I could think of.
But it always boiled down to three responses.
Either they didn't have the money, said it wasn't convenient, or they'd send about one hundred to brush me off.