Chapter 5

The next morning, the sun came up. But the house, which should've been filled with wedding joy, was eerily quiet.

My phone had been blowing up since 7 am.

Word got out that the wedding was canceled, and the calls kept coming. Everyone, including relatives, friends, and coworkers, demanded to know what went down.

I put my phone on silent and tossed it aside.

My parents handled the calls, telling everyone our families weren't a good match, so we called it off at the last minute.

Of course, nobody really believed it, but at least it kept the gossip at bay.

At 10 am, the doorbell rang again.

This time, it wasn't frantic banging. It was a steady, rhythmic ring, as if they weren't taking no for an answer.

My dad went to open the door.

Three people were standing outside. Adam and his parents, all with stormy, furious faces.

Adam's mom took one look at my dad, rolled her eyes, and instead of coming in, dropped herself right onto our doormat, wailing and slapping her thighs. "This is outrageous. The Carter family is bullying us.

"My son worked so hard for three years to keep his relationship going, and now you call off the wedding like it's nothing? Where does that leave the Lawrence family's reputation?

"I'm going to die right here at your doorstep. I won't leave until you see how much you've hurt me."

As she wailed, she kept sneaking glances at the neighbors peeking through their doorways.

This was her go-to move for dealing with neighborhood disputes.

Adam's father wore a stern, official expression. "Richard, we're not here to argue. We're here to resolve this.

"Calling off the wedding like this is too much. It's not a game. Now that all our relatives and friends know about it, how are we supposed to deal with this?"

Adam stood behind his parents, glaring at me like a jilted lover who'd been deeply wronged.

My mom was shaking with rage, pointing at them. "How dare you show your face here? Aren't you aware of how you humiliated my daughter?"

Adam's mom shot up off the floor, her voice booming even louder than my mom's. "We humiliated her? We were doing it for her own good. We wanted to push her to be better.

"Adam needs someone who can actually support him, not dead weight. She's the one slacking off, only making $6,700 a month. So what if we call her out? Is that so wrong?"

She stood with her hands on her hips, spitting as she yelled. "I'm telling you, this isn't over. Either Sophia comes back with us right now, apologizes to all our relatives and friends at the hotel, and the wedding goes on as if nothing happened."

"Or..." She suddenly changed her tone, showing what she really wanted. "You pay back the 66,800 dollars in wedding gifts we gave you, not a penny less.

"And all the money we spent on the wedding, the venue deposit, the wedding favors, the drinks, everything, you need to cover it all.

"Plus, you owe us for the three years my son wasted on this relationship, and for all the stress we've been through. We want an explanation."

My parents couldn't help but laugh in disbelief at their shameless demands.

I stepped out from behind my parents, calmly facing the Lawrence family. "Fine."

Everyone was stunned.

Adam's mom thought she'd misheard. "What did you say?"

I looked her straight in the eye, making sure she heard every word. "Fine. I'll transfer the 66,800-dollar bride price to you today. Bring me all your receipts for the wedding expenses, and I'll settle it with you, line by line."

Adam's mom couldn't hide the greedy look in her eyes.

Adam smirked, his face saying, "I told you, she's faking it."

But I turned the tables. "But before we settle your bill, let's tally up mine first. I've been with Adam for three years. He ate my food, wore my clothes, used my stuff. Shouldn't we add all that to the tab?

"And that 16,000-dollar watch I gave him for his birthday. Shouldn't we knock off some value for wear and tear?

"The phones, computers, and game consoles I bought for him. Shouldn't those go on the list too?"

"And," I shot Adam a cold, mocking look, "what about the emotional damage from that text you sent me last night? How are you going to pay for that? So, Adam, what's your take?"

Adam's face went pale in an instant.