Chapter 4

My mom stared at the screen, silent for a long moment.

When she finally spoke, her voice was trembling, "Isn't the house supposed to be in your name?"

"It is," I said.

"And the money?"

"I paid for it."

My mom's eyes filled with tears. "Is Ethan trying to cheat you out of your money, or was the marriage a sham?"

My dad was calmer than I expected. He looked through the photos one by one, asked me a few questions, and finally said, "Cancel the wedding, get the house back, and don't have anything to do with him anymore."

I nodded.

My mom suddenly stood up and started rummaging through the cabinet.

When she came back out, she was clutching the payment receipt from the house sale and the bank transfer records she'd sent me.

"Take these." Her eyes went red. "Don't let them get away with a single penny."

I felt a sting in my nose.

I'd always thought the hardest part would be telling my parents. But I never expected that they wouldn't blame me or call me foolish. Instead, they were on my side from the very start.

My mom started putting away the gift boxes one by one, tears streaming down her face as she did. "I was hoping to send you off in style tomorrow."

She sniffled. "Forget it. Marrying someone like that is worse than not marrying at all."

That night, I barely slept.

My phone wouldn't stop buzzing.

First Ethan, then his mom, then the wedding planner, hotel staff, and relatives. Everyone was blowing up my phone, demanding to know why everything for tomorrow had suddenly changed.

At one in the morning, Ethan's mom, Alaia Wyatt, sent me a voice message. "Stella, you're really being childish. Who cares whose name is on the house? Once you're married, you're all family anyway.

"Summer's an old friend of Ethan's. She's going through a tough patch. What's the big deal about helping her out? Why do you have to make such a fuss? Are you trying to ruin the wedding tomorrow?"

I converted the voice message to text and sent it to Emilio.

He replied: [Keep going. Let her talk more.]

I leaned back against the headboard, suddenly not wanting to put up with it anymore.

I called Alaia back and turned on the recorder.

As soon as the call connected, she started chewing me out, "With you causing all this drama, what do you think our relatives and friends will say about the Wyatt family?"

I cut her off. "Alaia, I paid for the house myself, every dollar."

"So, what if you paid for it? Aren't you about to marry into our family anyway? You young people are always so hung up on money.

"For a woman, the most important thing is finding a good man to settle down with, not holding onto your money for dear life."

"Then why don't you let your son settle down with Summer?"

She choked for a second, and then raised her voice. "Summer and Ethan are ancient history. Stop bringing up old stuff. Besides, Summer is not in good health and just got back from abroad.

"What's the big deal if she stays for a bit? You're going to be Mrs. Wyatt soon. You should be more magnanimous."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Talk about being magnanimous. You are so magnanimous that you are willing to let your son use my house to make it up to his ex-girlfriend."

She was completely pissed off. "Stella, don't be so shameless. Ethan is only willing to marry you because he thinks you're a decent, proper girl. If you keep causing trouble like this, nobody would ever want you."

I kept the recorder running, and suddenly, I wasn't mad anymore.

I almost wanted to thank her.

Her words were basically giving me all the proof I needed.

I asked softly, "Alaia, are you saying I should be grateful to marry into your family, though I paid 950 thousand dollars for the house and it's in someone else's name?"

"You'll be living there anyway, so what's the big deal? Why are you so hung up on this?"

"Fine, I understand."

I hung up, saved the recording, and sent it over to Emilio.

A few minutes later, he texted me, [Do you dare show up at the wedding tomorrow?]

I stared at his message. [I dare.]

Emilio: [Then go.]

Stella: [What should I do?]

Emilio: [Make them look bad in front of everyone.]

At seven the next morning, I put on my makeup and slipped into my wedding dress.

Emerie frowned as she watched me. "You're really wearing it?"

"Yeah," I said, touching up my lipstick in the mirror. "I paid for it. Wouldn't make sense not to wear it."

She caught on, and her eyes suddenly sparkled. "Alright, I love your wild side."

The hotel was already a total mess.

As soon as I walked in, everyone turned to look at me.

Some looked sympathetic, some were gossiping, and some were there for the show.

Ethan was standing at the entrance of the hall, wearing his groom's suit, but he looked pale and exhausted.

He clearly hadn't slept all night. Dark circles under his eyes were obvious.

When he saw me, he walked over quickly and asked in a low voice, "What exactly are you trying to do?"

"I'm here for the wedding," I said with a smile. "Wasn't it you who said we should get the wedding over with and deal with the rest later?"

He frowned. "Stop making a scene. This won't do you any good."

"Not good for me? Then who does it benefit? You and your first love?"

He shot me an impatient look. "Summer's not coming today, so drop it."

I nodded. "Alright, I won't go looking for her."

I started walking toward the hall, but Ethan grabbed my arm and said, "Stella, I'm telling you for the last time. Let's get the wedding done. I'll compensate you for the house, okay?"

"Compensate me?" I looked at him. "With my own money?"

"Do you have to talk like that?"

"Yeah, that's how I'm talking today."

I snatched my arm back and walked straight into the hall.

Ten minutes before the ceremony, the officiant came over and asked if I was ready to go on stage.

I smiled and said, "Hold on, not yet. I want to play a video right before we kick things off. It's a surprise for everyone."

The officiant agreed with a cheerful smile.

Ethan had no idea what I was up to. He probably thought I'd changed my mind, and his face finally relaxed a little, until the big screen lit up.

The first image was the property deed's inner page. [Owner: Summer Roper.]

The second image was the bank transfer showing I paid every dollar for the house.

The third image was a photo of Summer wearing my wedding dress, posing in front of the mirror in the new house.

The whole hall went dead silent, like someone had hit the pause button.