Chapter 1

On Valentine's Day, my cousin Morton Dickerson wore me down until I sold him 520 roses for three hundred dollars, all to win points with his girlfriend.

The delivery guy had barely dropped the bouquet at the address before Morton came storming at me.

"Sophia Dickerson! I bought your flowers because I trusted you! You can't sell me wilted flowers just because I didn't spend much!"

I sent him the photos and video I'd taken before the bouquet went out, proof that the flowers I sent were fresh.

Morton wouldn't let it go. He took it straight to the One Loving Family group chat and made a huge scene, demanding I pay up.

"My mom and dad were finally happy I might get married this year, and you go and make my girlfriend break up with me! You're refunding the $5,200 I spent on flowers! And your side owes my family emotional damages on top of that!"

The relatives all took his side. Then my father, without asking me a thing, went ahead and declared:

"Sophia's really crossed a line this time. She should pay Morton fifty thousand, and from now on half of the flower shop's profits go to him every month."

I said Morton had always been too stingy to spring for 520 roses, and now I got it. He'd been counting on freeloading off me and squeezing money out of me on top of it.

They had no decency, so I had none either. I went straight to the address of Morton's girlfriend.

"Hi, the customer just now said there was a problem with the flowers and wants a refund. I'm here to collect them back!"

1.

The 520-rose bouquet I made had just reached its destination when my cousin Morton pinned a lie on me and demanded a refund.

This kind of out-of-nowhere frame job was not something I was going to eat.

There was absolutely no way the flowers I sent out would wilt for no reason.

Morton wouldn't listen to my explanation. He shot back: "The bouquet just got there. You say it can't have wilted, so what, you think I'm lying?"

"Trudy took me forever to win over. This is only our first Valentine's Day together, and you've ruined the whole thing when I finally got a shot at love!"

Lucky for me, I always keep the photo and video whenever I send out flowers, out of habit.

As busy as Valentine's Day was, I hadn't forgotten to do it this time either.

I sent him the evidence I'd saved.

Morton looked at the photos and the video, and on the phone his story flipped.

"You're clearly ripping off family! This bouquet is not the one Trudy got! You figured that since I wasn't the one receiving the flowers, you could pull a switch on me!"

"I bet you shot a whole set of photos and video ahead of time, then swapped in a wilted bouquet when it actually went out!"

Valentine's Day was this crazy.

Where would I even find the time to switch out flowers?

Besides, there was no reason to at all!

Maybe there really was some misunderstanding, so I explained patiently:

"There must be a mix-up. I've got no reason to trash my own shop's name. You're my cousin. What would I get out of cheating you?"

"The flowers that come in every day are fresh. If your girlfriend really did get a wilted bouquet, she can take a picture and show me."

"So you won't admit it?" Morton let out a low snort. "Fine! I'll let everyone decide for me!"

He hung up, then turned right around and ran to the One Loving Family group chat to file his complaint.

【Everybody back me up! Today's Valentine's Day, and the flowers Sophia Dickerson sold me for $5,200 were wilted! Now my girlfriend wants to break up with me over it!】

【At my age, finding a girlfriend is hard enough! We were even talking about getting married this year, and she ruined all of it!】

【I don't know what Sophia's game is! But now she has to refund every cent I paid for the flowers, plus emotional damages!】

He wouldn't answer me straight, and instead ran off to stir things up in the family group chat?

He only spent three hundred dollars on my flowers. Since when did that become $5,200?