Chapter 3

My mother froze. "The red silk's already been torn off the wedding car, and now you want him to give up his suit too?"

"You... you really don't intend to go through with this marriage?"

Her voice shook, and her eyes had gone red before she finished. "The way you're treating Frederick today, what exactly is this supposed to mean?"

Carmen let out a cold snort and turned to my mother. "That's your son bringing it on himself. No one else to blame."

"And your family might want to remember, back when his father was in that car accident, who was it that fronted the million for the surgery?"

"So before you go trying to pull rank on me as an elder, you'd better ask yourself whether you've earned the right."

My mother's face went pale, and for a long moment she said nothing.

My mind snapped back to the time of my father's accident.

I was only a freshman. When the call came, the phone nearly slipped out of my hand. A serious car accident.

I ran from campus to the hospital, and the doctor said the surgery was high-risk, that a million had to be paid up front.

I scrolled through every contact in my phone, not knowing who I could possibly call to cover it.

Then Carmen showed up, cash in hand, walking straight over. "Your dad is my dad. I'm not going to stand by and watch him die!"

"I took it from the safe at home. If it's not enough, I'll go get more."

I held onto her tightly right then, so moved I broke down crying.

Later, my father had the surgery, but complications from the aftereffects took him anyway.

Carmen never once brought up that million.

But after that, Morton kept dropping little hints. "Abroad, even blood brothers and old married couples keep their money straight. Whenever I go out with friends, it's always split down the middle."

"Settle it clean and there's no resentment. No matter how close two people are, money is the vague thing that always causes trouble!"

Carmen heard it enough times that she'd nod every time. "Morton's got a point. Frederick, you should take a lesson from that."

I'd always meant to pay it back gradually anyway.

But once I caught what they were really getting at, I gritted my teeth and picked up more work.

In the end I paid it back years ahead of schedule, the full million wired back to Carmen, not a cent short.

When the money came in, Carmen didn't forget to text Morton. "You really are something. A few words from you and Frederick paid it all back."

"If it weren't for you, that dead debt would probably have been written off for good."

I thought that was the end of it.

I never imagined she'd drag the whole thing out today, in front of everyone, to shame my mother!

I hadn't even come back to myself when Carmen suddenly yanked me aside. "Are you deaf today? I told you to take off that suit!"

"Morton's standing there with his clothes half off. Can't you see that?"

I found it almost funny.

Before, because of one word from Morton, he'd insisted on waiting until after the wedding to register the marriage.

And now, because of one word from Morton, she wanted me to strip off my suit.

The thought of it pulled a cold laugh out of me. I lowered my head and started taking off the suit myself. "Fine. I don't want this suit either."