Chapter 3

My mom froze for a moment. "The bouquet's already been stripped off the wedding car, and now you want her to give up the wedding dress too!"

"Do you... do you really not intend to go through with this marriage?"

Her voice trembled a little, and her eyes were already red as she spoke. "Treating Jemima like this today—what exactly do you mean by it?"

Derek gave a cold snort and said to my mother, "That's your daughter bringing it on herself. She can't blame anyone else."

"Has your family ever stopped to think about who fronted that million dollars in surgery bills back when Jemima's father was in that car accident?"

"So before you try to pull rank on me as an elder, take a good look at whether you've even earned the right."

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

My thoughts flew straight back to the time of my father's accident.

I was only a freshman. When I got the call, I nearly dropped my phone. A serious car crash.

I ran from school to the hospital, where the doctor said the surgery was very serious and that a million dollars in surgery bills had to be paid upfront.

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

Then Derek showed up, coming straight over with the money in hand. "Your dad is my dad. I'm not going to stand by and let him die!"

"I took the money from the family safe. If it's not enough, I'll get more."

I hugged him tightly right then and cried, so moved by it.

Later, even though my father had the surgery, he still passed away from complications.

Derek never once asked for that million back.

But afterward, Tracey would always drop little hints: "Abroad, even blood brothers and old married couples keep clear accounts. Whenever I go out with friends, we always split the bill."

"Squaring things up clearly is the only way to avoid hard feelings. No matter how close the relationship, money is a fuzzy thing, and it causes trouble the easiest!"

Derek heard it enough times that he'd nod every time. "Tracey has a point. Jemima, you should take a lesson from her."

I'd already planned to pay it back slowly anyway.

But once I caught the meaning behind her words, I gritted my teeth and picked up an extra job.

In the end, years ahead of schedule, I transferred the full million back to Derek, not a penny short.

When the payment came through, Derek didn't forget to message Tracey: You really are something. A few words from you and Jemima paid it all back.

If it weren't for you, that bad debt probably would've been gone for good.

I thought that was the end of it.

I never imagined he would drag it out again today to humiliate my mother!

Before I could even pull myself out of my thoughts, Derek suddenly yanked me aside. "Are you deaf today?! I told you to take that dress off!"

"Tracey's completely exposed now—can't you see that?!"

I found it a little funny.

Not long ago, because of one thing Tracey said, he'd insisted on waiting until after the wedding to go register the marriage certificate.

And now, because of another line from Tracey, he wanted me to take off my wedding dress.

Not that it mattered. Hubert's wedding dress would be here soon.

At the thought of it, I let out a cold laugh, lowered my head, and started taking off the dress. "Fine. I don't want this dress anymore either."