Love and Freedom, I Choose Freedom

To marry Saya Rice, I happily presented two million dollars in betrothal gifts and bought gold jewelry at the end of the year.

But then, I heard a shocking piece of news.

Saya was pregnant with someone else's child, but she still pretended to be innocent and planned to choose the best one among us, her backup.

My father, Darius Moore, a billionaire who had just listed his company and was worth tens of billions of dollars, patted me on the shoulder and persuaded me.

"The gold digger must pay the price. Our Moore family won't accept her."

1

At the end of November 2022, my mother urged me to get married to Saya, who I had been dating for a year, before the New Year.

Klara Moore hoped to have a grandson soon.

The parents of I and Saya agreed to meet at the Apex Hotel to discuss the betrothal gift.

Unexpectedly, Zoe and her family took the chance to demand an exorbitant price.

My parents had just sat down and even hadn't time to sip coffee when Zoe spoke up first.

"The betrothal gift is one million. Also, you need to buy a house in the city center and a BBA of your choice. In addition, a bank cash transfer of 660 thousand dollars is required."

To be honest, it was extremely high in our city.

Her demand was so high that most people couldn't afford it.

Yet, it wasn't a big deal for my family.

My family was engaged in real estate in Faloan, opening 6 star-rated hotels and several gold shops across the country.

The real estate was managed by my father, the hotels were managed by my sister and her husband, and my mother was in charge of the gold shops.

Saya's family was well off in the past few years. They bought and sold a second-hand house and made money from it.

But in fact, they were opportunistic and didn't understand financial leverage.

Due to the impact of the epidemic in recent years, most businesses took a nose dive.

Even so, Zoe, my future mother-in-law appeared radiantly.

She had fashionable short curly hair and wore a tweed coat.

Two gold earrings were hanging on her earlobes.

A big gold chain was around her neck.

Staring at the jade bracelets on her hands, Beth, my sister, sent me a message jokingly: [The bracelets are fake.]

I and Saya knew each other while studying abroad. In my opinion, she was a gentle and beautiful girl.

Because I had been studying abroad, few people in Faloan knew my identity.

In addition, my dad used to suggest that I should not show off my wealth but be low-key.

So until now, Saya's family still didn't know about my family background. Yet, they were clear that my family was running a business.

Although Zoe's demand was high, I, at 32, didn't want to make things difficult for Saya, who was only 26 years old this year.

Besides, this amount of money was completely acceptable for our family.

Thus, my dad agreed without hesitation and without any bargaining.

For him, as long as we truly loved each other, money didn't matter.

I thought the issue of the betrothal gift was settled, but I found that Zoe, who had received our promise, was not very happy.

Instead, her expression became weird.

I saw her constantly winking at Tessa, her eldest daughter.

Just as I was wondering what was going on, Tessa stood up.

Her words made the atmosphere in the scene tense.

"You two can get married, but to be frank, you have to sign a prenuptial agreement. Otherwise, it will be hard to divide the property after the divorce. My husband and I also signed a prenuptial agreement."

2

"Tessa, we haven't even gotten married yet, and you're already thinking about what to do after the divorce? That's inappropriate!"

My parents couldn't say anything out of courtesy.

Yet, I didn't care about it, for Tessa always tried to sow discord between us.

I knew a little about her family situation.

Her husband, a son-in-law who lived in the home of her parents, often stooped to compromise.

Tessa was a high-achieving woman, and she even was bossing me around.

"Tessa is doing this for our own good."

Saya realized that I was dissatisfied and quickly stepped forward to smooth things over.

Since my fiancée spoke, I should save her face.

I also knew that she wanted a sense of security by signing the prenuptial agreement.

Tessa just mentioned it for her sake.

Since our family didn't bargain in the matter of the betrothal gift, we naturally wouldn't care about the prenuptial agreement.

Besides, if I signed the agreement, it would be good for me.

I nodded in the end. "It's okay to sign a prenuptial agreement."

Unexpectedly, my consideration of the overall situation gave them the opportunity to make further advances.

Perhaps because I was easy to compromise, Zoe winked at Tessa again.

Acting as the Rice family's spokesperson, she began to chatter incessantly.

"We should make it clear. If Saya gave birth to a boy as her first child, he would take the Rice family's surname. If it were a girl, she would take your surname. As for the second child, we can discuss it later. Once a woman gives birth to a child, she will lose the golden period of her career.

"Saya is an international student with excellent conditions, so if you want her to have a second child, you will need to pay birth compensation."

Before she finished speaking, our whole family's expression changed.

How absurd it was!

Not only did I have to provide them with high-priced betrothal gifts, but I had no right to give our children a surname.

I thought to myself, "What the hell is the birth compensation?"

Tessa and others probably noticed that we were not in a good mood, so they didn't continue the conversation.

At this time, my father asked the first question of the day. "So, what is your family's dowry?"

"Many people like my daughter, so she has no trouble finding a husband," Zoe replied.

It surprised me!

Darius ignored her, not because he looked down on women, but because he believed it was time to talk to the head of the Rice family.

However, he overestimated Arrow.

Upon entering the door, Arrow walked towards the dining table and ate the farmed sturgeon on it until only the skeleton was left.

He was submissive to Zoe and didn't utter a single useful word.

It seemed like he wasn't a qualified head of the Rice family.

My dad realized that, saying, "Let Robin and Saya discuss their own affairs first. Once they have come to an agreement, we can meet again."

The two families finally parted unhappily.

I didn't expect that even though we made so many concessions, the negotiations on the betrothal gift would break down.

Saya indeed had no trouble finding a husband, but I couldn't accept it just to marry her.

I decided to keep Saya's family at arm's length.

Unexpectedly, Saya would send me a message on WhatsApp as soon as I got home in the evening.

[I am pregnant.]

Then she sent a picture of a pregnancy test stick with two bars.

3

I was shocked and quickly reported the situation to my parents.

Darius was serious. "Let me ask you. You really want to marry Saya, right?"

I nodded in agreement. "Yes."

"Now that you have a child, the situation is different. You can go and discuss it with Saya yourself. Except for the question of whose surname the child should take, everything else is acceptable. If you can't solve it, I and your mother will intervene."

My father drew a bottom line. He decided to compromise due to the baby in Saya's belly.

I replied to Saya: [The child must take my last name, and everything else is easy to negotiate.]

Thinking that I would become a father later, I felt mature instantly and decided to take on responsibilities.

She then sent another message.

[My mother insisted on increasing the betrothal gift to 880 thousand dollars. No matter how I persuade her, she won't listen. What should I do?]

Zoe took advantage of the child to raise the price, but I had no choice but to accept it.