Sky-High Bride Price

He grabbed my chin and turned my face to the crowd, "Look! Everyone, just look! If she didn't take it, then why does she look so guilty?"

Neighbors and passersby started criticizing me, "These days, bride prices are always in the tens of thousands. For an average family, that's their life savings!"

"Young lady, it's better to part amicably and return the money."

"Stop defending her. Who knows, maybe this is her regular scheme."

Standing at the doorway, my mother listened to everyone's accusations. Like a protective lioness, she pulled me away from Thomas and shielded me behind her.

I stared at her back, red-eyed, as she faced the mob alone for my sake, "What exorbitant bride price! It was clearly just 18,800 dollars. If even that is too much for Thomas's family, how could I dare let my daughter marry into such poverty?"

The clenching of Thomas's fists told me his patience was hanging by a thread. When we were together, there had been a bond of mutual understanding.

We both came from single-parent families. Life hadn't been easy for our mothers, so our engagement was just a simple family meal and a brief ceremony. But I never expected him to use the bride price as leverage against me.

"Mrs. Reed, I truly admire you for raising Olivia on your own. It's not easy, but …" Thomas covered his face, "I need to say this, my mother has it tough too. If I'd known back then that the deal was for 18.800 dollars, this marriage wouldn't have happened!"

Seeing my mother on the verge of erupting, I quickly patted her chest to calm her down. While comforting her, I searched her pocket for her emergency heart medication.

Thomas noticed my flustered behavior and his expression faltered briefly.

Just as my mother swallowed the pill, we heard Mrs. Royce rushing over, crying, with his childhood friend, Tara Dissick, in tow. As they ran, Mrs. Royce shouted loudly, "This is a fraud! A fraud!"

I felt a surge of relief, thank goodness my mother had taken her medicine. In my previous life, Mrs. Royce had been relentless and aggressive.

Her sudden appearance this time couldn't mean anything good. As expected…

"Officers, look here! I have evidence," Mrs. Royce proclaimed.

Tara, ever so dutiful, handed her tissues while helping her open her phone to show the police.

Hearing the mention of evidence, my mother grasped my arm tightly. Our eyes met, both filled with confusion.

The police officer looked at the video and asked me seriously, "Miss Reed, please review this footage. Do you have any objections to its authenticity?"

I glanced at the video. The beginning showed Mrs. Royce preparing the bride price alone, none of us were present. The later footage showed our happy engagement meal, with everyone cheerful as we finalized the ceremony.

In the video, it was clear the cash Mrs. Royce placed in the gift box exceeded 18,800 dollars. Until the moment we took the gift box away, no one had touched it.

My brows furrowed. In my previous life, they had never produced such a video.

Before I could react, Mrs. Royce sat down on the ground, wailing, "I worked so hard to send Thomas to school by myself. Life has been tough enough! Originally, we agreed on 18,800 dollars, but the night before the engagement, the family raised the price! I thought Thomas really liked this woman, so I gave up all my savings."

"I assumed Thomas and Olivia had come to an agreement. Everything was so rushed that I didn't ask too many questions. But who knew even Thomas didn't know about this? Now that we've come to claim the money, they're pretending it never happened! My hard-earned savings!" she whined.

The onlookers were curious about the so-called evidence.

Tara, helping Mrs. Royce wipe her tears, took the opportunity to share the video link with everyone, "Everyone, take a look! Mrs. Royce is such a kind and honest woman. Thomas's engagement should've been a joyful event, but the more they thought about it, the more suspicious they felt. Imagine, raising the price on the bride price and even Thomas didn't know about it!"