Sky-High Bride Price

Thomas hesitated briefly, but Tara interrupted him effortlessly. "Thomas, this message was personally sent by Mrs. Reed. That money is your mother's hard-earned savings. It can't just disappear like that. Even if you love Olivia deeply, you can't wrong your own mother, right?"

Tara glanced at Mrs. Royce. Right on cue, Mrs. Royce feigned frailty and said shakily, "Forget it ... forget it, Thomas. As long as you're happy."

Their coordinated performance inflamed the crowd. Garbage bags and vegetable scraps started flying toward my mom and me.

"Having neighbors like this is disgraceful!"

"No wonder their quality of life is so high, big meals every day. Turns out this is their 'business.'"

"You don't say. They probably have other 'sources of income' too!"

Thomas turned to me, his expression dawning with a mix of suspicion and contempt, "Huh, I've always wondered how you can dress so well all the time. Now it makes sense."

"Same single-parent household, but what an 'outstanding' example you've set. This has to end today." Thomas's resolute stance and Tara's and his mother's smug expressions pushed me to rapidly piece together the situation.

A spark of clarity hit me. After steadying my mom, I approached the officer, "Officer, I'd like to report a theft, she stole the money!" I pointed directly at Tara, my gaze unwavering.

A flicker of panic crossed Tara's face before she plastered on an innocent look, "Olivia, you may have freedom of speech, but you need evidence to back your accusations! I was just trying to help Mrs. Royce and Thomas. Pointing fingers at me out of nowhere, don't you think that's unfair?"

I leaned closer, smiling faintly, "My mom's phone went missing the day before our engagement. You're the one who returned it."

Tara grabbed Thomas's sleeve anxiously, "Thomas, you were there that day. Shouldn't I return a lost phone to its owner?"

Murmurs rippled through the crowd, "She even returned the phone and is now being accused? Talk about biting the hand that feeds you. It's hard to be a good person nowadays!"

Thomas's eyes bore into mine with disappointment, "Haven't you had enough of this nonsense? Can't you just return the money? I never said I wouldn't marry you!" His words stunned me.

"You seriously think I'd still marry you?" I asked back. Thomas was visibly flustered, his face turning crimson.

Mrs. Royce jabbed her finger at me, one hand on her hip, "Olivia, you've always acted so well-behaved! Who knew this was your true self? Tara only wanted to help us and you drag her down with your baseless accusations! Thomas gave you an out, are you really not going to take it?"

"I'm telling you, Tara has already told me, if Thomas is willing, she doesn't even need a bride price!" She smugly looked me over, "Be a good woman and return the money so we can end this. Let Thomas focus on marrying Tara. College girls these days, worse than high schoolers when it comes to understanding decency!"

"Oh?" I smirked, calm and unshaken, "Then allow me to congratulate you both in advance."

Their attempts to humiliate me didn't faze me. I didn't feel any loss at all about the broken engagement.

I said, "I'll say it again, I only received 18,800 dollars, which has already been returned. And I stand by my accusation against Tara. I have three reasons, first, she has the motive, she wants to marry Thomas and break off our engagement."

"Second, as a hotel employee, she likely used her position to obtain and manipulate the video footage."

"Third, when my mom's phone went missing, Tara was the one who returned it. At that time, I had barely met her and my mom didn't even know her. How did she manage to locate my mom so precisely? It's hard not to question her intentions."