Three Meals a Day, Just Potatoes

We squeezed through several cluttered back alleys before finally stopping in front of a crookedly signed budget motel hidden behind a row of hotels.

"Here we are! Not bad, huh?"

Jason lifted his chin proudly, as if he had brought me to a luxury palace.

One look at the peeling paint on the doorframe set off all my internal alarms.

"How much per night?"

"Two hundred eighty."

He smirked.

"In this area, during tourist season? Total steal!"

A steal? More like stolen straight from the city dump.

I swallowed my disgust and followed him through the creaky security door.

The moment it opened, a mix of mold and sweat hit my nose.

The sheets were stained with grease and… other questionable marks.

I took a deep breath, fighting the urge to walk right out.

"Jason, you call this a good place?"

He sneered.

"Two-eighty isn’t cheap enough for you? Do you know how many potatoes that can buy? The cheapest hotels in this area are over eight hundred a night, and they’re all booked solid! Stop being picky."

"Booked solid?" I laughed coldly.

"I think you just couldn’t find a decent place."

"Fine, Miss Princess. You think you can do better? Go ahead."

I ignored him, pulled out my phone, and started making calls.

Jason, meanwhile, began checking in as if nothing was wrong.

Just then, a man in a loud floral shirt and hair slicked back appeared, grinning.

"Jason! You made it! Hey, is the lady not happy with the room?"

Jason’s face lit up like he’d found an ally. He threw an arm around the guy’s shoulders.

"Tyler Brooks! Perfect timing. Tell her this place is great — she keeps complaining."

He jerked his chin toward me.

"Tyler, my best buddy. And this is my future wife. Pretty hot, right? Just needs to fix that temper if she’s going to serve my parents properly someday."

Tyler nodded vigorously and winked at me.

"Oh yeah, Jason’s the best guy in our crew. Back when we traveled, we stayed in dorm beds for twenty bucks a night and he loved it. You’ll have a good life with him."

Twenty-dollar dorm beds?

My temples throbbed.

What kind of freak was this man?

I didn’t even bother to correct Jason’s delusional introduction.

"Sophia."

I turned and saw Ethan Reed standing at the entrance of the run-down motel, looking completely out of place in his perfectly tailored casual outfit.

He walked over naturally and took the handle of my suitcase.

"Was the trip smooth? My car’s out front."

"How could Grandpa let you stay somewhere like this? What if something happened to you?"

"I booked a luxury five-star resort nearby. Let’s head there first, then grab dinner at the steakhouse."

Ethan didn’t spare Jason or his sleazy friend a glance.

But before he could pull my suitcase away, Jason lunged forward and shoved Ethan’s hand aside.

"Who the hell are you? Putting your hands on my fiancée in broad daylight?!"