She Scammed Him for Eight Years, Then Said 'I Do

1: 1

On our wedding day, my mother-in-law jacked up her price on the spot, taking the eighty-eight-thousand-dollar car fee all the way to three hundred and eighty thousand.

I didn't haggle. I wired it right there.

Every guest in the room laughed at me, calling me spineless, a man driven out of his mind over a woman.

None of them knew: eight years of a long-distance relationship, all online.

I sent her a Louis Vuitton bag, she sent me back a Rolex.

I mailed cordyceps to her family, and she turned around and shipped me a case of premium whiskey.

Add up all those gifts and it was worth well over a million already.

She was the least money-hungry, most decent girl I'd ever met.

It's only three hundred and eighty thousand for the car fee. In a little while, at the ceremony, I'm going to hand her every last cent of my savings!

I gripped my bank card, heart pounding.

They'd called out the auspicious hour three times now. I walked up to the door of the wedding suite.

A familiar woman's voice drifted out through the crack in the door:

"Babe, the three hundred and eighty grand is in the bag~"

"Eight years and he never caught on. One last payout after we bow at the ceremony, and it's ours for sure!"

Babe?!

The blood in my body went ice-cold in an instant.

Who was she calling babe?

The suspicion barely surfaced before I forced it back down.

I gave my head a hard shake and gripped the bouquet in my hand.

No way!

Eight years of dating online. I knew exactly what kind of person she was.

One offhand comment from me about feeling run-down, and a box of American ginseng showed up at my door the next day.

She never took anything of mine for free. Everything she'd sent me, added up front to back, came to a million!

If she was really after money, why bother acting it out for eight years?

I must have heard wrong!

I forced down my hammering heart and laid my hand gently on the door handle.

Then a man's voice came from inside. "Baby, you've really had it rough."

I went rigid on the spot, no time to think it through.

Her coquettish voice came again. "For you, what's a little hardship? Once I reel in this last payout, we'll go buy a villa in Miami! Playing the sweet, innocent lady in front of him every single dayGod, I've been dying inside!"

What did that mean?

I clenched my teeth. A chill shot up my spine.

The man's voice went on. "Be honest with me. He never touched you in these eight years, right?"

"How could he! I wouldn't even let him hold my hand! I told him my family raised me strict, that I wanted to save my first time for our wedding night, and the idiot bought it on the spot. Transferred me fifty grand in spending money, said it broke his heart, how sensible and sweet I was!"

"My bodyof course that's only for you, the man I love most!"

Her words drove into my ears and everything in front of me went black.

So that was it.

That day she'd explained it to me in that soft little voice, saying I was the most important person to her, that she wanted to save her most precious first night for our wedding.

I was so moved I almost cried.

I'd thought I'd hit the jackpot, meeting a girl this pure, this good.

I swore I'd treat her welland it was all an act!

My chest clogged tight, and a sweet, coppery taste surged up my throat.

My phone buzzed. A text popped up.

"Hello, sir. The wristwatch you submitted for inspection is a replica knockoff, and the whiskey gift set and the rest are all counterfeit. Total market value is approximately eighteen hundred dollars."

Eighteen hundred.

For eight years I'd scrimped and saved, worked so much overtime my stomach bled, and poured over a million dollars in gifts into her, front to back.

And got back a pile of fakes worth less than two thousand!

Plus the three hundred and eighty thousand I'd just wiredthat was the retirement savings my parents had set aside for themselves.

I stared hard at that line of text, and then I laughed.

So I'd fed my whole heart to the dogs.

Did she really think she could just walk away clean?

"Why's the groom standing there like that?"

The emcee hurried up behind me and shouted at the top of his voice. The door of the wedding suite swung open.

My mother-in-law blocked the doorway, her face pulled long. "Leon James, honey, don't rush in just yet! That three hundred and eighty thousand was the car fee. To come through this door, you've got to add another hundred and eighty thousand!"

2: 2

One hundred and eighty thousand?!

My knuckles cracked as they fisted, and I stood there staring at her, not moving.

The crowd jammed in the doorway exploded.

"Oh-ho, dumbstruck already? Can't even scrape together a hundred and eighty grand, and you want to get married?"

"Right, our Lola Pruitt is a beauty. Asking you for a hundred and eighty thousand is doing you a favor. Don't spit on kindness!"

"No money, then clear off. Standing there embarrassing everyone, keeping us all waiting half the day!"

My parents heard the commotion and pushed their way up from behind.

"In-laws, please," my mother said, forcing a smile as she reached for the mother-in-law's arm. "The bride price was all settled in advance. This entry fee, the car fee, you never mentioned any of it to us before... it's the children's big day today. Whatever needs saying, can't we go inside and say it first? Let's not give the guests something to laugh about."

"Laugh about?!" The mother-in-law wrenched her arm away hard enough to nearly send my mother stumbling.

"And whose fault is it that your family has no sincerity? This is how it's done where we're from! A hundred and eighty thousand, not a cent less! Too stingy to part with even this? I say you're playing poor on purpose!"

The woman beside her chimed in. "Exactly! Handed over three hundred and eighty grand fast enough a minute ago, and now you're putting on an act? The money's not right today, and you can forget about getting through that door!"

Mason Cole, standing behind me, lost his patience and stepped forward.

"This is daylight robbery! Hiking the price on the spot before the wedding's even happened. Where's the sense in that?"

Before he'd finished, a big, hulking man came charging out from inside and shoved him hard. "My cousin's getting married. Who the hell are you to talk?"

Mason wasn't braced for it. He hit the marble floor with a thud, his knee bleeding on the spot.

"No money, then get lost. Quit yapping."

The woman's cousin planted his hands on his hips and grinned at me, pleased with himself.

Mason's face twisted with pain. My parents rushed to help him up, faces gone white with anger.

But they were afraid of souring the wedding, so they swallowed it and turned back to me instead, my mother's voice trembling. "Leon... maybe we could try talking it over nicely with the in-laws again?"

Every eye in the place was fixed on me. I looked at the anxious, cornered look in my parents' eyes and drew a deep breath.

"Fine. A hundred and eighty thousand. I'll transfer it now."

The whole place went dead quiet. Even the mother-in-law froze for a second or two.

Then her face broke into a wide smile. "There you go! That's more like it. If you'd been this quick about it, why make such a scene?"

Whispers rippled through the crowd soon enough.

"Really lost his head over that woman. She's clearly setting him up, and he keeps shoveling money at her!"

"Idiot. His parents' retirement savings are being wiped out and he's happy about it!"

My parents stood beside me, shaking their heads at me with a smile, but in the end they didn't say a word.

Something ached in me, and I could only duck away from their eyes in a hurry.

No one knew that I'd agreed so readily, and it had never once been out of love.

The door swung all the way open, and Lola came flying out in her white wedding dress and buried herself in my arms.

"Leon, you finally made it! They were all bullying me. If I hadn't held them back, they'd have asked for even more. See how good I am to you? I saved you money on purpose!"

I forced down the churning in my stomach and said gently,

"I'm sorry you had to go through that, Lola."

The moment I said it, a flicker of triumph crossed her eyes.

She thought her act was flawless.

She didn't see the cold at the corner of my mouth as I turned my head away.

The reckoning could come slowly.

What she owed me, I'd pay back a thousand times over.

3: 3

I led Lola inside.

Picking up the teacup, I went first to my mother-in-law.

"Mom, please have some tea."

She took the cup at her leisure, sipped once, then fished a red envelope from her pocket and tossed it at me.

An aunt beside her laughed at once. "Go on, open it! It's got to be a big one!"

I opened it in front of everyone. Inside lay a single crumpled five-dollar bill.

The room went dead silent, then broke into laughter.

She lifted her chin and cleared her throat. "The title-change gift is just a formality. What does a man need all that money for? I'm giving you five dollars so you'll remember, every cent you earn goes to my Lola!"

A relative chimed in. "That's right! Landing a wife as good as Lola, you came out ahead! And you're haggling over a title-change gift?"

I closed my hand around the five dollars and said nothing.

Then Lola went to serve tea to my parents.

She had just lifted the cup when the mother-in-law spoke up. "In-law, where we come from, the title-change gift from the mother-in-law to the daughter-in-law is a matter of face! I won't ask for much. Just eighty-eight thousand!"

My mother's hand stopped short. "Eighty-eight thousand? When we talked it over before, nobody said anything about a number that big..."

"Before is before!" She rolled her eyes. "What, you can't even part with eighty-eight thousand? My girl marries into your family and you can't even come up with the title-change gift?"

"Exactly. Is eighty-eight thousand really so much? Nobody takes a wife for under a hundred grand these days!"

"If you can't afford to pay, don't take a wife!"

The words landed like slaps. My father's face flushed dark red, and my mother's lips were trembling.

Anger shot up in my chest, and I was about to speak.

Lola quickly caught my wrist.

She lowered her eyes and whispered, in a voice only the two of us could hear,

"Leon, just pay it for now. I'll make it up to you later, in private. I'd never let you suffer for it!"

The pleading in her eyes was the same as every time before.

I used to ache for how thoughtful she was. But now...

The moment I thought of those so-called "designer" gift boxes, my heart turned cold.

"All right."

I took out my phone on the spot and transferred eighty-eight thousand over.

The mother-in-law's face bloomed into a smile. "There! Now that's more like it!"

The whole room filled with laughter. My mother turned her face away and quietly wiped a tear with the back of her hand.

It's fine. Just endure a little longer.

My eyes had gone cold and dark.

The tea ceremony done, the motorcade rolled out to the hotel in a long line.

The moment I stepped into the lobby, Mason grabbed hold of me.

His knee was still bleeding, but the sweat on his forehead was from panic. "Leon! Snap out of it!"

"This family is a pack of bloodsuckers! They fleeced you for over a hundred grand just getting the bride, and who knows how much they'll squeeze out of you later! You can't go through with this wedding!"

I was about to answer when sound carried over from the corridor next door.

The mother-in-law was laughing, pleased with herself. "What did I tell you! My Lola's got real talent, she's got that boy wrapped around her finger! Over six hundred thousand all told, and he handed it over without blinking!"

"You're something, sis! Your family really knows how to work it!"

"You bet! Once the ceremony's over, we'll sweet-talk him into signing the house over too. Every last thing he's got will be ours! Landing my girl is the luckiest thing that'll ever happen to him. So he spends a little money, so what?"

Mason went white with rage, fists clenched, ready to charge over there again.

I caught him by the arm.

He stared at me in disbelief. "You heard all that! What are you still putting up with?"

I leaned against the wall, my fingertips brushing lightly over my phone.

I looked up and gave him a small smile, my voice calm. "I heard. I love her."

"Love?" Mason jabbed a finger at me. "You threw your parents' entire life savings away for a woman like that! Leon, I was really wrong about you!"

He clenched his jaw and walked off, disappointed.

I didn't explain.

I only kept my eyes fixed on the wedding countdown on the electronic screen in the lobby.

Soon.

Seven minutes left until it began.

4: 4

The spotlights swung together onto the stage, and I took the microphone.

My eyes settled on Lola.

"Lola, it's been eight years. From meeting online to standing here today, I've never once regretted it. People call me a fool, they say I'd spend anything on you. But I know you're worth it!"

The crowd broke into cheers and clapping, and Lola's eyes went red.

I reached into the inner pocket of my suit and drew out a bank card. "This holds every cent I've saved in over ten years. Three million, six hundred and eighty thousand dollars!"

"From today, it's yours! From now on you'll handle all the money in this house. Everything I earn is for you to spend!"

The words were barely out before the whole hall erupted.

"My God, he handed over the whole three-plus million? This guy has really lost it!"

"That woman's got some kind of talent! She's got him wrapped around her finger!"

The mother-in-law was shaking all over with excitement. "Over three million, all his savings... our Lola's about to strike it rich!"

Only my mother had gone white. "Leon, no!"

She shot to her feet and started for the stage, but the mother-in-law yanked her back hard. "Hey now! What do you think you're doing?"

"Your son's giving her the money of his own free will, we're not robbing anyone! What, your boy loves his wife, and that's a problem for you? Don't be so petty, you're his mother!"

"Exactly! It's a beautiful thing, the kids caring about each other beats anything!"

"You're one shameless mother-in-law, can't even bear to part with this little bit!"

My mother's lips trembled with fury, and the tears fell right there.

Through the blinding lights, she shook her head at me, desperate.

But I turned my face away as if I hadn't seen a thing, and pushed the bank card a little closer.

Lola's face flushed deep red, her breath coming fast, her hand already reaching. A second before her fingertips touched the card

I twisted my wrist away. "Wait."

Her head snapped up, the joy in her eyes not yet faded. "What is it, Leon?"

I smiled at her. "Lola, I know you're a good girl. I'm willing to hand you everything I have because I know you love me back. But they don't know that!"

I turned and pointed at the crowd below. "Today, in front of every friend and relative here, I never want you to feel slighted again. I want everyone to see that we gave each other our whole hearts, that this goes both ways!"

"I'm giving you all three million, six hundred and eighty thousand. So why don't you hand me your savings in exchange, let everyone see that you love me every bit as much as I love you!"

Cheers went up from the floor at once.

"Yeah! Let's see the bride step up too! Give us a show!"

The smile froze on Lola's face, a flash of panic crossing her eyes before she forced herself calm.

She shot a quick glance down at her mother, her mind racing.

Even if she wired over every cent she had, it still wouldn't come close to the three million, six hundred and eighty thousand on my card.

Any way you sliced it, she came out ahead!

And with all these eyes on her, if she refused, and I caught the guilt on her face, she'd have nowhere left to cry!

So she shot me a pouting, sulky look, her voice going soft and sweet.

"You're awful, testing me in front of all these people! My money's your money anyway, of course I'll give it all to you!"

"I want everyone to know I love you for real too!"

She pulled out her phone right then and, gritting her teeth, tapped through the transfer.

Two seconds later, my pocket buzzed.

I dropped my eyes to the screen, the deposit alert plain as day. One million, seven hundred and ninety thousand dollars!

All the money she'd conned out of me over eight years, plus every last cent she'd saved of her own.

Not a dollar short.

A cold smile tugged at the corner of my mouth, and when I looked up again, I gazed at her, moved.

"So can that bank card come to me now?"

She sidled up and hooked her arm through mine, her voice all excitement and expectation.

I held out my hand to her. "Of course."

Her pupils blew wide, her fingertips trembling wildly.

The instant she closed her hand around the card, I let my lips curve just slightly:

"This wedding's off."