I stood before the church, my white suit impeccably pressed, my heart pounding like a drum. Today was the day – my wedding day with Chloe. I had always believed we would walk hand-in-hand towards a future of happiness.
But as the church doors slowly opened, the first person to emerge was not my pure bride, but Chloe’s "best friend," Leah. She wore a victor’s smile, dangling a thin contract in her hand, walking step by step towards me. Her sharp voice was like a file scraping glass, piercing my eardrums with pain.
“John, $88,888 as a ‘get-off-the-car gift’ – that’s still not enough,” Leah announced without hesitation, her greedy gaze sweeping over me. She turned to Chloe, who was already in her wedding dress, and said with sugary words: “Darling, this is for your dignity! How can you marry into a wealthy family without this kind of standing?”
I saw Chloe’s body stiffen. A flicker of hesitation crossed her eyes, which had been so full of anticipation. But soon, she nodded, a hint of a fawning smile on her lips, like a puppet on Leah’s strings. My heart suddenly sank.
“And these two gold bars, they’re also part of the bride price,” Leah pushed her luck, pointing to a gift box nearby. Her appetite was much larger than I had imagined.
I suppressed my anger, about to speak, when a gasp came from the church entrance. My parents, surprisingly, were there. They had intended to quietly witness my happiness, but instead, stumbled upon this most unbearable scene.
Leah, completely unaware of who these two elderly people were, became even more arrogant and domineering, emboldened by her entourage, yelling: “Since your elders are here, that’s even better!”
She yanked out the document and flung it in front of me, the paper rustling against the air with an unsettling sound: “This is a prenuptial agreement. This $88,888 ‘get-off-the-car gift’ is John’s pre-marital debt alone, and has nothing to do with Chloe!”
I looked at the glaring clauses on the paper, everything before my eyes blurring. I tried to look at Chloe, hoping she would see Leah’s true colors, that she would say something fair, even if just a questioning look.
However, she just timidly tugged at my mother’s sleeve, gently advising: “Mom and Dad, this is a young people’s matter between John and me. Leah is doing this for my own good…”
“For your good?” My mother’s face turned pale with anger, her hand pointing at Leah trembling.
“Oh, this ordinary lady, who might you be?” Leah scrutinized my mother with scorn, her eyes full of naked contempt, as if my mother’s very presence was a defilement of the occasion.
In that moment, I felt an unprecedented despair. My world crashed down. The woman I deeply loved was, at such an important moment, completely manipulated by a so-called “best friend,” becoming a tool for her extortion. I looked at Chloe, her blank gaze like a bottomless void, with not a shred of resistance, not even a hint of a question.
This marriage, before it even began, was already turbulent. I had thought I was marrying love, but the reality before my eyes told me I was merely marrying a puppet on a string, manipulated by others, and I, perhaps, was the biggest victim of this farce.
John Dylan, heir to Brown Corp, hides his identity while dating Chloe Lowe. Influenced by her greedy friend Leah, Chloe fights with John over money. When Frances Brown arrives with lavish gifts, Leah and Chloe mock him—until Hubert Stone confirms his identity. Realizing her mistake, Chloe fabricates lies to save face, but John sees through her.
