Bride Hits Back

During the day at the office, I discussed wedding dress styles with my coworkers, sampled wedding cakes, and played the part of a blissful bride flawlessly.

After work, I threw myself into the boxing gym.

Protective gear on. Gloves on. One second, I was calling him honey on chat. The next, I was gritting my teeth and counting strikes against a heavy bag.

At my request, the coach designed a specific defense-and-counter routine against spinning kicks.

"You said your opponent is good at spinning kicks?"

"Yes."

"What level?"

"Underground fight-club sparring background."

The coach frowned.

"People from underground rings use dirty leg techniques. They don't follow official rules. They aim for vital spots."

He pulled up a clip from an underground fight.

"See that? Before they kick, their hips tuck in for a split second. Very fast. Less than point-three seconds."

"What you need to do is shift sideways within that point-three seconds, bleed off the force, then close in and strike at short range."

I nodded and practiced it over and over.

When I cornered a six-foot man against the wall, he instinctively covered his groin.

The coach cursed him for being useless, but I saw the corner of his mouth lift slightly.

That night, my best friend Sophie came to pick me up from the gym.

When she saw the bruises all over my arms, her eyes reddened immediately.

"Vivian, are you crazy? Why are you torturing yourself like this?"

I took off my gear, opened a bottle of water, and drank two mouthfuls.

"Look at what I found."

I handed her my phone.

On the screen were transaction records sent by the private investigator.

Derek's online loan: eighty-three thousand.

Of that, sixty-two thousand had been spent on a Cartier bracelet. Recipient: Chloe Shaw.

Sophie's eyes went wide.

"That bastard took out online loans to buy Cartier for that woman? What has he ever bought you? On your birthday, he gave you a nine-dollar bouquet of baby's breath with free shipping! Call off the wedding, Vivian. Do not marry him!"

I shook my head and took back the phone.

"That is exactly why I can't call it off. I need him to kneel and spit out everything he swallowed."

Sophie looked at me, and the look in her eyes changed.

"Vivian, I don't know exactly what you are planning, but whatever it is, I am on your side."

I watched her leave, then bent down and kept hitting the bag.

Three nights before the wedding, the investigator sent me the final recording. It had been recorded inside Derek's car.

Chloe's voice came through.

"Derek, after the wedding day, she will be ruined. That house under her name was paid in full, right? Once it is transferred to you, we can move in together. How perfect would that be?"

Derek laughed. "What's the rush? Once I get her house, then transfer out her savings, that will make this marriage worth it."

Chloe giggled. "Derek, you are so bad."

"Do you like it?"

"I love it."

The recording ended there.

I sat on the bench in the gym locker room and listened to it three times.

My hands were steady enough to back it up to three different cloud drives without a single mistake.

Then I transferred the remaining payment to the investigator and added a note: excellent work, worth every cent.