The Billionaire's Gift

I had agreed to pay 10,000 at the wedding. At the very last minute, my mother-in-law, Alice Thompson, suddenly raised it to 500,000.

I went to confront them.

My husband, Dylan Forrest, kept his head down, pretending not to hear a thing as he looked at his phone.

Alice rolled her eyes, clearly about to brush me off with some excuse. But instead, the truth spilled out of her mouth against her will.

"Of course we have to take advantage of you being pregnant and unable to run to squeeze as much money as we can. It's the perfect timing to use it to buy Gideon a house, paid in full!"

The words were like a silent explosion.

I was so furious I actually laughed. "So, that's the plan? You're trying to strip me for everything I have? If I don't pay, does that mean there's no wedding?"

Alice clamped a hand over her mouth, panic flashing across her face. But her voice came out louder than ever, like it was blasting through a speaker.

"If you don't pay, then get lost! You're just a pregnant, used woman. Who else would want you besides Dylan?"

The guests erupted instantly.

Dylan's face went pale as paper.

I smiled.

Then a mechanical voice rang in my head. "Honest Lies System activated. Malicious fraud detected. Reward granted: 100 billion. Match assigned: the richest man in Lumeria at the next table."

"Fine," I said softly. "You said it yourself."

I wanted to see just how the Forrests planned to show their faces tomorrow after every ugly truth they'd tried to hide was dragged out into the open.

A Price on Dignity

The wedding hall was bathed in a harsh, blinding light.

The emcee smiled brightly and handed the microphone to Alice. "Come on, let the bride change how she addresses you. She should call you Mom. The gift is just symbolic—10,000 dollars with best wishes!"

I held the wine glass in my hand, ready to propose a toast.

Alice sat in her chair, eyelids half-lowered, clutching the money without moving a muscle.

"Ten thousand? That's history."

She curled her lip, her voice ringing across the entire hall.

"If you want to marry into the Forrest family, you follow our new rules. Frankly, I don't see any sincerity from you. Let's round it up to 500,000."

The room fell dead silent.

The emcee froze, microphone still raised.

My hand stiffened midair. I turned to look at Dylan.

He stood there in the suit worth 30,000 I had bought for him with his head down, eyes glued to his phone, acting like none of this concerned him.

I took a slow breath, forcing down the anger rising in my chest. "Mom, the gift is usually from the mother-in-law to the daughter-in-law. I didn't even ask for a wedding gift. I paid for the house in full myself, and my family covered the entire wedding banquet.

"You insisted on 10,000 before, and I agreed. Now, you're suddenly demanding 500,000? Don't you think that's too much?"

Alice rolled her eyes and opened her mouth.

A sharp chime rang in my head.

"Malicious fraud detected. Honest Lies System activated. Target: vicious mother-in-law. Penalty: forced truth-telling."

Alice's lips trembled, then she spoke. "What do you mean by that? If I don't drain your pockets now, how is Gideon supposed to buy a house outright? You expect him to take on a mortgage? That'd be exhausting!"

The room exploded into conversation.

Guests exchanged shocked looks, whispers spreading like wildfire.

"Oh, my God… She's squeezing the daughter-in-law dry just to buy her younger son a house? That's shameless…"

Alice slapped a hand over her mouth, eyes wide in horror, as if she couldn't understand why she had just blurted out her true thoughts.

Dylan finally looked up, his face ashen. He tugged at her sleeve. "Mom, what did you just say?"

I let the wine glass fall from my hand.

It shattered as it hit the floor, wine splashing onto Dylan's pants.

"So, that's the plan? You're trying to strip me for everything I have?" I looked at them, my voice cold. "If I don't pay, does that mean there's no wedding?"

Alice opened her mouth again, but her response was no longer under her control.

"If you don't pay, then get lost! You're just a pregnant, used woman. Your belly's already showing. Who else would want you besides Dylan?

"You're the cheap one here, throwing yourself at us! Once you marry in, your money will be mine, the house will belong to Gideon, and you'll spend the rest of your life serving our entire family!"