Chapter 5
Finally, I addressed the police officers, “Please thoroughly investigate the hotel surveillance from the day before the engagement and verify whether the video provided has any missing segments.”
Tara, hearing my calm and logical argument, began to cry, covering her face dramatically, “Mrs. Royce, Thomas, Olivia is so incredible. Now I’m a suspect just because I work at the hotel. And me, a mere waitress, how could I have the power to convince the manager to give out surveillance footage?”
Mrs. Royce sprang to her defense like a hen protecting its chick, “Don’t throw baseless
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Chapter 5
accusations around! The video was given to
me after I begged the manager! It has nothing to do with Tara.”
Mrs. Royce seemed ready to continue, but I raised a hand to interrupt her, “Mrs. Royce, truth is determined by evidence, not by who can argue louder.”
I supported my distraught mother, my expression serious, “Everything will be handed over to the police. Since you deny the 18,800 dollars, kindly return it to me for now. I will no longer entertain any private invitations from you. Any future incidents of this nature will result in me filing harassment charges. Whatever the proper amount of bride price was, I’ll repay it after the results. are clear!”
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The officer nodded at me in approval.
Thomas gave me a long, intense look but eventually acquiesced to my reasoning. Reluctantly, he left with his mother, who appeared visibly unhappy.
Tara, however, gave me a meaningful smile on her way out. I returned it with a radiant smile of my own.
Back at home, my mom was despondent, “Olivia, I was wrong. I misjudged people. I thought Mrs. Royce and I were fellow
sufferers and could support each other. Who knew they’d find even 18,800 dollars too much?”
She sighed heavily, “From now on, you make your own choices. I won’t pressure you to
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Chapter 5
marry anymore.”
Then she hesitated, “But… do you still want to be with Thomas? If you do, moving money around is just money. I can swallow my pride if it’s for your happiness.”
My mother looked at me with an embarrassed expression, as if she could swallow the
188,800 dollars as long as I said I wanted to.
But the pain of the previous life, the wound on my forehead and the anguish of losing my mother, had taught me better. Before this ordeal, I shared her longing for a secure partner. Now, I’d grown wiser.
At thirty, rationality often outweighs emotion. I could let go of this relationship.
I nestled into her warm embrace, playfully
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saving. “How about you take care of me for the rest of my life?”
She sighed, “Still, a woman who doesn’t marry has no one to lean on.
I understood her perspective. Her traditional values and years of hardship made her see marriage as a safety net.
She had no one to turn to when she
desperately needed help, like when I was thirteen, burning with a fever in the middle of the night.
Mom had carried me through campus streets to the hospital, collapsing once we arrived. I’d woken up to see her being resuscitated by doctors.
Softly, I replied, “Just kidding, just kidding.
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5/7
Chapter 5
There are plenty of men out there. I’ll just choose wisely next time.” She laughed, ruffling my hair affectionately.
Seeing the color return to her cheeks, I grabbed my phone and dialed the owner of the hotel where we had our engagement.
Tara knew the hotel manager. But by a lucky coincidence, I knew the hotel’s owner.
“Olivia! What wind brings me the honor of your call?” My university junior, three years younger, always acted casually but managed his family business with skill.
“Enough with the small talk, I need your help I’ve been falsely accused.” I briefed him on the situation. Within the hour, he sent me an untouched copy of the surveillance footage,
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securely backed up on my phone.
Before the call ended, he teased me as usual, “What kind of guy are you chasing after, girl? Your taste is awful! You have someone like me, a fine young gentleman, around, but instead, you’re going for old geezers, you’re stubborn and stale. Tsk!”
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