Chapter 1

The bride-price had been set at $380,000.

But right before the wedding, my fiancée, Willow Henson, suddenly bumped it up to $580,000.

"It's not that I need the money. It's that this proves whether your family really values me."

My family was furious, but we gritted our teeth and agreed anyway.

On the wedding day, while everyone was toasting to a long, happy marriage and children soon, Willow turned on us in front of forty-some tables of guests and announced to the whole room:

"Can all of you please stop insulting me?"

"What century is this? Are we women just baby-making machines to you?"

"I, Willow Henson, decided a long time ago to be childfree, to be an independent, refined woman."

"I won't let anyone dictate my life, and I won't be guilted into anything either. From now on, anyone who tells me to hurry up and have a son shouldn't be surprised when I turn cold on them."

That speech didn't just humiliate me in public. It shattered the dignity my parents had guarded their entire lives.

And later, on the day her family hit a crisis and needed money, when she came crying and begging me, I said calmly:

"I'm sorry. I wouldn't want to ruin your whole independent-modern-woman image."

1

The cousin aunt set me up on a blind date, and I liked her the moment I saw her.

My parents were pleased with her too.

So we agreed to everything her family asked for: the $380,000 bride-price, the gold jewelry set, a wedding home in the city center, a car, all of it.

I thought that settled it.

I threw myself into the wedding preparations, full of anticipation.

But the night before the wedding.

I was at home, hosting the relatives and friends who'd come to help, sorting out the details for the next day.

Willow came storming in, her face furious.

I hurried over, and before I could even ask what had brought her here so suddenly, she snapped at me:

"Martin Gilbert, do you actually want to marry me or not?"

I looked at her, baffled, and forced a smile.

"Willow, what's wrong? Who upset you?"

Willow stared at me like she was interrogating a criminal.

"Don't change the subject. I want you to answer my question!"

She was dead serious, so I answered her the same way.

"Of course I like you. Of course I really want to marry you."

"Good." Willow said. "Then if you're sincere, raise the bride-price to $580,000."

I froze for a second.

With the eyes of every relative and friend at the table on me, I frowned.

"Willow, didn't we agree on $380,000? The wedding's tomorrow. Why are you suddenly hiking the bride-price now? On this kind of notice, where am I supposed to come up with another two hundred grand?"

Willow's voice went cold.

"Where you get the two hundred grand is your problem, not mine!"

Facing Willow's hard tone, and every relative and friend around me watching.

My face burned.

Like I'd just been slapped, hard.

I tried to take Willow's hand and get her outside to talk.

"Willow, let's talk about this outside."

But she yanked her hand away.

She planted both hands on her hips.

"Don't call me Willow. Today all you need to do is give me an answer. Are you agreeing or not?"

When I stayed silent, she pressed on, unhappy.

"See? My best friend was right. You can tell whether a man cares about his woman by whether he's willing to spend money on her."

"We're not even married yet and you're already stingy over a little bride-price money. After we're married, am I supposed to count on you treating me well?"

My heart felt like a large hand had clamped down on it, hard.

Even breathing was difficult. I said to her, patiently:

"Willow, it's not that I don't want to. It's just that we're getting married tomorrow. How can you change things at the last minute like this, out of nowhere?"

Willow said coldly:

"I'm doing this on purpose. And I'm not doing it to make things hard for you. I'm doing it precisely to test you."

I couldn't believe it.

"You're treating this as a test of me?"

Willow nodded, self-righteous.

"Of course."

"If you won't even make this much of an effort, if you can't even do this small thing, then what am I marrying you for?"

"Isn't being a refined, independent woman on my own good enough? Why should I marry you at all?"