促銷資訊載入中...
He Gave Our Wedding Fund to His Ex
Novelix
new
已完結
On the eve of her wedding, Anna Reed discovers the $320,000 wedding fund she built with her fiancé, Ethan Blake, has been emptied for his ex-girlfriend Claire and her failing pharmacy. Ethan calls it...
章節（3）
第1章
The night before the wedding, I discovered that our wedding fund account had been drained to seventeen dollars and sixty cents.
Ethan was in the kitchen boiling noodles. He saw me staring at my phone in silence and asked, "What's wrong?"
I handed him the transaction history.
Three hundred and twenty thousand dollars, split across twenty-seven transfers, all sent to a pharmacy account.
The recipient was Claire Hayes.
She was the ex-girlfriend who'd stayed by Ethan's side through the lowest point of his life. The pharmacy belonged to her mother — a neighborhood shop the woman had kept running for over a decade.
Ethan didn't deny it.
"Mrs. Hayes helped me back then," he said. "I had to pay her back."
I asked, "What about our wedding?"
"We push it back a bit." He spooned the noodles onto a plate, his tone perfectly even. "Mrs. Hayes can't go without her medication."
I stared at the seventeen dollars and sixty cents left in the account, and the last trace of hope inside me went cold.
I slipped off the ring and set it beside his plate.
"Ethan, the wedding is off."
"What you owe her, you can repay over time. As for us — this is where it ends."
Ethan looked up at me.
"The wedding's only being postponed three months. I'll make up the money." He paused. "Anna, don't use breaking up as a threat every time we argue."
I shot back, "Three months from now, what if Claire needs another lump sum?"
"Once her shop recovers, she'll pay it back."
"Did she give you anything in writing?"
Ethan's face darkened.
"I'm repaying Mrs. Hayes for what she did for me. I'm not lending money to Claire. What do I need a receipt for?"
That money didn't come from nowhere.
Every month after payday, I transferred a thousand dollars into that account. Year-end bonuses, the savings my grandmother secretly pressed into my hands — all of it went in there.
We had an agreement: Ethan would cover the wedding and the renovation of our new place. The money I saved would be our living fund after we were married.
The day the account first crossed three hundred thousand, he picked me up and spun me around the living room, grinning. "So, Mrs. Blake — wedding first, or honeymoon first?"
Back then, I truly believed that money in his hands was no different from money in mine.
But he transferred every last cent without telling me a single word beforehand.
And now he had the nerve to say I was keeping too close a tally.
I asked, "Does my hundred and ten thousand dollars also belong to the Hayes family?"
"We're about to be husband and wife. Why are you splitting hairs over yours and mine?" Ethan finally let his impatience show. "When my year-end bonus comes in, the gap will close itself. If it doesn't, I'll sell one of my apartments."
He nudged the plate toward me.
"Eat first. We'll talk when you've calmed down."
His phone rang.
Ethan glanced at the screen and picked up immediately.
Claire's choked sobbing came through the speaker. "Ethan, the landlord showed up with people to clear out the shop. My mom couldn't take the shock — she fainted. The ambulance is already here. I don't know what to do…"
Ethan stood up.
"Which hospital?"
"The one where you work."
He grabbed his jacket.
I reminded him, "My grandmother is being admitted tomorrow. You promised to help her with the paperwork."
He glanced back at me. "I haven't forgotten. I'll be there in the morning."
I said, "And I'll be telling her the wedding is off."
Ethan frowned.
"She has a weak heart, and she's checking in tomorrow. Do you really have to hit her with this right now?"
It took me a long moment to process what he'd just said.
He was blaming me.
"You drained the wedding fund and you want me to cover for you?"
"I'm just asking you to wait a couple of days. Once Mrs. Hayes stabilizes, I'll go explain everything myself."
Ethan pulled open the door, then looked back.
"Don't use the old woman to pressure me. Whatever it is, we'll deal with it when I get back."
The door slammed shut.
I stared at the noodles on the table, already bloated and shapeless. In the end, I didn't touch them.
There was a time when I had a fever and Ethan, after a seven-hour surgery, still made a detour at three in the morning to buy me hot soup.
When my grandmother was hospitalized, he drove dozens of miles after a night shift to deliver a pot of congee he'd burned to the bottom.
My grandmother always praised me for choosing well.
She didn't know yet that the wedding she'd been looking forward to for six years was already gone.
The groom had given every last dollar of that three hundred and twenty thousand to Claire.
第2章
The next morning, I took my grandmother to the hospital.
She refused the wheelchair — said it was embarrassing — and stopped to catch her breath every few steps. I helped her sit down, but the first thing she did was reach for my hand.
"Where's your ring?"
"Took it off when I was washing my hands."
"Ethan spent ages picking that out. Don't lose it."
She smiled until her eyes crinkled into crescents, then pulled a red velvet box from her cloth bag.
Inside was a sapphire bracelet.
"Your mother wore it on her wedding day. I polished it all last night. You wear it too, on the big day."
I held the box for a long time, unable to speak.
That was when Ethan pushed through the door.
His white coat was rumpled, and the shadows under his eyes were deep.
My grandmother waved him over at once. "Come here. Look at Anna — she's not even wearing her ring. Is she throwing another tantrum at you?"
"She's been under a lot of pressure at work lately."
Ethan leaned down to smooth out her blanket, his voice so natural there wasn't a single crack to hear.
"The wedding's still on. Focus on getting better."
My grandmother beamed and handed him the sapphire bracelet. "Look, don't you think Anna should wear this on the day? Wouldn't it be lovely?"
"Beautiful. It suits her." Ethan smiled.
They went on talking about the wedding, sentence after sentence. I never joined in.
Outside the room, I stopped him.
"The wedding is already off."
"You were upset last night. You didn't mean it."
"I'm perfectly clear-headed right now."
Ethan pinched the bridge of his nose. "She just got admitted. Do you really have to make a scene in front of her?"
"You're the one lying to her."
"I'm putting her mind at ease."
I looked at him. "Do you still plan on marrying me?"
The question caught Ethan off guard. Then his brow furrowed tight.
"When did I ever say I wouldn't? I gave the money to Claire. The wedding's delayed. What does that have to do with who I love?"
He said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
In his arrangement, I was the fiancée. Claire was the obligation. As long as he came back to me in the end, however much I suffered in between could be quietly brushed aside.
A nurse wheeled a treatment cart past. Ethan stepped aside, then turned and headed upstairs.
I followed.
Mrs. Hayes was on the sixteenth floor.
She'd just finished her tests, and Claire was helping her walk slowly down the corridor.
When she saw me, the old woman lit up.
"Anna's here too? Take Ethan away, will you? He sat with me all night. This hospital has plenty of doctors — it doesn't need him playing nursemaid."
Claire's eyes were red and swollen. She linked her arm through Ethan's as if on cue.
"Mom, Ethan's worried about you."
"He should be worrying about his bride." Mrs. Hayes chuckled. "Your wedding's in ten days, isn't it?"
Ethan glanced at me, then spoke after a beat.
"The wedding's been pushed back three months. You focus on getting well first."
Mrs. Hayes froze. "What happened? Why the delay?"
"Something came up at the hospital."
I couldn't help but let out a laugh.
His hospital business, apparently, also had the power to move three hundred and twenty thousand dollars out of our account.
Claire lowered her head and said softly, "Anna, I'm sorry. I'll pay back every cent. The shop's lease wasn't renewed out of nowhere. When my mom heard the pharmacy might be gone, that's when she collapsed. Ethan was afraid she couldn't handle it, so he covered it for us."
I cut her off. "Enough."
"I really didn't know it was your wedding fund. He just said he had the money."
"Claire." I held her gaze. "The account was literally named 'wedding fund.' Three hundred and twenty thousand dollars. Twenty-seven transfers. You're telling me you never once saw the account name?"
Her tears spilled instantly.
Ethan pulled her behind him.
"Mrs. Hayes just came out of the emergency room. Do you really have to say all this in front of her?"
"I can't even ask a question?"
"I'm the one who transferred the money. You have a problem, take it up with me!"
Mrs. Hayes had gone white.
"Three hundred and twenty thousand dollars? Claire, you took three hundred and twenty thousand dollars from them?"
"Mom, please don't get worked up."
The cardiac monitor suddenly started beeping.
Mrs. Hayes clutched her chest. Nurses rushed her into the room.
Ethan looked at me coldly.
"Happy now?"
The door closed in my face.
I turned and went downstairs. My grandmother was bracing herself against the wall, looking for me.
"Anna, what's this about three hundred and twenty thousand dollars?"
第3章
My grandmother had an angina attack that same day.
The doctors ordered more tests and told her to stay at least another week.
She lay in bed, still comforting me. "Money lost can be earned again. Ethan is loyal to the people who helped him. That's a good thing."
I sat with my head down, peeling an apple for her.
"Grandma, we're not having the wedding for now."
She watched me for a long time. Her voice dropped. "He doesn't want to marry you anymore?"
"I'm the one who doesn't want to marry him."
"Oh, child. You can't take things you say in anger seriously. I've watched how he's treated you all these years."
She was right.
I'd seen it too.
The year I graduated college, Ethan came to sit with me every day after his shifts while I worked on my thesis, falling asleep propped against the desk.
The first time my grandmother was hospitalized, he followed her around calling her "Grandma" for six months before she finally dropped the stiff "Dr. Blake" and started calling him "Ethan."
All that goodness had piled up so high that I couldn't force a single bad word past it.
That afternoon, my grandmother changed into a new red jacket.
She was afraid she wouldn't make it to the wedding, so she'd booked a photographer to come to the hospital for a family portrait ahead of time.
Ethan had promised he'd be there.
We waited from two o'clock until four. He never showed.
My grandmother kept smoothing her hair.
"Doctors are busy. Let's wait a little longer."
I dialed his number.
Claire's muffled crying came through first, then Ethan's exhausted voice.
"What is it?"
"Grandma's waiting for you to take the photo."
"Mrs. Hayes is having a bad reaction to her treatment. I can't leave. Let's reschedule."
"The photographer's been waiting two hours."
"Pay him extra."
"My grandmother can't wait!"
A few seconds of silence on the other end.
"Anna, don't use the old woman to pressure me."
He hung up.
My grandmother read my face and already knew the answer.
She slowly took off her jacket, folded it neatly, and placed it back in the bag.
"Never mind. The color makes me look heavy anyway."
She turned away to clean her glasses. Her hands were trembling too badly to wipe them.
I pretended not to see and crouched down to take off her shoes.
The old woman asked quietly, "Ethan never used to break a promise. He must be exhausted lately, right?"
I murmured yes.
Watching her make excuses for him made it impossible for me to say a single honest word.
After the photographer left, Claire showed up carrying a meal container.
"Ethan asked me to bring you dinner. He hasn't even eaten lunch — he's been with my mom this whole time."
My grandmother had just fallen asleep. I blocked Claire at the door.
"Who told you to come?"
"I wanted to apologize to your grandmother."
"Stay away from her."
Claire pressed her lips together, tears brimming.
"I know you hate me. I'll repay the three hundred and twenty thousand. The wedding won't be delayed much longer. Ethan's been so good to you — why can't you just trust him this once?"
A sound came from inside the room — a cup hitting the floor.
My grandmother's face was ashen. Her hand was clamped over her chest.
I rushed in and hit the call button.
Medical staff flooded the room.
By the time Ethan arrived half an hour later, my grandmother had been transferred to the ICU.
He grabbed my wrist and demanded, "I told you to keep it from her. Why did you tell her?"
"Claire told her."
Claire stood behind him, face streaked with tears.
"I just wanted to apologize. I didn't know she was awake…"
"Go back to your mom's room first."
Ethan shielded her behind him, then turned to me.
"She meant well. You knew Grandma couldn't handle the shock. Why did you let her in?"
I almost laughed.
"This is my grandmother's room. She's the one who barged in."
"Claire's already beating herself up. Would it kill you to ease off?"
The ICU doors opened.
My grandmother was wheeled out. The first thing she said when she opened her eyes was, "Ethan, is the wedding still happening?"
Ethan bent down.
"Yes. The moment you're discharged, we'll go ahead with it."
The old woman finally relaxed.
I wanted to expose his lie. But seeing the relief on my grandmother's face, I swallowed the words.
When he soothed her, his eyes were perfectly calm.
He didn't even bother to invent a new date.