Chapter 1 Marrying A Mama's Boy

On the wedding day, the groom's mother, Samantha Burgess, made the shocking announcement that she was also getting married that day.

I, who didn't receive any traditional wedding gifts, held onto the five hundred thousand dollars my parents had given me as a wedding gift and declared the wedding canceled on the spot.

1

After a tragic death in my previous life, I was reborn, returning to the day of my wedding.

At the ceremony, I wore a cheap rented wedding dress, and my parents, unable to bear the sight, secretly wiped their tears in the corner.

I was their only child, cherished and raised with utmost care. For this wedding, they had prepared a marital house for me.

Fearing that the wedding hosted by the groom's family wouldn't be grand enough, they even gave money to my boyfriend to book a hotel for the event, hoping for a once-in-a-lifetime romantic affair.

Looking at the tightly arranged banquet tables typical of a rural wedding setting, I sneered inwardly and feigned grievance as I turned to Evan Burgess, my boyfriend.

"Evan, didn't my parents give you the money to host the banquet? It's a once-in-a-lifetime event. They asked you to do it well so we could treat our relatives and friends to a nice meal. What do you mean by this?"

Evan's face turned sour instantly. He kept tugging at my hand, signaling me to stop talking.

Though my voice wasn't loud, everyone present could hear it. Soon, apart from my relatives, the expressions of the groom's side varied, each with their own hidden agendas.

"Honey, spending that money on a banquet is wasteful. Let's be frugal now, and after we're married and have a child, we'll use that money to buy you supplements," Evan said, trying to smooth things over without causing too much embarrassment.

In my previous life, I was foolishly obsessed with love. When Evan explained himself back then, I thought he was doing it all for me and felt secretly delighted for a long time. Now, having lived another life, I realized how foolish I was back then.

Of course, in my past life, I never saw a penny of that money. Evan lost it all on gambling.

When I got pregnant and needed money, he hemmed and hawed, and when I accidentally hit the mark, he became enraged out of embarrassment and beat me up.

It was then I realized I had married the wrong person, but it was too late. By then, I was heavily pregnant, imprisoned by his family, and forbidden from going anywhere.

Now, the affection on Evan's face only disgusted me.

I looked at Evan in disbelief, my eyes wide with incredulity. "Evan, what are you saying? We just got married. We can earn money for baby gradually, but everyone has given us monetary gifts for the wedding. How can you say spending money on the banquet is wasteful?"

My exaggerated expression made the groom's relatives' faces turn a spectrum of colors in shock and disbelief, and Evan's smile was barely holding up. He wished he could cover my mouth immediately.

Seeing my parents' expressions improve slightly, I felt even more guilty. In my past life, I was so focused on love that I couldn't see my future clearly, causing them endless worry. This time, it won't be the same.

2

Just then, the main event began. Evan's mother, dressed in a red traditional wedding dress, swayed her hips as she walked in.

Her graying hair was dyed black, and she wore bright red lipstick.

Not only that, but she also dragged an elderly man with graying hair onto the stage. Seeing this festively dressed couple take the stage, I knew the show was about to start.

Sure enough, Samantha's bizarre entrance caused a stir, even overshadowing the earlier commotion. As the mother of the groom, her attire at her son's wedding quickly became the subject of whispers among the guests.

But the real spectacle was yet to come. Seeing my mother's face turn sour again, I signaled her to stay calm and quietly lowered my gaze, preparing to watch the drama unfold.

"Everyone, please quiet down. Look at how grand this banquet is today. I'm taking advantage of my son and daughter-in-law's wedding to announce something. Jackson and I have registered our marriage, and we're using today's banquet to celebrate our wedding too, saving everyone the trouble of coming back and forth," Samantha announced.

As soon as she finished speaking, the guests that had been buzzing with conversation fell silent, even the sound of picking up food ceased.

I couldn't help but shake with laughter, my shoulders trembling. Samantha's sallow face was full of wrinkles, but with the heavy makeup she wore today, it looked quite jarring.

Especially since she was wearing a slim fitting traditional gown, her round belly almost bursting out of it. I struggled to suppress my laughter.

Unlike my past life, today I couldn't hold back. Samantha's antics amused me.

Although I experienced this in my past life, back then, I only felt embarrassed and humiliated to be getting married on the same day as my mother-in-law. But after Evan's repeated persuasion, I chose to endure it.

This time, however, I decided to let her finish her performance before I stepped in. Endurance was out of the question, but I would let her have her moment.

"However, the gifts from all the relatives and friends shouldn't be less. Remember to give double, everyone. After all, the first is for sentiment, and the second is for the account. Our family hasn't skimped on gifts in the past," Samantha said, her smile stretching to her ears.

She thought she was cleverly joking about the gift money, but she ended up offending many relatives.

Several female guests, who had been holding chopsticks, angrily slammed them onto the table.

Perhaps I laughed a bit too much, and my parents thought I was crying. "Your family is too unreasonable. The money I gave for my daughter's hotel banquet was misappropriated, the expensive wedding dress was returned for cash, and now the mother wants to get married on the same day as her son. Aren't you afraid of being laughed at?" My mother, usually gentle, couldn't hold back her anger, her eyes red with emotion.

She thought I was crying and came up to the stage to hug me. In my past life, when my mother stood up for me, I let her down for the sake of the wedding proceeding smoothly.

She passed away not long after my death, heartbroken, and my father, who had high blood pressure, couldn't bear the double blow and passed away too.

All of this was because I fell for this weak mama's boy. My love-blinded decisions in my past life ruined my family.

This time, it wouldn't happen.

I patted my mother's hand to comfort her, then tried to look sad and aggrieved. "Dear friends and family, I apologize for our poor hospitality today."

Seeing me apologize, my mother was puzzled, but Evan and his relatives' expressions improved. Evan looked at me with gratitude and relief.

Grateful already? How disgusting. I would show him what real gratitude looked like next.

"Since Samantha wants to get married today too, as the younger generation, I can't compete with my elders. So, I won't get married today. I'll let Samantha enjoy the day."

Saying this, I pretended to wipe non-existent tears from my eyes, removed the flower crown from my head, placed it aside, and led my mother off the stage.

3

Evan seemed to have reached his breaking point. He was furious, dropping all pretense. "Katherine, what do you mean by this? Are you going to leave and embarrass my family?"

He gripped my wrist, which hurt me, but thankfully, my father came up and pushed him away, and my mother stood in front of me to protect me. I felt a sense of relief and gratitude.

A lump came into my throat. The truth was, the ones who loved me the most in this life were my parents.

"Evan is right. Your daughter is utterly lacking in manners. She hasn't even married into our family yet, and she's already disgracing the Burgess family. She doesn't even respect me, her future mother-in-law. What will happen once she's actually married?"

At this moment, Samantha glared at me with a tart and mean expression, as if accusing me of ruining her wedding.

The Burgess family was certainly shameless. I glanced at the audience below, they were practically watching a comedy. Samantha was just like a joker.

"Samantha, you're right. I am ill-mannered, but I could never overshadow my mother-in-law by getting married on the same day as her. After all, Samantha, you're of a certain age. If I quit the wedding today, you can be the most glamorous bride here."

I spoke the sarcastic words with sincerity, without a single offensive word.

"You brat, are you implying that I'm old? Do you still want to enter the Burgess family?" Her face turned from pale to flushed, and she looked as if she might faint from anger at any moment.

I maintained my earnest demeanor, claiming it was all for her benefit. From beginning to end, I was the perfect daughter-in-law. But today, who was truly being unreasonable? Everyone in the audience could see.

"Katherine is right. Let's leave today's wedding to the elders. Our Robertson family knows how to respect the elders. It's just a pity that I had prepared a dowry of half a million dollars for Katherine, and her father had a house and car ready for her. But it seems we'll have to take them back now. And Katherine isn't desperate to get married. Let's just call off this wedding."

My mother looked at Evan with a hint of regret, then gave Samantha a meaningful glance before pulling me away.

"Wait, wait! I won't go through with the wedding. Please, wait!"

Samantha, in high heels, hurried after us.

"Wait, honey, listen to me," Evan anxiously followed, trying to sweet-talk me with his deep affection.

I glanced back at Evan and his mother, their eyes filled with greed, making me feel both frightened and disgusted.

Without a moment's hesitation, I got into my father's car and left this remote village. Unlike my past life, this time, my whole family left together.

In my past life, I was stubborn, and my parents left the wedding in anger before it was even over. That night, when I tried to explain things to Evan, the overbearing Samantha slapped me.

Evan, overly attached to his mother, kept apologizing and kneeling, asking me to be understanding because his mother was old and he didn't want to be caught in the middle.

In my past life, I thought I had to do everything right, please my mother-in-law, and not let Evan be torn between us.

4

After I returned home, it wasn't long before Evan showed up with his mother, carrying a bag of potatoes and a few vegetables. Evan also had a carton of milk in his hand.

Just by looking at the packaging, I knew it was about to expire because in my past life, he brought the same carton when we visited my parents.

The gifts I had prepared in advance were all taken by him and his mother to be exchanged for money.

When we arrived at my parents' home, Evan only took out a bag of shabby potatoes and vegetables, along with the nearly expired milk.

I felt humiliated and embarrassed, standing at the entrance of the neighborhood, tears streaming down my face. My overbearing mother-in-law loudly accused me of looking down on rural people and their produce, drawing the attention of the neighbors.

This time, Evan, under his mother's gaze, knelt before my parents, promising to treat me well and saying he would marry me with grandeur.

My father's face was as dark as it could get, smoking one cigarette after another without saying a word, because he and my mother had strongly opposed our relationship.

In my past life, I was so determined to marry Evan that I threatened to starve myself if my parents didn't agree. I was so foolish back then.

My father had said Evan was a man lacking ambition who would never amount to anything, but I thought my parents were exaggerating and looked down on Evan. I often argued with them, stubbornly siding with Evan.

Looking back now, I realized how foolish I was. I wished I could go back and slapped myself to wake up.

But to everyone's surprise, I agreed to marry Evan again. My parents sighed in disappointment, their shoulders slumping even more.

In contrast, Evan and his mother were practically beaming with joy.

"Oh, I knew Katherine was sensible. Let's hold the wedding tomorrow," Samantha exclaimed excitedly, reaching for my hand.

Her greed was so nauseating it made me want to vomit.

"Wait, Mrs. Burgess, we need to clarify a few things. My parents said the bride price is one hundred thousand dollars."

I spoke slowly, leaning back on the sofa, watching their faces change instantly, and I couldn't help but find it amusing.

How ridiculous. In my past life, I didn't ask for a single penny of bride price. Originally, my parents asked for one hundred thousand, but Evan, in front of me, drank himself into a stupor every day and cried about how he couldn't afford it, how poor his family was, and how he would have to sell a kidney or blood for the money.

So, stubbornly, I didn't ask for a penny. But in this life, considering I had been with him for three years, I decided to count it as compensation for my emotional and youthful losses.

Their expressions were particularly unpleasant, so I cheerfully added, "Don't worry, Evan. I know your family can't come up with one hundred thousand dollars. So I told my parents..."

Before I could finish, their faces changed so quickly it made me feel sick. Their expressions turned excited again.

"Katherine, I knew you love me the most," Evan said, gripping my hand with a look of gratitude. I suppressed my nausea and continued.

"So there's no need for a bride price, but likewise, my parents' dowry of half a million dollars won't be given either. And the house and car, we'll buy them ourselves in the future. After all, marriage isn't about getting something for nothing, right?"

I put on an serious face, appearing grievance and understanding.

As expected, Evan's hypocritical smile faltered, and his grip on my hand tightened.

But Samantha, being the seasoned one, quickly plastered on her signature insincere smile. "Katherine, what are you talking about? Of course, our family will give the bride price. You just didn't mention it before the wedding."

She gave me a look, clearly wanting me to be sensible.

"Exactly, so there's no need now. Don't worry, Mrs. Burgess, no bride price means no dowry."

I flashed her a bright smile, looking as innocent as ever. But Samantha was visibly upset, her face twisted, unable to maintain her signature insincere smile.

"Mrs. Robertson, we'll give two hundred thousand dollars for the bride price," Samantha said through gritted teeth, looking at my mom.

She was finally being sensible, greedy for more money.

"Then it's settled. The wedding will be held the day after tomorrow." This mother and son were in such a hurry that they couldn't even wait a day or two.

I feigned surprise and joy, "Wow, really? But I never said I would marry Evan. Unless Evan transfers the money my parents gave for the wedding banquet to me, I'll keep it as pocket money."

I smiled innocently, my face wearing a harmless look earning a disdainful glance from Samantha. Soon, I received a transfer from Evan, the tight-fisted man, totaling thirty thousand dollars.

Even though it was my parents' money, getting it out of Evan was no easy feat.