According to tradition on my fiancé's side, the groom was supposed to head to the banquet venue first while the bride went to his family's home alone, knocked on the door, and waited for her new mother-in-law to answer.
Since my fiancé knew my background was... complicated, he'd specifically told me it would just be a formality. Nothing to worry about.
But I'd been standing outside calling for a long time, and not a single sound came from inside.
It rubbed me the wrong way, but for my fiancé's sake and my father's, I swallowed my irritation.
I leaned closer to the door and called out again.
"Mom, it's getting late! Open the door!"
A QR code on a printed card slid through the crack in the door. Clearly prepared in advance.
"Pay the greeting fee first. Ten thousand and one dollars."
Remembering what my fiancé had told me the night before, I transferred the money using the linked payment account he'd set up for me.
The door still didn't open.
Not wanting to waste any more time, I tamped down my frustration.
"Mom, the money's been sent. Could you please open the door?"
This time, a different voice answered. My fiancé's aunt.
"Transfer another five hundred thousand, or don't even think about stepping foot in this house!"
……
I thought I'd misheard. The smile froze on my face, and I asked again.
"How much did you say?"
"Five hundred thousand! Not a cent less!"
I turned on my heel to leave. My fiancé's childhood friend caught my arm.
He held on, trying to calm me down. "Freya Sullivan, that's just how his aunt is. She's joking. Nobody would actually ask you for that kind of money!"
The voice behind the door turned shrill.
"Joking? Who's joking with you people?"
"You should've done your homework before marrying into this family. This is our price! You agree, you transfer the money right now. Otherwise, you can crawl back to wherever you came from!"
"Don't think just because you've got a little cash that everyone's going to bend over backwards for you. I don't play that game!"
I arched an eyebrow at my fiancé's friend. His expression had darkened too.
"Auntie, today's Marlin Lawrence's big day. You've had your fun. Don't push it."
"I'm pushing it? If it weren't for me, that boy wouldn't be where he is today! I don't care who shows up to plead his case. Without five hundred thousand, nobody's walking through this door!"
Her tone shifted, dripping with false sweetness. "Freya, dear, why don't you just go ahead and transfer the money? Any more delays and you'll miss the auspicious hour."
I'd sailed through life without a hitch for as long as I could remember. Even after I'd joined my classified unit, no one had ever dared humiliate me like this.
If Director Calloway hadn't specifically warned me before I left not to get into any altercations, that flimsy door wouldn't have survived a single punch from me.
I looked at the friend beside me. He shifted uncomfortably, then leaned close to my ear.
"I just called Marlin. He said go ahead and transfer it. He'll pay you back later."
He sighed. "Marlin's got it tough too, you know."
"You two are going to be building a life together. Just bear with it a little longer, okay?"
"Did he tell you to say that too?"
The friend plastered on a grin. "Come on, of course not. Everyone knows you're the love of Marlin's life."
I choked down my anger and, with his coaxing, walked back to the door.
"Account number."
A scoff from inside. "Should've been this smart from the start."
The five hundred thousand went through. The door cracked open.
A fleshy face, creased with deep folds, wedged itself into the gap. Beady black eyes raked over me from head to toe.
They stopped dead on the gold necklace around my neck.
My fiancé's friend reached for the door, and the aunt slapped his hand away.
"No. You're not coming in."
"Auntie!"
Even he was out of moves now.
"What do you want? We're seriously going to be late."
The aunt squeezed her heavy frame through the gap, then planted herself against the door and shoved it shut behind her with her backside.
