Chapter 3

Early the next morning, I still went to the Landon residence.

I had planned to return all the wedding gifts from before. But when I arrived, I found the gate to the residence wide open. Many of the Landons' relatives thronged the courtyard.

There were trays of drinks, platters of fruit, and gift lists on the tables. It didn't look like an ordinary family gathering.

As soon as I walked in, I saw Finley sitting in the main hall. He was dressed properly and elegantly as he sat there politely while Suzanne's mother, Tilda Frost, introduced him to their relatives.

As soon as I entered, someone laughed and teased, "Suzanne is doing so well for herself out there now. Money and gifts are just material things. Since they've decided on each other, vast money and costly gifts are not important."

Not important….

Those words left me dumbfounded.

I remembered that last year, Suzanne had mentioned having our wedding back at our hometown.

At the time, Tilda had casually said that anyone who wanted to marry her daughter had to be able to offer eight million dollars as a monetary gift.

I had agreed and had quietly saved up for it until this year.

The people in the courtyard continued talking. Tilda sat beside them. Not only did she not stop them, but she even smiled and nodded in agreement.

She praised, "Finley looks like an excellent man who'll treat his wife well. Their birth dates are also incredibly compatible. Suzanne will be blessed if she marries him."

I clenched my hands tightly, and a bitter taste suddenly surged in my throat.

All these years, I had left the comfort of home with Suzanne and struggled alongside her in an unfamiliar place. We had lived in basements and endured the hardest days together.

When projects failed, I stayed by her side and helped her shoulder the burden. When she had no money, I had even used my own savings to fill the financial gaps for her.

But in the end, I amounted to nothing to the Landons.

Suzanne finally noticed me. Her face fell, and she quickly walked over.

In a lowered voice, she said, "Don't overthink it. The elders were just chatting."

I looked at her and smiled even when there were tears forming in my eyes. "You've already gotten as far as discussing the wedding gifts. And you still call it just chatting? How many people are you planning to marry? Couldn't you at least have told me beforehand?"

She frowned and replied, "I told you, it was just my mom's wishful thinking. Don't be so petty every time. It's your temper that led her to dislike you all these years."

Even now, she said I was the one being petty.

I was practically speechless.

Finley glanced at the two of us. Right away, he stood up and put on an innocent expression.

"Chad, don't get the wrong idea. I was just keeping Tilda company. I didn't expect everyone to start talking about this. Besides, if I loved someone, I wouldn't care whether she started out poor. I'd be willing to struggle alongside her."

The more he spoke, the more he made me look unreasonable.

Sure enough, Tilda chimed in, "Exactly. Some people are just greedy. They want everything."

Low laughter immediately spread through the room.

I slowly walked over and picked up the gift list from the table. Five pieces of gold and three pieces of silver. Even the specifications for the wedding banquet were clearly listed.

But when it came to me back then, Tilda had only said one line dismissively. "Let's keep everything simple. Suzanne doesn't have an easy time making money."

I suddenly remembered how many foolish things I had done over the years.

The last bit of resentment in my heart suddenly dissipated. Because at this point, I couldn't even be bothered to feel wronged anymore.

Suzanne reached out to pull me aside while keeping her voice lowered. "Don't make a scene here. I'll make it up to you later."

Make it up to me? Again, she expected me to back down.

I didn't go with her. Instead, I took the old silver ring from my bag and gently placed it on the table. It was the gift the Landons had given me back then.

I looked at the ring and calmly said, "Take this back."

Suzanne's face fell instantly. "What do you mean?"

I looked up at her. "Exactly what I said."

Finley's eyes reddened again, and he hurriedly said, "Is it because I'm here that Chad misunderstood? Then I should leave..."

He started backing toward the door.

Suzanne instinctively reached out to stop him. "Don't overthink it."

I finally understood. No matter when it was, whenever Finley and I stood in front of her together, the person she protected first was never me.

I nodded and said, "That's fine. It'll save us trouble later."

With that, I turned around and left.

Behind me, Suzanne finally lost her temper. "Chadwick, how long are you going to keep this up?"

I didn't look back.

When I walked out of the Landon residence, my phone lit up.

It was a message from my mom.

She texted, "Look. These are all gifts she sent. I think she's wonderful. She's very thoughtful and courteous."

The entire back seat was filled with gifts, and every single one was carefully selected. There was even a watch that I had saved in my online shopping cart for years.

My mom's judgment had never been wrong. I decided to trust her.