1 The day after our engagement party, my mom was diagnosed with cancer. Panicked, I grabbed my debit card, ready to transfer the twenty thousand dollars in engagement money my fiancé’s family had just given me. As I was about to enter the last digit of my PIN, my fiancé, Ethan, snatched the phone out of my hand. “Babe, look closely at the doctor’s report,” he said gently. “The name is photoshopped.” Suddenly, I remembered a dinner conversation from a few weeks ago. My younger brother, Mike, was talking about a car he wanted. It was twenty grand, but the down payment was only five. My mom had taken a sip of her soup. “Don’t rush into a loan,” she’d said. “We’ll buy it for you outright in a few days.” I stared at the transfer screen on my phone, then slowly, I closed the app. When Ethan took my phone, I saw red. “What do you think you’re doing?” I shrieked. “You’re the one who promised me that even though I was moving across the country for you, I wouldn’t regret it. You’re the one who told my parents they weren’t losing a daughter, but gaining a son. Now my mom has liver cancer, and you’re trying to stop me from helping her?” Our engagement party had been at my parents’ house, a tradition in my hometown. It was where the groom’s family formally presented their gifts and both families discussed the wedding plans. Ethan and I had met at work. He was from a well-off family in Seattle, smart, handsome, and incredibly good to me. I had hesitated to get serious with him. When I’d left for college in Seattle, my mom had complained that her little girl was flying too far from the nest. I’d promised her that after graduation, I’d come back home. I wouldn’t risk a long-distance relationship. But then I met Ethan. And my mom kept trying to set me up with guys from back home, all of whom were… less than impressive. Ethan was a breath of fresh air. We fell in love. He proposed. The night I told my parents I was staying in Seattle, my dad smoked a whole pack of cigarettes on the porch. My mom cried, saying that if I ever got into trouble, I’d have no family there to help me. For the past six months, their anxiety had been a constant theme in our family group chat. That’s why, even though Ethan and his parents had shown up with a car full of extravagant gifts and had booked the entire top floor of the fanciest restaurant in town for the party, my mom had looked so sad. The thought of her suffering while I was a thousand miles away was like a knife in my gut. I jumped up, trying to grab my phone back. Normally, Ethan would have given in immediately, but this time, he held it high above my head. “Babe, just think for a second,” he said. “Your mom was fine until I put that twenty thousand dollars in your purse. That’s when her face changed.” 2 “That’s impossible!” I yelled. “We agreed! My parents aren’t keeping the money. They’re adding to it for my dowry.” Ethan’s family was buying us a fully furnished house and a new car. To show their commitment, Ethan had insisted on putting my name on the deed. My parents had said that since the groom’s family was being so generous, the engagement money was just a formality. They couldn’t afford to buy us a house, but they would never take my money and leave me dependent on my in-laws. So, the twenty thousand in cash had been presented in a fancy red box at the party, and then Ethan had slipped it into my bag. I’d deposited it at an ATM right after. “I can’t believe you would think something so horrible about my parents,” I said, my voice cold. “Give me back my phone. I’ll use my own money to help my mom. You can’t control that. And you can have your twenty thousand back. The wedding’s off.” He looked so panicked that I managed to snatch the phone back. I opened a different banking app. This was my own savings account, with twelve thousand dollars in it. My money. I quickly entered my mom’s account number, hit ‘transfer all,’ and got to the password screen. But Ethan stopped me again. “Babe, look! There’s something wrong with this report!” “You’re the one who’s wrong, Ethan,” I sneered. “You’re so desperate to keep me from helping my family that you’re making up these pathetic excuses. Are you really saying my parents would fake a cancer diagnosis for twenty thousand dollars? I was wrong about you. We’re done. Go protect your precious money from a gold-digger like me.” “Babe, I know you’re upset,” he said, sweat beading on his forehead. “But just look. The name is photoshopped.” He took my mom’s picture from the group chat and zoomed in on the name. Ethan and I were both graphic designers. He specialized in photo editing, while I was in video. He was better at spotting fakes than I was. Reluctantly, I glanced at his screen. And I froze. 3 The forgery was obvious. The font of the name didn’t match the rest of the text. Even the date and the hospital’s name looked like they’d been pasted on. Normally, I would have spotted it in a second. But my mom’s tearful voice message, sent along with the picture, had sent me into such a panic that I hadn’t even thought to question it. Ethan handed me a glass of water. “I know this is a shock. I wasn’t trying to stop you from sending money. It just seemed… off. A diagnosis like that usually requires a biopsy. The results take at least a week. Your mom seemed perfectly fine the whole time I was there. How could she suddenly have a confirmed diagnosis?” His calm voice steadied me. And then I remembered the dinner with my brother. “Mom, Ashley heard my sister’s getting a new house and car for her wedding,” he’d whined. “She says we need the same. There’s this car I like. It’s twenty grand, but the down payment is only five.” My mom had just calmly finished her soup. “Don’t rush into a loan,” she’d said. “We’ll buy it for you outright in a few days.” At the time, I’d felt a pang of jealousy, but then I’d figured that since I was moving away, Mike would be the one to stay and take care of them. Now, I realized the money for that car was supposed to be my engagement money. I took a sip of water and closed the banking app. I scrolled up in the group chat. Dad: [The doctor says the surgery is fifteen grand. If we want the top surgeon from the state to do it, that’s another five grand for his fee.] Dad: [We used most of our savings for Mike’s down payment on his condo. We don’t have that kind of money right now.] Mom (voice message): [Just my luck, to get sick right after Sarah’s engagement. Sarah, honey, don’t you worry about me. I won’t be a burden to you or your brother. The doctor said if we can’t afford the surgery, I can just do chemo. I’ll still have a year or so. I just want to see you in your wedding dress.] Even knowing it was a lie, hearing my mom talk about dying made my stomach clench. I had to be sure. Me: [Mom, don’t panic. Are you at the city hospital? My friend from college is doing her residency there. I’ll call her and have her send me your test results. I can get a second opinion from a specialist here in Seattle.] 4 The group chat went silent. A moment later, Ethan also sent a message. Ethan: [That’s right, Mom and Dad. A serious diagnosis like this needs to be confirmed. My dad knows the head of oncology at the university hospital. I can drive down tomorrow and bring you both back to Seattle for a full workup.] After a long pause, my dad replied, tagging Ethan. Dad: [@Ethan, I appreciate the offer, son, but this is a family matter. We don’t want to trouble you.] Then, my phone rang. It was my dad. I put him on speaker. “Sarah, we have connections at the hospital here. We got the results rushed. I know you mean well, but the doctor said this type of cancer can spread quickly. We need to do the surgery as soon as possible. And all our money is tied up in your brother’s condo. The deed hasn’t even been finalized yet, so we can’t even get a loan.” He sighed heavily. “Your mother is a mess. She keeps saying she doesn’t want to be a burden. You need to call her, reassure her. Tell her you’ll help. You’re her daughter, you can’t just stand by and watch her die, right?” He was laying it on thick. He said he knew I’d just used my vacation time for the engagement and that he wouldn’t have bothered me if the hospital wasn’t demanding payment upfront. His words tugged at my heartstrings. I was about to tell him I’d send the money right away, but the image of that fake report stopped me. “Dad,” I said, my voice carefully neutral, “which hospital is it? And how did this happen so suddenly? Could it be a misdiagnosis?” His voice rose. “What are you saying? That your mother is faking cancer to trick you?” He sounded… guilty. I decided to play along. Ethan gave me a subtle nod. “No, Dad, that’s not what I mean,” I said. “I’m just worried. The problem is, I already deposited the money. And my account has a daily online transfer limit of a thousand dollars. The banks are closed now. I’ll have to go in person tomorrow to make the transfer.” My dad’s voice immediately softened. “Don’t worry, we’ll just tell everyone we’re borrowing the money from you. We’ll pay you back. It’ll look better that way.” As soon as I hung up, I saw Ethan standing by the door, car keys in hand. 5 We drove through the night, a nine-hour trip back to my hometown. I felt a wave of guilt. “I’m sorry,” I said. “You were right. I shouldn’t have snapped at you.” Ethan smiled and squeezed my hand. “It’s okay. You were scared.” He was quiet for a moment, then said, “Babe, there’s something I’ve been wanting to say for a while. I don’t think your parents… I don’t think they love you as much as you think they do.” “What are you talking about?” I said, confused. “They put me through grad school. My brother only has an associate’s degree. They invested in my education. That’s love.” “Do you remember how we met?” he asked gently. I flushed. It was right after I started my internship. I had two hundred dollars to my name after paying my rent deposit. I had called my mom, asking for a little help to get me through to my first paycheck. “Your brother can’t find a job,” she’d said. “We’re thinking of buying the convenience store down the street for him to run. We need a cashier. You should just come home.” We’d argued. I’d told her I didn’t get a master’s degree to be a cashier. She’d told me that if I was so independent, I could figure it out myself. I’d lived on instant noodles for a month and ended up fainting at my desk from malnutrition. Ethan was the one who took me to the hospital. “Love is where the money is, babe,” Ethan said softly. “That’s true for couples, and it’s true for families.” I thought back. My parents had always praised me for being the smart, responsible one. They’d always said I was the one they could rely on in their old age. I’d been so proud. I’d taken out student loans, worked part-time jobs, and never asked them for a thing. “But… my mom has been buying me gold jewelry for my birthday since I was twelve,” I said, clutching the pendant around my neck. “That has to be worth something.” Ethan gave me a sad smile. “Let’s make a bet. I bet your parents faked the diagnosis for the money. And I bet that jewelry is fake too.” I stared at him, my heart sinking. “And if I lose?” “Then we get married as soon as we get back to Seattle.” I squeezed the pendant in my hand. It felt cold and cheap. “Deal.”
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