1 My grandmother refused to close her eyes, her breath rattling in her chest. She made me swear a solemn oath right there on her deathbed. On my wedding day, I had to be out of my house before 4 AM and the ceremony had to be complete by 7 AM. Otherwise, the groom's entire family would befall a terrible disaster. My grandma had been a seer her whole life, a woman whose predictions never missed the mark. Through my tears, I promised. I told my fiancé, Ryan, that even if it was just for my sake, he had to make sure the wedding party arrived on time. He swore he would. But on the morning of the wedding, the street outside was silent. The limousines were nowhere to be found. My mom called his family, and my future mother-in-law’s cold laughter crackled through the speaker. “What’s the rush? My son isn’t the one who made the oath!” “You want him to pick her up? Fine. Add another $50,000 to the dowry.” “Otherwise, the deal’s off!” The sound of firecrackers and cheerful laughter still echoed from the street below my window. Friends and family, some having traveled across the country, had arrived the night before just to make sure I could leave for my wedding before the 4 AM deadline. Hearing his mother’s words, a hot rage flooded through me. I ripped the decorative pins from my hair. “Mom, I’m not marrying him.” My mom rushed over, pressing my hands down. “Sweetheart, don’t talk crazy. On your wedding day? You can’t just call it off.” She sighed, her voice softening. “You’re pregnant. That’s why they think they have you cornered. Look at your belly.” Pregnant? What baby? I stared down at my stomach. It was soft, a little pudgy, the result of many late-night snacks. Nothing out of the ordinary. I looked up at my mom, confused. “Mom, what are you talking about?” She gave me a slightly exasperated look. “That dinner we had with Ryan’s mother? You ran to the bathroom to throw up halfway through. You didn’t see the look in her eyes after that. Pure calculation. I could practically see the dollar signs.” A vague memory surfaced. We had met with Ryan’s parents to finalize the wedding plans. The night before, I’d gone out for barbecue and had way too much. My acid reflux was acting up, and I’d felt nauseous all through dinner. So that was it. That’s why his mother’s attitude had completely changed when I got back from the restroom. And to make it worse, I remembered complaining to Ryan that my period was late. She thought I was pregnant. And my own mother, seeing the same signs, had just accepted their outrageous demands. 2 “Honey, maybe we should just give them the fifty thousand,” my mom pleaded. “You have to think about your grandmother’s warning.” “And no matter what his family is doing, you and Ryan have been together for years. He’s a good kid, aside from being a little cheap. We can’t be responsible for a curse on their whole family.” I knew she was right, but I couldn’t swallow the injustice. It wasn’t about the money. My family could afford fifty thousand, or even five million. My dad had told me that whatever dowry Ryan’s family offered, he would match it a hundred times over as my wedding gift, a nest egg for my future. I had tried to hint to Ryan that a larger dowry, even a symbolic one like $8,888 for good luck, would be appreciated. He had scoffed at the idea. “Dowries are such an old-fashioned, superstitious tradition,” he’d said. “Besides, your parents are just going to give the money to your cousin, right? A daughter’s dowry never really stays with her. It’s better if that money goes straight into our new life together. Don’t forget, I put your name on the house, baby.” I was furious. But I was bound by a promise to my dad not to reveal our family’s true financial situation to Ryan before the wedding. In a fit of anger, I’d told him I didn’t want a dowry at all. And now, his family was using this manufactured crisis to extort money from us. I didn’t know if Ryan was in on it, but the memory of him promising me he would honor my grandmother’s last wish made my heart ache. All our friends and family were here. They all knew about the timeline my grandmother had set. They had all made arrangements to be here, some traveling for days. And Ryan, the groom, was the only one missing. My phone rang. It was him. 3 His tone was the complete opposite of his mother’s, filled with urgency and concern. “Baby, don’t listen to my mom. She’s just talking crazy.” “We got held up on the way, but I’m almost there.” “I swear, I’ll get you in the car before your grandmother’s deadline. I won’t let anything happen to you.” The anger in my chest subsided. His mother might be a snake, but at least Ryan was on my side. His heart was in the right place. My voice softened. “When will you be here? All our relatives are waiting. If you don’t get here soon, we’ll run out of time.” “Get ready,” he said, his voice firm. “I’m close. I’m going to marry you in style.” I could hear muffled noises in the background. “Ryan, man, when are we leaving? The drivers can’t just park here. Why are we waiting for…” Before I could hear the rest, he hung up. My mom sighed. “At this rate, we’ll have to skip all the fun door games the bridesmaids planned.” My cousin Lily piped up. “But Clara spent three months planning those! All those fun little games will go to waste. And she spent a fortune on the extra photographers…” My mom glanced around to make sure no one else was listening. “The money is nothing,” she whispered. “If your grandmother’s spirit is truly angered, no amount of money could save the Zhao family.” 4 Lily’s eyes widened. “Was Grandma really that powerful?” “You grew up overseas, so you don’t know,” my mom explained. “Around here, everyone was terrified of your grandmother. Not because our family had money, but because she was a well-known seer.” “Years ago, before our family made its fortune, one of our relatives struck it rich. He brought his new, young wife back to the old town to visit, bringing gifts for everyone. He wanted to show off.” “Everyone wished them well, but when he came to our house, your grandmother took the expensive gifts—bird’s nest soup, ginseng, all of it—and threw the entire box out the door.” “She pointed at him and cursed him. ‘You think you can buy my blessing with this cheap trash after you abandoned the wife who helped you build your fortune? May you be struck by lightning and die alone! May your family fall to ruin!’” “The man was furious and swore he’d never step foot in our house again. The whole town gossiped about how cruel your grandmother was.” “Until…” my mom trailed off, a strange look on her face. “Until what?” Lily urged. “Auntie, don’t leave me hanging!” “Less than six months later, he was dead. Struck by lightning while using an outhouse in the countryside. They found him face down in a septic tank, his body half-eaten by maggots. It turned out the ‘new wife’ was a prostitute, and he had left his first wife for her. Every word your grandmother said came true. People whispered that she had cast a spell on him, all because he disrespected her.” My mom lowered her voice even more. “We can’t let that happen to Ryan’s family.” 5 A chill ran down my spine. I glanced at the clock. 3:20 AM. Still no sign of Ryan. The wedding ceremony itself was a long, complicated process. If he delayed any longer, we’d never make it. I knew my grandma was… eccentric, but I never realized her power was this terrifying. I grabbed my phone and sent Ryan a text. “Where are you? It’s getting really late. Please hurry! We can’t miss the deadline.” Five minutes later, he replied. “Can you stop rushing me? I’ve been up since yesterday getting ready. Do you think I’m not tired? If you’re so worried, just come wait downstairs. The car will get there when it gets there, and we can just leave.” My hands started to shake. My mom saw my face change. “What is it, honey?” Her heart wasn’t strong. I couldn’t tell her the truth. I locked my phone and forced a smile. “Nothing, Mom. Ryan said there’s a bit of traffic.” But inside, my mind was racing. How could he say that to me? A bride, in her wedding dress, waiting on the curb for her own wedding car? Was I that desperate? Was I so worthless that I had to beg him to marry me? All my excitement, all my anticipation for this day, turned to ash in my mouth. I had spent six months planning every single detail of this wedding, pulling all-nighters to make sure everything was perfect. And this was my reward? I bit my lip, refusing to let the tears fall. The clock on my phone lit up: 3:40 AM. Twenty minutes left. 6 Relatives were starting to whisper, asking when the groom would arrive. I didn’t hesitate. I sent Ryan another text. “If you can’t make it, let’s just cancel. We can go our separate ways.” After all these years, I couldn’t knowingly push him into a disaster. If we canceled the wedding, surely my grandmother’s curse wouldn’t come to pass. He called me immediately. His voice was completely different from his text. “Honey, I was just stressed. Don’t take it to heart. The wedding cars are just a mile away, but the drivers are on strike. They’re saying it’s too early and they haven’t eaten, and they won’t move until they’re paid in full. Can you… can you transfer me that 20k your mom gave you?” “The second the money hits my account, I’ll be there in five minutes, and we can have our beautiful wedding. But if we delay any longer… I can’t say what might happen.” He was talking about the $20,000 my mom had given me as a personal gift, which he had happened to see. My mom, overhearing, gently nudged me. “Baby, twenty thousand is nothing to us. Just send it to him. I don’t care about the money. I just want you to be happy and safe.” I looked at the faces of my friends and family, all waiting expectantly. I took a deep breath and gave in. I transferred the money. A kissing emoji popped up from him immediately. “Wait for me, my sweet wife. I’m on my way.” I sent back a simple “ok” and turned off my phone, my stomach churning. Now that he had the money, surely there wouldn’t be any more problems. 7 Five minutes later, the sound of car horns blared from downstairs. Lily ran up, her face bright with excitement. “Clara! They’re here! Lock the door!” I pulled Lily and my other cousin, Jake, aside. “We don’t have much time. Don’t make the door games too hard on him, okay? I’ll give you both a big gift later.” “Don’t worry, sis,” Lily said with a grin. “We know what to do.” A moment later, Ryan’s cheerful voice called from the other side of the door. “Honey, open up, or I’m kicking the door in!” Lily played along, calling through the door, “To marry my cousin, you have to answer a few questions first, future brother-in-law!” The next sound was a deafening CRASH. The bedroom door flew off its hinges and slammed into Lily, who fell to the ground with a cry of pain. The heavy wooden door landed on her leg, and her face went white. I shot to my feet. “What is the meaning of this? Is this how you pick up a bride?” A chorus of laughter came from the hallway. “Look what you did, you made the bride angry!” “Hahaha, who knew a mansion would have such a cheap door?” Lily, despite the fact that her foot was already swelling, grabbed the hem of my dress. “Clara, I’m fine. Don’t let this ruin your big day. It doesn’t even hurt.”
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