My mother-in-law, ignoring our side, loudly berated the motionless emcee, "Did I pay you to just stand there? Did Jessie bribe you? We'll pay you double whatever she offered!"
"Pfft."
Laughter erupted from the audience.
"Does this old hag not know that this entire hotel belongs to Jessie?"
"The Jones family really is something, still brazenly scolding the emcee."
"So the Jones family married Miss Best without giving a dowry, and even the wedding is on the house. I can't stop laughing."
Hearing the murmurs, the three of them turned pale.
Simon looked at me in disbelief, "This hotel is yours. Didn't you say your family was just middle-class?"
Seeing his devastated expression, I felt a sense of relief for the first time that I had hidden my family's true circumstances.
But no matter how much I hid, I never skimped on the gifts I gave him—small ones costing a few thousand, larger ones reaching tens of thousands, and he never complained.
Changing out of my restrictive dress, I gestured for twenty hotel security guards to approach, smiling, "Since Mr. Jones and Miss Smith are having their wedding here, let's settle the bill first."
At my signal, the hotel manager approached Simon with the bill.