Chapter 4

In the weeks that followed, Chase actually kept his promise.

Whenever his mom called, he put it on speaker so I could hear.

When she whined about "that woman," he cut her off immediately:

"Mom, her name is Chloe. Show some respect. And living on our own was our joint decision, nothing to do with her."

Brenda cursed on the other end before slamming the phone down.

Chase turned to look at me, seeking approval. "See? I'm on your side."

I gave him a small smile, and the weight in my chest eased a bit.

He started diving into wedding planning.

When shopping for wedding dresses, he stayed by my side the whole afternoon, patiently watching every fitting and giving thoughtful feedback. The bridal consultant smiled and said, "Your fiancé is amazing," and he pulled me close, saying, "Of course she deserves the best."

When picking the wedding bands, he insisted on real diamonds, saying he couldn't let me down. I saw the price tag—over three thousand dollars—and told him it was too much, but he insisted I was worth it.

We settled on a simpler band for fifteen hundred dollars. He paid for it without blinking.

When my mom saw the ring, her expression was complicated.

In private, she asked me, "Is he genuinely good to you?"

"I think so," I said.

"And his mother?"

"She's in her hometown. She won't be living with us."

My mom nodded, dropping the topic, but I could still see the lingering worry in her eyes.

The wedding plans moved forward smoothly.

I asked for ten thousand dollars for the wedding fund, and Chase agreed right away, saying it was totally reasonable.

His parents didn't openly object, but during phone calls, they made passive-aggressive comments, grumbling that "first-time brides get big checks, but we're paying ten grand for a divorced woman."

Chase was the one who told me that, adding quickly, "Don't pay attention to them, I chewed them out for it."

I didn't say anything, but the comment stuck like a splinter in my heart.

Chase and I oversaw the condo renovations together.

He took two weeks off work to stay at the site, coordinating with the contractors, choosing materials, and hauling supplies.

While marking the electrical wiring on the wall, he cut his hand on a metal bracket. Blood dripped down, but he just wrapped two Band-Aids around it and kept working.

Seeing that, I felt that while he had his weak moments, he was at least willing to get his hands dirty for me.

The renovations ended up costing thirty thousand dollars.

His family covered it.

To be precise, his parents borrowed from everyone they knew.

Chase looked embarrassed when he told me, admitting his parents had taken out a second mortgage on their house and hit up every relative to scrape together that thirty grand.

"We'll pay it back together later," he said.

I didn't answer.

My mom and I had paid off the condo completely in my name, so it was only fair his family chipped in for renovations.

But having to borrow thirty thousand showed just how broke his family really was.

I didn't care about the money; what bothered me was something else.

"Are your parents paying that back, or are we?" I asked.

He paused, then smiled. "Together, of course. Whatever belongs to them is ours eventually anyway, right?"

That answer rubbed me the wrong way, but I didn't push it further.

Time flew by, and the wedding was set for early November.

In mid-October, something came up.

Chase mentioned his mom needed to come to the city for a doctor's checkup and would only stay for a couple of days.