ire’s high school friend was set to tie the knot the very next day.


    The couple, each driving a high-end sports car, embarked on their journey at dawn from their vi at Thompson First to Levy County, a suburb of Aurous Hill.


    Levy County is located approximately sixty kilometers from the city center. Although it was a bit of a distance, they were fortunate to find a direct highway that connected the city center to Levy County.<fn403a> Chapters first released on Find?Novel</fn403a>


    ire’s ssmate resided on the outskirts of Levy County. As they followed the navigation system’s directions to her home, they realized they had arrived at an oldermunity, likely established two to three decades ago.


    The houses in this neighborhood were all six stories or less, built quite close together. The green paint on the exteriors was faded and peeling, exposing the underlying cement color.<h3 style="background-color:DodgerBlue">


    Themunity’s entrance was narrow, featuring several speed bumps along the way. It was evident that the road conditions were poor, with trash cans, tricycles, bicycles, motorcycles, and rundown cars cluttering the sides, making ess to the area quite challenging.


    Charlie was driving the Bugatti in front. Spotting themunity entrance, he called out to his wife, ire, who was behind him, saying, “Honey, the road conditions here are pretty tricky. Our sports car has a low chassis, so I think it might be best to park outside and walk in.”


    ire replied, “Sounds good! You park first, and I’ll follow your lead.”


    Charlie parked his car along the roadside, and ire positioned her vehicle directly behind him.


    Once they exited their cars, the early morning quiet was interrupted as passersby noticed the two luxury vehicles and began snapping photos with their phones.


    Not wanting to attract too much attention, Charlie quickly took ire’s hand as they made their way toward themunity.


    Fortunately, they had arrived early, and there weren’t many people around. Otherwise, they would have likely been swarmed by onlookers.


    At that moment, it was only seven forty in the morning. After entering themunity together, ire couldn’t help but reflect, “I visited her house once back in high school. At that time, her whole family was living here. I never imagined they would still be here after all these years.”


    Charlie surveyed the run-down buildings around them and remarked, “These houses aren’t very spacious, are they?”


    ire nodded, exining, “Their home is a two-bedroom unit, totaling over sixty square meters.”


    Curious, Charlie asked, “How do four people manage in a two-bedroom house? Didn’t you mention your friend has a younger brother?”


    “Exactly,” ire replied. “Their family couldn’t afford arger home, so my friend and her brother shared a room since they were kids. After she went to a different school, her brother grew up, and they could no longer share. She moved to Aurous Hill to pursue her career and rented a ce there.”


    ire sighed again, adding, “She’s getting married today, and traditionally, she should be sent off from her family home. She came backst night to prepare for the wedding.”


    Charlie nodded slightly, pondering, “If someone in thismunity is marrying off their daughter, there should at least be a wedding arch at the entrance with cheerful blessings. Why didn’t your friend’s family set anything up? I couldn’t tell a wedding was happening at all.”


    ire responded with a hint of frustration, “Her family doesn’t want her to marry because the groom’s family didn’t provide a dowry. Unfortunately, she has no choice but to go through with it since she’s pregnant. I heard her family is really upset and refuse to see her. They said they wouldn’t attend the wedding and that she could leave by herself.”


    Charlie couldn’t help but express his disbelief, “Isn’t that a bit harsh? Their own daughter is getting married today! How can her parents and brother choose not to attend? That seems really cold-hearted.”


    ire felt a wave of sympathy as she shared, “My friend’s situation is truly sad. Her parents had made it clear long ago that no matter who she married, the groom needed to give them three hundred thousand dors for a dowry to help buy an apartment for her younger brother.”


    “But she decided to marry this man, and his family didn’t provide any dowry at all. Her parents and brother wanted her to terminate her pregnancy so she could marry someone who would give them the money instead.”


    “My ssmate stood her ground against their demands, which only fueled her family’s anger toward her. Even her younger brother is upset with her. If we hadn’te to support her today, I think she would have had to go through this wedding all alone.”<h3 ss="has-text-align-center" id="chapter-list"><strong></strong>