Chapter 676: 676: Bank Run

“Of course,” Wendy Clarke said smiling, “These were things that Cindy did when she was young and didn’t understand matters. She definitely wouldn’t do them now, let the past go.”

Wendy put all the blame on Cindy’s head.

“Today, we came to discuss your marriage to Adrian Zhekova. Although you both have your marriage certificates, there hasn’t been a wedding ceremony yet? There are also matters of guests’ gifts and so on, which we need to discuss. By the way, when do you plan to have your wedding?”

Cindy chuckled, “We haven’t started discussing this yet.”

Upon hearing this, Wendy immediately said, “There’s no harm in discussing it now, while we’re all here, let’s talk about it.”

After a moment of thought, Joshua Clarke agreed, “We have quite a few relatives in Nork City, so it’s better to arrange it in advance, to give notice to them. Those who should attend the wedding should be invited.”

Joshua looked at Cindy. “We have a lot of relatives in Nork City. It’s quite expensive for them to come all this way, especially for your wedding. I think, at that time, they shouldn’t have to pay for their flights to Belfard and hotel accommodation.”

As for who should pay, Joshua didn’t say the Clarke family should. Naturally, the Zhekova family would bear the cost.

After all, the Zhekovas were wealthy, so what would the travel and accommodation expenses count for?

They could even save face for the Clarke family if they paid for everything.

Joshua had wanted to have a moment of glory for a long time. Back when they were living in Nork City, their family had the most modest lifestyle. Among their relatives, some were civil servants, some were businessmen, and one family even had a talented son who was a lawyer.

Every time they visited their relatives during the holidays, they had to hear their boasts.

Although Joshua was usually an honest man, he had a trace of vanity and felt inadequate in front of his relatives.

After their family became wealthy, he wanted to boast about it.

But Wendy held him back and wouldn’t allow him to do so.

It wasn’t Wendy’s humility that prompted this behavior, she simply feared that showing too much affluence would lead their relatives to demand money.

So, Joshua’s desire to boast had always been thwarted, much to his frustration.

Thankfully, the Clarke family hadn’t been wealthy for all too long, for Joshua might have developed health issues due to his frustration.

Now, he finally had the chance to raise his head high and act grandly with Cindy marrying into the Zhekova family, he couldn’t contain himself any longer.

As far as Wendy was concerned, wasn’t she only afraid of the relatives demanding money?

Now with the Zhekova family backing her, all the expenses will be their responsibility, and it wouldn’t fall on their heads.

Watching Joshua’s calculating expression made Cindy feel suffocated so much that it was difficult for her to breathe.

Needless to say, there was no hope from Wendy or Christy Xenos, she had never expected anything from them.

But for her father, Joshua, if he had even the slightest consideration for her, he wouldn’t plan to take advantage of the Zhekova family immediately after she had just married into their family.

She heard Joshua say, “There are some relatives of ours who do not live in Nork City. We barely see them since they live so far away. I miss them a lot. This wedding could be a good opportunity to call them all here, so that our family can get together.”

But how deep could Joshua’s affection be for relatives he barely saw once a year?

Joshua just wanted to show off.

Seeing that Joshua had started a new topic and was not stopping, Cindy felt quite irritated.

She felt utterly powerless.

These are her family members.

They never thought about supporting her or considering her position.

They were only pondering how much benefit they could gain from her.

Now, it was the Clarkes’ first visit, it was not a formal occasion for both families to discuss the wedding together. It wasn’t appropriate to mention this topic and even more so with Joshua mentioning over and over about making the Zhekova family pay.

Cindy coldly said, “There’s no need to rush the wedding matters. Adrian and I need to discuss this further.”

“Do you both not plan to discuss this with your elders in the family?” Christy Xenos quickly asked.

Cindy snorted, “Why don’t we first discuss the matter of bride price and dowry? Earlier, when Adrian and I got our marriage certificate, Adrian had mentioned the issue of bride price. But I thought, since we’re following tradition, if there’s to be a bride price, there definitely can’t be any shortage of dowry. The bride price and dowry ought to be of equivalent value.”

“We don’t have any experience with the rules of the upper-class families, but as ordinary people, typically when the man’s family gives a bride price, most of the time, the woman’s family would return it along with the dowry after marriage. Of course, customs differ across regions. However, in Belfard and Nork City, that’s the way it’s done. Furthermore, usually the groom’s family prepares the marital home, and the bride’s family will provide a car and the new house’s decoration, etc.”

“My father is a very fair and upright person, certainly unwilling to take advantage of the Zhekova family. Therefore, I decided myself that, whatever the Zhekova family contributes for the wedding, we will match that as dowry. We do have money now, don’t we? We can’t just take advantage without giving anything.”

“So, to accommodate us, Adrian proposed to not demand too much bride price to avoid pressuring us.”

Nadia Xenos wanted to say that their family didn’t feel pressured at all, but Cindy had already said all the pleasing words.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Without speaking to Christy Xenos, Cindy turned her head and asked Joshua, “Isn’t it, Dad?”

Joshua couldn’t respond, only stammering. Earlier, he was saying that they hadn’t come for the bride price and asked if Cindy would treat them as family members. Now, after Cindy’s words, he was at a loss for an answer.

Before Joshua could think of how to respond, Cindy pressed on with her point, “Dad, you love me the most, you definitely wouldn’t like to see me embarrassed in my in-laws’ house, or to see others look down on me, would you? As it stands, I already have the lowest family background among my sisters-in-law. The old lady said it herself, she doesn’t care about family background, only about a person’s character.”

“But if our family is greedy and only calculates for a bit of bride price, then me… how can I live with that?” Cindy said pitifully.

“We’re not calculating for the bride price.” Joshua quickly explained, “How could I be such a person? We came here to talk about this just to make both our families’ wedding procedures more formal. Since both of you didn’t follow any of the procedures, it would appear as if you married in casually, and let people look down on us.”

Upon hearing this, Cindy immediately acted as though a great burden had been lifted from her, and joyfully said, “Dad, I knew you guys weren’t that kind of people, and would definitely consider my wellbeing.”

Cindy cheerfully said to the Old Madam, “Grandmother, didn’t I tell you? My dad is the best!”

Being praised by Cindy, Joshua felt embarrassed. His face turned red, and he couldn’t lift his head.

While no one was watching, the Old Madam winked at Cindy with a pleased smile.

She didn’t expect Cindy to be quite cunning.