Chapter 3

Two police officers pushed through the crowd. "Who called the police?"

I pointed at Evan seriously. "Officers, I called. This man is impersonating my husband and defrauded three years of rent from all the tenants in my building!"

The lead officer turned to Evan. "Fraud? How much?"

Evan wore a bitter smile. "Officer, don't listen to my wife's nonsense. She's throwing a tantrum."

"She's pregnant recently, and her temper's bad. She's insisting that me managing her money is fraud."

The officer looked at me. "What's really going on?"

Before I could speak, Evan pulled out a marriage certificate and handed it over.

"Look, this is our marriage certificate."

"I'm her legal husband. Helping her collect rent—how can that be fraud?"

I snatched it away. It had both mine and Evan's information printed on it, and all the details matched up.

"This is fake! I've never been married!"

"Officer, this photo is from when I registered for a gym membership. He photoshopped it onto this!"

The officer took the marriage certificate and handed it to his colleague to verify.

Evan's mother rushed over, crying. "Officers, you have to help us!"

"This woman took eighty-eight thousand dollars in wedding gifts from our family, and now that we've spent all our money, she wants to kick us out!"

I was furious. "Who took your family's money? Who's carrying your family's baby!"

"This is organized crime! This is outright fraud!"

Mr. Wilson suddenly spoke up. "Officer, I can testify. Coach Hayes really is Ms. White's husband."

"Last month when he came to collect rent, he showed us their chat records."

"Ms. White was calling him 'honey' so affectionately on SnapChat, and said all rent collection would be handled by Coach Hayes from now on."

I stared in disbelief. "Mr. Wilson, what are you talking about! When did I ever chat with him about this on SnapChat!"

Mr. Wilson curled his lip. "Ms. White, that's not cool. Coach Hayes waived two months of our rent and gave us a 20% discount."

"You two are having a fight—don't drag us tenants into it."

"We already paid the money and have receipts. You can't make us pay again, right?"

Other tenants chimed in.

"That's right. Evan's a good guy. He even helps us carry stuff sometimes."

"You're so ungrateful. Married and still seducing men outside."

"Officers, don't listen to this woman's nonsense."

Evan lifted his chin. "Honey, everyone's saying the same thing. Stop making a scene."

"Come home with me. Mom made your favorite chicken soup."

He reached for me, but I stepped back. "Don't touch me! Officers, you can check my household registration! I'm definitely unmarried!"

The officer who went to verify came back. "Ms. White, we just checked the system."

"The system shows your marital status is indeed married, and your spouse is listed as... Evan Hayes."

I was instantly stunned. "That's impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

"I've never even stepped foot in City Hall. How could I be married!"

Evan spoke up. "Jasmine, did pregnancy make you stupid?"

"Last month we went to City Hall to register our marriage. You were so happy you posted about it. Now you want to deny it?"

From somewhere, Evan's mother pulled out a set of red lace lingerie and threw it in front of the officers.

"Officers, look at this! This is the lace underwear she changed out of last night!"

"If they weren't living together, where would I get her intimate clothing!"

"This woman is a slut who seduces men everywhere. She's trying to scam our family's money to support her lover!"