Chapter 1

At the engagement party, my fiancé Lucas and his mother suddenly pulled out a "Prenuptial Promise Agreement" and handed it to me.

"Aria, since we're about to get married, just sign this agreement."

I took the agreement and opened it:

[The bride must guarantee she is a virgin before marriage and deposit $300,000 as a "virginity guarantee deposit" into the mother-in-law's account]

[If the bride is found not to be a virgin after marriage, the $300,000 will be fully forfeited, and the bride's salary must be handed over in full to repay the groom's brother's mortgage]

My mother trembled with rage.

"Are you marrying a wife or buying a slave?"

But Lucas just spread his hands with an innocent expression.

"Ma'am, girls these days are too wild. If Aria really is a virgin, what's there to be afraid of signing this?"

Lucas's mother's wrinkled face scrunched together as she pressed her hand firmly on the back of mine.

"Aria, don't blame Lucas for being cautious."

"These days, girls out there have wild hearts—who knows who they've been with behind closed doors?"

"The Miller family is a respectable household. Lucas's brother Tyler is still in school, and we'll need plenty of money going forward."

"If you put this $300,000 into my account, it's your 'proof of loyalty,' showing that you only have the Miller family in your heart. I'll definitely treat you like my own daughter from now on."

My mother was shaking with anger, her knuckles white from gripping her wine glass.

"Lucas, Aria has been with you for three years. Hasn't she been good enough to you? Why should Aria use her salary to fill the hole for your brother's house?"

Lucas took a sip of champagne, the alcohol spraying on my face.

His refined features twisted.

"Ma'am, please don't get upset."

He set down his glass with a light clink.

Then he turned to look at me, his eyes gentle.

"Aria, our family is very traditional. Look at the relatives at this table—whose wife wasn't a virgin before marriage? Three hundred thousand dollars buys peace of mind and reputation."

"If you're really as pure as you say, what's the difference between the money being in your mother's account or my mother's account?"

"Unless..."

He drew out the sound, his gaze sweeping over my chest and waist, making me nauseous.

"Unless your body has long since lost that value."

The Miller family relatives around us started whispering, their voices growing louder.

"Exactly, Lucas is such a steady young man. These terms aren't excessive."

"Young people these days—who knows how wild they are in private?"

"The Millers are honest people who've been burned before."

"Aria seems like a smart girl, but making such a fuss over signing something—how immature."

Lucas's best man, Derek, shouted loudly.

"Aria, just sign it! Lucas is giving you this opportunity because he loves you."

"Our Lucas is a manager at a publicly traded company. Girls lining up to date him could stretch to Paris. He's being generous just waiting for you."

"This $300,000 is Lucas giving you face!"

I looked down at the "Prenuptial Promise Agreement," feeling suffocated.

Just then, my phone buzzed in my purse.

It was a confirmation message from my best friend Bella.

I glanced at it, then took a deep breath and gripped the pen tightly.

Seeing this, Lucas's mother pushed the ink pad toward me, its bright red color glaring.

"Sign it, Aria."

Lucas's voice was low, carrying undeniable pressure.

"The car convoy is still waiting outside. We still need to go to your house for the bride pickup ceremony."

"If you back out now, where will your father the university professor put his face?"

I looked up and met Lucas's eyes—so certain I wouldn't dare resist.

He was sure I would sign, sure I wouldn't dare make a scene in this setting.

He didn't know that the DNA test report in my purse had been there for a week.

I held the pen. The whole room fell silent.