At the end of the year, I turned down a lucrative overseas job for a high-end fashion show just so I could come home and do the bridal makeup for my brother's new wife.

But the moment I arrived, she casually—yet deliberately—asked me if I was still a virgin.

My gaze dropped on her pregnant belly. Thinking she was afraid I'd tease her for getting married while already expecting, I admitted openly that I wasn't.

I never expected her reaction.

She immediately swept all my makeup products onto the floor.

"Do you not realize today is my wedding day? How dare a filthy woman like you touch me?!"

"Go find someone pure to do my makeup! If your bad luck rubs off on me, my husband won't spare you!"

"And take your trashy makeup with you! I don't want secondhand items tainted by someone like you!"

I stared at her swollen belly for a long moment.

I honestly couldn't figure out how a woman who got pregnant before marriage had the guts to call anyone else 'unclean.'

I calmly gathered the items on the floor, then called my brother.

"Your wife thinks I'm dirty," I said. "So I won't be doing her makeup."

"And that Maserati I gifted you—I'll be taking it back. Your wife says everything that comes from me brings bad luck."

——

My words clearly rattled him. "There must be some misunderstanding. Your sister-in-law, she—"

Before he could finish, Eliza snatched the phone and hurled it to the ground.

"How dare you make a call in my dressing room?!"

"What, planning to summon all those men you've slept with to defend you?"

"So annoying! My perfect wedding is ruined because of you!"

Bridesmaids rushed in after hearing the commotion. The moment they saw makeup scattered all over the floor, they froze.

Eliza pointed at me and shouted, "Who arranged this? Whose bright idea was it to get unchaste to do my makeup?!"

"Such disgusting bad luck!"

Several bridesmaids wrinkled their noses as they looked at me.

"No wonder I smelled something the moment I walked in. Turns out it was a slut in the room."

"What are you still standing here for? Get out!"

"Exactly! Eliza is the real daughter of the Campbell family—the one they just found! Because of her, Campbell Group's stock price has been skyrocketing for months!"

"Offend her, and you won't survive in San Antonio!"

I quietly picked up my phone, my lips curling in a cold smile.

Campbell Group?

The only reason their stock price was rising was because I found out about my brother's fiancée ahead of time, pulled some strings overseas, and boosted the company for a while.

I just never expected Eliza to use this as an excuse to act like a tyrant.

She didn't know—if I wanted that stock price to crash, it would crash.

With that thought, I lifted a broken palette from the ground and said slowly, each word sharp and clear, "Why don't you think about how you're going to compensate me first?"

Every product on the floor was from the highest-end luxury brands. The total easily exceeded a million.

Hearing that, Eliza burst into mocking laughter. "A gold digger is still a gold digger. Exposed for not being a virgin and immediately breaking down?"

"Now she's even trying to extort money."

The bridesmaids chimed in, kicking aside the scattered products.

"Look at these brands—never seen or heard of them. These must be some cheap knockoffs."

"Good thing Eliza noticed early. Imagine if she let this woman touch her face—it would've been ruined!"

"And who knows what diseases a woman like her carries? Using her things? Absolutely disgusting!"

I ignored them and simply took photos of the damaged makeup.

The loss was easily over a million, enough to file a case.

"What? Cat got your tongue?" Eliza's voice grew even more triumphant as I stayed silent.

Eliza kicked at the hem of my dress.

"Wearing something that's so slutty—don't tell me you usually use bridal makeup gigs as an excuse to seduce the groom?"

My hand paused mid-air.

I was the chairwoman of an internationally renowned cosmetics corporation, worth hundreds of billions, and a globally recognized makeup artist.

Countless celebrities begged for an appointment with me and still couldn't get a slot. And yet here I was, lowering myself to do her makeup—only because she was marrying Maverick.

And she dared to insult my professionalism?

When she opened her mouth again, I lifted my gaze and met hers head-on.

"You're pregnant before marriage and still claim to have some kind of virginity complex?"

A laugh escaped me. "Seriously? You? Calling anyone else dirty?"

"Where do you get that kind of face?"

She hadn't expected me to fight back. Her cheeks flushed bright red. "The baby in my stomach belongs to the groom! How is that the same?!"

"I gave him my first time, and I'm marrying him today—how am I not clean?!"

"But you—you came here just to ruin my big day! What's your real motive?!"

At that moment, Maverick sent me a voice-call request on WhatsApp.

The moment my screen lit up with his avatar, Eliza froze in disbelief.

Then she lunged forward and yanked my hair. "So you are trying to seduce my husband!"

"That's why you came here, right?!"

"I knew it—women who aren't virgins are always sluts! Always trying to lure men!"

"Don't think I don't know—there are tons of women obsessed with my husband!"

"You must be one of them!"

Suddenly, everything clicked.

So that's what this was about. All that 'unclean' nonsense? She wasn't disgusted—she was threatened.

Just your typical brainless bride who sees every woman as competition.

The bridesmaids rushed over, joining the attack. Two of them grabbed my arms, pinning me from both sides.

"It makes perfect sense now!"

"She wanted to ruin Eliza's face with cheap makeup and then seduce the groom!"

My arms were locked down tight—I couldn't move. A rare flicker of panic shot through me.

My hands were everything to me. They couldn't be injured!

I spoke hurriedly, "Maverick is my brother. If you don't believe me, call him!"

"Your brother?" Eliza leaned in, her gaze dripping with contempt. "What kind of 'brother'? A sugar daddy brother? A bedmate brother?"

Her spit nearly hit my cheek. I instinctively tried to pull back, but the bridesmaids didn't let me move.

Before I could react, she raised her hand and slapped me—hard.

"I've been with Maverick long enough. I've never heard him mention having a sister!"

"Stop pretending to be some delicate little victim to seduce men—you're not worthy!"

I froze.

It was true—Maverick wasn't my biological brother.

He was my uncle's son. My uncle and aunt died in an accident when I was five, and out of pity, my parents took him in and raised him like their own.

When my entire family moved abroad, he chose to stay in San Antonio, insisting he wanted to repay my parents by taking care of the domestic branch of our company.

I never expected he hadn't told Eliza about me at all.

Just then, her phone rang.

Seeing the caller ID, she lifted the screen in front of my face, smugness overflowing.

"My husband must've heard you bullied me. He's coming to help me!"

She tapped the speaker button and answered sweetly, her voice turning syrupy in an instant.

"Hubby! When are you getting here?"

"You won't believe it—the makeup artist today isn't even a virgin!"

"You know my parents hate anything unlucky!"

"What am I supposed to do now?"

On the phone, Maverick's voice sounded anxious. "Where is she? Where is she right now?"

Eliza shot me a sideways glance. "She's in my room."

"She's just a gold-digger. She even tried to extort money from me just now—so disgusting—"

Before she could finish, Maverick cut her off sharply. "Don't touch her. Stay where you are. I'm coming—right now!"

Then he hung up.

Eliza stared at her phone for a few seconds, stunned, before awkwardly putting it away.

Her bridesmaids immediately crowded around her, eyes full of envy.

"Mr. Peterson really treats you so well! The moment he heard something had happened to you, he couldn't wait to rush over!"

"Exactly! It's not even the scheduled time yet—so domineering!"

"Eliza, you're so lucky!"

Being praised like that, Eliza's smug expression returned instantly. She lifted her chin, acting like everything should naturally revolve around her.

Just then, one bridesmaid asked, "By the way, Eliza, what about your makeup now?"

Eliza froze.She looked at the smashed luxury cosmetics scattered across the floor, then glared at me. "You. Do it."

"But after you finish, you need to compensate me with ten thousand. And you must kneel to give it to me—to ward off your bad luck."

I almost couldn't believe what I was hearing.

I couldn't stop myself from snapping back, "You want me to do your makeup for free, then kneel and pay you ten thousand?"

"Well, I refuse."

"You—!" She jabbed a finger at me, furious. "I give you face and you don't want it!"

Suddenly, a bridesmaid smirked. "Eliza, I thought of something. A perfect way to deal with a slut like her—and let you vent."

Before I could react, she grabbed several red envelopes and shoved them into the neckline of my dress.

The sharp corners tore at my skin, burning painfully.

I tried to pull away, but with several of them holding me down, I couldn't move at all.

She clapped her hands proudly. "When the groomsmen come to 'open the door' later, we'll have them search for the red envelopes. They can only enter once they find them."

Eliza's eyes lit up instantly. "Brilliant!"

"Hahaha, and don't forget her underwear. My husband's buddies love women like her."

"It's my wedding day—might as well give them some fun."

A rush of blood pounded in my ears.

Seeing them gather more envelopes, walking toward me, I shouted desperately, "Stop! If you keep doing this, I'll call the police!"

"Call the police?" Eliza burst into mocking laughter. "Go ahead. When they come, they'll only arrest a filthy woman pretending to be my husband's sister!"

She snapped her fingers. "Bind her."

They swarmed me instantly—one pulling my arms, another yanking my hair.

I struggled with everything I had, but they had the advantage in numbers.

They shoved the red envelopes everywhere—anywhere they could reach.

"Stop pretending! You're loving this, aren't you?"

"Exactly. You'd die for Mr. Peterson's buddies to get their hands on you!"

Rage and humiliation crashed over me, suffocating.

My screams and curses only made them laugh harder.

Not until they had stuffed red envelopes into every vulnerable part of my body did they finally stop.

Then they wrapped a bedsheet around me and tied me to the bedpost, movements rough and practiced.

Eliza dusted off her hands, then sat down gracefully. "You all do my makeup. Whoever does it best—when we're done, I'll have my husband give her a big red envelope."

On hearing that, the bridesmaids' eyes lit up in greed.