Chapter 1: Pay Up!

Molly's POV

“Pay up!”

I didn’t scream when they surrounded me, which surprised even me. The five men formed a wall of flesh with their shoulders and arms. The leader held me by the collar, his hand so large that he could easily lift my toes off the ground.

“Your father is dead, so you inherited his debt.” His tone was casual, as if he were talking about the weather. “You’d better think about how you’re going to settle it.”

The sunlight outside the school gates was blinding. I could feel the stares—countless eyes stabbing at me from every direction. My classmates had formed a circle around us, phones in hand. Some were recording videos.

“Her family used to be loaded,” someone whispered.

“Tsk. Look at the fallen heiress!” another voice said disdainfully.

“I heard her father jumped off a building after her family went bankrupt. Does this mean the daughter has to pay her father’s debts now?”

“Her father died, and her mother fainted from the shock and ended up in the ICU. How tragic.”

My vision blurred for a moment. A week before his death, my father had still been working in his study. He never told me about the bankruptcy. I learned about it from a call from the police—he had jumped from the twenty-third floor of his office building.

“Listen to me.” I forcefully shoved the man gripping my collar, keeping my voice as calm as possible. “I’ll make a fixed payment every month until the debt is cleared.”

The man named White released me, but his gaze traveled over my body—from head to toe, then back again. It was filthy. I could feel it crawling over my skin like insects.

“Your father said the same thing. What happened?” He sneered. “He turned around and died! Why should we believe you?”

One of the men behind him licked his lips. “White, she’s got a nice body. Send her to the Dark Night Bar, and business will be booming!”

My heart leaped into my throat.

“Good idea,” White said. “Take her.”

They rushed at me. Hands seized my arms with such force that I could feel fingernails digging into my skin. I began to struggle and turned toward the students watching us.

“Call the police,” I heard myself say. “They’re holding me illegally.”

No one moved.

I knew some of them. We had once sat in the same classrooms. Someone tried to approach, but White’s men immediately blocked the way. Several others simply raised their phones and started taking pictures of my face.

“The Ice Queen’s fall from grace! Hilarious!” someone laughed. “She used to act so aloof and superior. Turns out she’s no different from anyone else.”

“I couldn’t afford to sleep with her before, but once she becomes a bar hostess, surely I can.” Another person turned to White. “How much are you going to charge per night?”

White chuckled. The sound was low, like something rotten making noise. He reached out and lifted my chin with his fingertips, his nails almost piercing my skin.

“Looks like you won’t have to worry about customers,” he said. “This will be a profitable deal.”

“Let go!” I struggled.

Suddenly, I spotted a familiar figure in the crowd. It was my best friend, Luna.

“Luna, help me!” I shouted. “Call the police!”

Luna walked toward us, and hope flared inside me. “Luna, please help me.”

Instead, White pulled Luna over and draped an arm across her shoulders, revealing a mocking smile. “Thanks to your dear friend tipping me off, I wouldn’t have known where to catch you.”

White then took out a wad of cash and stuffed it into Luna’s hand. “The payment we agreed on. Here. I’m a man of my word.”

Luna accepted the money and said quietly, “Thank you.”

“Luna!” I struggled to accept what I was seeing and demanded in disbelief, “You sold me out? Why?”

“I helped you so many times! I paid when your mother was sick. I covered your brother’s gambling debts when he couldn’t repay them, and I paid your tuition when you couldn’t afford it! I even bought the clothes you’re wearing! Why?”

Luna looked up at me.

I saw disgust and hatred in her eyes.

I didn’t understand. The pain in my chest left me unable to breathe.

After putting the money away, Luna said coldly, “I used to flatter you because you could benefit me, but things are different now. You have nothing left. Selling you out lets me make one final sum from you. That’s all you’re worth to me now.”

Luna turned and walked away without hesitation.

An image flashed through my mind of Luna running to me in helpless tears. She had said her brother owed money to loan sharks because of his gambling, and they would cut off his hand if he failed to repay them. I had settled the debt without hesitation. She had thanked me profusely and said I would be her best friend for life...

I gave a bitter laugh. It all seemed unbearably ironic.

“No one can save you,” White said impatiently. “Stop wasting my time.”

They dragged me away, and I began to struggle. I didn’t know where the strength came from, but I knew I couldn’t get into that car. The moment I did, it would all be over.

The slap cracked through the air. Smack!

My face snapped to one side, and my ears rang. Another slap followed, this time across the other cheek. I could taste blood.

“Don’t hit her face. How are we supposed to sell her if you damage it?” White intervened.

“Boss, this woman struggles too much. She won’t obey unless we teach her a lesson.”

White grabbed my collar and brought his face close to mine. “If you don’t behave, I’ll strip you naked right now and have someone fuck you right here. Do you believe me?”

I gritted my teeth and stared at him. My face felt as if it were burning, and the swelling was unmistakable.

They dragged me toward the car. My toes scraped against the ground, and one of my shoes came off. I tried to call for help, but only broken sounds escaped my throat.

Just then, a figure pushed through the crowd.

He was tall and dressed in a sharply tailored dark gray suit, with several strands of dark hair falling over his forehead. His eyes were deep-set, and his gaze was as cold as a winter front. He shoved aside the men surrounding me. A force pulled me backward, and my whole body pressed against a warm one.

“Who the hell are you?” White roared furiously. “Do you know who we are? How dare you interfere!”

The man spoke in a very even tone. “I happened to pass by and saw you bullying a student. As a responsible teacher, I think it’s perfectly reasonable for me to intervene.”

White’s face darkened. He moved as if to attack, but the man raised his phone.

“I’ve already called the police,” he said. “It won’t benefit you if this gets out of hand.”

White stared at him for several seconds before finally sneering.

“You’re lucky today.” He turned to me and tapped a fingertip against my chest. “You still have to sign what needs signing, Molly.”

He took a contract from his bag, its pages stained with grime. I opened it and turned through every page with trembling fingers. The repayment schedule, the amount due, the consequences of late payment—the clause detailing those consequences was perfectly clear.

In the event of nonpayment after the due date, the creditor reserves the right to employ all necessary means of collection, including but not limited to physical coercion and disposal of property.

I signed my name. As the pen moved across the paper, I felt my entire body sink, as if something were pressing down on me.

“Miss Molly,” White said with feigned politeness, “if you don’t transfer money into the account regularly every month, I’ll come looking for you again.”

They dispersed. The sounds of phones, whispers, and laughter merged into a wave that swallowed me.

I turned to thank the man who had helped me, but he had already left. Only my classmates remained gathered outside the school gates. Some were watching the videos on their phones, their faces bright with excitement, as if what they had just seen were a performance.

I stood there desolately, my mind blank with a helplessness I had never experienced before.

Joyce. The name flashed through my mind.

Right. I still had Joyce, my fiancé. He would definitely help me through this crisis!

I took a taxi to Joyce’s house.

“Miss, you can’t go in.”

I headed straight inside, but the security guard stopped me.

I had always walked in without question before. The guard was still the same man, but the outcome was different.

I looked at him and demanded, “Why are you stopping me?”

“Mr. Joyce gave orders that you are not to be allowed inside from now on.”

I clenched my fists and said angrily, “What right do you have? I’m his fiancée!”

“Not anymore.”

I turned toward the voice and saw Joyce walking toward me with his arm around a woman.

Joyce gave me an arrogant glance. “Molly, do you still think you’re the heiress you used to be? Let me make this clear. As of today, our engagement is officially over.”