Chapter 1

Ethan tricked me into filming a sex tape. The next day, the video spread all over campus.

He even publicly posted a price: $10, and you could sleep with me once.

When I confronted him, I overheard him talking to a woman.

"My family won't let me marry you, so I'll bring home Summer. Someone lowborn and with a ruined reputation. With her as a contrast, my parents will definitely agree to our marriage right away!"

After hearing this, the woman kissed Ethan.

"Aren't you afraid Summer will take revenge on you for doing this?"

A contemptuous smile curved at the corner of Ethan's lips.

"Revenge? She's just a poor girl from the slums. What could she possibly do?"

So he spread those lies about me just to make another woman look more noble by comparison.

It seemed my gamble had failed too.

I didn't cry or make a scene. I called my childhood friend who was far away in London.

"I lost. I choose to marry you."

Summer POV

My name is Summer, a commoner girl admitted to the elite private school NYU through an exceptional entrance program.

Because I was poor, I didn't fit in with my classmates who were all either rich or well-connected. I became known as the cold, aloof ice queen, consistently ranking first in my grade year after year, yet always keeping to myself, never getting close to anyone.

Until one day, a post suddenly appeared on the school forum with the title.

"How much does it cost to knock an ice queen off her pedestal?"

The post laid out every cost in detail.

$100,000 to hold her hand. $500,000 to kiss her. $1,000,000 to take her to a hotel.

And at the bottom was a price list.

"Private photos of Summer. Unlock for just $100 each."

"Latest private video of Summer. Unlock for $1,000."

As soon as the post went up, it exploded across campus. The download count for the attachments kept increasing by hundreds per second.

The comments numbered in the thousands. The filthy language in the comment section made my whole body tremble, my ears filled with buzzing, my mind completely blank.

In the dorm, my three roommates huddled together, gossiping about me.

"I thought she was so high and mighty. Turns out she's just a money-grubbing opportunist!"

"Putting on that untouchable act every day. Who knew she'd be this wild behind closed doors? No wonder she hides every inch of skin."

"Hmph. Probably been with so many guys she's used up."

They didn't even try to whisper, like they wanted me to hear.

My face flushed deep red. I stood up abruptly and left the dorm.

I ran across campus, the wind drying my tears, but my heart refused to believe that the person who made that post was my boyfriend, Ethan.

It was him! He's the one who talked me into filming those photos and that video!

I arrived at the club where Ethan spent most of his time, about to push open the door.

"Ethan! The download count has already hit three thousand! My god, you're ruthless. Our school only has like five thousand people total. Summer's definitely done for. She'll definitely lose her full ride to the PhD program."

"That's not even all. She doesn't even know that Ethan only pursued her because of Sophie. He never actually liked her. He wouldn't even sleep with her when they shared a bed... If she finds out, she'll absolutely lose it!"

"Too bad your family and Sophie's family are business rivals, otherwise you and Sophie could have been together ages ago. Summer never would have had a chance!"

After saying this, the person elbowed Ethan.

"Ethan, didn't you promise Summer you'd take her to meet your parents next week for the engagement? Is that for real?"

Ethan held a cigarette, his eyes flickering in the smoke, a careless smile playing on his lips.

"Of course it's fake. My family won't let me marry Sophie, so I'll bring home a lowborn woman with a ruined reputation. Let's see where they'll hide their faces then."

The person suddenly understood.

"No wonder you released Summer's private photos and videos. If your parents find out you want to get engaged to a woman like that, they might just give in and let you marry Sophie."

"Ethan, aren't you afraid Summer will cause trouble? What if she tries to get revenge?"

Ethan curled his lip in contempt. "Revenge? She's just some broke scholarship kid from the slums. What does she have to get back at me with?"

"People like that are dogs. Throw them money and they come running. Kick them to the curb when you're done. If they get upset, buy them something nice and they'll shut up and do whatever you want. But I'm warning you all. Not a word of this gets back to Summer before the engagement party!"

"Don't worry, our lips are sealed! Consider it an early congratulations..."