On the night of my 18th birthday, Enzo Vitale holds me by the waist as he coaxes me to take off my underwear.

"Good girl. You have a beautiful body, Isabella. Let me take a good look at you."

But just when I'm about to reach my climax, the spotlight is turned on. The floor-to-ceiling mirror in front of me becomes a see-through one-way mirror.

On the other side of the mirror shows the faces of all the guests who are here to attend my birthday party.

Soon, the racy video of my lustful side is spread all over Newlyn. My reputation gets flushed down the drain overnight, and yet Enzo's reputation remains unaffected.

On the night we break up, he leaves me a message.

"Your brother had watched my sister getting kidnapped by others back then. Now, it's your turn to have a taste of what it feels like, Isabella. You owe me this much."

My older brother, Marco Rossi, is enraged, to say the least. When he tries to demand an explanation from Enzo, he gets his legs broken by Enzo's bodyguards instead.

Marco drags his broken legs home. But on his way home, he gets into a car crash due to severe pain and blood loss, reducing him to a vegetable.

In order to afford the daily eight-thousand-dollar ICU bill, I become the most famous stripper in Newlyn. For the next three years, I flit between various nightclubs in Newlyn as well as various men's beds. I've been trading my pride and body in exchange for checks.

Three years later, I knock on a hotel room's door as usual.

The door opens, revealing a man wearing a custom-ordered dark gray suit. It's Enzo.

He's thinner now, and his cheekbones protrude even more. His eyes are as glacial as frozen lakes.

I smile brightly at him. "Sir, would you like any special services?"

"What's your pick—nurse or maid?"

Holding the roleplay outfit, I shot Enzo Vitale a teasing smile from the doorway. He glared at me. The disgust in his eyes was so strong it was almost palpable.

"I recommend the nurse outfit, sir. It's way more exciting." I drawled sweetly.

Enzo seized my wrist and yanked me into the room, slamming the door and locking it. He shoved me hard against the entryway wall.

"It's been three years since we last saw each other. I hear you've become Newlyn's most famous whore, huh?" He gripped my chin hard, forcing the words through gritted teeth.

I ignored the pain and maintained a professional smile. "Sir, I'm here to make money."

Enzo shook off my hand in disgust, as if he had touched something filthy. He pulled out a wet wipe and scrubbed his fingers hard.

"I'd heard of a Newlyn whore who'd do anything for money. I thought that was disgusting and didn't bother finding out who she was.

"Two days ago, I went to Luca's place to discuss business. He was bragging to me that you'd left this hairclip in his entryway."

Enzo flung a familiar pearl hair clip at my feet. It struck the tile floor, and two pearls broke off.

I looked at it briefly before kicking it aside carelessly with the tip of my heel. "It's just a normal hair clip. I'm surprised you still remember that thing, Mr. Vitale."

A vein throbbed in his temple. "A normal hair clip, huh? Isabella, I gave that to you when I was 18…"

"Mr. Vitale, let's not dwell on the past." I interrupted him without hesitation and pulled out a revealing piece of black lace from a black paper bag.

"You still haven't told me which one you want."

I brushed the outfit lightly against his chest. "Oh, right. I have an angel outfit, but that one costs extra."

Enzo slapped me hard. My head snapped to the side, and my ears rang.

"You have no shame, whore!" Enzo yelled at me. His body was shaking with anger.

I was still looking away, dazed for a moment.

In the past, even if I accidentally scraped my knee, he would tear up. He would hold my knee and gently blow on it all day.

Now, Enzo was probably dying to strangle me.

I wiped the blood away from the corner of my lips. I flashed him a smile and reached into my handbag.

"If that's what you're into, that works for me, Mr. Vitale."

I pulled out a short black leather whip and shoved it into his hands. "That'll cost you extra."

Enzo glared at the leather whip in his hand and let out a harsh laugh.

"Alright. Fine. Fine." He spat the words out through gritted teeth.

"Are you really that desperate? So you'd do anything for money, huh? Fine!"

Enzo whipped out his phone, opened a group chat, and started a video call. The call went through instantly, and chaos erupted.

"Hey, Enzo! What's up? Going live this late for us, huh?"

"Who's that next to you? She's got a great body!"

Enzo shoved the phone into my face. The camera was pointed directly at me. He pulled out a checkbook from his inner suit pocket, scribbled out an amount, and slapped it against my chest.

"Here you go. One million dollars."

He pointed at the maid's outfit on the floor and a leather collar with a chain attached.

"Wear that outfit, and put the collar on too. Then get on the floor and crawl to the camera. I want you to bark."

When the men on the video call recognized my face, they erupted into chaos.

"Isn't that the whore, Isabella?"

"That woman has no shame. She'll do anything you ask. Come on. Let's hear it!"

I looked down at the million-dollar check on the carpet. That was enough to cover six months of ICU care for my brother, Marco Rossi.

I didn't even hesitate and knelt down. I picked up the check, folded it, and carefully tucked it into my bra.

Expressionless, I looked at the camera and slowly took off my coat. I picked up the leather collar, opened it, and fastened it around my neck.

On all fours, I slowly crawled toward Enzo's feet.

"That's enough!" Shoving me aside, he turned and hurled his phone to the ground, smashing it to pieces.

"Do you enjoy humiliating yourself like that?"

I merely shot him a faint smile. "As long as it makes you happy, sir."

I had no clue how I ended up leaving the hotel. All I knew was that Enzo found me disgusting and wouldn't even touch me.

As soon as I walked out of the hotel, I received a message. "Same place. Same fee."

I flagged down a cab and headed to Newlyn's most hidden underground club.

Half an hour later, I pushed open the private room door like I always did. Inside, it was packed with mafia men. Thick cigar smoke hung over them.

In the middle stood an iron cage at waist-height. Luca exhaled a ring of smoke and kicked it.

"Let's see if the former princess of the Rossi family still knows her place… as our pet."

I lowered my gaze. Without hesitation, I unzipped my outfit in front of the men and began to take it off. Then, I crawled into the cold iron cage.

Luca Moretti locked the cage with a click. "Let's do something different today."

He took the Patek Philippe watch off his wrist and threw it between the iron bars."

"Act like you're a bitch in heat. If you do it well, this watch is all yours."

The private room erupted into laughter. "Luca, you went easy on her, didn't you? Isabella's always more eager than a bitch in heat."

I looked at the watch worth over 100,000 Uvarian dollars and dropped into a crouch. "Woof! Thank you for your generosity, Mr. Moretti!"

I got on my knees and arched my back. Someone guffawed and tossed in a wad of Uvarian dollars.

"Wow! So pathetic!"

"Louder!"

The men hurled car keys, watches, and stacks of cash at me as if I were nothing but a beggar. The items hit me on the head and back.

Someone lit a cigar and pressed it against my arm, chuckling as it burned my skin.

I didn't even dodge. My lips curled into a faint smile as I pulled everything closer, still barking as demanded.

Suddenly, huge stacks of green bills rained down from above the cage, almost burying me.

Someone kicked the cage door open. I looked up to see Enzo standing outside. A vein was throbbing in his temple.

"All this money should be more than enough for your performance tonight, right?" He glared at me in the cage. His voice was edged with a faint tremor.

"Take all this money, and get out of here!"

The private room fell into pin-drop silence. Luca and the others exchanged glances, not daring to make a sound.

I looked at the money on the floor. Just as I was about to pick it up, a delicate voice drifted in from outside the door.

"Enzo, what's got you so upset?"

Camilla Moretti strutted into the room in high heels. She was Enzo's fiancee and Don Moretti's daughter. Seeing me in the cage, she covered her mouth. Undisguised malice flashed in her eyes.

"Isn't that Isabella? I was wondering who got you so upset." Camilla walked over to Enzo and slipped her arm through his.

"Enzo, I've never seen a performance like that. Why'd you stop her?"

Enzo stiffened. He looked down at Camilla before his gaze flickered over to me, naked in the cage.

He suddenly chuckled. "Alright then. If you want to watch, let Isabella continue."

Enzo turned and picked up a champagne bucket filled with ice from the table. He walked over to the cage and dumped all its contents—cold water and ice shards—over my head. I couldn't help but shiver.

"Since you enjoy doing this so much, you'll stay in that cage tonight. You're not going anywhere. Isabella, you owe me for life!"

Enzo tossed the empty bucket to the floor and swept a cold glance across the private room.

"What are you waiting for? Carry on. Everything's on me tonight."

With Enzo's words, everyone in the private room went all out.

Camilla lay in Enzo's arms, watching me go through all the humiliation. He remained on the couch the whole time, staring at me coldly.

The humiliation continued until dawn, when everyone finally left.

By the time I crawled out of the cage, I was covered in wounds, bruises, and burn marks. I trembled as I got dressed, shoving the money and watches into my bag as fast as I could.

Camilla stopped in front of me. Her diamond-studded high heels were glittering. As she crouched down, she stepped on my hand as I reached for the cash, grinding her heel down on the back of my hand.

I clenched my teeth, still holding onto the wad of cash.

"Isabella, you poor thing."

Camilla pulled out a gold-embossed card from her bag. Disgusted, she grabbed my chin and forcefully shoved it into my mouth.

"Since you've been quite the entertainment tonight, I'll give you a way out. I'm familiar with the leading neurological team in Sylora.

"If you complete a task for me, I'll arrange for them to save your brother's life. Reach out to me if you're interested. This could be his last chance."

The next day, I called the number on the card. An hour later, I was taken to a villa on Calpera Island.

I opened the door to the master bedroom on the top floor. The air was thick with cigar smoke.

A man was sitting on the large bed. He was nothing like the men I usually slept with. A hint of aggression flickered in his eyes, yet there was no trace of superiority when he looked at me.

From his words, I only realized who he was later. He was a key member of the Vitale family and Enzo's cousin, Alessandro Vitale. He was ten years older than Enzo and handled the Vitale family's financial business.

As for Camila, I was just a means to test whether Enzo still loved me. She wanted to see if he would lose control when he saw me in a wedding dress and in bed with another Vitale man.

Alessandro's eyes brazenly roamed over my body. "So, it's true. You're really beautiful. No wonder you have those men captivated."

He nodded toward the exquisite black box at the foot of the bed. "Open that box, and put on the dress."

I walked over to the box and calmly lifted the lid. As soon as I saw what was inside, my breath caught in my throat. It was a gift Enzo had given me back then.

On the night I turned 18, I was wearing this wedding dress when Enzo pushed me into a living hell I could never escape from.

Seeing how pale I had become, Alessandro raised an eyebrow. "What now? Is that really too much for you?"

He leaned back with a smirk. "So, are you going to wear it? You can still back out if you like."

Back out?

Forget about wearing the wedding dress. As long as Marco could wake up, I would go to hell and back for him.

Without hesitation, I ripped off my clothes and carelessly tossed them onto the carpet. I reached for the wedding dress, stepped into it, and pulled up the zipper.

Then, I climbed onto the bed and straddled Alessandro, just as I had with any other man before.

However, Alessandro seized the back of my neck with one hand and dragged me toward the large floor-to-ceiling window.

"Babe, doing it on the bed isn't that exciting. Wouldn't it be more thrilling here?"

Alessandro pinned me against the cold glass and ripped off my wedding dress, leaving my partially naked body exposed to the night. Still, I did not protest and even gasped in response.

Suddenly, a screeching sports car engine erupted from downstairs. Still pinned against the glass, I instinctively looked down and saw a Maserati parked in the yard.

Camilla stepped out of the car, her arm linked with Enzo's. She looked up with a smile and pointed at the floor-to-ceiling window where I was.

Enzo looked up where she was pointing.

Under the night lights, everything inside the huge floor-to-ceiling window was laid bare to the outside world, just like the floor-to-ceiling mirror back then.

Through the darkness, Enzo met my gaze. He stared at the wedding dress I was wearing.

At first, he froze, as if rooted to the spot. Shock flickered in his eyes as we held each other's gaze through the glass for a few moments.

Without a word, he flung off Camilla's hand and yanked open the sports car door. He drove off into the night without looking back.