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 casuallyyet deliberatelyasked 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 youI'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 familythe 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 fiance 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 knowif 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 brandsnever seen or heard of them. These must be some cheap knockoffs."
"Good thing Eliza noticed early. Imagine if she let this woman touch her faceit 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 sluttydon'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 makeuponly 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 todayhow am I not clean?!"
"But youyou 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 itwomen who aren't virgins are always sluts! Always trying to lure men!"
"Don't think I don't knowthere 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 disgustedshe 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.