Chapter 5

Diva's point of view 

I stared at the crimson-stained bed, shocked, surprised, terrified… no words could fully capture what I felt.

Even now, I couldn’t explain how I ended up in this room.

There had been an after-party after the wedding. I attended, along with Julius’s family members. Everything had gone well, except I remembered getting drunk… and collapsing against a tall, dark-skinned man.

That was all I could recall.

But whatever happened after that… I woke up this morning to the cruel truth—someone had taken advantage of me.

I had lost my virginity.

The one thing I had promised myself to give only to the man I loved, on my wedding night.

A wave of devastation crashed over me.

It felt like my world was crumbling right before my eyes. That virginity… it was something I had held so dearly. My pride. A piece of me that made me feel whole in a world where my father and brother were no more.

And now… it had been stripped away by a stranger.

“How did this happen?” Julius asked, his voice laced with irritation.

My gaze flickered from the bloodstained sheet back to him.

Speechless.

What could I possibly say when I had no idea myself?

“I… I don’t know,” I whispered, my voice barely audible.

“Hope there are living beings in that room!” Julius’s mother barked from outside, banging on the door.

Gosh…

She wasn’t supposed to see this.

I hurriedly reached for the sheet, trying to remove it, but Julius stopped me with a gesture.

“No need for that.”

He turned and walked toward the door.

Wait… was he really going to let his mother see this?

My heart pounded violently against my chest.

He grabbed the handle and pulled the door open.

Julius’s mother strode in.

Her face was a thundercloud of fury, eyes blazing, jaw clenched, radiating pure displeasure.

The moment her gaze landed on me, she shot me a glare so sharp it made me tremble.

I didn’t need to be told.

She didn’t like me. Not one bit.

“I told you I wanted to have a word with you yesterday, didn’t I?” she demanded, her voice dripping with disdain.

A cold shiver ran down my spine.

“I…” I stammered, unable to form a proper sentence.

“I was the one who asked her to come with me,” Julius said, stepping in.

She turned to him sharply. “Was I talking to you?”

“Mom…” he said, more quietly.

“Julius, she has a mouth. Let her speak for herself.”

Her attention snapped back to me.

In that moment, I wished the ground would open and swallow me whole.

But that was just a wish.

Reality held me in place.

“I’m sorry I didn’t come,” I said cautiously. 

She blinked.

Then her gaze shifted...slowly...to the bloodstained bedsheet.

Oh no…

“A virgin?” she sneered.

I swallowed hard, my throat dry.

Silence stretched between us.

Then she straightened.

“Like I said yesterday, I want to have a word with you. When you’re free, come and meet me.”

Without another glance, she turned…

…and walked out.

I watched her walked out of the house still uncertain about what she really wanted to tell me. 

Was it about the marriage? 

"I need an explanation on what happened here last night." Julius said sternly. 

Where the hell am I gonna start from? 

"How can you be this careless? You know my parents are around, including my brother and other family members, yet, you went ahead and brought a man in here and had sex with him?" He shot me an hard glare. 

"I didn't bring anybody here," I defended, swallowing the lump forming in my throat.

"So what's the meaning of this?" he demanded, pointing toward the bed.

"I… I…" I stammered, tears gathering in my eyes.

"Stop this bullshit, you pathetic bitch!" he snapped, spinning away in anger.

Pathetic… bitch?

Christ… why the bloody hell did he called me that?

"I don't want to believe I just signed a contract marriage with a prostitute," he said, his voice cold and cutting.

A prostitute?

What does he mean by that?

Isn't he seeing the bloodstains on the bed… a clear sign that I'd just been deflowered?

"I'm not a prostitute," I said, tears spilling down my face like a broken dam.

"You're not a prostitute, and you couldn't stay one day without fucking a man?!" he sneered.

The words hit me like a punch to the gut.

How do I make him understand… that it wasn't what he thought?

"It was my first time—"

He cut me off abruptly. "And who do you think is going to fall for this aimless trick of yours?"

He took two quick steps closer, his presence overwhelming.

"Do you fucking think I'm a fool like your sick, dying mother?" He scuffed.

I was taken aback by what he just said.

He's insulting my mother right in my presence. He's insulting the one woman that matters most to me?

"Didn't you pour that crimson stain there to deceive me?"

I froze. 

"I know girls like you." He paused and continued, "and listen to me, I'm not the kind of guy you can easily deceive." 

"I'm not deceiving you… I just woke up this morning," I tried to explain.

He silenced me instantly, placing a finger against his lips.

"Shuu…"

For fuck’s sake… can he just listen to me?

I signed this contract because I needed the money for my mother’s surgery. Losing my virginity was never supposed to be part of it.

Shouldn’t he at least listen first? Then find whoever did this, and make them pay dearly, instead of throwing false accusations at me?

Or maybe… he’s acting this way to run from the truth, knowing how disastrous this would be if I decided to press charges against him.

A deal is a deal.

Sex was never part of the contract.

Which means he’s responsible for finding whoever took advantage of me.

"I’ll make you pay for this," he said sternly, already turning toward the door.

Pay?

He would make me pay… for what?