The night air was growing colder...

Lila Liddell stood stiffly in the hotel lobby, dressed in a red strapless gown. Maybe it was nerves, but she could barely breathe, her cheeks flushed bright pink.

The vibrant color of the dress set off her delicate makeup and soft features. The way the fabric hugged her figure, with glimpses of her youthful curves, was enough to make any man lose focus.

She clutched a platinum room key in her sweaty palm, fingers trembling.

Just thinking about what was about to happen made her feel like crying, but her eyes were just misted over—tears wouldn’t fall.

“If you don’t pay back that 800,000 in a month, your uncle’s a dead man. And don’t even think about calling the cops—unless you wanna end up raped.”

Her uncle, deep into gambling, had already lost his 70-square-meter apartment and was now knee-deep in debt, owing a horrifying 800,000 in high-interest loans.

They caught him, locked him up in some pitch-black room, beat him with whips, even cut him with knives.

When Lila got the video, she was terrified out of her mind. Her first instinct was to call the police—but that threat had crushed her last bit of hope.

By nature, Lila was a mix of ditzy and sweet. She never held grudges and always tried to see the best in people. Maybe that’s why her life turned out like this.

She’d been part-timing and studying just to send her uncle spending cash, and she never once complained.

She’d lived with him since she was three. Life had never been easy, but he’d kept her alive, and that meant something.

He was all she had. Her parents died young—she had no one else.

The phone call three days ago left her no real choice. This was the only way forward.

She was selling her womb—three million to carry someone else’s child.

Trying to steady her breathing, she gave herself a pep talk. After half an hour of battling herself inside, she finally bit her lip firmly, made up her mind.

Standing at the hotel room door, her heart was pounding like crazy, her hand gripping the key card was shaking.

Just a door between her and everything on the other side.

“Get it together, Lila. Come on. Every woman has to face this day eventually,” she muttered to herself.

Surrogacy. As soon as the baby’s born, it’s over. Then all this will stop.

But still—how could she be okay with this? She was only eighteen, way too young to throw herself into something like this.

But it was too late for second thoughts.

She took a deep breath, firmed up her grip, and told herself this was just a reckless decision made in youth.

She swiped the card. A soft “click” sounded as the door unlocked.

Right then, someone grabbed her by the arm and yanked her inside.

“Bang!” The door slammed shut.

The stench of alcohol hit her in the face. Before she could say a word, the man who pulled her in had her pinned to the wall, sealing her lips with his.

The sudden kiss completely stunned her. This, technically, was her first real kiss.

She had kissed someone before, but that was barely a peck—completely different from this.

She was panicked, caught off guard. Her whole body tensed in fear and confusion.

“Mmm...” she whimpered. The kiss was too fierce—she could hardly breathe.