Dad Sold Me, I Became Unbeatable

On the night my own father sold me to Wesley Foster, he stared at my face for a long time. Only later did I learn that I looked a lot like the first love he had always wanted but never had. I heard that his first love was a well-known lawyer in Astoria City, while I was nothing but a kept woman—pushed onto him by my own family. Wesley asked me, "What do you want?" Clutching the hem of my dress, I said quietly, "An employment contract." He laughed so hard that even the ash fell from his cigarette. "You're already a kept woman, and you still want a fixed salary?" I nodded seriously and counted on my fingers as I said, "During the time I'm being kept, it would be best to write down the exact services involved. Every transfer should be clearly stated as a voluntary gift. That way, when we break up, it'll be easier to settle the accounts." Wesley pinched my chin, as if he were looking at a disobedient stray cat. "You're good at pretending. Fine, I'll play along." The next day, he tossed me a supplementary card and told me to buy something decent. I immediately spent twenty-nine dollars and ninety cents on a copy of Labor Law. ***** When the book was delivered to Azure Villa, Wesley was upstairs in a meeting. I was holding the parcel box and had not had time to hide it when I heard his lazy voice from the staircase. "Kitty." Wesley turned his phone screen toward me. "What's going on here?" I tucked the book closer to my chest. "It was more cost-effective to buy it while it was on sale." Wesley laughed out loud. He really did look good when he laughed. The corners of his eyes lifted slightly, making it seem as if he genuinely found me cute. "I gave you a supplementary card, not so you could buy this." I said quietly, "But clothes and bags can't protect me." He raised an eyebrow. "This book can protect you?" "A little." Wesley came downstairs, took the book from my arms, and tapped my forehead lightly with its spine. "Mia Hayes, if I really wanted to bully you, memorizing this whole book wouldn't help." Wesley took a document from his assistant and tossed it onto the coffee table. "You wanted a contract for being kept, didn't you? Sign it." The document was thin, and its contents were simple. He would give me money and solve all my problems for me. And all I had to do was stay obediently by his side and be his kept woman. Whenever he got tired of me, this relationship would end. I read it for a long time, then looked up and asked him, "Can I revise it?" Wesley looked as if he had heard something new and leaned back into the sofa. He told his assistant to hand me a pen. "Fine, Kitty. Go ahead." Everyone in the living room looked at me as if they were watching a joke. Wesley was convinced I was a foolish girl. He was also convinced that a young girl like me, sold by her own father for three million dollars, could never escape his grasp. I pushed the revised document back to him. Wesley glanced over it, and the smile on his face faded a little. "Who taught you this?" I shook my head. "I read it in the book." He stared at me for a few seconds, then suddenly reached out and gripped my chin. "Kitty, don't be too smart." I frowned from the pain. But he eased his grip, his fingertips brushing gently across my face. "People who are too smart tend to get into trouble." He took the agreement. "I'm in a good mood today, so I'll let you revise this agreement." I signed my name. At that moment, I felt as if I had sold myself all over again. When I was 18, I ran home with an admission letter from a top University of Law and Political Science. My father said with disgust, "Where would I get the money to keep paying for your studies?" That night, he sold all my high school trophies as scrap. Even my certificate for Best Debater was thrown into the trash by him. That was proof that I had once worked hard. Back then, the genius lawyer Julian Cole had watched my debate. He smiled and said to me, "Mia, you were born to sit at the negotiation table." That was the first time anyone had seriously told me that I deserved a place of my own. Later, my father held on to my ID and made me miss university registration. Julian sent me materials and messaged me too. But at that time, even my phone was controlled by my family. I did not dare reply to him. From then on, I never dared think about the words "Lawyer Mia" again. Later, I secretly hid my ID inside my pillow, planning to go to the university and try to fight for another chance. But my mother found it again and handed it over to my father. She said, "No matter how much education a daughter gets, she'll end up belonging to someone else's family. A son is the root—the continuation of the bloodline." My father thought I was restless and beat me again. On the night my father owed three million dollars in gambling debts, my mother packed a suitcase for me with her own hands. I thought she was afraid our home had become dangerous and wanted me to go out and hide for a while. But all she said was, "Mr. Foster has money. Your brother will need you for university and for buying a house in the future." My family used three million dollars to sell my freedom and my future. Wesley put the book back into my arms. "Be good, and I won't mistreat you. I'll handle all those troubles in your family for you. Just don't learn from Sophia Sutton and start negotiating terms with men at every turn." I lowered my head and asked, "Who is Sophia Sutton?" Wesley's fingers paused. "You don't need to know." That night, a maid secretly told me. Sophia was the most famous female lawyer in Astoria City. In her early twenties, she was already able to sit at the negotiation table. With just a few words, she could force those old foxes to lower their heads. During Wesley's most difficult year, she was the one who turned the situation around for Foster Group. From then on, Wesley had never forgotten her. He admired her intelligence, and he admired her sharpness. But Sophia did not want him. And my face happened to resemble hers the most. The next day, Wesley had an entire row of white dresses sent over. When the maid zipped up my dress, she deliberately pulled it very tight. She said in a low voice, "When Miss Sutton wears a white dress, she looks cool and aloof. When you wear one, it looks like you stole an adult's clothes." Wesley happened to walk in through the door and heard those words too. The maid's face instantly turned pale. But Wesley only glanced at me. "She really doesn't look like her." I asked quietly, "Can I not go?" He gave a laugh. "Afraid of meeting the real one?" He stuffed the dress into my arms, his tone so light it sounded as if he were coaxing me. "Mia, it really is awkward when the substitute meets the original. But you have to recognize your own place sooner or later."