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Chapter 1

"Emily Johnson, I like you. Will you be my girlfriend?"

In the fancy grand hall, it was pitch dark except for the spotlight on James Smith and me.

Looking into his bright eyes, my face turned red, and my heart started pounding.

I was born in a tiny, remote village, surrounded by endless mountains and crystal-clear rivers. The people were simple, and life was peaceful.

When I was three, a heavy rainstorm hit the village out of nowhere.

Overnight, I got a high fever and was on the brink of death.

Outside, thunder roared, and rain lashed wildly, battering the leaves with a ferocity that sent chills down my spine.

My parents' pleas and sobs were nonstop.

Tears rolled down, falling on my forehead, burning hot.

The village elders called that night's rain a once-in-a-millennium storm, almost like it would swallow the whole village.

I couldn't remember how long the rain lasted, just vaguely recalled my parents wrapping me in a red cloth, covering me with a blanket, and carrying me through more than ten miles of mountain roads in the storm.

At the end of the mountain road lived a blind old woman.

Everyone called her the witch.

The witch's door was tightly shut, and my parents knelt at the door, desperately calling out.

The door slowly creaked open.

The witch shakily reached out to touch my forehead, her lips trembling. "My abilities are limited; I can't interfere in such a big matter."

My mom's hands trembled as she held me, pleading continuously, "Please save Emily. She is my everything. Without her, how can I live?"

My dad knelt on the ground, stuffing almost all our family's savings into the witch's arms, pleading, "Please, save my daughter. No matter what it takes, even if it means my life, just save her."

The witch sighed, "A life for a life. If it were that easy, I would save her myself. Enough, fate is such. Wait here."

I didn't know what they said, only remembering that she went back inside and brought out a large red paper. The black characters on it made my parents freeze for a long time.

The witch looked at them, her voice cold, "If you hesitate any longer, Emily will die."

For my life, my parents gripped my hand tightly and wrote my name on that paper, stroke by stroke.

The moment my name was written, the rain stopped.

The witch carefully put away the paper, her sharp voice piercing the sky.

The contract was sealed, and no betrayal was allowed!

As the surroundings quieted down, I felt a refreshing comfort all over, and my eyes became much clearer.

The witch held me, her rough fingers brushing my cheeks, then she slowly took out an amulet from behind her.

The crystal-clear round amulet, reflecting the bright moonlight above, shone into my eyes.

I reached out, murmuring as if enchanted, "My amulet, it's for me."

The witch chuckled and hung the amulet around my neck, "The amulet must not be lost, or all will be in vain."

The intricate patterns made me love it so much that I wanted to touch it all the time.

Seeing me awake, my parents held me in their arms, both heartbroken and excited. "Emily, good child. You've suffered."

At that time, I was still young, my eyes drawn to the amulet, not noticing my dad Mason Johnson's helpless sigh, or my mom Mia Wilson's red, swollen eyes and the tears in them.

In the days that followed, their gazes toward me were often tinged with a deep and subtle worry.

Back then, I thought they were just scared by the heavy rain and didn't pay much attention.

As I got older, my parents kept reminding me.

"When you were three, you were betrothed to Satan. You have a fiancé."

"Never fall in love early, and don't get too close to the opposite sex."

"The amulet is a token of the engagement and must not be lost, or your life will be in danger."

I heard this stuff for eighteen years.

After many years, I left the mountains and got into a veterinary medicine program.

Honestly, in those eighteen years, I never had feelings for any guy.

Not that I didn't want to, but I didn't dare.

And now, the finest young man in school stood before me, tall and remarkable, his eyes locked on me.

I bit my lip, almost ready to throw all of Mia's warnings out the window. Those were just Mia's excuses to keep me from falling in love early.

The villagers were stuck in their old ways and didn't get modern ideas.

Mia's words weren't protection but deep constraints.

With these thoughts, I pinched my palm hard, and gently lifted my right foot. Just as I was about to step forward, the amulet on my chest glowed faintly red, burning hot.

I clutched the amulet, my face turning pale.

James heard the commotion and wanted to reach out but couldn't move.

"Emily, are you okay?" James's concerned voice came, and I desperately wanted to explain. Just as I lifted my eyes and was about to speak, I felt a cold, damp gaze from behind, like it would pierce through me.

The feeling of being on pins and needles made me break out in a cold sweat, and I remembered the words passed down by the village elders.

The daughter of the Johnson family was promised to Satan.

Satan changed the fate of the daughter of the Johnson family, and the price was to bear his child.

The heavy rain fifteen years ago was Satan coming to see his wife.

The village elders always said I was Satan's fiancée, and over time, everyone almost accepted this saying.

Only I thought it was a made-up story. I didn't believe in Satan, nor did I believe he changed my fate.

After leaving the mountains, my resolve regarding these thoughts became even more steadfast.

I eagerly sought answers to solve the problem in the outside world, eventually discovering it was all superstition.

Maybe it was just Mason and Mia's way of comforting themselves.

There was no Satan in this world.

With this in mind, I firmly believed, gritting my teeth as I slowly stepped forward, wanting to take James's flowers and agree to be his girlfriend.

But at that moment, the amulet on my chest suddenly lost its burning heat and became icy cold.

At the same time, a fierce wind rose outside.

The originally dim hall turned pitch black.

I felt like I had fallen into an abyss, with no light around.

In the pitch-black atmosphere, I instinctively gripped the amulet.

The moment my fingers touched the amulet, it felt like something cold wrapped around my calf.

A playful low laugh sounded in my ear, and then I fainted.

In a daze, I seemed to return to that rainy night fifteen years ago.

The familiar yet strange scent surrounded me, warm hands grasped my legs, and there was a faint upward movement. The amulet on my chest burned hot.

Between the extremes of cold and heat, I couldn't help but moan.

My earlobe was suddenly pinched, and a deep voice sounded in my ear, "You already have a husband, and you're still messing around with other men. Emily, you're being naughty."

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