Chapter 540: Chapter 540: You Were Set Up for a Ghost Marriage

Jessamine Lloyd finally transferred the newly acquired three hundred dollars back to Scarlett Jennings.

She wasn’t very up-to-date with online news and didn’t know who Scarlett Jennings was, but judging by how she handled Lydia Patterson earlier, Jessamine instinctively felt that this person likely wasn’t out to deceive her.

After all, who with real skills would fabricate such a story over three hundred dollars?

Even if it was indeed a scam, the most she would lose was half a pill.

“Let’s just say this half a pill is a gift for you today, so can you do a reading for me? See if I can successfully marry into the Patterson Family.”

Jessamine made no secret of her intentions.

She aimed to elevate her status by having a baby; otherwise, why would a good college girl like her put in the effort to cling to Lydia Patterson?

For that, she didn’t mind sacrificing her education.

Marrying into the Patterson Family was currently the best option she could find.

Facing Jessamine’s seemingly casual but nervous gaze, Scarlett Jennings remained calm and directly dashed her hopes.

“No.”

Jessamine’s heart sank instantly, and her face turned somewhat unpleasant.

Just as she was about to explode in anger, questioning Scarlett Jennings’s abilities, she heard her continue calmly,

“You won’t be able to marry into the Patterson Family because you’ve been arranged into a ghost marriage.”

Since there was another marriage contract, it was naturally impossible for her to marry into the Pattersons.

Even having a child wouldn’t make it possible.

Hearing Scarlett Jennings’s words, Jessamine was momentarily stunned, then her face turned as pale as a sheet, followed by a shrill voice of disbelief,

“Impossible!”

She certainly knew what a ghost marriage was; when she was young, she had seen people in her village have one.

But how could she be arranged into a ghost marriage?

“Impossible…”

Her voice quivered slightly with agitation as she looked at Scarlett, her eyes red with a hint of resentment.

But this resentment was not directed at Scarlett.

“They… they clearly said they were just finding a family for me…”

“They” referred to Jessamine’s parents.

And it was because of this so-called pair of parents that Jessamine had decided to sell her body to bind another man.

She was not naive; even if she did manage to force Lydia Patterson to marry her, her future might not necessarily be blissful.

But she had no choice.

Rather than contemplating the future, she needed to consider her current situation.

Her hometown was a remote rural area where she had never been liked by her family.

Thankfully, she had some talent for studying and managed to get into college based on her own abilities.

Even so, her family agreed to let her attend university on the condition that she would send home a thousand dollars every month.

For this, she worked part-time tirelessly because, while tuition fees could be covered by student loans, living expenses and the money she sent home depended entirely on her.

This situation continued into her third year at university.

Perhaps her family thought a thousand dollars a month was still too little, or perhaps they felt she had grown wild after moving to the big city…

Her parents even wanted her to drop out and return home to get married.

Jessamine wanted to resist.

But she couldn’t…

Because not every pair of parents deserves to be called parents.

When Jessamine was twelve, she was molested by a neighbor’s uncle, and when her parents found out, instead of calling the police, they negotiated compensation with the man.

The matter was eventually settled for eight thousand dollars.

She thought her parents’ coldness and cruelty were like that of the norm.

But they always seemed to exceed her imagination in lowering their standards.

To force her into returning home to get married, they threatened that if she disobeyed, they would publicize the incident from her childhood to the entire school.

Even if she was the victim, the publicity of the matter would leave her unable to continue studying due to embarrassment.

Because both society and human nature can be cruel.

Some people never blame the perpetrator but focus their scrutiny on the victim.

And others, knowing full well you are persecuted, still harbor filthy thoughts, speculating and mocking you.

Didn’t they say she was sexually assaulted? How come that man wasn’t arrested?

There’s always a man visiting their house; are they involving their daughter in any shady business?

So young and already so sullied.

How much does she charge per encounter?

Such words and those sympathetic or suggestive glances cast upon her.

Almost pulled her back into the abyss many times.

Jessamine had hardly escaped that abyss and didn’t want to return.

Knowing her parents fixated on the dowry of two hundred thousand offered by that family, Jessamine struck a deal with them.

Within three months, she would provide them with two hundred thousand, and after that, they could no longer force her into marriage or threaten her with that incident.

Her family agreed.

“They clearly agreed…”

Yet with more than half a month to go before the end of that three-month period, they had directly arranged a ghost marriage for her…

Jessamine clutched her head tightly in despair, her previous composure replaced by a face of collapse and hopelessness.

Tears flowed unstoppably, with desperate grief followed by uncontrollable hatred.

She didn’t even doubt the truthfulness of Scarlett’s words.

Because she knew, this was something her parents were capable of doing.

Scarlett looked at Jessamine, a flicker of helplessness in her eyes.

In manipulating Lydia Patterson through the child, Jessamine did indeed plot.

She might have even considered using the Patterson Family to feed the insatiable greed of her parents.

Such intentions and methods weren’t commendable, but… you cannot expect someone mired in darkness to remain pure.

Some people struggle just to survive.

Scarlett was not a judge and would not assess her right or wrong; she provided this information purely because—

She paid for it.

Three hundred dollars is not a small sum.

“If I’m not mistaken, the two families have already exchanged marriage contracts, and once the contract is burned, it becomes a ghost marriage recognized by the Underworld. If the Shadow Soul hasn’t dispersed, you might become unwittingly entangled,” Scarlett explained.

Once a marital contract exists, even organizations like the Mystical Sect would find it challenging to intervene.

Much like in real life, when there’s a marriage certificate, acts of deliberate harm might be downplayed as family disputes.

As Jessamine listened, her heart sank even further.

But she was not the kind to weep and evade problems; with reddened eyes, she directed her gaze at Scarlett.

“Do you have any way to help me? I’ll do anything, anything at all, if you’re willing to help.

Is stopping the marriage contract from being burned enough?”

Scarlett looked at her and suddenly asked,

“Why stop it?”

The question was posed so matter-of-factly that even Samuel Chalmers glanced at her.

Jessamine, dumbfounded, her face hardened, was about to refute when Scarlett leisurely continued,

“If I haven’t miscalculated, the name on that marriage contract should be Jessamine Lloyd, and Jessamine Lloyd… isn’t your real name.”

Hearing this, Jessamine was stunned on the spot.

In the next second, she seemed to have an epiphany.

Of course.

How had she forgotten?

Her real name wasn’t Jessamine Lloyd.

Jessamine Lloyd…

Was her brother’s name.