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49. AUCTION

Penulis: AUTHOR_NEON
last update Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-07-24 21:16:29

LUCIAN THRONE'S POV

We were seated on the front-most velvet sofa, closest to the stage — not because I demanded it, but because no one else dared to take it.

Caelen sat beside me, quiet, eyes trained on the crowd. He looked like sin wrapped in innocence tonight — in charcoal silk, with a crimson pocket square I'd placed myself. His hand was on his knee, fingers slightly twitching, but his spine was straight.

He was holding himself together — and fuck, he looked exquisite doing it.

The auction had been smooth so far. Piece after piece sold — his brutal portraits, his fragmented landscapes, the oil work of the little boy staring into a broken mirror. Some of them made the crowd lean forward in awe, some made them flinch.

And yet — nothing quite caught fire like that painting.

The watch piece.

A canvas soaked in muted greys and slashes of red. The outline of a cracked watch, blood dripping from its shattered face, as if time had bled itself dry. It was personal. I knew the night he paint
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  • MY BROTHER-IN-LAW   65. THE AUNT

    LUCIAN THRONE'S POVThe house was clean — too clean. Like someone had scrubbed away every trace of dirt, but couldn’t bleach out the rot that still clung to the walls.Caelen sat to my right, back straight, one hand resting lightly on Chase’s shoulder. The boy sat between us, legs swinging slightly off the edge of the chair. He hadn’t said a word since we walked in, but I could feel his tension pulsing like static — alert, wary, braced for betrayal.Across from us, the woman sat perched on a floral armchair that didn’t match the rest of the furniture. She was dressed neatly, hair pinned into a careful bun, her skirt starched. The act was rehearsed. She smiled too quickly.“Oh, Chase,” she cooed, folding her hands. “You’ve grown so thin. My poor child.”He didn’t respond. Didn’t even blink.Caelen’s grip on his shoulder tightened.“My name is Mrs. Sofie Valeria,” she said, turning to us now, smiling in a way that felt like a brittle, cracking mirror. “I am Chase’s aunt—his late mother’

  • MY BROTHER-IN-LAW   64. HE IS AN ORPHAN

    LUCIAN THRONE'S POVThe sun filtered through the tall windows of our penthouse, gilding everything in gold. The world outside buzzed faintly — cars honking, the low thrum of life — but in this room, it was still. Quiet.Too quiet.I stood at the edge of the guest room, watching them.Caelen was sitting on the edge of the bed, one leg folded beneath him, the other touching the floor like he might spring up any moment if the boy stirred. His hand rested carefully on the child’s arm, light, hesitant. Like he was afraid of startling him. Or breaking something fragile.The kid — no more than six or seven — lay curled under the soft throw blanket we’d found for him. He hadn't stirred all night. Dark lashes on pale skin. A faint scratch on his temple. A tiny bruise along his collarbone. I’d noticed those the second we brought him home.Even in sleep, his hands were clenched.I tapped the earpiece in my ear. “Jeremy,” I said quietly, stepping into the hallway, “any luck?”Jeremy’s voice crack

  • MY BROTHER-IN-LAW   63. A KID?

    CAELEN THRONE'S POVWe weren’t supposed to be out there. Not in the dark. Not behind a stranger’s mansion where the floodlights didn’t reach and the laughter of the party dissolved into shadows and breathless silence. But Lucian and I had never been good at “supposed to.” He looked too damn perfect in that suit, too sharp and untouchable. I needed to touch him, to drag him away from those wine-glass smiles and empty conversations and remind him that he was mine.I had him pressed against the cold brick wall, fingers gripping his jaw as his lips parted for me. Our breaths tangled. My hands fumbled with his tie. We were seconds from forgetting the world entirely when we heard it — a rustle, a quick crunch of gravel underfoot. Then something like a whimper.Lucian froze under me, instinctively pushing me behind him. That protective edge of his always kicked in when something felt wrong. He turned his head, eyes scanning the shadows.“What was that?” he whispered, already reaching inside

  • MY BROTHER-IN-LAW   62. FIVE YEARS LATER

    CAELEN THRONE'S POVFive years since I went down on one knee.Three years since he said “I do,” in that husky, reluctant voice like I’d asked him to sign away his soul — and he did it anyway. No rings exchanged in public. Just a private ceremony with wine-stained lips, matching black platinum bands, and a kiss that tasted like war and victory all in one.And now?Now we’re still here. Still us — even if the world has grown bigger around us.The mansion is quiet again.Too quiet.Especially since Conrad and Caisen moved out.Those two? God. Talk about chaos wrapped in love. They were a fire I didn’t see coming — until it burned through everything, and somehow left the two of them holding hands in the ashes.Lucian always says he knew. Says the way Conrad used to roll his eyes at Caisen’s dumb jokes was the exact same way He used to react to my sarcasm when we first met.I say he’s lying. But he's probably right. He always is.They moved into this minimalist-modern penthouse across the

  • MY BROTHER-IN-LAW   61. SURPRISE

    CAELEN VALENTINE'S POVIt was 4 a.m.I woke up to find Lucian gone.Not just from bed — from the entire house.The sheets were cold beside me. A note was left on the pillow in slanted handwriting that only read:"Be ready by 7. Wear black."Typical. No heart emoji. No context. Just commands.And I obeyed them anyway.By 7:01 a.m., I was standing at the entrance of an abandoned opera house on the edge of New York.The place was a skeleton of the past — marbled ghosts and dust-covered chandeliers.It shouldn’t have been beautiful. But it was.There were no guards. No cars. Just one pair of heavy doors, slightly open.I stepped inside.The air was thick with candle wax and velvet memory. Music — an old, haunting violin score — echoed from deep inside the hall.And there he was.Lucian stood at the center of the stage, wearing all black. Sharp lines. Silver cuffs. His tie undone, his hair a little messy like he’d been running on no sleep.His eyes, when they met mine, made the world stop.

  • MY BROTHER-IN-LAW   60. FIRST ANNIVERSARY

    LUCIAN THRONE'S POVI’ve handled illegal arms deals in three continents at once. I've orchestrated political downfalls without blinking. I've sat across from warlords and slit-throated CEOs and never lost my calm.But this?This damn anniversary?It’s driving me insane.My office was a disaster. Papers tossed, drawers open, one of the shelves half-smashed because I threw a damn crystal decanter at the wall thirty minutes ago.“Lucian,” Conrad’s voice filtered through the speaker of my desk intercom, far too calm, “for the fourth time, do you want me to cancel your meeting with the investment board?”“Yes,” I snapped. Then I paused. “No. Wait. Yes. And shut up.”I ended the call.I stared at my reflection in the black screen of my laptop. Hair tousled. Tie abandoned. Shirt unbuttoned at the collar. I looked like I was going through a nervous breakdown. Because I was.What do you get for a man like Caelen Valentine?Not the cold Artist with knifes and brushes for words and silk in his v

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