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Chapter 155
Last Updated:
2025-12-18 21:37:28
Latest chapter
The Auctioned Bride Chapter 159
Althea’s pov“Thank you… for last night. For everything.”He nodded, not pushing, not fishing for reassurance. Just accepting the moment for what it was. That control….God, it did something to me.“I don’t know who I am anymore,” I admitted quietly. “Everything I thought was true…my past, my body, my emotions…it’s all tangled. Some days I feel like I’m made of borrowed pieces.”Damien reached across the table, resting his hand over mine. Steady. Warm.“Then stay,” he said simply. “Stay here. With me. We’ll untangle it together. No pressure. No games.”I searched his face for deception. For hunger masked as care. For control dressed up as kindness.I found none.What I found instead was patience.Something inside me softened. Cracked.Maybe this was cowardice. Maybe it was healing. Maybe it was just exhaustion.But since I ran, the idea of stopping…of not looking over my shoulder every second felt tempting.“I could stay,” I whispered.His grip tightened just slightly, like he was afr
The Auctioned Bride Chapter 158
Althea’s PovMorning light slipped through the curtains warming the edge of the bed where I sat. The house was quiet but for once, it didn’t feel oppressive. It felt… gentle. Like a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding had finally been released.I pulled the blanket tighter around myself, not because I was cold, but because everything felt raw. Exposed. Not in a frightening way. In a way that made my chest ache softly.Damien returned a few minutes later with a mug in his hand.“Careful,” he said gently. “It’s strong.”“Thank you,” I replied, accepting it. Our fingers brushed briefly. Just a touch. Nothing more.But he felt it too.He sat on the edge of the bed, keeping a respectful distance. That alone did something to me. The old Damien would’ve filled the silence with apologies, excuses, or desperate affection. This one just… stayed. Present. Calm.“How’s your head?” he asked.“Better,” I said honestly, taking a small sip. The warmth traveled down my throat, grounding me. “I’m
The Auctioned Bride Chapter 157
Althea’s povIt felt like my head was playing drums inside my skull.I groaned softly as my eyes fluttered open, my hand flying to my temple. The light filtering through the curtains was too bright, too sharp, like it was punishing me for last night’s decisions.The first thing I noticed was the floor.Clothes.My dress.His shirt.A shoe tipped on its side like it had been kicked off in a hurry.My breath hitched.I shifted under the sheets and that was when it truly sank in.I was naked.Completely.My heart slammed painfully against my ribs as I turned my head slowly toward the other side of the bed.Damien.Bare from the waist up, lying on his back, one arm tucked beneath his head, his chest rising and falling in an even rhythm. He looked… calm. Untroubled. Nothing like the chaos roaring inside me.My hand flew to my mouth as a sharp gasp escaped me.Shit.This wasn’t part of the plan.This wasn’t supposed to happen.A familiar pang of guilt curled deep in my stomach, tight and un
The Auctioned Bride Chapter 156
Althea’s PovNo one said a word on the drive back.The silence pressed against my ears, thick and heavy, the kind that made your thoughts louder than they should be. Damien kept his eyes on the road, his knuckles pale around the steering wheel. I stared out the window, replaying Valerio’s face over and over again…those eyes, the hurt he hadn’t even tried to hide.I hated that it still affected me.When we finally pulled into the driveway, night had already settled over the house. Damien parked, cut the engine, and turned to me like he wanted to say something…anything but thought better of it.Inside, the house felt too quiet. Too empty.“Is there alcohol?” I asked suddenly, my voice sharper than I intended. “What’s the end of a date without good wine?”He blinked, surprised, then smiled faintly. “Yeah. There is.” He gestured toward the dining area. “Sit. I’ll rinse the glasses.”I didn’t wait.I headed straight for the wine room, my heels clicking against the floor like a countdown. M
The Auctioned Bride Chapter 155
Valerio’s PovI watched her walk away.Not run.Not hesitate.Not look back.She simply turned…like a door closing softly but finally and followed him into the noise of the park, their figures swallowed by laughter, lights, and moving bodies. Her hand stayed in his.Mine stayed empty.For a moment, the world went mute.No music from the rides.No chatter.No wind.Just the hollow thud in my chest where my heart used to be.I stood there like an idiot, fists clenched so tight my knuckles burned, my jaw locked until it ached. Every instinct in me screamed to go after her, to pull her back, to remind her, beg her…that she was mine. That she had always been mine.But I didn’t move.Because for the first time in my life, power meant nothing.I had built empires with less effort than it took to stand still while she chose someone else.Someone I despised.Damien.The man had looked at me like prey pretending to be brave. I could still feel the way his fingers tightened around hers when I st
The Auctioned Bride Chapter 154
Althea’s PovI noticed him before he noticed me.The air changed.That was the only way I could describe it…like the warmth of the afternoon thinned, like the laughter around us dulled into background noise. My skin prickled, instinct screaming before my mind caught up.I turned.Valerio stood a few steps away from the ride’s exit gate.For a second, the world tilted.What was he doing here?How did he find me?His eyes swept over me first, not in the possessive way he used to, but sharp,desperate. Like he was counting my limbs. Making sure I was whole. Alive. Safe. Then his gaze dropped.To my hand.Intertwined with Damien’s.If rage had a sound, I swear I heard it then…a low, animal thing buried deep in his chest. His jaw tightened, nostrils flaring, the carefully controlled man I knew cracking straight down the middle.He looked… ruined.Untrimmed beard. Dark circles bruising his eyes. His hair longer, uneven, like he kept dragging his hands through it without realizing. The immacu
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