Chapter 8

The applause slowly faded as the attention in the room returned to the stage, but Claire remained still for a moment longer, her eyes lingering on Ethan before she finally looked away, still trying to understand why the sight of him standing there, surrounded by powerful people who respected him, felt so unsettling.

The necklace that Daniel had promised to buy for her now belonged to him.

She didn’t know why that bothered her so much, because it was never really about the necklace itself. It was about everything surrounding it — the way Daniel had looked at her and promised that she would look beautiful wearing it, the way Ethan had calmly entered the bidding without hesitation, and the strange tension between the two men that made her feel like there was a part of their history she knew nothing about.

Daniel remained quiet beside her, his expression difficult to read as his eyes stayed on Ethan across the room, and for the first time that evening, Claire noticed that he didn’t look angry.

He looked distracted.

Almost as if his thoughts were somewhere far away from the auction hall.

After a few moments, Daniel adjusted his coat and leaned slightly closer to her.

“Claire,” he said calmly.

She turned toward him.

“I need to speak with someone. It’s important.”

Her brows drew together slightly as she studied his face, trying to understand the sudden change in his mood.

“Now?”

“It won’t take long,” he assured her, his voice softer than before. “I’ll be home after that.”

Before she could respond, Daniel reached for her hand briefly, his fingers brushing against hers in a familiar gesture that once would have made her feel safe.

“I’ll call the driver to pick you up when you’re ready,” he added.

For a moment, Claire looked at him, remembering the man she had spent five years loving, the man who once knew exactly how to make her feel special, but the memories felt different now because they existed beside a truth she could no longer ignore.

Daniel leaned closer and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.

“I’ll see you later.”

Then he stood and walked away, leaving her alone among people she barely knew, surrounded by conversations and laughter that suddenly felt distant.

Claire watched him disappear into the crowd, her eyes following him until he finally walked out of the auction hall, and only then did she realize how different the room felt without him sitting beside her.

The auction continued, the guests continued to smile and discuss the items being presented, and everything around her carried on as though nothing had changed.

But Claire felt strangely alone.

She lowered her gaze to her hands, quietly remembering the woman she had been before everything fell apart, before the man she trusted became someone she no longer recognized.

A few minutes later, a waiter approached her.

“Mrs. Hayes?”

Claire looked up.

“Yes?”

The waiter held out a glass of water.

“This is from Mr. Sterling.”

Her expression shifted slightly.

“Mr. Sterling?”

The waiter nodded politely.

“He asked me to bring it to you.”

Claire slowly accepted the glass before looking across the room.

Ethan stood near one of the tall windows, speaking with another guest, his calm presence completely unchanged despite everything that had happened. He looked as though spending one million dollars on a necklace had been nothing more than a simple decision, as though he hadn’t just changed the entire atmosphere of the evening.

Then, almost as if he sensed her gaze, Ethan looked toward her.

Their eyes met briefly.

He gave her a small nod before turning his attention away.

And somehow, that simple gesture left Claire with even more questions than before.