All Chapters of Switched at the Mafia Auction: Chapter 111 - Chapter 120

~ Avelyn ~The next morning I woke before the alarm. I didn’t even remember falling asleep. My body felt heavy and my head felt too clear, which was always a bad sign. I dressed for practice on autopilot, dragging my hair back into a ponytail and throwing lip balm on because I didn’t have the energy for real makeup.The Mona Lisa studio had the same smell it always did—sweat, old perfume, air freshener. The speaker system crackled once before the music started, and then I just… moved. I didn’t dance because I wanted to impress anyone or because I liked it. I danced because my body needed something to do while my brain prepared for war.The Grand Blossom event was in two days. Miguel’s deadline was also two days. Everything was building toward the same finish line, and I was the idiot sprinting toward it without water.I went too hard from the start. No warm-up, no slow stretches, nothing. Just straight into full choreography like someone who didn’t care about her tendons. I fell once

~ Avelyn ~My gaze lingered on the papers for a second longer than necessary before Dominic collected it and shut the door behind him. Next, the soft clink of Xander’s drink hit the counter. It sounded final, like he wasn’t planning on picking it up anymore.And then he began bridging the distance between us, it didn’t take much strides with those long legs of his. In one breath he was standing in front of me. I didn’t know what to do and at the same time, I knew exactly what I had to do.My fingers moved in sync as they began untying my robe straps. I kept my eyes on him, watching, waiting for his approval to keep going? I don’t know, maybe but I just kept watching but he didn’t say a word, I took that as confirmation and continued.The fabric felt unbelievably smooth under my palm as I slid it off my arm, revealing my shoulders that caught the moonlight from the window. I let the robe fall to my feet and all that was keeping my nakedness from him was the miserable piece of inner-

~ Avelyn ~The reflection in the mirror didn’t look like me.No, she looked nothing like me.The girl staring back had hollow eyes and the posture of someone whose bones were somehow older than her body. Her hair was a mess of tangles that fell around her shoulders like abandoned silk threads. My lips were swollen, bruised, bitten — and so pink it was embarrassing. And my skin…My skin was a battlefield.My neck was ringed in purple, a bruised collar so vivid I could almost feel his hand there. Not squeezing—no, he never strangled me—but claiming. Marking. I lifted the edge of my collarbone just to see if maybe it was only that one place. Maybe the rest of me looked normal.Nope.It was worse.My shoulders, my stomach, the inside of my thighs—spots everywhere. Not cute romantic little hickeys girls brag about to their friends. These were poker dots. Leopard spots. A constellation chart of his appetite across my entire body. Any piece of me he had touched was purple now. Any piece he

~ Avelyn ~Laura’s laugh was the kind of sound that made my palms itch.Not loud, not sincere—just sharp and loud enough so nearby people would notice.I stared at her in silence for a second, mostly to confirm that yes, she actually had the audacity to be here.She looked exactly the same as she always did at the academy: perfect curls, shiny lips, nose slightly tilted like she was sniffing something unpleasant. Except now she had a man attached to her arm. He was tall, dressed in an expensive suit, and had the bored expression of someone who only existed to pay her bills and stand there like a trophy.Funny how people like her somehow always managed to upgrade their leashes.I gave her a thin smile. “Laura.”“Oh, you remember my name,” she said sweetly, even though her eyes told me she wished I’d died on that auction stage. “I’m surprised. You usually avoid eye contact with people above you.”Wow. We were starting with the insults early.The receptionist shifted awkwardly behind h

~ Avelyn ~The way she said it wasn’t even loud—just casual, like talking about the weather.“Tell me, how was it like being fucked by Xander?”My brain lagged. That wasn’t curiosity, this was a knife disguised as a compliment.I didn’t rise to the bait. My voice came out low, flat.“What do you want?”She didn’t answer immediately. Veronica circled the chair like she was inspecting a product she’d already decided to return. She didn’t even bother to look at me. She looked at my reflection, at the crystals, at the hair, at the body they’d polished until I looked like a diamond someone was preparing to auction again.Then she laughed under her breath, that smug little half-giggle she always did when she thought she’d found a flaw in your armor.“You must think you won. It’s adorable, really… watching you parade around like you’re untouchable.”She tilted her head, lips curling.“A mere pawn who thinks she’s queen. Soon to be discarded like all the others.”I didn’t care. Not enou