All Chapters of Switched at the Mafia Auction: Chapter 161 - Chapter 170

~ Avelyn ~The first thing I noticed when I woke was the silence. Not the kind of quiet that creeps, but the kind that wraps around you, protective, almost sacred. The harshness of the night before—the fear, the confusion, the humiliation—was gone. My body ached in places I hadn’t realized had been tense, my muscles stiff from being held in a way I hadn’t been able to move. But it was over. Somehow, impossibly, it was over.I blinked slowly, letting my eyes adjust. The room was dimly lit by the soft glow of a bedside lamp. White sheets, crisp and cool, covered me, tucked neatly around my shoulders. My hair was tangled and messy, but there was no smell of smoke, no trace of the chaos from last night. Only the faint lingering scent of him—Xander. Clean, sharp, unmistakably him.I tried to move. Pain shot through my legs as I shifted slightly. My hands moved to my face and froze. Redness on my cheek and the faint bruising on my wrists were still there, but they didn’t feel as sharp under

~ Avelyn ~The door opened softly and for one twisted, stupid second, my heart lifted.I hated that it did.I hated that some part of me expected him—expected Xander to be standing there with that unreadable expression, dark eyes already assessing me, already deciding something for both of us. I didn’t know when that expectation had formed. I didn’t remember inviting it in. But it was there, fragile and humiliating.Instead, Veronica stood in the doorway.She was dressed immaculately, of course. Pale trousers, silk blouse, hair pinned with careful precision. The kind of composed elegance that screamed control. That screamed wife. And yet something about her posture was… off. Her shoulders were stiff, her chin lifted too high, as if she were holding herself together by sheer will alone.My chest hardened instantly.“I don’t want to hear it,” I said before she could speak. My voice was flat, tired. “Whatever you came to say, save it.”I turned my face away, tugging the blanket higher ar

~ Avelyn ~Why did it suddenly seem like I walked straight into the lion’s den. I knew what he wanted, it was written all over his face. The primal urge and sex appeal was oozing off him like a cologne. I steadied my breathing. “I’m still recovering,” I said, he didn’t seem convinced. “You’ve had a week, and more,” My lips twitched, as if a week was truly enough to recover from him. “I can see your efforts to not repay me,” he said in amusement while staring at my nightgown. My cheeks flushed. “But,” He added, roaming his long fingers through the collar of the gown. “Sitting here, backing the light. Your dress is see-through.”Realization struck me instantly and I looked down before I could stop myself. He was right! The moonlight from the window and the lamps behind me made the stupid nightgown translucent. He enjoyed watching me spiral. Instinctively, my hands flew to my chest, in my desperate attempt to savor some pride. But he suddenly grabbed my both my wrist and anchored

~ Avelyn ~The moment the car doors opened, the air changed into something cooler, sharper like it was laced with money and polished ambition.Xander stepped out first, effortless, composed, already the axis the world tilted toward. Suits turned. Conversations slowed. Heads inclined, some respectfully, others calculating. He didn’t acknowledge any of it. He simply extended a hand back toward me.I hesitated for half a second.Then I took it.His fingers closed around mine with quiet finality, not possessive enough to spark gossip, not distant enough to invite doubt. Just enough to say she’s with me.Cameras clicked somewhere. I didn’t look.“Eyes up,” he murmured without moving his lips as we walked. “Shoulders back.”I obeyed, lifting my chin as the glass doors slid open and swallowed us whole. But I couldn’t shake the feeling of being a decorative pawn in his hands. He always seemed like he had all the cards and I wasn’t even fit to be a player. Inside, everything gleamed, from the

~ Avelyn ~The door creaked when I pulled it open. I expected empty air, a hallway or some goddamn privacy.Instead, I nearly collided with a wall of black suit and controlled violence.Xander stood right there.Too close and solid like he’d been carved into the doorway itself.I froze.For a split second, neither of us spoke. His expression was unreadable with no teasing, no dark amusement, no lazy dominance. Just hard focus. Calculation layered over concern.Then he said something I didn’t see coming.“When last did you get your period?”The words hit me harder than the vomiting had.“What?” I snapped, heat flaring instantly. “Are you serious right now?”He didn’t blink. “Answer me.”My disbelief curdled into anger. “What kind of ridiculous—”“When,” he repeated, jaw tightening. “Last. Month.” I spat.Something in me broke.“I’m not pregnant!” I burst out. “Did you think I let you touch me without protecting myself?”His jaw flexed sharply and the air shifted.Good.I wanted him angr