All Chapters of The Auctioned Bride: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

I was eating mechanically. I couldn’t taste the food, and it didn’t feel like I was filling my stomach. After forcing the meal down, I looked around and saw the guards still where they were supposed to be. Everyone acted like I was a ghost. Ignored like I always was. I sighed and left my untouched plate. It was time to suck up my emotions and get a hold of myself. I decided to look around the mansion. I hoped to find something that would help me in my quest for revenge. Something about Valerio. I thought I had been clever at that table. I thought I’d shown him strength. But when he leaned in and warned me, it wasn’t a game to him. It was a promise. When I finally stood, my legs felt weak. The doors creaked open and the same guards were waiting. They didn’t ask if I was done, they didn’t even look at me. It was better for me. I made to go to my room, just to trick the guards like I was going to my room but after I had gone a little farther, I took the other hallway side leading to

I stormed into my room and dropped onto my bed, my chest still beating fast like it had when I left that torture room. I wasn’t sure anymore about the creature I was living with. Valerio felt like the devil in human form. The room was silent and cold, except for the tapping of my foot on the floor, until I heard a knock. I sprang up, startled. Did he send for me? Was I in for another sick treat? I cleared my throat. “Ahem… come in,” I said slowly, and a girl I hadn’t seen before came in, holding a large box. “Uhm… good day, ma’am.” Ma’am? That was new. “I’m Martha. Don Valerio asked me to give you this,” she said, pointing at the box. “What? He asked you to give me this?” I asked, utterly surprised. Curiosity crawled down my spine as I reached out and collected the box. I placed it on my bed and slowly opened it. Inside were the most luxurious items I had ever seen. A red tight dress with slits..a dress I knew, if I wore it, even Valerio wouldn’t take his eyes off me. There was

The rest of the ride was silent. I wanted nothing more than getting out of the space I was in with him. Is this how I was going to take my revenge? Was this how i was going to use him? When I couldn't even stay in the same space with him. When he hated me.The car finally slowed and revealed a luxurious mansion with sleek lines, dim lighting, and a velvet rope entrance, with a banner finely decorated and written on it “Donato Gala” I saw luxury cars lining the driveway, and burly men in suits standing as guards, eyeing guests with a mix of curiosity and suspicion. Cameras flashed from a distance. A crowd of men in suits and women in gowns moved in and out of the doors.I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and regretted it instantly but it seemed my partner didn't even notice. The driver stopped and Valerio finally slid his phone into his pocket and stepped out of the car without even looking at me. A guard opened my door. I stepped out, the cold night air hitting my bare s

We had barely left the dance floor when the weight of all those eyes pressed harder on me. Whispers followed us, soft and sharp. Valerio didn’t seem to notice, or maybe he just didn’t care. He moved with that same steady stride, commanding the room without lifting a finger.I tried to breathe, tried to shake off the warmth of his hand still burning against my back, but then I saw him.The man at the bar.He was still there, his glass trembling in his hand, eyes darting toward us like he couldn’t look away. The more I watched, the clearer it became that it was dread, not just nerves.And then, as if he felt my gaze, he froze. His eyes locked onto mine, wide, frantic, before flicking quickly to Valerio. The glass slipped from his hand and shattered against the floor, sharp cracks cutting through the music.Every head turned. The chatter died.The man staggered back, his face pale. “Capo…” his voice broke, desperate. He shook his head once, twice, as if trying to form words but too afrai

The safe house was as beautiful as our mansion.. Uhm.. The mansion, but only smaller.It felt built in a hurry, but Valerio called it a safe house and that was enough.After the guards said the area was clear, he came around and pulled me out of the car himself, his hand on mine again. I looked down at our hands as we walked in. I looked at him, but he didn’t seem to notice whatever I was feeling.Inside, he kept walking until we reached a room. He shut the door and the guards left after his orders. It was just the two of us.“It’s best I keep you safe for now,” he said. “Those bastards might still be lurking.” I had no answer.He started to take off his wristwatch and cufflinks. He didn’t wear a tie. It felt wrong to stare, but everywhere else to look was worse.He took off his jacket, then slowly unbuttoned his shirt. I thought that was all until he slid the shirt off over his head.I hadn’t expected that. One moment he was a hard, sharp man and the next he was peeling his shirt off