The Auctioned Bride のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 31 - チャプター 40

“I am watching you.” The words were scrawled beneath the box in jagged handwriting, the ink so dark it looked as though it had been carved rather than written.My scream tore out of me before I could stop it, echoing through the room like glass shattering. I stumbled backward, my knees knocking against the chair leg, my eyes fixed on the open box in horror.The bloodied heart sat grotesquely inside, wrapped in tissue that was soaked through, its metallic stench already seeping into the air.Valerio moved instantly, taking the box from my shaking hands. His face hardened the moment he saw the content. Fury etched itself into every line of his expression.My breath came in ragged gasps, my chest heaving as panic clawed its way up my throat. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. My skin prickled cold, and I was sure I was about to faint.“Althea, calm down.” His voice cut through my panic, low but commanding. He dropped the box onto the table and rushed to my side. His arms went around me

They brought him in blindfolded, hands tied, dragging him like an animal. The moment the door slammed behind him the room changed,and the air tasted metallic. Valerio didn’t waste words. He walked straight to the man, took the blindfold off with one smooth motion, and looked at him like a judge sizing up a criminal.The messenger was small and pale, early thirties, face pinched from sleep or fear. He tried to spit something. Valerio didn’t flinch. He grabbed the man by the jaw, tilted his face up so their eyes met.“You thought you could scare my woman,” Valerio said slowly, the words like a blade. “You thought you could walk through my gates and leave me a heart on a plate and laugh.”My eyes drifted to him slowly. He called me his woman.The man stammered, his voice came out thin. “I… I was paid. Please. I just…”Valerio’s hand snapped. The man’s cheek flamed where Valerio struck him, a crack that made the guards wince. He didn’t stop. He struck again and again, not wildly, but with

My hands drifted to my clothes clutching them tighter as he mirrored my gesture.“Are you going to shower with your clothes on?” he said looking at me intently.“Oh…shower.. Yes, shower.. Uhh I mean no” I said, suddenly stuttering.“Then take it off” he said pointing at my clothes“In front of you?” I asked and he just stared on like I didn't ask him a question. A minute.. Two passed.I suddenly saw myself in the air as he carried me, his bare chest, mingling with mine. My nipples hardened as I prayed he didn't notice. He lead me to his bathroom that looked like heaven. Sleek and polished. Black marble countertops with a crystal decanter sitting on the edge of the sink, its contents glinting like dark jewels.The air was heavy with the scent of expensive cologne. “What are you doing?” I asked, struggling out of his hands.“You ask too many questions for someone who is so stubborn Dolzcezza” he said, slowly dropping into his tub.I felt slightly dizzy.“I’m not stubborn” I countered

Valerio stayed, refusing to let me go even after the guards disappeared into the corridor, chasing the intruder. His arms were wrapped around me like iron, but his warmth made me feel safe in a way.“Lie down,” he said, guiding me back to the bed.I shook my head. “I won’t sleep.”“Then you’ll rest,” he countered, slipping off his shirt again. He didn’t ask permission. He slid in beside me, pulling me against his bare chest.My face burned at the contact, my cheek pressed against the warmth of his skin, the scent of him wrapping around me.“Valerio…”“Shh. Sleep, Dolcezza. I’ll keep watch.”His hand brushed my hair, slow strokes I knew he wasn’t even aware of. My body tensed, my heart pounding like a drum, but slowly, I melted into him. The danger outside didn’t matter. The betrayal didn’t matter. All that mattered was the steady thrum of his heart under my ear.And the thought I couldn’t shake…What if I didn’t just want protection?What if I wanted him?Minutes stretched into silenc

The days leading up to the wedding felt like they were mine. The anxiousness of seeing them… it was like my wedding. It should have been mine, but they stole that happiness from me.Valerio hadn’t slept. I knew it. I heard the pacing at night, the low murmurs on the phone, the quiet orders he gave to whoever ran in his shadows. Yet whenever he stepped into the room, he looked like he’d just rolled out of bed with nothing to worry about. Crisp. Sharp. In control.Meanwhile, my palms were so sweaty I couldn’t even hold a glass of water without shaking.Seamstresses came and went like ghosts, measuring, pinning, whispering in languages I didn’t understand. Jewelry boxes opened, shoes lined up like soldiers, fabrics draped across chairs and bedposts until my room didn’t even look like mine anymore.It looked like a dressing room for a queen.Or a battlefield.Valerio never sat. He was always moving…on the phone, murmuring in Italian, scribbling notes, making plans. At some point a stack o