All Chapters of The Auctioned Bride: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

Ready with my heels and accessories on, I stepped out of the dressing room. Valerio’s eyes caught mine immediately. His gaze slid over me, slow and deliberate, taking in the black dress clinging to me, the makeup, the hair pinned like a crown. Admiration, approval, possession, it was all there in his stare.“Bellissima,” he murmured, voice low enough to curl through me. “You look… stunning.”He reached out, brushed a strand of hair behind my ear. The simple touch sent a shiver down my spine. “You’re going to make a statement today,” he said, satisfied. “They’ll see what it means when you stand by me.”He was in a black suit touched with silver, the top buttons undone, a glimpse of his chest breaking through the sharp tailoring. He looked like power itself. Dangerous and untouchable.He offered me his arm, eyes never leaving mine. “Shall we?”I slid my hand onto him, feeling the muscle beneath the suit, and we walked out together. The cool air outside hit me, raising goosebumps, but hi

Damian and Elara were frozen, staring at us like they were watching a horror film. I caught Damian mutter something under his breath as he inched forward, anger burning in his face. Elara grabbed his arm, whispering no, mouthing “what are you doing?”The guests were already murmuring, trying to catch a glimpse of the scene while Valerio and I sat like royalty, fingers laced together.Elara waved at the priest to continue, desperate to push things along. That’s when it struck me they hadn’t even shared their first kiss. The moment after unveiling the bride had passed, and Damian hadn’t touched her.I didn’t care. All I could think about was the memory of Valerio’s warm lips still pressed into mine.Damian leaned toward the priest, whispering something. The priest nodded, flustered. Damian lifted Elara’s veil, but instead of leaning in, his hands just fell back uselessly at his sides. Elara tilted her head forward, waiting, her lips parted, but the kiss never came.The silence dragged,

“Good job,” he said, dropping my cheeks.His voice was low, almost lazy, like everything we just did was part of some plan he had written long before I even existed. The pad of his thumb still lingered where he had cupped my face, a ghost of his touch burning against my skin.I hated that it made me feel good. Like I’d just been patted on the head for pleasing him.“Good job?” I repeated, narrowing my eyes at him. “What am I, your soldier?”Valerio smirked. That same sharp curl of lips that always left me confused, half wanting to slap it away, half wanting to taste it.“You played your part well, *Dolcezza*,” he murmured, leaning back in the limousine seat. The city lights cut across his face, throwing shadows along his jaw, making him look even more dangerous. “You didn’t crumble. You didn’t cry. You stood there in black, like a queen, and let them choke on the sight of you.”I crossed my arms, biting back the storm in my chest. “So what, this was all some show for you? A performanc

“Valerio, I promise you… I don’t… Elara, she… she…” I stuttered, the tears falling freely now.“Speak! Now!” he thundered. His voice cracked the room like lightning, and I flinched, squeezing my eyes shut.“Damian,” I whispered, barely able to breathe. “But I… I don’t know how…”His whole body went rigid. “You… you dare go behind my back?! To him?” His eyes shut tight, as if the thought itself burned.“No, wait!” My voice broke as I reached for him. “I was pregnant before my wedding, but… but Elara poisoned me. I lost the baby. I…” My chest heaved. “I don’t know how this baby could even exist. I swear to you.”His eyes snapped open, blazing. “Don’t lie to me, Althea.”“I’m not!” My voice cracked. “I bled for days. I thought it was gone. I buried it in my heart. And now… now they’re saying…” My hand clutched my stomach as a sob tore out.He turned away, dragging his hand through his hair, his chest rising and falling like he was fighting the urge to destroy something. His fists tremble

It doesn’t mean anything to him, he said.Just when I thought things were starting to get good between us, everything collided, and now I knew Valerio hated me and this child. I lost my chance.I clutched my stomach so hard. I hated what was growing in it.My mind drifted to the reality of being pregnant. I was poisoned, I bled, how was it possible that I still carried a child? The doctor told me I lost the baby too. Did nobody know?If they had known I was still pregnant, they probably would have killed the baby. So how did it all happen?I clutched my stomach again before my mind drifted to Valerio.His voice replayed in my head. “It doesn’t mean anything to me.”The words cut deeper than any knife could. He didn’t even raise his voice when he said it. He just let it fall like a stone between us…cold, final, and without mercy.I thought back to the way he held me before, the way his lips claimed mine, the way I thought, for once, he actually wanted me, not just to possess me, not ju