All Chapters of After the Auction, He Wants His Bride Back: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

"Miles, that Instagram story where you auctioned off your wife's first night must have racked up a few hundred likes by now."My husband, Miles Kingston, tipped a smug smile and nodded. "Give or take.""Aren't you worried Aria will find out and come after you?"Miles snorted. "Please! I'll say I was joking. What's she going to do, throw a fit?"His buddies clasped their hands in mock prayer and laid it on thick."Miles, you have real charm. Why else would Aria have pursued you? But what could she have done to make you so mad that you posted about selling off her first night?"Miles raised an eyebrow, pleased with the flattery. "She was bragging to Chloe that we're getting married. Not marrying Chloe is the biggest regret of my life. If I don't put Aria in her place, she'll flaunt in front of Chloe forever."He kept scrolling through his phone, then hooked a grin. "Found it!"He held the screen up. "Pretty good, right? These are Aria's private shots. Look at those curves. Worth

Chapter 2

Back then, I hadn't understood what that meant. Now I did, and in hindsight, the signs had been obvious.Chloe was the woman buried in Miles' heart. I was just the convenient choice who could help his family claw their way back.I stumbled out of the restaurant in a daze, my eyes burning, my parents' last bits of advice echoing in my head.I felt sorry for them because I had lost my chance at happiness by choosing a man who didn't love me.Since Miles didn't love me, he didn't care about my dignity or my feelings. He made me the punch line and turned the night I dreamed of most into the cruelest joke.I walked home alone. Our place looked exactly the way I had arranged it, with candles and flowers and the silk nightgown laid out on the bed.I covered my face and cried until the phone's ringtone cut through the silence."Aria, where are you?"I swiped at my tears. "I'm—"A crash answered me as the bedroom door flew open."Miles, Aria's here!"A swarm of men poured in. My hand

Chapter 3

Miles handed me a glass of champagne, his gaze so tender that I let myself drown in it. I forced down my blush and tipped the glass back in one go.So he had drugged me then?"Aria?" Miles' voice drifted in as he walked through the door, a warm smile on his face.His shirt was buttoned to the collar for once, but the faint hickeys on his neck told the whole story of where he had been.I bit my lip, my nails digging into my palms, the sharp sting keeping me clearheaded.Miles sat beside me and put my arms down. "What are you doing? They're all my friends. Don't you trust us?"Suddenly, it felt as though the room were spinning, and a rush of heat rose from deep inside me."Whoa! Miles, it looks like it's kicking in.""Miles, is this really okay?" Kurt asked hesitantly.Miles smirked. "Don't worry. The Sterling family's in a bind. They won't pull through anytime soon. Do what you want. I'll cover you."I clawed at his sleeve with what little strength I had left, my tears spillin

Chapter 4

The sharp sting of disinfectant burned my nose. I blinked awake, and at the sight of two familiar silhouettes, my throat closed up as the tears came on their own."Aria, let's move to another city," Mom whispered, her eyes red and swollen. She looked at me like I might shatter if she breathed too hard.Dad stood rigid beside her, his jaw tight, but the glassy sheen in his eyes gave him away. He forced the words out through gritted teeth. "That bastard! I'll kill him for what he did!"Memories from last night came crashing back to me. The feel of their touch filled me with disgust, but I swallowed it when I saw the worry on Mom and Dad's faces."Okay. I've been thinking about trying someplace new anyway. When should we go?" I said lightly, as if nothing had happened."Aria..."Just then, the door opened, and Miles walked in.Dad's temper exploded. A vein throbbed at his temple as he strode forward and slapped Miles across the face. "You bastard! We were blind to trust you with ou

Chapter 5

Dad was never the type to cry.I lifted my head and looked at the man who had carried our family on his back his whole life."I'm really okay. Dad, you shouldn't blame yourself. Miles would have come after me no matter what. Even if nothing had happened to our company, what about next year or the year after? We weren't going to outrun it."It was better to see Miles for what he was and cut my losses before it was too late."Mr. Sterling, I'm here," a familiar voice called from the doorway.Before Zeke Carver stepped inside, the rich smell of something sweet drifted in with him."Zeke," I said, pushing up a little. "What bakery is it today?"He laughed as he came in and lifted a paper bag like a prize. "You've got a sharp nose! I picked this up from the corner shop down the street. The pastry chef studied abroad, and everyone says their mousse is amazing."With Zeke there, Dad could finally take a break from keeping an eye on me.I watched Zeke head into the kitchen for plates

Chapter 6

Miles stared at me coldly. "Your family nearly drove mine into bankruptcy. So what if I take it out on you? When you Sterlings teamed up with others to ruin us...""Miles Kingston!" It was the first time I had used his full name in a long while. "I already told you! My family didn't do that!"A cold glint flashed in his eyes. "Of course that's what you'd say! I—"Right then, the doorbell cut him off.Zeke glanced at me, tightened his grip on my hand as if guarding me from Miles, and pushed the door open with me at his side.A familiar figure stood at the door. "Ms. Sterling, this is from Mr. Sterling...""Ms. Monroe, what brings you here?" Miles rushed over, his earlier swagger gone. He bent slightly, reaching out his hand.Rebecca Monroe straightened and exchanged a few polite words with him. Then, Miles asked Rebecca why she was here.Rebecca pointed at me. "This is our CEO's beloved daughter. I'm here to deliver something to her..."I could practically feel Miles turn to st

Chapter 7

While Miles returned to his lavish life, Chloe had been overseas, clinging to an old man's arm, her face heavy with makeup as she begged for scraps of attention.From across the ocean, she scrolled through Miles' updates until the regret consumed her, and then she booked a flight back.Her first move was to show up at my door. But when I didn't take the bait and confront Miles, she turned to his buddies instead.Their families had once been on par with the Kingstons, but now that Kingston Group was about to go public, envy took root in their hearts.Chloe was well-versed in handling men. One by one, she seduced them and pulled them over to her side. Together, they staged the whole act to deceive Miles.They told Miles how deeply Chloe loved him, saying she was forced to have an abortion and went overseas because of him.Hearing that, Miles was racked with guilt.Then, they fanned the flames, hinting that the real hand behind the Kingstons' downfall was the Sterlings.Miles beli

Chapter 8

I turned my head, refusing to look at him.But then, he dropped to his knees, grabbed my hand, and pulled it toward his face as if to make me slap him."It's all my fault! Aria, I'm a jerk! Hit me! Please, hit me!"I yanked my hand back. "That's enough, Miles. Even if I hit you, I still wouldn't forgive you."He fumbled in his pocket, pulled out an amulet, and held it up. "Aria, look! I've carried this all these years. You made it for me yourself, remember? I love you!"He loved me?I closed my eyes, took a few deep breaths to calm down, and then shouted at the man kneeling before me. "So what if you love me? Do you forget what you did to me?"I unlocked my phone, scrolled to the videos my so-called friends had sent, and hurled it at him."Look at them, Miles! Look at what I went through! Count how many men laid their hands on me! If my mom hadn't advised me to keep a pair of scissors under my pillow, I might not even be alive right now!"The recording was filled with whistles

Chapter 9

Miles rushed Chloe to the hospital. When the doctor finally came out with the baby, his expression was uneasy.The moment Miles laid eyes on the baby, the truth hit him like a hammer—there was no way it was his son.He spun on his heel and stormed out.When the anesthesia wore off, Chloe immediately looked for Miles. But when she found out that Miles knew the baby wasn't his, she fainted on the spot.Word spread through our circle like wildfire. Miles became a laughingstock, and he knew it.I thought he would never show his face to me again.But then, Chloe suddenly went online and accused me of switching her baby and reposting my assault video, even tagging my account for good measure.Strangers who knew nothing about me saw a pale, exhausted new mom pointing her finger at me and decided it had to be true.Soon, my page was flooded with curses and vile comments.Clips of my naked body, covered with only flimsy mosaics, spread across the internet. The insults grew like weeds.

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