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All Chapters of After the Gavel Falls: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

“Ivan, just keep raising the bid at the auction later. No matter what, that idiot Weston is sure to bid the ceiling price.“I’ll give you all his money so you can start your business. Don’t worry, he’d never let anyone else win my contract.”When I heard Gwen talking to Ivan from a distance, I realized that she had regressed, too.In the past life, I pledged to buy her contract at all costs, so she thought I would do the same thing this time. I smirked. If they wanted to play this game, sure. I would play along. Once the gavel signalled the start of the auction, a few older men took their seats with malicious grins. “I hear that girl is the school idol! Buying her out for a million or so would definitely be worth it!”“She hasn’t even graduated yet! Fresh meat tastes the best. I wanna play with her too!”Gwen glared at me and barked under her breath, “Say something!”I simply avoided her gaze. I did not even look at her.Ivan sat next to me, his expression smug. “Do you th

Chapter 2

The voice on the other end sounded delighted. “Wonderful! I’ll have my men handle the procedures right away. Can you clear things up on your end within a week?”“Sure.”In my past life, for Gwen’s sake, I rejected my family’s plans to let me inherit the family business overseas after I graduated high school. I even built a career and a home on my own without my family’s help, all for her.It was only right before my death that I realized she never cared about me at all. In that case, why force it?I made the arrangements to leave school, and my friends organized a farewell party for me. At the hotel, though, I bumped into Gwen, who was hanging off the arm of an older man.My friends whispered to me, “Ivan purposely raised the price to 150 million at the auction, but you didn’t follow through, right? After that, Gwen begged everyone she could and finally got Mr. Wenger to buy her out.”Gwen looked at me, her gaze resentful. She purposely hugged the old man even tighter, rubbing he

Chapter 3

“You bastard! After all those years of pursuing our daughter, how could you just watch as she sold herself off at an auction like that?!”“Ivan was only trying to help, but you maliciously raised the price so that he couldn’t afford to save her anymore!”My face still stung from the attack. The others in the room could not stand to watch anymore and yelled back. “Weston wasn’t the only one at the auction. Ivan started the bid at fifty million! Wasn’t he maliciously raising the price?”Gwen’s parents crossed their arms. They did not think they were in the wrong at all.“Ivan is our ideal son-in-law, while Weston’s just a pathetic simp! He knows we’ll never take him seriously, so he’s sure to try some dirty tricks so he can marry Gwen!”Gwen held Ivan’s arm and looked at me coldly, as though she completely agreed with her parents’ points. “I thought I would spend a few days with you, depending on your performance at the auction.“But to think you were just messing with me! Now my

Chapter 4

After the party, both Ivan and I disappeared. For some reason, Gwen grew more worried about me.Why had I stayed silent for so long? It was not like me to ignore her for days.She kept editing the message before she sent it to me, and after a long wait, I replied with simply a screenshot from the surveillance cameras at the party the other day.While she stared at the photo, Ivan knocked on her door with exactly the same words she had heard countless times before: His business venture had failed, so he was here to borrow money to start again. She stared between him and the screenshot, and finally saw him for who he was.Smack! Her hands trembling, she slapped him on both cheeks.“Ivan, you bastard! Because of you, I lost the man who loved me the most!”...As usual, my father's secretary, Adamson, was waiting at the airport when I arrived. This time, however, he looked rather solemn, as though there was something he wanted to say.After exchanging some greetings and getting i

Chapter 5

“Spill it. What kind of favor would require you danging a marriage over me as bait?”I tapped my fingers on the desk and said calmly, “Our families are old friends, and your father has a vote on our company board. I want him to put in a word for me at the shareholders’ meeting.”Her lips parted and closed in disbelief. “Do you really think my father can convince your father to make you the company successor with a few measly words? That little brother of yours is no pushover, and my dad doesn’t have that much influence.”I shook my head, going through my plan in my head. “Don’t worry about it. Your father’s been nagging you to get married, so wouldn’t a fake marriage of convenience solve your most urgent problems now?” She nursed her cup of coffee and mused. “That’s a good point. I told them I wasn’t getting married, but they keep pushing me to choose an heir from our business partners. Might as well make it a fake marriage, then.“In any case, we’re childhood friends who know ev

Chapter 6

I was not too interested, but I did not stop her either. The next second, Vannessa stood on her tiptoes and kissed me on the lips.Under the stage, Gwen’s eyes turned red with tears. If the security guards had not stopped her, she probably would have rushed up to split Vannessa and me.In my past life, I was the only one who could only watch in rage as she flirted with other men. Now it was her turn to stare in disbelief as I kissed another woman.Her breathing turned heavy, and she gaped like a fish out of water. She was so upset that she might just start hyperventilating.In that second, she probably understood why I fell on my knees and wept in the past life. However, she could not afford to lose that pitiful pride she had left, not in front of her love rival.She blinked back the tears and raised her head, acting strong. “Weston, are you sure you want to marry someone you don’t love? You said you would never betray your feelings.“Since when have you become the type of man wh

Chapter 7

“I… I saw the picture on Ivan’s phone that day. After that, I found out that he borrowed money from me not to start a new business, but to clear his gambling debt!”I glanced at her coolly. “And why are you telling me this?”She pressed her lips together and hesitated for a long while before stammering out an apology. “I’m sorry. I misunderstood you.”I nodded, got into the car, and started. “Very well. I’ve received your apology.”My formal tone made her eyes redden. She stood in front of my car to stop me from driving away, roaring in a choked voice, “Weston! I’m already lowering my head to apologize to you. What more do you want?!“Let’s just pretend none of this ever happened. You end your engagement with the Wrights, then we’ll get engaged. How about that?“I explained everything in my text that day. My parents have agreed to let us get married, so you don’t have to marry someone you don’t love to make me angry.”I laughed out of exasperation and then said solemnly, “How ar

Chapter 8

As for Vannessa’s end, I gently convinced her father to give her a bit more authority in the company. We both became busy with our respective projects, such that we did not meet each other for months.One day, Shannon knocked on my office door and brought me a cup of coffee, faking concern. “You’ve been so busy, Weston. Why don’t you take a break and share some of your work with me?”I did not even look up, replying sarcastically, “There’s no need to pretend in here. I don’t consider an illegitimate brat like you my brother.”His expression stiffened, then he laughed out loud and tossed a couple of photos onto the desk. “Yeah, I’m an illegitimate son, but even I know you can’t treat a woman too nicely.“Look at the trouble you caused, Weston. That broad of yours barged into our house. I was kind enough to take her in, but what do you think will happen if she makes a fuss in front of Dad? Do you think he’ll fly into a rage?”The woman in the picture was none other than Gwen.I cou

Chapter 9

Before I got out of my car, I called Adamson and told him to come find me if he did not hear from me within two hours.Shannon had his guards search my body and ensure no one was following me.“You sure are being careful,” I said sarcastically to the guards. Unfortunately for them, they could never find the hidden cameras in my contacts. Shannon smirked lazily at me. “Remember what I said, Weston? See, you came after all.”I glanced at him. “Where’s Gwen?”He pointed up the stairs and laughed. “I’m having my men give her a good lesson upstairs. You shouldn’t watch, or else it’ll break your heart.”“I’m here to make sure she’s safe.” I ignored him and headed upstairs. Gwen was there, just as he said, but she had been tied up in a large pillar of water. The water level had already gone past her nose.I waved my hand, activating the livestream function in my secret camera. Completely oblivious to my plan, Shannon raised a brow and said, “See that? It’s all your fault for ignor

Chapter 10

Adamson pushed him aside angrily and carried my father to the helicopter, waiting to ferry him to the hospital.Before they took off, Adamson gave me a look of approval. I clicked a button to end the livestream and this entire farce.After I smashed the water pillar and saved Gwen, she tried to curl up against my chest. Her lips trembled so much that she could barely form a full sentence.“That was terrifying, Weston… If you actually died before my eyes, I’d live the rest of my life in guilt.“You shouldn’t have come to save me! Shannon was too ambitious and dangerous. I should never have asked you for help!”I took two steps back and looked at her coolly. “But that was the entire reason you went with him, wasn’t it? You deserved to be drowned.”She looked up at me abruptly, her eyes filled with panic and tears.“So you know… Weston, I’m sorry for being so selfish. I just wanted to be with you…“He promised me that if I played along with him, you’d rush to save me. That way, y

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