All Chapters of SOLD TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

“Morning already?” Stefano’s voice cut through the quiet hum of the office as I poured the last of my coffee into a mug. He leaned against the doorway of the small kitchenette, arms crossed, eyes scanning the counter like he was calculating how much sugar I’d used, though knowing him, it was probably a test.I glanced up and smiled faintly. “It’s just past eight. I didn’t hear you come in.”He didn’t answer immediately, simply observed me with that unreadable look he always had, like he was measuring my mood before deciding if it warranted a response.I shrugged, taking a cautious sip of my coffee. “I’m not hiding anything. Yet.”The silence that followed Cassius’s departure felt almost heavy at first, but Marco refused to let it stay that way. He leaned closer across the counter, eyes twinkling, voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. “So, Bianca, do you always deal with this much drama first thing in the morning, or is today special?”I tilted my head, pretending to consider the

“Are you done hiding in there, or did Stefano finally promote you to permanent office decoration?” Marco’s voice reached me the second I stepped out of the office, loud and dramatic enough to make Cassius sigh without even lifting his eyes from his screen.I closed the door gently behind me while trying and completely failing, to hide the warmth still lingering on my face, because whatever had just happened inside that room had not stayed behind with the paperwork and the quiet air.“I was not hiding,” I replied, walking back toward my desk with what I hoped looked like a normal pace instead of the careful, overly controlled steps of someone trying not to look affected.Marco leaned back in his chair and studied me with exaggerated suspicion, his eyes narrowing as if he were investigating a crime scene. “You look like someone who just had a very serious conversation… or a very dangerous one.”Cassius finally glanced at me briefly before returning to his monitor. “With him, it’s usuall

The doorbell did not ring in a casual, uncertain way that visitors usually pressed it, but in a measured pattern that felt intentional, three firm chimes spaced evenly apart, as if the person outside was not asking for permission to enter but announcing his presence with quiet authority.I paused halfway down the staircase with my hand resting on the railing, listening to the sound fade into the silence of the house, and for the first time since I had started staying here, the place felt too large and too quiet in a way that made me suddenly aware that I was completely alone inside it.Stefano had left before sunrise for a meeting outside the city and told me he would be gone for most of the day, and the house staff had been given the morning off because there was nothing scheduled, which meant there was no one else to answer the door except me.The bell rang again in the same calm, deliberate rhythm, and something about it made my chest tighten with a feeling I could not immediately

“Bianca, can you stay here for a moment?”Marco’s voice stopped me just as I was reaching for my bag, and the way he said it, too careful, too deliberate made me pause even though I already sensed that whatever came next had nothing to do with unfinished work or casual concern.The office had not fully recovered from what I had shared earlier, the air still heavy with unspoken thoughts and restrained reactions, and Cassius sat unusually still at his desk, his screen untouched for several minutes now, as if pretending to work would not undo the truth that had settled between us.“Is something wrong?” I asked, turning back toward them.Marco exchanged a glance with Cassius, brief but loaded, the kind of look shared between people who already knew the next step and were silently agreeing on how to handle it.“No,” Marco said, though his tone suggested the opposite. “Just… give us a minute.”Before I could press further, Stefano’s office door opened.He did not step out casually.His pres

I didn’t know where I was anymore.The warehouse, the shouting, the men, all of it blurred into a single, suffocating noise as the words in my head grew louder, sharper, drowning out everything else. My hands flew to my ears as if I could physically block them, my body folding in on itself, rocking as the echoes of the past slammed into me again and again.“Stop!” I screamed, my voice tearing out of my throat. “Please.... stop!”My chest burned with every breath. I could feel my heart trying to break free of my ribs, panic clawing its way through me, and I pressed my hands against myself as if pain could ground me, as if hurting would make the memories loosen their grip. I was crying so hard I could barely see, my vision swimming, my sobs raw and broken.I wasn’t in control. I was drowning.“Bianca.”His voice cut through the chaos. Not sharp, not commanding.Desperate.I felt hands on me suddenly, firm but gentle, pulling my wrists away, anchoring me before I could spiral further. I