บททั้งหมดของ SOLD TO AUGUST CHILDE: บทที่ 51 - บทที่ 60

CAMILLA“Oh.”That was all he said.Just one word.And then nothing.Silence filled the room so fast it felt suffocating. I watched his face, waiting for something else. Anything else. A reaction. A denial. A confession. Even anger would have been better than this.But he just stood there.Quiet.Still.Like my words had hit him somewhere deep, somewhere he didn’t know how to reach.My chest tightened.“See?” I said, my voice softer now but still edged with something fragile. “This is exactly what I mean.”He didn’t respond.Didn’t even look away from me.“You marrying me won’t work,” I continued, forcing the words out before I could second guess them. “It doesn’t make sense. None of this does.”Still nothing.I swallowed, my throat dry.“Just… please get out.”That got a reaction.A small one.He exhaled slowly, running a hand over his face like he was trying to gather himself.Then he nodded once.“Fine,” he said quietly. “If that’s what you want.”I scoffed, but it came out weaker

AUGUSTThe door clicked shut behind the reporter, and the silence that followed felt heavy.A minute ago, everything had been perfect. Smiles in place. Words rehearsed. Hands brushing just enough to sell the story. Now the act was over.And the truth sat between us like something rotten.I didn’t move from where I stood.I could still feel the tension in my shoulders, the tight pull in my chest from holding back everything I really wanted to say. It sat there, sharp and restless, like it was waiting for the smallest crack to break through.Across the room, Taylor turned to face me.The softness she had worn for the cameras was gone. Completely gone. Like it had never existed in the first place.What replaced it was sharp. Cold. Familiar.“Well,” she said, smoothing her dress like nothing had changed. Like we weren’t standing in the middle of a lie. “That went well.”I said nothing.What was I supposed to say?Congratulations, we fooled them?She didn’t need a response. She never did.

CAMILLAThe first thing I felt was cold.Water hit my face, dripping into my nose, my mouth, and my lashes. I flinched, choking on it, my body jerking instinctively as I tried to pull away.A low sound slipped out of me—half groan, half protest.“Easy, princess.”The voice came before my vision fully did.I blinked hard, trying to clear the blur, but everything swam anyway. My head throbbed like something was pressing from the inside out, slow and brutal. The kind of pain that didn’t spike, it lingered.I forced my eyes open.Shapes became people.Monty stood in front of me, a lazy smirk stretching across his face like this was all mildly entertaining to him. Like I wasn’t tied to a chair, soaked, disoriented, and barely holding myself upright.Rico stood a few feet behind him, arms crossed, watching.Waiting.“The princess is awake,” Rico said, almost amused.I swallowed, but my throat felt dry despite the water still dripping down my face. My wrists burned where they were tied, the

AUGUSTI laughed, but it didn’t sound like me. It came out sharp and wrong, like glass breaking in a quiet room.“Where is Camilla?”The man didn’t even flinch. He stood there calmly, looking at me like I wasn’t worth the effort.“I’ll be damned if I tell you anything.”Something inside me snapped, fast and violent. I lunged forward before I could think.I barely got a step in before hands grabbed me. The guards held me tight, firm, and unyielding.“Let go of me.”They didn’t move. Their grip only tightened as I struggled against them.“Do you even know who you’re holding?” I snapped, my patience already gone.One of them avoided my eyes, while the other stayed completely still. That only made the anger rise faster.My gaze snapped to my grandfather, and the calm look on his face made something darker settle in my chest. It was the kind of calm that made everything worse.“If you’ve done anything to her, I’ll kill you,” I said, my voice low and steady.The threat sat heavy in the air.

AUGUSTThe room had gone quiet days ago, and the silence felt heavy, like something pressing down on my chest every second.I hadn’t moved from the same spot in hours, maybe longer. Time had started to blur into something meaningless.I sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the wall like it might give me something. Anything at all.I hadn’t slept properly since she disappeared. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her face looking back at me.The way she looked at me that last time stayed with me. It replayed over and over until it stopped feeling like a memory and more like punishment.My phone buzzed again on the table beside me, sharp enough to cut through everything. The sound had become too familiar.I didn’t reach for it immediately because I already knew who it was. Daniel had been calling nonstop, just like everyone else.I dragged my gaze down slowly and stared at the screen. His name flashed again like it refused to give up.For a second, I almost ignored it just to keep the