2
My consciousness began to fray at the edges.
S
I don’t know how long I was in there, but I awoke to the shock of icy water splashing across my face. Jenna was kneeling over me,
her nails digging into my unburned hand as she wept pitifully.
“Sister, I know you’re angry that Caden is nice to me, but you can’t use such disgusting methods to ruin my life!”
Ruin her life? It turned out someone had leaked scandalous photos of her online. As much as I despised Jenna, I would never stoop
to such a vile tactic.
“Annette, Jenna is your own sister!” Caden’s voice was a low growl of fury. “How is she supposed to show her face in public after
this? I punished you in the boiler room for a few hours, and this is how you retaliate? With such a low, despicable trick?”
He had locked me in a furnace, left me to pass out from burns and heatstroke, and now he was accusing me of orchestrating a complex revenge plot? Any rational person would know I couldn’t have done it. But he wasn’t rational. He believed Jenna, complete-
ly and without question.
“It’s alright, Jenna, don’t cry,” he soothed, pulling her into a protective embrace. “I’ll handle this. I won’t let you suffer for nothing.”
That evening, in a shocking turn, Caden came home. He even cooked dinner himself, a full spread of my favorite dishes.
“Lara,” he said, his voice uncharacteristically soft. “I’m sorry you had to go through that.”
For a fleeting moment, his gentle expression merged with the face of the man from my past life, the one who had followed me into death. A wave of grief and confusion washed over me.
That night, he was a storm, pulling me into a chaotic tide of passion that left me breathless and adrift. We drowned in each other
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until dawn.
When I woke, he was gone. The butler stood respectfully by the bed.
“Ma’am, Mr. Astor has requested that you meet him at the auction house. He is waiting for you.”
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A flicker of warmth spread through my chest. Maybe he did still care. Maybe there was a reason for his cruelty, a burden I couldn’t see. Despite the ache in my body, a secret, hopeful joy carried me to the designated auction house.
found hi
The grand hall was buzzing with the city’s elite, a sea of glittering jewels and hushed whispers. But my eyes
instantly. He
was in the center of it all, with Jenna nestled in his lap. As I watched, he leaned down and took a grape she offered him, straight
from her fingers to his lips, their eyes locked in a smoldering, intimate gaze.
My heart plummeted from the heavens, crashing into a cold, dark abyss. The man who had held me with such desperate tenderne-
ss last night was now lavishing his attention on another woman for the world to see.
I followed the butler’s instructions and took the seat reserved for me just below his, forced to watch as he and Jenna flirted outra- geously. His hand disappeared beneath the hem of her skirt, and she let out a delighted squeal, her eyes darting towards me, glitt- ering with triumph. Caden, while whispering in her ear, was simultaneously dominating the auction. Anything Jenna so much as
glanced at, he bought without hesitation, the auctioneer’s gavel falling again and again in his favor.
“My god, Astor is bleeding money tonight. He’s dropped over a hundred million already, all for her.”
“I thought he married Annette Croft. What’s he doing with her stepsister?”
“Maybe the stepsister was the prize all along. A classic bait and switch.”
Jenna, sensing my despair, shot me a condescending smile. “Oh, Annette, Caden bought me so much, I couldn’t possibly use it all. See anything you like? I’ll let you have it.”
Before I could form a reply, a collective gasp rippled through the crowd.
The next item was brought onto the stage. It was a swatch of silk, pristine white, marred by a single, dark red stain.
My breath hitched. I stared at Caden in disbelief. It was the silk from our bed last night. The one he had carefully folded and taken away. I had thought… I had naively thought he was keeping it as a memento of our first night together. I never imagined it would
end up here.
“And now, ladies and gentlemen,” the auctioneer boomed, a lecherous grin spreading across his face, “a truly unique item. The virgin’s bloom of our very own ice queen, Annette Astor! Who will start the bidding?”
Every head in the room swiveled towards me. Their eyes were a sickening blend of feverish excitement, contempt, and sheer disd-
ain.
My body shaking with rage and humiliation, I raised my paddle and made a bid. But a chorus of jeering bids from a group of sleazy- looking men immediately drove the price up. When I tried to raise my paddle again, I found my account had been frozen.
I turned to Caden, my eyes burning with a silent, furious question.
He just shrugged, his expression one of utter nonchalance. “I need the rest of that for a necklace for Jenna, It’s just a piece of fabr-
ic, Annette. Don’t make a scene.”
I was forced to watch as the disgusting men fought over it, the winner holding it to his nose with a grotesque sniff, his eyes never leaving mine. Humiliating tears welled, blurring my vision. My nails dug into my palms, drawing blood.
Suddenly, a new wave of murmurs and gasps swept the room. All eyes were on the large screens that now flanked the stage.
They were displaying photos of me. From last night. Intimate, raw, vulnerable photos.
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“Who knew the ice queen was such a freak in the sheets!”
“Damn, she’s got a better body than most of the girls you pay for. I’m almost jealous of Astor.”
The world tilted on its axis. The tenderness last night… it was all a lie. A performance. It was him. Caden had done this to get back
at me for Jenna’s leaked photos. It was all a deliberate, calculated act of revenge.
But why?
In our last life, he was the one who couldn’t have me, the one who chose death over a life without me. This time, I chose him. So
why was he so determined to grind me into the dust?
My accounts were frozen. Trapped under the weight of a thousand judgmental stares, I finally broke.
“Caden,” I choked out, my voice trembling. “You loved me. You’re the one who loves me. Why are you doing this utrustn
His brow furrowed, his eyes darkening to pools of ink.
to
“It’s just a few pictures,” he said, his voice flat and cold. “It’s not like it’s going to kill you. Stop being so dramatic.”
