Chapter 113

Chapter 113:
Then she added, “So it’s kind of funny that we saw tanzanite now.”
He looked at the stone again and asked, “Birthstones? Do they mean anything?”
“Apparently, tanzanite represents love and eternity. Turquoise is supposed to bring victory and success,” Millie replied. “If I had to choose, I’d go with tanzanite.”
She turned to him, her smile softer. “Because I’d want to tell our child that their parents will always love them.”
He raised an eyebrow and teased, “I’ll go with turquoise then. I just want our kid to be successful. Always winning.” Fresh chapters posted on
She hadn’t appreciated that. He tried to smooth things over, “Either way, our kid deserves the best.”
But she hadn’t cared about any of that. When he offered to buy the tanzanite, she’d gotten annoyed, so he dropped the subject.
They drove home in silence, but the tension melted away once the car stopped. From the car to the bedroom, they didn’t speak much. What followed was breathless and fiery.
He could still see it clearly—the way she moved, the heat of her skin, the scent that lingered on her neck. And that small mole just above her chest, he’d always been fond of it.
Brandon shut his eyes. His throat tightened. He picked up his glass and drank slowly.
Who had ended up buying that tanzanite? And how had it found its way here, to this charity auction?
Just as the weight in his chest began to settle, a hand reached forward from the seat beside him. Nails painted a shade like pale moonlight curled around a bidding paddle—elegant, deliberate, and quiet.
“Following bidder 888’s offer, bidder 823 has entered at nine hundred thousand dollars!”
Both Brandon and Vivian turned their heads.
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The seat, the hand holding the paddle—it could only be Serena.
In an instant, the entire room stirred again. Conversations broke out across the villa, the atmosphere thick with curiosity.
“Brandon hasn’t attended a charity auction in person in two years, and this is his first bid tonight. Who would be foolish enough to go up against him?”
“Exactly. The tanzanite looks good, sure, but it’s not a one-of-a-kind treasure. I wouldn’t bother.”
“Same here. If it were a blue diamond, I might have raised my hand.”
“I thought it was Vivian who placed the bid, not Brandon.”
“It makes no difference. She used Brandon’s paddle, and he let her. That counts just the same.”
Heads nodded around the room. That was how things worked in their world.
Unless an item was rare or symbolic, deference was expected.
“I checked. The second one placing the bid is the woman Charles came with—name’s Serena.”
This new piece of information sent a ripple through the crowd.
“What’s this about? Is Charles trying to provoke Brandon?”
“Hard to say. Charles has always been erratic. No telling what he’s thinking now.”
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