Chapter 4

Hope POV:

The world spun. My blood felt like ice in my veins, my face drained of all color. Ten million. For a jade bangle that was mine, that was my mother' s, that represented everything I had sacrificed. But to Alden, it was just a token, a way to impress Amanda.

"Sold!" the auctioneer' s gavel struck, a deafening sound that sealed my fate. "To Mr. Maxwell, for ten million!"

Amanda, a smug smile plastered on her face, held up the bangle, letting it catch the light. Alden, his eyes filled with a sickening adoration, watched her, completely oblivious to the wreckage he' d created. I heard the whispers around me, sharp and cruel. "The little kept woman tried to bid against Amanda? How foolish." "She really thinks she stands a chance."

My chair felt like it was burning. I pushed myself up, my legs shaky, and walked out of the auction house. Each step was a struggle. I couldn' t breathe. The night sky, a bruised, inky black, mirrored the despair in my heart.

It' s over, Hope. The thought echoed in my mind, stark and final. You can' t win against her. You never could. And frankly, you shouldn' t want to.

My phone vibrated in my hand. It was an unknown number. I hesitated, then answered. "Hello?"

"Miss Gonzales?" A professional, warm voice. "This is Dr. Evans from the NIH. We' ve received your research proposal. It' s highly impressive. We' d like to offer you a position."

A lifeline. A breath of fresh air in the suffocating darkness. My heart, though still aching, fluttered with a fragile hope. "Thank you, Dr. Evans. I accept."

"Excellent! We' re thrilled to have you. We' ll need you to report to the research facility in Jiangcheng within two weeks. It' s a secure, high-clearance project, so you' ll be off-grid for at least five years. No outside contact. Is that amenable?"

"Perfectly." No outside contact. Five years. A clean break. A chance to disappear. I felt a strange calm settle over me. This was it. My escape. My future.

I returned to my dorm, not the opulent prison Alden had provided. I fell onto my narrow bed, exhausted but oddly at peace. I didn' t check my phone. I didn' t want to see any more news about Alden and Amanda. I didn' t want any more reminders of a life that was no longer mine.

The next morning, I woke to the sound of my roommate, Sarah, gasping. "Hope! Oh my god, Hope!" She was clutching her phone, her eyes wide. She tried to hide the screen, but it was too late. The headlines blared, splashed across every news outlet. Tech Billionaire Alden Maxwell Spends Ten Million on Heirloom Bangle for Reunited Love, Amanda Erickson.

The accompanying photo was a punch to the gut. Amanda, radiant and triumphant, wearing my mother' s bangle, smiling up at Alden. And Alden, his gaze full of adoration, his arm possessively around her. I saw it then, clearly. This was how he loved. With a grand, public display of ownership, a relentless pursuit, a devotion that bordered on obsession. A love I would never experience from him.

A bitter, humorless laugh escaped my lips. "It' s fine, Sarah," I said, forcing a smile, pulling my phone from her grasp. "It' s all fine." I had to be strong. For myself. For my future.

I genuinely believed he wouldn' t seek me out again. He had Amanda back, his "true love." He had humiliated me, discarded me. Our arrangement was clearly over.

But a week later, a message from Alden appeared on my phone: Be at the apartment by 8. My heart sank. He still expected me to play my role, even after everything.

I took a taxi to the penthouse, a knot of dread tightening in my stomach. When I arrived, a team of decorators and movers were bustling in and out. They were carrying out furniture, artwork, even the small, whimsical trinkets I' d collected.

I rushed inside, my eyes scanning the familiar space. My little collection of quirky ceramic figurines, gifts from my mother, usually perched on the mantelpiece, was gone. My stomach dropped. "Where are my things?" I asked one of the maids, my voice tight.

The maid, a kind-faced woman who always brought me fresh fruit, looked uncomfortable. "Oh, Miss Gonzales. Mr. Maxwell had everything removed. Miss Erickson found the décor... unappealing. She' s redecorating." She looked away, her voice softening. "I' m so sorry, dear. Even your little dolls... they were thrown out."

Thrown out. My mother' s gifts. My heart fractured, a sharp, ragged pain tearing through me. This wasn' t just about the décor. This was about erasing me, every trace of me, from his life. I remembered how pleased Alden had been when he' d first furnished this place for me, how he' d said it was my home. He' d even brought back one of my mother' s handmade fabric dolls from a trip abroad, a small, thoughtful gesture that had brought tears to my eyes. "With me, Hope, wherever I am, that' s your home," he' d promised, his voice low and comforting. I had believed him. I had clung to that illusion, believing I was finally safe, finally loved.

Now, that illusion lay in shattered pieces around me, just like my ceramic figurines. He had built me a cage, then destroyed it with a single word from another woman. My mother' s doll, a piece of my real home, discarded like trash. The grief was a physical weight, crushing me, stealing my breath.

Alden walked in then, his eyes finding mine. He looked tired, but his expression was unreadable. I couldn' t even force a smile. My face was numb, my heart a frozen block of pain.

He glanced at the empty mantelpiece, then back at me. "Hope," he said, his voice devoid of warmth. "Pack your remaining things. Amanda will be staying here occasionally. I need this space to be... suitable for her tastes." He paused, his gaze hardening. "Unless I call you, don' t return." He dismissed me with a wave of his hand.