Page 51 of Sweetest Revenge

Twenty thousand? I looked around the crowd. Wasn’t that… embarrassingly low for this type of people?

“Alright, ready? Bidding starts now!”

Hands raised, one after the other, and Dominic started pointing to them as they called out their numbers.

“Eighty thousand!”

“One fifty!”

“Two hundred!’

“Four hundred!”

My mind couldn't keep up, and I realized this wasn’t for charity at all. People were just trying to make a show of how much money they had. How much more than their neighbor.

And to think I was once one of them.

Not for the first time, I found myself kind of disgusted at that thought.

Most people placed only one bid, then backed out, which led me to think…

Are they trying to raise the price?

I looked back at Warren, who had his eyes on his phone before quickly putting it away and focusing on the auction.

Was he bored? Probably. For all his shortcomings, Warren wasn’t the type to like flashy shows of wealth like this.

It wasn’t long until we were at a million. Then two, then three, and…

“Five million,” a voice called out from my left. I peered over Warren to see a tall man in glasses and slicked-back black hair. People started to murmur as he approached.

Warren glanced at him once and then back to Dominic.

I followed his gaze to see Dominic’s smile.

“Five million going once… twice…” He gave a dramatic pause before motioning to the man. “Sold! The New Beginnings Orphanage thanks you for your donation. Now, if you’ll follow me…” To the crowd, he said, “The auction will resume shortly.”

The man pushed through the crowd with a straight face.

“He seems a bit out of place,” Ezra murmured to me.

I nodded, my eyes still on the man. A sense of familiarity tugged at the back of my mind.

I’ve seen him before, but where?

The crowd was dispersing, so I turned to Ezra.

“Shall we continue?”

He nodded and held out his arm for me. Against my better judgment, I took it.

20

WARREN

If there was one thing I couldn't stand, it was when people touched me without my permission. Like they thought they had a right to my personal space.

Darla was just that type of person.

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