Page 14 of Auctioned

Over two decades ago.

This isn’t just any other virgin. Just any sacrifice. YouknowOphelia.

Arthur Hawthorne, my father, would’ve belted me if he knew I felt even remotely attached to a woman. Any woman.

But he isn’t here. He and Oliver’s father moved—no, were forced—onto the next world. Even if they were still here, my father’s opinion wouldn’t have mattered.

I’m stronger than the kid I once was. More lethal.

Oliver is about to find out exactly how lethal I am, and soon.

But it’s not Oliver I’m looking at right now.

She isn’t yours.

Except I can’t get her out of my head.

Doesn’t matter. She. Isn’t. Mine.

She is special, though.

Otherwise, I would’ve gotten bored with her tears.

Nothing about Ophelia bores me.

Not a damn thing.

Fucking inconvenient.

Infuriating, really.

Can’t be helped, either.

She just had to go and crawl her way into my heart.

The first time Topher brought her over, I could tell she’d be different. It was glaringly obvious. To me, at least.

Topher, on the other hand, spoke about her as if she were a stray he had picked up off the street. As if she weren’t a rare, precious diamond.

His blatant disrespect for her is another test he failed.

He could’ve come to me. Could’ve asked to put an end to this tradition. I never suggested he couldn’t.

But then tonight, the way he handled her…

I did nothing like that at my initiation.

Even for the sake of pretense.

I take another sip of my drink, rolling it on my tongue as I reconsider.

Maybe he didn’t mean to be this cruel to her. Maybe he’s sulking because he can’t keep her.

Neither of us can. We aren’t allowed to marry or have a partner.

This is what our legacy is based on. No divorce. No distractions.

Men. Single men are all we’ll ever be.

---