And that fucking suit. It hugged him nicely, showing off his light muscle tone and broad chest.

I didn’t care if he was an asshole. I wanted to bite him. Leave my mark on every surface I could.

Just that one thought had my body humming to life.

For once, I let my revenge plans and anger fall to the side and truly looked at him. If the young version of me had known what he would become, I don’t know what she’d think.

Seeing Warren become one of the richest men in the world probably would have had her giddy, but then to know what came after? The betrayal? The hate?

My desire for him might still be there, but I was a completely different person from my younger self. One who was willing to risk what little I had left to take down the man who ruined my life.

His hand brushed across my back, like he wanted me to know I was there, and despite my brain telling my body to stop, my breath still caught.

“As the regulars know, I save the most exciting pieces for last, giving everyone a chance to bid on them. This time, I have selected two, and all of the proceeds will go to the New Beginnings Orphanage.”

Warren’s jaw ticked and had me turning to Dominic. His eyes were searching the crowd, taking in their murmured praises.

“How thoughtful.”

“Those poor children.”

“I heard they’re under new management after… that.”

Am I the only one who doesn’t know about the orphanage?

“We will start the bid at twenty thousand. How does that sound?”

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.