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.

Even her name felt bitter in my mouth.

She was an ex. If I could even call her that.

Once upon a time, we’d had pretty okay sex. For a few months at most, she had been at my beck and call, placing herself in the position Addi had sold herself into.

It had been fun, until she had become annoyingly entitled. She told me time and again that she wanted more. Demanded more. Even though I had been clear from the start.

And when I ended things, she turned into… whatever this was.

Her hand brushed across my arm for the millionth time, her voice like an incessantly annoying fly buzzing around my head.

“I told you not to touch me,” I hissed at her.

My gaze snapped back to Addi and that Ezra guy. As soon as she walked away with him, I snapped a photo of him and sent it off to Ares. Within five minutes, I knew everything there was to know about him and the semi-successful company he was running.

My blood boiled when he leaned close to Addi and whispered something to her. I clenched my jaw, grinding my teeth together when she smiled and let out a small giggle.

What’s so fucking funny? Even before we hated each other, she never laughed at my jokes like that.

“Warren,” Darla called, her voice raising an octave. With a sigh, I looked back at her, forcing myself to look away from Addi for a moment. “They’re trustworthy and will offer you a good deal. If you want, I can make an introduct⁠—”

“Darla,” I snapped at her, my voice loud enough to cause a few people to turn their heads. I didn’t care, though. I came here with Addi; I didn’t give a fuck if people saw me getting snappy with other girls.

Especially one who clearly couldn’t take a hint.