Aurelia’s pupils contracted sharply. “…What?”Sophia maintained her composed smile. “If anyone has the right to question that card, it would be me.”She tilted her head slightly, her tone light but unmistakably firm. “So tell me… do you still have any objections?”No one answered.The most powerful businesswoman in the country had just publicly admitted her interest in a man.The hall descended into chaos once more. “Did she really just confess?”“I’ve followed her career for years; she’s never been linked to anyone!”“This is unbelievable…”Suddenly, someone gasped. “Wait… what about that old news report?”The comment spread quickly. “The one about someone climbing over the wall of her private villa!”“They said a mysterious man escaped from her estate!”“There were rumors he was her fiancé…”As realization dawned, more and more people turned toward Alexander. “…Could it be him?”Curiosity intensified, and countless gazes settled on him once again.Alexander closed his eyes briefly as

Alexander gave her a helpless look. “Miss Sophia… please.”She shrugged lightly before releasing him. “Fine. I’ll forgive you—for now.”Next, he turned to Aurelia, and carefully, he removed her trembling hand from his sleeve. She instinctively tried to hold on, but he shook his head softly, and she slowly let go.Finally, his gaze lowered to Clara, who still clung to his waist; their eyes met, and she immediately understood.Though reluctant, she loosened her arms, her cheeks puffing slightly in protest. “You’d better not regret this,” she muttered.A faint smile touched Alexander’s lips. “I won’t.”At last, he stood free.An eerie silence settled over the auction hall as every guest watched him, waiting.Alexander turned his attention back to Aurelia; there was no anger in his eyes, only exhaustion. “Aurelia,” he said quietly, “you misunderstood.”She bit her lower lip. “Then explain.”He nodded. “The black card wasn’t proof that I was secretly wealthy. The funds connected to it belo

The moment Elliot’s voice cut through the hall, the atmosphere changed so abruptly that it felt as though the air itself had been forcibly stripped away.Alexander and Clara had been only a few steps from the exit—close enough to feel the promise of escape, close enough to believe that the ordeal had finally come to an end, but that illusion shattered instantly as five men stepped forward.They did not rush, nor did they move with any visible urgency. Instead, their movements were controlled and deliberate, as though they had repeated this same action countless times before.Their shoulders remained loose, their expressions cold, and their presence carried a weight that pressed down on the room with suffocating force.The laughter, the whispers, and the lingering excitement from the auction all vanished in an instant, replaced by a heavy silence that settled over the crowd.Somewhere in the hall, a glass slipped from someone’s hand and shattered against the floor. No one reacted; no o

Sophia stood her ground.And Alexander finally exhaled. He stepped forward, placing himself firmly between the advancing men and the two women behind him.Something in his expression shifted. It was not fear. It was not anger. It was something colder, something deeper, something that caused even the advancing men to hesitate, if only for a fraction of a second.Slowly, deliberately, Alexander rolled up his sleeves.The hall fell into a heavy, suffocating silence.Even Elliot’s eyes narrowed slightly.There was something profoundly wrong about that simple gesture. It did not feel like the preparation of an ordinary man.It felt like the awakening of something far more dangerous. In that moment, a realization spread silently through the crowd. No one present had ever truly known who Alexander was.The first attacker lunged forward. Alexander did not move, not yet. But as his gaze lifted slightly, an invisible tension swept through the room.Everyone felt it: the unmistakable stillness t

The charity auction hall had not yet recovered from the chaos that had erupted only moments earlier.Fragments of shattered marble still lay scattered across the polished floor, marking the spots where Elliot’s men had been violently thrown during the fight.Security guards moved carefully through the aftermath, escorting the unconscious attackers out one by one. In contrast, others remained stationed near the path Elliot had taken, ensuring that none of his remaining followers dared to return.The elegance that had once defined the auction was gone.In its place, a heavy and lingering silence settled over the grand hall, pressing down on every guest present. It was not an ordinary silence, but one shaped by disbelief, as though no one had fully processed what they had just witnessed.Inevitably, every gaze drifted toward Alexander, standing quietly near the center of the room.Only minutes earlier, he had been dismissed as nothing more than a dependent son-in-law living under his wif