She frowned slightly. “He’s already made his choice,” Nahir continued, his gaze flicking toward Clara. “Why are you still looking at him?”He gave her wrist a gentle tug. “They are leaving together. We should go as well.”For a brief moment, Aurelia said nothing. Then, slowly, she pulled her hand free.Nahir stared at her, caught off guard by the quiet defiance. It was the first time she had rejected him so directly.When she looked at him again, her expression had changed. It was calm, but resolute. “You can go ahead,” she said.His frown deepened. “What do you mean?”“I’ll stay a little longer,” she responded without hesitation.“There is nothing left here,” he insisted, trying hard to convince her.“There is,” she replied softly.Her gaze moved past him and settled firmly on Alexander. “If you are worried about getting involved, you can leave,” she added. “But I am not.”Nahir opened his mouth to argue, but no words came; he could only watch as Aurelia stepped away from him, her at

She forced herself to continue. “We are not officially divorced yet. Does that mean I have already lost even that right?”Alexander looked at her in silence.His expression revealed nothing. The warmth that had been present moments earlier when he spoke to Clara had completely disappeared, leaving behind only a quiet, unmistakable exhaustion.Around them, the whispers in the hall gradually faded, as though everyone instinctively sensed the shift in atmosphere.Even Sophia fell silent.Clara, without realizing it, tightened her hold on Alexander’s sleeve.The confrontation with Elliot had ended, but in that moment, it became clear to everyone present that a far more painful conflict had only just begun.The question lingered heavily in the air between them.Alexander regarded her in silence for several seconds. His gaze briefly dropped to the hand she had withdrawn before returning to her face.When he finally spoke, his voice was so soft that it carried more weight than any harsh tone

Aurelia’s fingers tightened around Alexander’s arm with desperate strength, as though releasing him would mean losing him forever.For a brief, suspended moment, neither of them moved, and the entire auction hall seemed to hold its breath in quiet anticipation.Clara stood silently at Alexander’s side, while Sophia observed from a short distance with an unreadable expression.Even the guests who had lingered after Elliot’s departure fell instinctively quiet, sensing that they were witnessing the final unraveling of a marriage that had once begun with genuine love.Alexander lowered his gaze to Aurelia’s trembling hand. He did not pull away harshly or embarrass her in front of the crowd. Instead, he gently placed his hand over hers, carefully loosening her grip before guiding her hand away from his arm. The tenderness of the gesture made the separation feel even more painful.When he finally lifted his eyes to meet hers, there was no anger left in them, only a quiet, immovable resignat

With a slight nod, she turned and walked away. The moment her back was to him, the pleasant expression vanished, replaced by a flicker of cold disdain.If keeping you close to Aurelia helps Alexander move on, then you have some use. Otherwise, I would not waste a moment on someone like you.Behind her, Nahir watched her figure disappear, his gaze lingering longer than it should have before he finally turned back to Aurelia.“See?” he said with a proud laugh. “I told you she admires courage. She only offered that cooperation because she was impressed by me. If I hadn’t confronted Elliot earlier, none of this would have happened.”Aurelia responded absently, her voice distant. “…Yes.”In truth, she had barely heard him; her eyes remained fixed on the exit where Alexander had disappeared, his departing figure replaying endlessly in her mind.Then another memory surfaced.She saw a small apartment kitchen, warm with morning light. Alexander stood at the stove wearing an apron, humming sof

The city lights stretched endlessly outside the car windows as Clara drove them home. The glow of neon signs and streetlamps flickered across the glass, casting shifting reflections that filled the silence between them.Neither of them spoke much during the journey, yet the quiet did not feel uncomfortable. After everything that had happened at the auction, the shocking display of Alexander’s strength, Elliot’s ambush, andAurelia’s desperate attempts to intervene in the calm felt almost necessary. It was not awkward; it was peaceful in a way neither of them expected.Clara glanced sideways at him more than once, her attention inevitably drawn to the scrape along his forearm. Although the wound was not deep, dried blood still stained the fabric of his sleeve, making it look worse than he seemed willing to admit.Her brows slowly drew together. “You really should have gone to a hospital,” she said, unable to hide her concern.Alexander leaned back lazily against the passenger seat, as