Chapter 20

“What did she do to you?” I turned so that we were facing each other.

Ethan sucked in his bottom lip and drew in a deep breath through his nose. I waited patiently for him to find the right words to say.

“The biggest thing was when she left me. I was in a bad place - a really bad place. Mentally and physically, and then she just abandoned me.” Ethan shook his head. “It’s all really hard to explain and I don’t want to place the burden of my past on your shoulders.”

I tried to be understanding, but I wanted Ethan’s burdens. I wanted him to tell me all the things I didn’t know about him. I craved to know.

Ethan saw the look of frustration on my face and misinterpreted it. He laughed lightly.

“Don’t worry,” He said. “You’re too simple to be able to betray anyone or scheme the way she does.”

A flash of anger rose in my throat at being called ‘simple’, but I swallowed it. Ethan meant it as a compliment, and I suppose it was a little sweet. It made sense why he was so cold to her when he saw her at the ball and why he closed himself off when I mentioned her the first time.

It also made sense why Sarah would be so obsessed with getting him back now that he wasn’t as misfortunate anymore. He was the rich CEO and alpha that was on the news every night that everyone wanted to get to know. I wasn’t surprised she regretted her choices.

Part of me pitied Ethan for all he had gone through. The story of his mother’s earring and, now, his past with Sarah highlighted some of the sadder aspects of him. And despite all that, he still didn’t tell me the worst of it.

I wanted to be the one protecting him from all the bad things in his life.

“I will never deceive or scheme against you,” I declared, looking him in the eyes.

His face broke into a full smile and he pulled me into his arms. He pressed his nose to the crook of my neck and inhaled lightly as we embraced, placing his lips to the spot he bit earlier.

“The scent has worn off,” He mumbled into my skin.

My stomach flipped at the idea of continuing where we had left off earlier, but Ethan was more controlled this time.

He kissed the bruise on my neck, pressing feather light kisses up to my jaw and back down, taking his time with each section. When he finally bit my neck to leave his scent, he sunk his teeth gently.

His canine brushed against the sensitive spot, pricking it lightly as he chomped down. That spark lit up in my stomach, stronger than before, but dissipated much quicker.

I sighed in satisfaction.

The next morning, Ethan and I were getting ready for the final event of the gala: A charity auction.

I made sure to dress as nicely as I could to represent Ethan in a good light.

We entered the banquet hall, arm-in-arm. Standing up straight, I ignored the strange looks from the people who witnessed Sarah and I’s misgiving last night, and tried to be the face of composure and grace.

A small group of women loudly jeered and gossipped like Ethan and I walked by them. Sarah was standing in the middle of them with a pout transfixed on her face.

“I can’t believe she would show her face after what she did to you, Sarah,” One girl practically shouted in my direction, pretending to talk to only Sarah.

“She has no shame,” Another one agreed.

I kept my gaze forward, ignoring them, but Ethan glared at them as we passed, effectively shutting them up. We continued, refusing to linger on the troublemaking group to the side.

Ethan brought me a copy of the auction catalogue. I flipped through the pages, just glancing at the prices as I went through several of the pages. Each item was no less than one hundred thousand dollars, I blinked and handed the book back to Ethan.

“Did you see anything you liked?” He asked, searching through the book himself.

I shook my head no. My mouth felt dry as I thought about the outrageous prices, I barely looked at any of the items. I couldn’t focus on anything but the amount of money that people were about to be spending at this event.

“I don’t need anything,” I shrugged to appear aloof. “Anything that you’re looking at in there?”

Ethan flipped to the very last page and pointed to a gorgeous emerald and pearl necklace. It matched his mother’s earring and was far more gorgeous than any other item in the jewelry selection. It was definitely the showstopper.

“This,” He stated, a little melancholic, “Was a love token from my father to my mother. It was said to represent unwavering love.”

“Why do the people at the auction have it and not you?” I asked, anxious to learn the truth about what happened between him and his pack.

Ethan’s jaw tensed, “It got taken when my family fell on hard times.”

I pat his hand sympathetically. As sad as the story was, I was glad Ethan had started opening up to me. Even if it was only part of a larger story, or a snippet of his past, I wanted to understand whatever I could about him.

The auction started shortly after.

Sarah’s group of friends were the most vocal when it came to the actual bidding. They were actively competing to pay the highest price on various diamonds, jewels, and designer clothes. Many other attendees applauded their generous hearts for buying so many items.

I rolled my eyes at their never-ending praise.

Ethan and I were snubbed with every passing auction piece. I didn’t see anything in the catalogue that I would be able to afford, so I was careful not to raise my hand or make a bid. And then Ethan said he only wanted one thing, but I was the only one who knew that.

The audience started whispering about how we were being stingy for refusing to bid.

My face was fixed in a frown as I listened to their words, but Ethan ignored their harsh stares and whispers, his eyes focused solely on the stage.

“The final item tonight,” The auctioneer announced into his microphone. “Is this vintage pearl necklace with an emerald pendant. The bid will start at five hundred thousand dollars.”

A man in Sarah’s group raised his hand.

“I’ll be buying this for Sarah,” He bragged, shooting Sarah a wink from where he sat. She giggled and batted her eyelashes at him.

Ethan wasted no time shouting out his counter-bid.

“One million.” Ethan stood.

Sarah’s admirer rolled his eyes, “Two million!”

Ethan countered again, raising the price to five million dollars. My eyes widened at the large jump, but it did nothing to deter the other man.

“Six and a half million.” He grinned at Ethan with a challenge in his eye.

Ethan had finally had enough of the back and forth between himself and Sarah’s wanna-be boyfriend. He wanted that necklace and he was going to get it.

He stood up, “Ten million dollars.”

The audience gasped at the number. I even choked a little bit at how far Ethan was willing to go to get that necklace.

“Going once, going twice…” Nobody else spoke up, how could they compete? “Sold to Ethan Velasco of the Blue Moon Group.”

Everyone began clapping for Ethan. Not only did he win the necklace he wanted, but he was also the biggest spender of the entire auction that night.

I got caught up at that moment and jumped up to embrace him in celebration. Ethan held me back, a winning smile adorned his face.

A worker came to where we were standing in order to pass off the necklace to Ethan. He grabbed the chain, and held it up for the attendees to see.

“This necklace is not for me,” He announced, so that everyone could witness his act. Turning me around, he placed the jewelry on my own neck.

The emerald was cold and heavy against my collar bone, but held a comforting presence.

“It is a gift for my beautiful wife.” He clasped the chain and let it go.

My heart skipped a beat at his words, then started racing. A dark blush flooded my cheeks as everyone applauded Ethan.

He used his moment in the light to press a soft kiss to my lips in front of everyone. I heard the clicks of cameras go off, but I was too enraptured by Ethan to care.