Highest Bidder

She cleared her throat. “Is it going to be a big wedding?”

“Well, my daughter wanted it to be a small wedding, just the family, you know how she is, but Brent wouldn’t hear of it. He said he wanted the whole world to know who he was marrying, so my poor daughter has had to settle for an absolutely massive society wedding. Can you believe it?”

Diana swallowed audibly. “Oh! A society wedding. How nice!”

“Don’t tell my daughter that. She hates the idea. Thank heavens for Brent.”

“Robert’s always had a soft spot for Brent Lucan. Says he has a good head on his shoulders. We should all have dinner one day. Maybe the three of you can come over to my place.”

I smiled. Yeah, I bet you want to have Brent come over so your slimy husband can pitch him all night long. “Yes, Brent is rather wonderful.”

“I suppose you must be proud of your daughter. He’s a fine catch.”

“To be honest, I wasn’t keen at all when my daughter told me he’d asked her to marry him, but I’m starting to see how blessed I’ve been to have him come into my life. I mean, what’s not to like? He loves my daughter to bits and he can’t do enough for me.” I gave another false laugh. “He moved me out of my tiny apartment into an absolutely massive house in Mayfair. Then he goes and buys both Freya’s best friend’s houses in Knightsbridge there, so they could be close to Freya too. I know he has a reputation as a stone-cold businessman, but really he so sweet when you get to know him. I’m sure he’s going to be a wonderful father too.”

“Yes, I heard you moved,” she said lamely.

I could see how jealous she was.

“Er … have the invitations for the wedding been sent out yet?”

This was my moment, my little revenge. I looked her in the eye. “Yes, I believe so.”

She tried not to show her disappointment. “Oh. That’s good.”

I opened my purse, pulled out my cellphone, called my driver, and told him to bring the car around. Then I stood. “Well, I should be going. Have a nice day, Diana.”

I sailed past reception out into the bright sunshine.

My driver was already waiting outside. He jumped out of the car and opened the back door for me. I slid in like a Queen, and he closed the door for me with a soft click. My Bentley pulled away. As I settled into the plush leather, I smiled. The expression on Diana Merrick’s face when I told her the invitations had gone out and she hadn’t got one.

Ha, ha!

Life was good when your daughter was marrying a billionaire Duke.

Life was very good.

Brent

THREE MONTHS LATER

The Cathedral was so full of flowers their delicate perfume filled the air. The pews were packed with hats, dresses, and suits of the who’s who of high society. Sunlight slanted in through the stained-glass windows and gave the lofty space an otherworldly air, as if magic was going to happen.

I shot my cuffs nervously.

From the corner of my eye, I could see my father. His face was expressionless. At first, I did not want to invite him, but Freya said the only words that could have changed my mind.

“I don’t think we have the right to deprive our child of his grandfather.”

I turned around now and looked directly at him. Our eyes met and he nodded at me. He looked sad and old. His mistake was willful blindness. Like the woman who refused to see her husband’s infidelity even though she was staring at his credit card statement and seeing hotel bills from her own city. It was hard, but I was slowly learning to forgive him. I was learning to see him not as the selfish man who thought he could have his cake and eat it too, but as an old man who deeply regretted his mistakes and his arrogance. I nodded back at him. He was sorry and who was I to judge when I had made so many mistakes myself? Let me not be him in my old age.

My eyes moved towards the front row.

Evelyn was wearing a cream suit and sitting with her head held high. She looked happy. I had worked hard to make her happy. Yes, it’s true, I destroyed her husband, but she didn’t know what I knew about him. If she knew the truth about him, she would hate him. I would never tell her what I knew. Why ruin the illusion? Why fill her with regret and confusion? Regret was an awful thing.

Martin, her PA was sitting next to Evelyn. I liked him and had a lot of time for him. He was loyal, and that was a rare thing in this world.

The music changed. It was nearly time.

I pulled my eyes towards the entrance of the church. My hands clenched helplessly. I still couldn’t quite believe I had caught something as fine and wonderful as Freya Anderson in my torn and rotting net. It was like a dream.

When I looked back on my life before she came into it— I realized it was as if I hadn’t been truly alive. Powered by hate and consumed by thoughts of revenge, all I did was work. Day and night. I built an empire with my hate. You’d think that was a good thing. It wasn’t. In some backward societies, they tie fireworks to the tail of donkeys. Then they light them and the donkeys run to get away from the fireworks. That was me. A donkey with his tail on fire running faster than anyone else thought possible.

Until Freya.

She put out the fireworks.

Sometimes, I remembered that night of the auction and felt furious with myself. I wished I had called her into my office and fucking just given her the money. Instead, I watched the poor innocent lamb take her clothes off on a stage. I allowed her to sell herself as if she was a piece of meat. I allowed those men to look at her while her legs were wide open.