Chapter 1

Just because I posted a wedding photo on social media without blocking Gideon Sterling's obsession, Misty Price, he decided to auction off our wedding night the very next day.

The wedding ceremony had just ended, and I found Gideon in a private hotel suite, clutching my phone.

He was busy haggling with his group of lowlife friends.

"One million dollars for the night," he announced. "Not a penny less."

"Come on, Gideon," one of his buddies teased. "Even if Elara is still a virgin, that price is way too steep!"

"Steep? Are you kidding me?" Gideon sneered. "This is my brand-new wife we're talking about. Pay up! The price just went up!"

The room erupted into crude laughter.

"But seriously, Gideon, if you don't show up for your own wedding night, aren't you worried Elara will be pissed?"

"Who cares? She's the one who chose to flaunt our wedding in front of Misty," he spat. "It already kills me that I couldn't marry the woman I actually love."

He pulled a small blister pack of white pills from his pocket.

"Besides, I've got this. I'll make sure she's so far gone she won't even know who's in her bed."

My phone slipped from my numb fingers, hitting the floor with a thud.

Tears burned my eyes and began to fall.

1

"Gideon, man, that post about auctioning your wedding night must have hundreds of likes by now," one of his friends chuckled.

Gideon smirked, looking quite proud of himself. "Probably more than that."

"You're not worried Elara will find out and raise hell?"

"Pfft. I'll just tell her it was a joke. What can she really do about it?"

His friends leaned in, practically worshipping him.

"You've got some serious charm, Gideon. How else could you get a girl like Elara Hale to chase you for years?"

Gideon raised an eyebrow, clearly enjoying the ego stroke.

"She deserves a lesson for trying to humiliate Misty. Not being able to marry Misty is the biggest regret of my life."

He added, "If I don't put Elara in her place now, she'll think she can walk all over Misty forever."

Gideon scrolled through his phone for a moment before his eyes lit up. "Found it!"

He turned the screen around for everyone to see.

"Don't tell me it's not worth the price. Look at these private shots she took. Look at that body. Is that worth a million or what?"

The room filled with whistles and catcalls.

I wanted to burst in there and scream at him, but my body wouldn't stop shaking.

It felt like something was blocking my throat, making every breath a sharp, stinging pain.

Gideon and I had been engaged since we were kids.

Three years ago, when the Sterling family's business was failing, Gideon suddenly crashed back into my life.

I fell for him instantly and pursued him relentlessly until we finally became a couple.

When we were together, he was the perfect gentleman.

He'd debone my fish, peel my shrimp, and always open the car door for me.

He knew what I wanted to eat before I even opened the menu.

His attentiveness made me the envy of every girl in the city.

My parents were so happy for me that they poured resources into the Sterling family business.

They helped them break into the semiconductor market and handed them massive contracts on a silver platter.

Everything was perfect until a month before the wedding.

A woman named Misty Price showed up at my door, claiming she was Gideon's one true love.

I remember how Gideon reacted back then.

He knelt at my feet, his eyes filled with urgency and hurt.

"Elara, don't listen to her. You're the only one I love. Just don't let her know what we're doing, or she'll keep making trouble for us."

I actually believed him. I thought Misty was just some obsessed stalker.

But now, the truth was staring me in the face.

I had posted one photo of myself in my wedding dress and forgot to hide it from Misty.

That same night, she posted a video of herself looking absolutely devastated.

She looked so fragile, with tears streaming down her face and a red-tipped nose.

Later that night, Gideon's friends carried him home, completely wasted.

When I asked what happened, one of them just gave me a cold look.

"He's just grieving because he couldn't marry the woman he actually wants," he said.

I didn't understand what he meant at the time.

Looking back, the signs were everywhere.

Misty was the queen of his heart, and I was just the paycheck that saved his family.

I stumbled out of the hotel, my vision blurred by the bright red wedding decorations.

My parents' parting words about being happy rang in my ears.

I'm so sorry, Mom. I didn't find happiness. I chose a man who hates me.

Because he didn't love me, he didn't care about my dignity or my feelings.

He turned me into a laughingstock and my wedding night into a sick joke.

I walked back to our new house alone.

I looked at the beautiful bedroom I had decorated and the silk lingerie I had picked out for tonight.

I buried my face in my hands and sobbed until my phone rang.

"Elara? Where are you?"

I wiped my face. "I'm at―"

Suddenly, the bedroom door was kicked open.

"Gideon! The bride is here all by herself!"