Page 43 of Auctioned

Never.

The word is now branded into my head. Has to stay there, a constant reminder. Otherwise, I’ll lose it completely. I’ll do something reckless. Belt her in front of the entire room.

Or kill everyone in it so that I can have her.

Ne. Ver.

Oliver and I share a look our fathers had the year we turned twenty-one. A dark look.

One that saysLet’s get this show on the road. Nothing in his expression suggests he notices something’s off.

One nod, and we return our attention to our sons.

I start. “Tonight, you’re being initiated into the Hawthorne Morgan bloodline. It’s when boys turn into men. When you take on responsibilities passed on to you by your ancestors.”

A derisive, hushed snort from the corner of the room. This, too, isn’t Baylor. I can tell without averting my gaze to the two girls which one of them did that.

My cock throbs, infuriating me further. Her control over me can’t and won’t last.

After today, I won’t even know where she is.

“Every move you make,” Oliver recites what his old man said to us. Feels like it happened a lifetime ago. Or yesterday. “Every thought in your head. Your wealth. None of that is yours. We’re a family. A unit.”

“An unbreakable bond.” Topher’s features turn to stone at my words.

He could be conspiring to kill me as we speak. Could have plans to take over the business. Our fortune. Every cent of it.

Makes no difference to him that I never laid a hand on him. That I haven’t demanded anything of him except to wear a condom and keep up his good grades.

He wasn’t even born out of violence, like Camden.

But he does have my father’s genes running through his veins. Poisoning him.

He’s a spoiled, hot-tempered brat.

Somehow, though, I think Ophelia will have a better chance making it in life than my son. A strange notion.

“Do you accept?”

“We accept,” both sons say in unison. Camden’s voice echoes louder in the closed room.

Out of the two men, he’s always been the more eccentric one.

Much like his father. I can’t forget the day Camden convinced Topher to lock up a girl in his bedroom in third grade. I grounded Topher for two months after that little prank.

After the motherfucking principal—who hadn’t been the auction house’s client—called us in, I talked to Topher. Warnedhim that if he ever steps out of line again, there’ll be consequences.

That stopped Topher from joining Camden’s reckless adventures. In return, it toned down Camden’s psychotic tendencies.

“Your vows.” In my periphery, I see Oliver’s chest expanding.

Pride swells within him. A contrast to my barely contained rage. Takes a lot of work to hide it in plain sight. Takes even more of my resolve not to steal a glance at her.

“In our legacy, we trust,” they chant. “To accept us and our sacrifice.”

A whimper reaches us, which has to be the other woman. Ophelia doesn’t make a sound, but her contempt is glaringly obvious.

Ignoring her, Oliver and I dip our chins in acknowledgment. A sign that we accept. That they should continue.

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