Love's Cruel Game, A Second Chance

-called elites of the city, men and women in expensiv

rs!" a balding man with a sweaty upper lip sh

etic, insulting offer, and he knew it. It was ju

nd!" another vo

ent

ding on cheap furniture, not a person's dignity.

I murmured into her ea

d through the room, sile

llion d

as if he were doing us a favor. He looked direct

g this to protect the poor girl's honor. I'll buy the photos and

preciatively, some of them clapping at his "noble" gesture. Ashley looked

ow. In my past life, I had fallen for this act. I had seen him as a rival, someone to be outb

"One million dollars from Mr. P

't just about money. It allowed for the bidding of abstract assets: reputations, futures, skills, even lives. Once

, buying a perfect score for Kyle, a mediocre student at best, would open doors that money alone couldn't. It would make hi

jumped. Ashley had let it slip, whispering to Kyle when she thought I was too

r had bailed out Mr. Stone's failing business, saving them from bankruptcy. Our families had arranged my engage

d repaid our generosity w

was a tiny, pleading

d fury inside me crystallizin

all eyes were on me. I looked at Kyle,

ng with a confidence that startled everyone, includin

es. "What are you ta

and addressed

ke a new bid,"

e gaze to me. "The current bid is

e photos," I said. "I'

liquid fortune. I also had the deed to our estate and the portfolio of all our company's stoc

this

silent hall. "The entire Miller family fortune. Every st

h the crowd. This wasn't a bi

ed at me, their jaws

im smile touching my l

gainst those pathetic littl