E & Alexander


    E


    The charity auction was everything I’d expected it to be-packed with socialites who were all dressed to the nines, elegant white linens and crystal chandeliers, and tables full of auction items lining the walls.


    Alexander and I had been making the rounds for about an hour, his hand never moving away from its position on my lower back as we moved from table to table, examining the various items up for bid.


    A weekend getaway to the mountains. A vintage wine collection. A private dinner with a celebrity chef..


    All of it felt hollow and meaningless when so many other couples were bidding on the more intimate options, and all the while I was wearing a fake mark and pretending to be madly in love with a man who could barely stand to touch me.


    “Smile,” Alexander murmured in my ear as a photographer approached. “Look interested in the jewelry.”


    I stered on my Luna smile and leaned closer to examine a diamond tennis bracelet on the table in front of me. The photographer snapped a few pictures, and I made sure to angle my neck so the fake mark was clearly visible.


    Just another performance in our endless charade.


    Once the photographer grew tired of us, we moved to the next table, where Alexander struck up a conversation with another Alpha about some business deal while I perused a collection of rare antique books. I was actually reading the spines, trying to find something that Lilith might like, when I felt something m into me from behind.


    I stumbled forward, catching myself against the edge of the table, but I felt something catch on the corner and snap against my neck. The delicate chain of Lilith’s locket broke, and I watched in horror as the piece of jewelry fell to the floor.


    “Oh my Goddess, I’m so sorry!”


    I turned to find Sophia standing behind me. She was wearing a stunning red dress, and her blonde hair was swept up into an borate style.


    “I didn’t see you there,” she said. “How clumsy of me!”


    Before I could react, she stepped forward as if to help, but her heel came down directly on Lilith’s locket with a sickening crunch.


    “No!” I gasped, hand flying to my throat as I stared down at the ne. The delicate engravings were scratched and dented beyond repair, and the chain waspletely destroyed.


    Lilith’s family heirloom. Generations of history, crushed under the heel of Sophia’s shoe in the span of one night.


    “Oh dear, it’spletely ruined, isn’t it?” Sophia said airily. “What a shame. It looked so… quaint.”


    Quaint.


    She knew exactly what she’d done. This wasn’t an ident.


    I turned slowly to look Sophia directly in the eye. For a moment, I seriously considered pping that smug expression right off her perfect face. My hand actually twitched with the


    urge.


    But I caught myself when I saw the onlookers staring at us from behind their folding fans and sses of champagne. Causing a scene at a charity auction wouldn’t help anyone, least of all me. It would only give the gossips more ammunition and make Alexander look bad.


    “idents happen,” I said quietly, clenching my hand into a fist at my side.


    Sophia gestured to the tables around us. “Well, at least you’re surrounded by plenty of jewelry to rece it with.”


    I didn’t trust myself to respond to that. Without another word, I turned and stalked away, weaving through the crowd toward the bathroom. I could feel Alexander’s eyes on me, but I didn’t look back. He’d probably side with Sophia anyway—he always did.


    The bathroom was mercifully empty when I reached it. I locked the door behind me and finally


    let the tears fall.


    It was gone. The one real thing I had these days, the symbol of someone’s unconditional love for me… destroyed.


    I leaned against the sink, trying to pull myself together. I had to go back out there, of course. People would begin to ask questions soon.


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