"Sold! To Miss Ashworth for ten million dollars!" the auctioneer declared.

A wave of relief washed over me. For a moment, the tightness in my chest eased.

I went to the back room to finalize the purchase. The attendant swiped my exclusive, unlimited black card. It was declined.

"That's impossible," I said, my voice tight. "Try it again."

He did. "I'm sorry, Miss Ashworth. The card has been frozen."

I stared at him in disbelief. My father would never freeze my card.

Mateo, who had followed me, stepped forward. "Don't worry, Seraphina. I told you, it's my treat." He handed the attendant his own card, a private account I knew he'd been building for years.

It was also declined.

Mateo looked stunned, a flash of genuine, raw anger crossing his face. "What? My accounts are fine. There must be a mistake."

A commotion started to build outside the room. People were whispering, laughing.

"Did you hear? The Ashworths are broke!"

"She bid ten million and can't even pay for it. What a joke."

My face burned with shame. I had never felt so humiliated in my entire life.

Just then, Caspian appeared in the doorway. He had watched the whole scene unfold, a cool, unreadable expression on his face. He walked slowly towards the attendant.

"Allow me," he said, pulling a card from his wallet.

The payment went through instantly.

The attendant handed the velvet box containing the necklace to Caspian.

And then, in front of everyone, Caspian walked over to Lyra, opened the box, and fastened the "Starfall Sapphire" around her neck.

I was no longer just a joke. I was the punchline.

My eyes stung, and I fought back the tears that threatened to fall.

Mateo swore under his breath. "That son of a bitch. He must have hacked our accounts. He did this on purpose."

A bitter laugh escaped my lips, and then the tears came, hot and unstoppable. Of course, he did. He was a genius coder. He could cripple financial systems with a few keystrokes. This wasn't just about a necklace. This was a public execution of my dignity and my inheritance.

He had the power to ruin me, and he had just proved it.

Caspian turned to Mateo, his voice low and menacing. "Stay away from her."

Then he looked at me, his eyes cold as ice. "Let's go home, Seraphina."

"I'd rather die," I whispered, my voice choked with grief.

I turned and walked away, not looking back.

For the next week, I locked myself in my room. Mateo tried to visit, leaving trays of my favorite desserts outside my door. I ignored them. I remembered his voice from the library, laughing about how he'd manipulated me. He was no better than the rest of them.

One afternoon, I turned on the security feed I'd secretly had installed in the main living areas of the house. I'd done it after overhearing their conversation in the library, needing to know the true extent of their deception.

The Fellows were sprawled on the couches, complaining.

"Is she ever coming out?" Ronan groaned. "Lyra wants us to take her to the Hamptons, but Caspian says we can't go until Seraphina is 'stable' again."

"Why is it our job to cheer her up?" another Fellow, Liam, whined. "I'd much rather be with Lyra."

"Caspian's orders," Mateo said with a sigh. "He wants one of us to go up there and coax her out."

"I'm not going," Ronan grumbled.

"I don't want to either," Liam added. "Mateo, you go. You're the best at pretending to care."

"Why should I?" Mateo shot back, his good-natured facade gone. "Caspian's the one who caused this mess at the auction. Let him clean it up."

Just then, Caspian himself walked into the frame. He looked at the others, his expression dark.

"I'll handle my fiancée," he said, his voice laced with a cold possession that made my skin crawl. "You all just stay out of it."

He picked up a small gift box from the table and headed for the stairs.

I quickly shut off the monitor. My fiancée. He still had the audacity to call me that.

Downstairs, I could hear Ronan's angry voice through the door. "His fiancée? Who does he think he is? She belongs to all of us... or to none of us."

Mateo's voice was heavy with resignation. "It doesn't matter, Ron. In the end, she'll still choose him. She always does. We're just the supporting cast in their twisted play."

The lock on my bedroom door clicked open with ease. Caspian stepped inside, not even bothering to pretend he hadn't just picked it.

"Get out!" I yelled, my eyes red and swollen from days of crying.

"I learned how to do that when I was living on the streets," he said with a small, unamused smile, as if that explained everything. He sat down on the edge of my bed, the gift box in his hands.

He sat in silence for a long time before he spoke. "When I was a kid, I had nothing. No one. Then I found Lyra. She was just a baby, abandoned like me. She became my reason to live. My only family."

He paused, his dark eyes fixed on me. "And then your father found us. He gave me a home. A future. I owe him everything. I would do anything for him, for you."

He opened the gift box. "But you have to understand. Lyra is my sister. She's all I have from my old life. I can't let anyone hurt her. I need you to tolerate her, Seraphina. That's the only thing I ask."

For a moment, his words, his vulnerability, almost reached me. A flicker of the old, foolish Seraphina stirred in my heart.

Then he said the word "sister," and the illusion shattered.

Brothers don't kiss their sisters the way he kissed Lyra in the garden. Brothers don't look at their sisters with that kind of raw hunger.

He was a liar.

"So, after we're married," I asked, my voice dripping with sarcasm, "will she still come first? Will your 'sister' always be your priority?"

"Yes," he answered without a shred of hesitation. "She will always be my first priority. But I will be good to you, Seraphina. I will cherish you." He paused. "As much as I can."

I let out a bitter laugh that sounded more like a sob. "As much as you can." All my unhappiness, all my pain, stemmed from him. From my one-sided love for him.

I didn't say anything else. There was no point.

Just then, his phone rang. It was Lyra. He answered immediately, his voice softening. "I'll be right there." He hung up and stood to leave.

"This is for you," he said, placing the gift box on my nightstand. It was a cheap replica of the "Starfall Sapphire," a gaudy imitation that was a direct insult. He left without another word.

Inside the box was the necklace. A simple, elegant diamond pendant. It was beautiful, but it wasn't the "Starfall Sapphire." It wasn't what I had wanted.

It was a consolation prize. A symbol of how much he was willing to give me: something, but not everything. Not the best.

I picked up the box, walked over to the trash can, and dropped it in without a second thought.

I deserve a man who would give me the world, not one who would ask me to settle for second place.

My 21st birthday arrived a month later. It was to be the biggest social event of the year, a gala where my father would officially announce my engagement.

I stood in front of the mirror, wearing a custom-made haute couture gown. I looked like a princess, but I felt a pang of regret that I wasn't wearing the "Starfall Sapphire."

Just then, a butler entered my dressing room holding a large, beautifully wrapped box.

"This just arrived for you, Miss Ashworth. From Mr. Blackwood."

My heart skipped a beat. Silas.

"Mr. Blackwood sends his apologies for not being able to find the 'Starfall Sapphire'," the butler explained. "The current owner refused to sell. So he commissioned this for you instead. He hopes it will suffice."

I opened the box. Nestled on a bed of black velvet was a breathtaking set of jewelry. A necklace, earrings, and a bracelet, all featuring enormous pigeon's blood rubies, the rarest and most valuable in the world. They glowed with an inner fire, a deep, passionate red. With it was a card. “Rubies symbolize a fire that belongs to no one but yourself. It has always been yours.”

A genuine smile, the first in a long time, blossomed on my face. I put on the jewels. They felt warm against my skin.

I finally felt like a queen. And I knew, with absolute certainty, that I had made the right choice.

As I was about to leave my room, I ran into Lyra. She was also dressed for the party, but her eyes were fixed on the rubies around my neck. Her smile faltered.

"Those are... magnificent," she said, her voice tight. "Did Caspian give them to you?"

I brushed past her without a word.

Her eyes flashed with a look of pure hatred. "He doesn't love you, you know," she hissed at my back. "He's only marrying you to repay your father."

She stepped in front of me, blocking my path, and held up her phone. "He'll never touch you the way he touches me." She then sent a message to my phone. "And do you really think what he keeps in his private safe are pictures of you? No, darling. It's a portrait of me he's painted every year since I was a child."

She pressed play. On the screen, a video began. It was her and Caspian, tangled together in bed, their bodies moving in a rhythm of pure lust.

"He's never looked at you like that, has he?" she taunted, her voice cruel. "You should pick one of the other Fellows. Mateo, maybe? Or Ronan? I've had them all. Ronan is particularly... athletic." She laughed, a low, vulgar sound. "I can give you a full report on their performance if you like."

The filth pouring from her mouth was more than I could bear.

My hand moved on its own. The sharp crack of my palm connecting with her cheek echoed in the hallway.

"You're disgusting," I spat, my voice trembling with rage.

A cold presence behind me made me freeze. I turned slowly and met the icy, furious gaze of Caspian.

He didn't say a word. He just stood there, looking at me, and I knew. I knew he would make me pay for this.

The entire birthday gala passed in a blur of anxiety. I smiled, I mingled, I accepted birthday wishes, but my mind was in a knot of fear. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, for Caspian's quiet, calculated revenge.

But nothing happened. The party was a spectacular success.

Finally, the moment arrived. My father stood on the stage, ready to announce my future husband. The ballroom fell silent, a thousand guests holding their breath.

"It has to be Caspian Vance," someone whispered nearby. "He's the only one worthy of her."

"What about Silas Blackwood?" another voice countered. "He's been chasing her for years. Poor guy never stood a chance."

I couldn't help the small, triumphant smile that touched my lips. I glanced across the room at Silas. He caught my eye and gave me a look of such deep, unwavering love it took my breath away. He raised his hand and signed to me, a little joke between us: Don't you dare change your mind.

I laughed, a real, happy laugh.

And then the world exploded.

The giant screen behind the stage, which had been displaying a beautiful montage of my life, flickered and changed. An image of my bedroom appeared. It was me.

I was holding one of Caspian's shirts, pressing it to my face, my eyes closed in a state of pathetic, lovesick bliss. The video continued, showing me in my most private moments, touching myself, whispering his name.

"I love you, Caspian," my voice echoed through the silent ballroom. "I love you so much."

A wave of absolute horror washed over me. I turned, my eyes desperately seeking Caspian in the crowd. He stood there, his face a cold, blank mask.

Tears streamed down my face. "How could you?" I mouthed, my heart shattering into a million pieces. "How could you be so cruel?"

"Turn it off!" my father roared, his face purple with rage. "Somebody turn that damn thing off!"

But the video kept playing. The system was locked.

Silas, seeing my devastation, didn't hesitate. He charged the stage, picked up a heavy champagne stand, and smashed the projector to pieces.

"Find out who did this!" my father bellowed, his voice shaking. "I want them found!"

One of his business partners tried to calm him down. "Charles, it's just a young girl's crush. It's clear who she's in love with. Announce the engagement to Caspian. It will smooth everything over."

My father's face was pale. He knew. He knew I had chosen Silas. He looked at Silas, a desperate hope in his eyes.

Silas walked to my side, wrapping his strong arms around me, shielding me from the prying eyes of the crowd. He held me tight, a solid, unshakeable anchor in my swirling nightmare.

Then he turned to face the stunned guests, his voice ringing with authority and fury.

"Seraphina Ashworth is my fiancée," he announced, his voice booming through the hall. "And I swear to God, whoever is responsible for this, I will find you. And I will destroy you."

The crowd gasped.

Across the room, the faces of Caspian Vance and the other Ashworth Fellows were ashen. They stared at me, at Silas, their expressions a mixture of shock and disbelief. This was not how their plan was supposed to end.