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Chapter_91
Leah’s face turned crimson, the humiliation eating at her. She could feel the eyes of the room on her, and it was as though every judgmental glance was a dagger to her pride. The sound of the applause ringing in her ears only heightened her sense of failure.
“How dare they mock me like this?” she whispered under her breath, her hands trembling with frustration.
Kathleen, who had been watching with a growing sense of unease, placed a calming hand on Leah’s arm. “Let it go, dear. This was just a bidding war. There’s no reason to let it get to you.” But her voice was laced with concern. She knew Leah’s vanity and fragile pride were deeply wounded.
Leah shot her a bitter look, her anger not dissipating. “No, I won’t let this go. They think they can just look down on me forever, that I’m some joke.” Her voice was rising, and her emotions were starting to overtake her usual composure.
Micah, sensing the shifting energy in the room, glanced toward Sadie. He noticed how Sadie’s presence was still holding attention, despite the chaos happening around them. She seemed unaffected by the auction drama, walking beside him with ease and grace. His grip on her hand tightened slightly, and they continued toward the backyard.
“Let them have their moment,” Sadie said softly, her voice warm but calm. She could feel Micah’s subtle tension and wanted to ease it. “We didn’t come here to win any games, Micah.”
Micah didn’t respond at first, his mind clearly elsewhere, but he squeezed her hand lightly, appreciating her serenity amidst the storm. As they walked into the peaceful backyard, he let out a deep breath. The auction house, the socialites, the drama—it all felt so distant here.
Back in the hall, the atmosphere had shifted, and the air was thick with silent judgment. Leah’s failed bid, coupled with her earlier embarrassment, made her the subject of whispered conversations.
“She just couldn’t stand to lose to Arianna, could she?” one socialite murmured to another, her voice dripping with condescension.
“No, she never could,” another replied, the words laced with disdain. “All that money, and she still can’t get the respect she thinks she deserves.”
Leah’s grip on her paddle tightened in anger. She felt like she was suffocating under the weight of their ridicule. “I will not let them do this to me,” she muttered to herself.
At that moment, she noticed Ronan standing nearby, watching her with an expression she couldn’t quite read. A flicker of guilt or concern? She couldn’t tell. His eyes were filled with something she couldn’t place—maybe it was disappointment.
“Ronan,” she called out, her voice shaking slightly but determined to regain control of the situation. “You saw that. I was only trying to do what you wanted. I wanted to show everyone I could handle things, to prove we’re a force to be reckoned with.”
Ronan hesitated for a moment before walking toward her. He glanced briefly at the empty space where Sadie and Micah had just been, then turned back to Leah. “Leah, it’s not about proving yourself to others. It’s about knowing your own worth.” His words were gentle but firm, and for a moment, it felt like he was speaking from a place of understanding.
Leah’s face flushed, a mix of frustration and confusion. “You don’t get it,” she snapped, her voice breaking. “Everyone is always looking down on me. I needed to win tonight. I needed to be someone.” She turned away from him, her eyes burning with unshed tears. “But now… I’ve failed again.”
Ronan stood still for a moment, watching her, his own expression unreadable. He didn’t know how to fix this—how to make Leah see that this constant need for approval was slowly destroying her. And maybe him, too.
Meanwhile, in the backyard, Micah and Sadie had found a quiet spot, away from the noise of the party. The serene atmosphere allowed Micah to finally relax, his gaze softening as he turned to Sadie.
“You’re different from them, Sadie. You don’t care about the status or the games they play. I admire that about you,” Micah said, his voice low and sincere.
Sadie smiled, though there was a slight sadness in her eyes. “I’ve seen enough of it to know that true value doesn’t come from a room full of people who think they have power,” she said, her gaze steady and calm. “It comes from within, Micah. From knowing who you are.”
Micah’s expression softened further, and for the first time in what felt like ages, he didn’t feel the weight of the world pressing down on him. With Sadie beside him, everything felt just a little lighter, even in the midst of the chaos.
Back inside the auction hall, Leah was still fuming, her mind racing with thoughts of revenge and how to claw back the respect she thought she deserved. But as the night wore on, her frustration grew, and she realized something—no matter how much money she threw around, no matter how much she bid, the approval she sought from others would never fill the emptiness inside her.
And so, in the distance, another silent battle began—one Leah hadn’t yet realized she needed to fight: against her own insecurities, and the pressure to be someone she wasn’t.
