Chapter 4

Over the next week, I threw myself into the meticulous chaos of planning a wedding.

Jasper didn't call. Not once.

Instead, Elara bombarded me with toxic iMessages.

[Serves you right. Getting the silent treatment again?]

[Just so you know, my brother is currently rubbing my feet by the fireplace.]

[As long as I'm around, you'll never be his priority. Just give up.]

This wasn't the first time Elara had pulled this exact stunt.

In the past, I would show her texts to Jasper, and he would dismiss them with a wave of his hand.

"She's just a kid, Lira. She's jealous her big brother has a girlfriend. It's normal."

Except this "childish jealousy" had dragged on for ten years.

Historically, whenever I argued with Elara, Jasper would punish me with his silence.

I would be the one to inevitably break. I'd track his flight logs, fly to whatever city his rescue unit was stationed in, bring him a tailored gift, and beg for a truce.

I had swallowed my pride and engaged in that humiliating cycle for a decade, bound by a naive vow I made at the start of our relationship to honor his life debt to the Shays.

But I was done playing their twisted games. I swiped left and blocked her number.

I needed a flawless set of statement jewelry for my upcoming wedding. The perfect piece—a vintage Cartier bridal parure—was headlining the Thorne family's annual high-end downtown charity auction.

I arrived at The Plaza wearing a sleek, emerald-green evening gown, only to immediately bump into Jasper and Elara at the VIP entryway.

Elara's eyes dragged over my dress, burning with obvious envy.

"Wow. Still shamelessly stalking my brother, I see. Forgot what you said last week already?"

In the past, it would have been true. I would have intentionally showed up to an event like this just to grovel and patch things up.

But tonight, I didn't even break my stride. I walked right past them.

The charity auction was a lavish affair.

Say what you want about Jasper, but his wealth was undeniable. He wasn't just the rugged commander of a wildland rescue unit; the venture capital firm he founded in his twenties was wildly lucrative.

Over the course of the evening, he casually dropped millions, buying Elara an impressionist painting and several diamond cuffs.

He had never been stingy with me, either. But when it came to anything involving Elara, I was perpetually relegated to the bottom of the list.

Finally, the item I came for was wheeled onto the stage. The Cartier bridal suite.

I raised my paddle. "Three million."

Elara let out a loud, mocking scoff that carried across the tables.

"You haven't even officially survived an engagement dinner, and you're buying bridal jewelry to force a wedding? How pathetic."

Jasper scowled, leaning over to shoot me a disapproving look.

"Lira, drop the paddle. You know we can't move forward with our wedding until Elara gives us her blessing."

I kept my eyes glued to the stage, ignoring them both. "Three point five."

Elara's face flushed red with fury. She snapped her fingers at the floor usher.

"I invoke the unlimited standing bid!" she shrieked.

A murmur rippled through the ballroom. It was a notoriously arrogant high-society auction rule—a financial blank check where the house automatically outbid any opponent by fifty thousand dollars until the challenger surrendered.

"Let's see if your little trust fund can keep up with me!" Elara sneered.

I matched her standing bid, watching the digital numbers on the stage screen skyrocket to an absurd premium.

Elara slammed her hands on the table, abandoning all etiquette.

"Lira! Are you trying to buy that bridal set just to trap my brother? I told you, I forbid it! A desperate spinster like you isn't marrying him!"

Jasper watched the scene unfold with cold detachment.

"Lira," he said, his voice laced with patronizing finality.

"You slapped her last week. The least you can do is let her have the diamonds to make up for it."

I looked at him, feeling a hollow chill.

Jasper was too intelligent not to know Elara had faked that slap in the restroom. He just didn't care about the truth. He was conveniently using the incident to force my submission.

He could keep his toxic love. I happily conceded Jasper Boone to Elara. But I wasn't backing down on the diamonds I needed for my actual wedding.

I lowered my paddle, raising only my hand to make a very specific, silent gesture toward the auction block.

Elara blinked, then burst into abrasive laughter.

"Did your art history degree completely fry your brain? I already triggered the unlimited standing bid! What kind of desperate hand signal is that?"

Jasper's jaw clenched. "Lira, stop throwing a tantrum. You're embarrassing yourself."

I looked between the two of them, a calm, pitying smile curving my lips.

"Do you want to know what real embarrassment looks like?"

The second the words left my mouth, the auctioneer's gavel froze in mid-air. The chaotic hum of the ballroom died instantly, replaced by a charged, breathless silence.

The stage lights shifted, illuminating the grand, velvet-draped balcony overlooking the floor. A tall, impeccably tailored figure stepped out of the shadows.

"I believe I can translate her gesture," a deep, magnetic voice echoed across the quiet room.