Chapter 6 The Stranger Who Bidded

Seraphina knew her makeup was too much. That was the point.

Her lips were painted in a rich plum color, her lashes long and curled, and her blonde hair fell in soft waves down her back. The black bodycon dress she wore wasn’t only about elegance- it was more of an armor. It hugged her curves and screamed distraction, while her smoky eyes made it clear she didn’t want to be recognized.

Not that anyone would.

She had used her fake ID—Sera Knox—to gain access into the Moreau estate auction. They didn’t even ask too many questions. When you looked expensive enough and walked like you belonged, people rarely paused to ask who you were.

The hall was packed. But her eyes were fixed on the Journal. The journal she had searched every one of her father’s belongings for, before she faked her death years ago. She couldn’t let it go. She knew how much her father relished it. It was his most favorite property. And she had cried when she gave up on looking for it back then.

But now that she had a chance to keep her father’s most worthy asset, she was ready to spend her total savings of five years—Ten million dollars, to savor it. She had hoped that no one would bid more than that for the journal. The average highest bidding on artifacts like that mostly never surpassed five million dollars.

So she had made up her mind. And now that she was aware that her finger print was the only way to access her father’s vault that contained billions of assets, she was made.

But she couldn’t enter her father’s territory yet. She had to play it right, first.

And so what if she had just lost a child yesterday? So what if she could barely walk from the pain still radiating in her womb? The world didn’t care. Her enemies didn’t care. This was her father’s legacy. She wasn’t about to let it get sold off in front of her.

Her eyes locked on the podium. She didn’t even look around the room. She couldn’t afford to get distracted.

The auction was already going on and she was late.  She looked around, all seats had been filled. So she stood at the back, ready to bid, get the journal, and get the hell out of here.

Seraphina raised her paddle. “Ten million.”

Her heart raced. That was everything she had. All her savings. Every dime she could muster on short notice.

For a moment, it was quiet. And she hoped no one else would be willing to pay more.

Then-

“Fifteen million.”

The room shifted.

Seraphina’s head snapped toward the direction of the voice, but she couldn’t see who had said it. She scanned the rows- people leaning forward, murmuring. But whoever it was had already looked away.

She clenched her jaw. Fifteen. She didn’t have fifteen.

The auctioneer waited. “Do I hear sixteen?”

Silence.

“Fifteen million, going once…”

Seraphina swallowed. Her throat was dry.

“Going twice…”

She wanted to scream. To beg. To explain why she needed it.

“Sold! To paddle number seventeen.”

Polite claps followed, but her blood was boiling.

She didn’t even wait for the end of the event.

She followed the security detail as they wheeled the glass casing out of the room. Her heels clicked with purpose across the grand floor, down the hallway, toward the VIP lounge where she guessed the top bidder would go to sign and collect.

As she ventured through a narrow corner, a feminine hand dragged her back. She veered her head around to see Sheryl. Her late father’s widow. Talia’s mother. Seraphina’s gaze turned a mean glare.

“Do I know you?” The woman’s glittering nails dug into her skin as she stared hard at her, her face twisted with suspicion.

Seraphina’s voice turned icy. “No, you don’t.”

She yanked her arm free and took off down the hallway.

She wouldn’t lose the bidder now.

When she reached the lounge, a large security guard stepped in front of her.

“You can’t go inside, ma’am.”

She halted, “I’m… I’m waiting for someone,” she breathed, her chest rising fast.

“Me?” a deep voice rumbled behind her as if he was on cue.

She turned.

And then everything stopped as their gazes met.

Her breath caught in her throat.

The man before her was devastating. Tall, broad-shouldered, his suit hugging his frame like it had been tailored by a god. His green eyes pinned her like it was searching for an answer.

And his presence felt…oddly familiar.

There was a small frown on his face. A very curious one. His gaze was still piercing hers as if he was searching for a depth. Seraphina couldn’t place the face, but her head was disturbed like he was someone she ought to remember. She blinked.

It was insane that she noticed his appearance despite her urgent purpose.

“Was it… you who won the Journal?” She asked, her heart beating fast.

Julian didn’t reply at first. His eyes were all over her face. It felt like a dream. She was really here. Even though she had lost a lot of weight and had a huge make up done on her face. He recognized her, he felt her. How couldn’t he? Her face was one he had memorized like alphabets in his head.

She had held his head to her face that night as he thrusted into her relentlessly. Their eyes were on each other almost through the entirety of their sexual session. She had clung to his neck, moaning his name- no, not his name. The one she’d given him.

Zeus.

So how could he not remember her?

He was never one to fuck a stranger without condom, yet he had with her- with her virgin cunt. He hadn’t realized at first, because she didn’t act like it. He had even hesitated after realizing she was untouched, but she was all over him- wanting it, begging for it.

He had found her irresistible the moment he sighted her seating with her friend in the VIP lounge five years ago.

And she had been so responsive too. It was a magnetic moment. Even though they never shared their names.

And damn him if it still didn’t feel like yesterday as he looked at her now. But he had to address what was on ground first. Who was she and why did she want something as sacred as the journal?

“Yes. I am. You want to offer twenty million to bid it from me?” He smirked lightly, “Because that’s the only way you can get it.” He teased- with all seriousness.

“I just…” Seraphina began, not noticing the intensity in his stare, “I know you don’t know me, and this might sound crazy, but I need that journal. I can pay you ten million for it. I will pay more later.”

At that point, Julian realized that she didn’t recognize him. How could she? She had been drunk that night.

He had to tell her.

“You don’t remember me, do you?” He said before he could stop himself.

Seraphina blinked. “Am I supposed to?”

He took a step closer to her, his eyes never leaving hers. Sera couldn’t look away. There was something in those perfect green eyes…her face straightened in realization. Her heart pounded in her chest. Her entire being shivered. Was he…

He clarified her doubt as he leaned to her ear level and whispered into her ears. “You once called me Zeus,”

Seraphina went stiff. She couldn’t move. Zeus. The man she had a one night stand with the night of her father’s burial. The… father of her child. The one who had never stopped haunting her dreams since that very night even though his face was blurry in them.

He was the stranger who had ruined every man that came after.

She opened her mouth, but before she could speak, the door behind them burst open.

“Julian!” someone barked.

Both their heads snapped toward the source of the voice.