bChapter 194 /b

ADRIAN’S POV

I looked down at my hand, still hanging awkwardly in the air. My eyebrows furrowed in shock and mild embarrassment as I watched her standing there, talking calmly to the manager as if I wasn’t even worth noticing.

That brief moment, the second she scoffed and turned her back on me, reyed in my mind. It wasn’t a gesture of polite refusal–it felt deliberateb, /balmost personal. The sound of her heels on the marble floor echoed as she walked away, each step measured and graceful, her red gown shimmering under the lights, diamonds catching every reflection.

Something about her was different. The way she held herself, the sharpness in her gaze even though half her face was hidden behind that mask, and the confidence that radiated off her like heat from a me. This wasn’t some ordinary woman chasing luxury for the sake of show. No… There was a purpose

behind every move she made.

And that scoff… it wasn’t dismissive in the casual sense. It felt… angry. Almost like there was history between us. But how could that be? I don’t even know her. I don’t keep female friends–I barely keep anyone close enough to make them hate me ion /isuch a personal level.

“Hmmm… just who are you,” I whispered under my breath, my gaze locked on the door she had disappeared through.

“You alright?” James’s voice came from beside me, bringing me back for a moment.

“What do you think?” I replied, though my eyes didn’t leave the empty doorway, as if hoping she mighte back, if only for a second nce.

James let out a short sigh, patting my shoulder. “Well, I know part of why you came here was to prove to yourself that you haven’t lost your touch. And b! /bsaw the look in your eyes when you saw that car–you really wanted it. This was basically yourst chance to get it, so it’s normal not to feel okay. If were in your shoes, I’d feel just as bad.”

His words made sense, but they didn’t fit what was churning inside me.

“No, James,” I said, turning my eyes to meet his fully. “Sad? Right nowb, /bI feel anything but that.”

He frowned slightly, clearly confused. “What do you mean?”

“Thedy in the mask…” I paused, thinking back to every detail I could remember–the curve of her jaw, the confidence in her posture, that spark of defiance when our eyes met. “Is it possible to find out who she isb?/bb” /b

James exhaled, shaking his head. “I don’t think so, Adrian. We never got her name, never saw her face, and without either of those, it’s nearly impossible. Even if we had camera footage, it wouldn’t help much with her wearing that mask. Besidesb, /bshe clearly came prepared to stay anonymous.”

I clenched my jaw, frustration simmering just below the surface. I wasn’t used to being curious about anyone, let alone feeling this strange mix of irritation and fascination. But something about her… it was like trying to remember a song you’d heard long ago but couldn’t quite ce.

For a moment, I considered asking the auction manager privately, offering him enough money to risk breaking confidentiality. But something stopped me–a faint ivoice /iin my mind telling me this wasn’t just about curiosity.

No, it was more than that. I wanted to know why it felt like she looked at me not as Adrian Westwood, the billionaire everyone either feared or envied, but as something else. Something bI /bcouldn’t name.

James was still looking at me, waiting for an answer I couldn’t give.

I let out a quiet, disappointed sigh, finally tearing my gaze from the empty doorway. “Forget it,” I muttered. “Let’s gob.” /b

As we walked toward the exit, I kept ncing back over my shoulder, half–expecting to see that sh of red and the glint of diamonds. But bshe /bbdidn’t /be back.

Outside, the air felt heavy, humid even though the evening had cooled. The noise of the city seemed distant, almost muffled bby /bthe bpounding /bbof /bbmy /bthoughts. b/b

bShe /bhad won, that much was obvious. And not just the car. For the first time in years, I had lost something and what unsettled me most who the lo Itsell, but the strange thrill it sparked in me.

James opened the car door for me, and I paused, staring at my reflection in the tinted window.

Why do I care so much?

As I slid into the back seat, I caught myself whispering,

James got in beside me, and the car pulled away from the curb. The lights of the auction hall faded behind us, but the memory of her bof /bbthat /bbdefiant /bstare and the soft scoff–burned brighter than ever in my mind.

But as I sat back in the car, the leather seat cool against my skin, my gaze drifted outside the window, lost somewhere beyond the blur of the moving scenery. My chin rested in my hand, and despite everything that had happened today, all I could think about was her–the maskeddy

Since the moment I noticed her presence in the hall, somethi

about her felt off… no, not off, different. Powerful. Her aura wasn’t something bthat /bbcould /bbe hidden behind diamonds and silk. Even with half her face covered, there was ba /bconfidence about her, something unspoken that made her impossible

to ignore.

And the truth was, that single fact stayed in my mind even more than the auction itself. Yes, I had lost today–and for the first time in my life–but what stung wasn’t just the loss of the car. It was knowing why I tost. Oddly enoughb, /bepting that helped numb the disappointment I should have felt.

The reasons were simple and brutally honest. I had miscalcted. I was focusing on the wrong opponent, my eyes locked on Damien Coleb, /bexpecting ba /bmove that never came. Meanwhile, the true challenger sat silently beside him, observing. And when she struck, it was swift, ruthless, and decisive.

Shepletely outmatched me.

And I won’t lie to myself about it. At every auction I’ve ever attended, once the bidding price passed fifty million, everyone else quietly backed outb. /bbI’d /bbuilt my reputation on that fact. Today, I even stretched beyond what I’d usually risk–eighty million–and stillb, /bshe didn’t flinch. Instead, she shattered my record with a single calm bid, as if it barely cost her a thought.

The truth was thereb, /bclear as day: we were not in the same league. And as painful as that was to ept, there was something else mixed in with my frustration–an odd sense of admiration, even curiosity

As I watched the road roll by, my reflection in the ss felt almost like that of a stranger. For the first time in a long while, someone had forced bme /bto look beyond my own pride and reputation. And now, that question kept echoing in my mind, louder with every passing second.

Damien iCole /iwas the only clue I had. He wasn’t sitting next to her by chance–that much I was sure of. They knew each other, perhaps even trusted each other. And as desperate or annoying as it might be, I knew what I had to do nextb: /bfind a way to speak to Damien Cole.

If he truly was flying back to Mexico soon, my window to act was limited. And yes, I hated the idea of approaching him, of seeming like I was chasing bafter /bthe answer–but I couldn’t ignore this. That woman… her presence had shaken something in me1 couldn’t exin.

I took a breathb, /btrying to steady my thoughts, when James’s voice broke the silence,

“Adrian.”

It snapped me out of my spiral, and I turned to look at him. He was scrolling through something on his phone, his face slightly pale, brows furrowed bin /b

concern.

“Yeah?” bI /basked, my voice steady despite the way my chest tightened.

“There’s… there’s some bad news,” he said, and for the first time, I heard something unfamiliar in his tone–hesitation.

My fingers curled into a loose fist. After the blow I’d just taken today, I wasn’t in the mood for more surprises, but James wasn’t bsomeone /bbwho /bbgot /bnervous easily.

“What is it?” I asked. My voice bwas /bquiet, controlled, but there was an edge to it.