CHAPTER 52: CHAPTER 52

She looked down at her lap. Her hand was clenched into a soft fist.

"Starting bid: One million."

Her head snapped up.

One million...

She panicked silently. She had money but not enough.

She bit her bottom lip hard. Her eyes flicked to the stage, then to Leonardo, then back to the ring.

She couldn’t lose it.

Not this.

Not the last thing her father ever made for her.

But what should she do?

Isabella’s eyes went wide. Her heart dropped as she watched Alan raise his hand on Alexa’s command.

"One million," he said lazily.

The auctioneer echoed the bid loudly, and the crowd turned to look.

Alexa sat elegantly, her black gown shining under the chandelier lights. She didn’t even try to hide her smug little smirk as she tilted her head, eyes locked on Isabella.

She had seen Isabella reaction.

She knew and now she was doing what she always did–taking things just to make others feel small.

Isabella clenched the edge of her chair tightly. Her lips trembled slightly as she looked at Leonardo.

He was on the phone—expression serious, voice low.

He didn’t even glance her way.

She turned back quickly as someone else raised their hand.

"One million twenty thousand."

The auctioneer called.

The bids had started.

And her father’s ring was now just another trophy for the highest bidder.

Isabella’s stomach twisted. She could feel the burn of helplessness rise up her throat.

She quickly reached into her purse and pulled out her phone, checking her bank balance. Not enough.

She bit her lips again, pressing the screen like maybe somehow the number would change.

She looked toward Jay. He was laughing over something Casper said, not paying attention.

She didn’t know what to do.

She couldn’t just watch it go...

And Alexa didn’t even want the ring. She was only bidding because she saw Isabella reaction. That smirk said it all.

Isabella gritted her teeth.

Her father made that ring for her.

That was her last memory of him.

She wouldn’t lose it.

She slowly stood up. Her voice trembled, but she raised her hand. "One million fifty thousand."

The room turned. Some eyebrows raised.

Jay looked surprised. Alexa’s smirk deepened.

Leonardo looked at her, surprised by the longing in her eyes. Before he could stop himself, he said in a calm, unreadable voice—

"Two million."

The moment his words reached her ears, Isabella’s eyes lit up with a spark, as if someone had switched on all the stars inside them.

The entire hall fell silent for a second before the auctioneer confirmed it.

"Sold! To Number 19!"

Alexa’s expression cracked for a second, her pretty smile twisting into something tight and cold. Alan just shrugged, not interested enough to raise the bid. Casper and Jay exchanged a knowing look.

But Isabella—she could hardly breathe.

Her father’s ring... it was coming back to her.

She turned with hopeful eyes toward the assistant walking over with the small velvet box. But before she could even take a step—

Leonardo reached out and took the box first.

She stopped in place, confused.

He opened it slowly, the dark velvet holding the silver ring that shimmered softly under the chandelier, the initial "I" glowing faintly as if touched by light itself.

His expression didn’t change, but he studied the ring a little too long.

Isabella’s voice came out softly, full of hope—

"Can you give it to me...?"

He didn’t look at her. He didn’t respond. He simply closed the box and slipped it inside his jacket.

As if she hadn’t even spoken.

Her chest tightened.

She blinked, lips parting as if to speak again, but no words came. She just stared at the place where the box had disappeared, her eyes turning a little glassy.

Why wasn’t he giving it?

He bought it for her, didn’t he?

But Leonardo’s face was unreadable. His gaze had already drifted away, disinterested like always. He looked at the next item on the auction list without a single glance her way.

Isabella sat down quietly, clutching her hands together in her lap.

She was happy... and hurt.

She didn’t understand him at all.

Why was he like this?

And yet, her eyes still drifted to the outline of the box in his inner coat pocket like a piece of her heart was locked away right there, just out of reach.

"S-Sir..." Isabella called him softly, trying not to sound too desperate.

Leonardo looked at her with a raised brow, already guessing what she wanted.

He could read her face too easily now—those soft eyes, the way she stared at the ring box like it held a piece of her soul.

"What?" he asked, his voice calm but slightly amused.

Isabella nervously pointed at the ring box he just tucked away, and then... she did something unexpected.

She batted her long lashes at him. It wasn’t perfect. It was clumsy. Like she had seen it in a movie and thought maybe it would work. Just this once.

"Can you give me that ring?" she asked sweetly, trying her best to be cute.

Leonardo blinked. His expression shifted.

His face turned... strange.

His gaze darkened slightly as he stared at her fluttering lashes.

Who taught her that? he thought sharply. And why did she look cute doing it?

But the thought annoyed him.

"Don’t do that," he said plainly.

Isabella blinked again. "Huh...?"

"Don’t bat your eyelashes. That’s not cute."

His tone wasn’t mean but it wasn’t gentle either. Just flat. Cold. Dismissive. Like someone brushing off a silly thing that didn’t matter...

And in that moment... Isabella’s smile cracked.

Her cheeks burned, and her heart dropped into her stomach.

"Oh..." she whispered, her voice small.

She looked down, lips pressing into a thin line.

Of course. She should’ve known.

That stung more than she thought it would.

She wasn’t even trying to act cute... she just really wanted that ring. It wasn’t some expensive jewelry to show off. It was hers. Her papa made it. Her heart was tied to that ring more than she could explain in words.

But when he said "That’s not cute"...

It hit somewhere deep.

She didn’t realize how much his words affected her until now. Maybe she did want to look cute in his eyes. Maybe she hoped...just a little that he’d smile and give it to her gently. That he’d acknowledge her for once.

But instead, he scolded her like she was a foolish kid trying to act grown-up.

She whispered a small, almost soundless, "Okay..." and looked away, blinking fast.

Leonardo, on the other hand, looked at her for a second longer than necessary. Her reaction caught him off guard.

Why did she suddenly look... so hurt?

Did she really care that much?

He rubbed the back of his neck, annoyed at himself. His tone was too sharp maybe. And when she batted her lashes like that, she reminded him of those women who act cute for attention but now looking at her...

No.

She wasn’t like them.

There was no calculation in her eyes, just a soft kind of honesty.

And now she wasn’t even looking at him anymore.

Leonardo frowned, feeling a strange twinge in his chest.

He leaned back in his seat, silent, watching the next item be presented on stage. But his mind wasn’t there. It was on her. The way she looked down. The way her smile vanished.

And the ring in his pocket started to feel heavier than before.

However, he remembered how she had gone behind his back and complained to his mother.

The words she must have used.

The way his mother scolded him like a child—telling him to be a "real man" and take responsibility for his wife.

His jaw clenched again.

His gaze turned sharp, cold like winter glass.

No. He shouldn’t think about her.

He shouldn’t care.

She was the one playing innocent but talking behind closed doors. If she had a problem, why didn’t she say it to him?

In the end, he paid for the ring anyway.

Jay had already left with Casper and Zion, laughing and talking about going for a late-night milkshake. So, it was only him and her now.

And Isabella... didn’t speak.

She followed him to the car, sat quietly, and once the door shut behind her, it was like her whole soul dimmed. No excitement. No curious glances. No silly chatter.

Nothing.

As soon as they pulled out of the venue driveway, she took out her tablet and stared at it blankly, pretending to scroll.

But she wasn’t reading anything.

She was just... hiding.

Her fingers trembled a little, her shoulders curled inward, and her bottom lip was tucked in like she was trying not to cry in front of him. But she didn’t say a word. She didn’t ask about the ring. Didn’t mention it at all.

She was hurt and she was swallowing it down.

The ride was long and silent. Only the occasional honk or flash of streetlight entered the space between them. Isabella kept her eyes low, the glow of the tablet screen soft on her face.

Leonardo tapped his fingers on his thigh, trying to focus elsewhere. He looked out the window. Then back at her. Then away again.

Why wasn’t she fighting back?

Why wasn’t she asking for the ring like before?

Why did she look so... lifeless?

Something twisted in his chest but he didn’t say a thing.

Not even when she wiped the corner of her eye quickly, pretending to fix her hair.

Then, all of a sudden, something happened...