Chapter 75

ELORA'S POV Two days had passed since the auction, and I hadn't had a moment to breathe. Work became my main focus, my excuse, my escape. If I wasn't busy sketching designs, I was busy doing research and creating ideas with Lucas. Anything to stop me from thinking too much. My apartment had turned into a place I visited. I went home late at night when exhaustion made my limbs too weak, only to leave again before the sun fully spread across the sky. My apartment felt cold, but it was better than facing the thoughts that clawed at me whenever I was still. It was almost noon when I heard a knock on my office door. “Come in,” I called in without looking up from the sketch book in front of me. But I knew it was him without looking. Lucas stepped in, his usual smile already spread across his face. “You've been locked up here all morning,” he said, slipping his hand into his pockets. “How about lunch?” I raised my brows. “You mean like a group lunch with the staff? Sure. I'm starving anyway.”