Chapter 4

Celeste called him with trembling hands, her voice hoarse as she asked, "Did you release those photos?" On the other end, Damien let out a cold laugh. "Didn't you enjoy making open bids? "If you don't want others to see those photos, you'd better get over there and bid on them one by one until you've had enough!" he said cruelly. Ophelia's sickly sweet voice could be heard in the background. "Damien, is that Celeste calling? I... I should leave. I shouldn't stay by your side..." "Don't talk nonsense." His voice instantly became gentle, followed by the sound of intimate kissing over the phone. "I've already stood up for you, so don't you dare try to leave again." The call eventually ended. Feeling as if she had fallen into an icy abyss, Celeste immediately rushed to the auction venue. The moment she pushed open the door, her whole body started to tremble. The room was full of men, and her intimate photos were being shown on the large screen. There was her sleeping profile—he had said it was adorable and specially saved it. There was her silhouette while bathing—he had coaxed her into letting him take it, saying he could look at it when he missed her. And there were photos of her naked body covered in love bites on the bed, which he said were proof of how he expressed his love for her. The men's lustful gazes clung to Celeste, and their comments pierced her ears like knives. "That figure… My, my, Mr. Ashford is truly blessed." "I heard Mr. Ashford used to love Mrs. Ashford deeply back in the day. How is he now selling his wife's intimate photos?" "He got tired of her, obviously. These wealthy wives may look glamorous on the surface, but behind the scenes..." Each comment stabbed into Celeste's heart like a knife. She suddenly remembered how possessive Damien used to be. The year they vacationed on an island, she wore a backless dress. When some men gave her more than a few glances, Damien immediately dragged her back to the hotel room. He pressed her against the floor-to-ceiling windows, coaxing her to say the words, "Celeste belongs to Damien." Yet now, he had personally sold her intimate photos for these men to ogle for the sake of another woman! She bid on them one by one, and with each raise of the bidding paddle, her heart grew colder. By the time she finished bidding on the last photo, her love for him was completely exhausted. As she walked out of the auction house, her phone rang. "How did it feel making all those open bids? Enjoyable?" Damien's voice carried mockery. Celeste gripped her phone tightly, her nails almost digging into her palm. "Aren't you afraid I'll divorce you for doing this?" His tone was very flat, as if talking to a child who didn't understand. "You can't divorce me, Celeste. Without my signature, this marriage can't be dissolved." She remained silent. He had indeed forgotten that she had a divorce agreement in her possession that he had already signed. Hearing nothing but her silence, Damien's tone softened. "Today was just a small lesson." He paused. "I told you, as long as you don't target Lia, I'll return to the family after some time. "Your birthday is in a few days. I'll throw a party to make it up to you." Celeste was about to say "no need," but the call had already been hung up. Over the following days, she saw Ophelia's social media posts almost daily. The latest one was a photo of Damien holding her on a yacht, with the caption: "I said I wanted to see the ocean, so he bought me an island." Scrolling down further, there were even more posts. "Even though he's allergic to cat fur, he got me a Ragdoll!" "His phone gallery is full of my photos! Hehe." A week ago, Celeste would have been heartbroken to the point of suffocation. But now, she felt utterly numb to it all. Damien had been staying at Ophelia's place recently, only occasionally coming home. He hadn't even noticed that things were disappearing from the house. He probably wouldn't even notice if she disappeared.