I Dropped The Bidder To Keep My Empire Chapter 02
The applause went on and on. The charity auction was over.
Ashley Ashworth wore that bloodline tiara on her head and paraded through the ballroom on Derek Channing’s arm.
My three childhood friends—the guys who’d grown up with me and sworn to protect me forever—were busy fending off drinks for Ashley.
Derek made his way through the crowd and stopped in front of me.
“That tiara is Ashley’s seat at the table,” he said. “You’re already a Vance daughter. You don’t need one piece of jewelry.”
“It’s just an old thing. Be the bigger person.”
“If that old thing ends up with an outsider tonight,” I said, looking at him, “what will my grandfather think of me? The Vance heir can’t even protect her own mother’s heirloom?”
Derek’s brow tightened into a knot.
“All you ever talk about is advantage. Inheritance, shares—is there anything else in that head of yours?” When I didn’t answer, his voice dropped lower. “You’ve got ice water in your veins, Sierra. You’d be fine on your own. But Ashley wouldn’t.”
“If I didn’t give her that tiara tonight, the Vance elders would see that she’s lost all her power. She’d get thrown out.”
I looked down at my feet.
He didn’t know the fight for the Vance inheritance was already in its endgame.
My father couldn’t have been more clear.
Either I passed tonight’s evaluation and proved I had absolute control.
Or he’d marry me off to that disgraced second son of the Li family in exchange for the Channing Group’s capital.
I’d wanted to go all in on the last three years.
But that one bidding war shattered every fantasy I had.
Ashley picked up her skirt and ran over, leaning her whole body against Derek.
“Derek,” she said softly, tugging at his sleeve, “I want to go say hi to your parents.”
“I’m scared I’ll say something wrong. Can you teach me, Sierra?”
She turned her head, her eyes wide with fake innocence. “Sierra’s been working the Vance family connections so hard. Her whole desk is covered in lists of what every CEO likes—when they smoke, what they drink. She’s got it all memorized.”
Then she covered her mouth on purpose.
“I’m not saying she’s scheming… I just think she works so hard.”
The society wives nearby changed their expressions.
“She calculates every little detail? That Vance girl is way too calculating.”
“Well, she was raised outside. That kind of hustle is all she knows.”
The gossip rained down on me like snow.
That list was my grandfather’s assignment. He wanted me to memorize every habit of the Harbor Heights elders. It was for the Vance family’s future.
Derek had even praised me for being thorough back then.
But now he looked at me with nothing but disgust. He didn’t say a single word in my defense.
Ashley tugged on Derek’s sleeve again. “Did I say something wrong? I’m not good with words like Sierra is…”
Derek touched her hair. “Don’t worry about it. Your sister has plenty of tricks. She’s not going to hold a little thing like this against you.”
Then he led Ashley into the center of the crowd.
My name drowned under everyone’s contempt.
I stood there, frozen, like I’d gone back three years.
To that winter night when I first came back to the Vances.
I was the only heir by blood, but I waited like a beggar for that door to open.
That was the night I met Derek.
He put his coat over my shoulders and said, “Sierra, from now on, I’m your rock.”
Now his rock belonged to someone else.
I set down my wine glass and pushed open the heavy terrace door.
The cold air hit my face. I breathed in deep.
My grandfather was coming back from the city in three days.
What happened tonight would definitely make its way to him, twisted beyond recognition.
I stood on the terrace for a long time before going back inside.
Landon Kline blocked my path. “Sierra, don’t go looking for trouble in front of Ashley.”
He was watching me with guarded eyes, thinking I was going to fight for that tiara.
Landon was the first person who reached out to me after I came back.
He’d seen my name on a sponsorship list at the orphanage.
Back then, he was getting pushed around by his own family. I sent him my scholarship money in secret and helped him survive the hardest year of his life.
Later, when I returned to the Vances, I used every connection I had to help him take control of the Kline family.
I thought we were ride or die.
But now he protected Ashley like she was made of glass.
I turned to step around him.
He grabbed my wrist. “Be smart. Derek already made his choice. If you make a scene now, you’ll just embarrass the Vances.”
“Let go.”
I tried to pull my hand free. But Ashley glanced our way, and he tightened his grip.
The force threw me off balance. I tumbled down the stairs.
My right knee hit the floor with a crack.
Pain shot straight through my skull.
Landon stood there, stunned. “You didn’t have to play the martyr. You’ve got everything since you came back to the Vances. Ashley only has Derek.”