Chapter 20: Love, Sold
Cora stared at Julian in disbelief.
What did he just say? He’d let her see Matt?
He couldn’t possibly mean it.
But before she could question him, the quiet hum of an engine filled the courtyard.
A black sedan rolled to a stop in front of the chapel, its polished surface gleaming under the morning light.
The door opened.
The man who stepped out made Cora’s breath catch—familiar figure, familiar eyes.
Her world froze.
“Matti!”
Her voice cracked with joy and heartbreak. Tears blurred her vision as she stumbled forward.
He had come back. He was really here.
She would tell him everything—the mistake, the confusion, the trap. She would beg him to take her away.
As long as they were together, she could face anything.
But just as she was about to reach him, Matt flinched—physically stepped back, as though her touch burned him.
Cora froze.
The reaction was so small, but it hit her like a knife.
Julian stood a few meters away, silent, watching. His expression unreadable.
“Matti… what’s wrong? Did Julian threaten you?” Cora asked anxiously, taking a step toward him.
Matt shook his head too quickly. “No… no, of course not.”
His eyes darted everywhere—anywhere but at her. The confidence, the warmth she’d known for years were gone, replaced by something small and nervous.
This wasn’t the man who’d once promised her forever.
“Matt,” she whispered, “look at me.”
He didn’t.
Julian undid the button on his jacket and began to walk toward them. The subtle shift in his posture made Matt shrink even further.
Cora spun around and glared at Julian.
“What did you do to him?”
Julian stopped a few steps away, his voice calm but sharp.
“What could I possibly have done? You wanted to see him, didn’t you? I simply… made it happen.”
Matt swallowed hard, words tumbling out awkwardly. “I—I don’t know why you wanted me here. What’s going on?”
Cora frowned. What’s going on? He didn’t know?
Julian’s tone turned almost playful.
“Nothing complicated. I just wanted to know—how much is Cora worth to you, Mr. Miller?”
Matt blinked, stunned. “What?”
Julian held out a hand, and Austin stepped forward with a checkbook.
“Cora… she’s priceless to me,” Matt said hastily, voice trembling.
Julian tore a page from the checkbook. “Fifty thousand.”
Matt froze. His mouth opened, but no sound came out.
Julian signed, calmly. “No? All right. One hundred thousand.”
Cora’s breath hitched.
Her pulse thundered in her ears.
Matt’s gaze flicked to the check, then back to Julian. His lips parted again, but no words came.
Julian smiled faintly, the curve of a predator’s amusement. “Still not enough? Two hundred thousand.”
The number hung in the air like a blade.
Cora’s stomach dropped.
She turned to Matt, desperate, pleading with her eyes.
Matti, no. Don’t do this. Don’t even think it.
He had told her their love was beyond price—that no amount of money could ever replace what they had.
He’d said they would build a life with their own hands.
But the look on his face now—
That wasn’t love. It was hunger.
Matt’s pupils dilated. His breathing quickened.
Two hundred thousand. He’d never seen that much money in his life.
Slowly, he began to walk toward Julian.
Cora’s knees nearly gave out.
Her face went pale as paper.
Julian didn’t move, didn’t even blink.
His voice was smooth, almost casual.
“I’m giving you a choice, Mr. Miller,” he said. “You can marry this woman right here, right now… or you can take the money and leave. Oh—” he added with a faint smirk, “and the Bentley you’ve been eyeing. That’s yours too.”
Matt froze, then looked up sharply.
His eyes—once warm, familiar, full of dreams—sparkled now with pure, naked greed.
Cora’s heart shattered with the soundless violence of glass breaking.
She had lost him—not to time, not to misunderstanding, but to the price tag Julian had placed on her love.