I Accidentally Got Auctioned for a Date… My Best Friend Bid $5,000 to Win Me
Chapter 3
Lucas had not expected to see Mia at the charity auction.
He had certainly not expected to see her being auctioned.
And he had never imagined that Noah Carter would be the man who bought the date.
Lucas stood in the shadows, watching them leave.
His jaw tightened.
He had spent the last year telling himself he was over Mia.
But seeing Noah touch her arm had awakened something ugly.
They had been together for three years.
Then Lucas cheated.
Mia discovered it.
She ended the engagement.
Lucas expected her to eventually forgive him.
She didn’t.
For months, he sent messages.
Flowers.
Apologies.
Promises.
Mia ignored almost all of them.
Noah had been there through every part of it.
Lucas hated him for that.
He hated that Noah knew Mia better than he did.
He hated that Noah had been the person she called when everything fell apart.
And now Lucas realized something.
If Mia was going to move on, she wasn’t moving on with a stranger.
She was moving on with the one man Lucas could never compete with.
Her best friend.
The following morning, Mia woke up to dozens of messages.
Her friends had already seen videos from the auction.
One message read:
“YOU AND NOAH??? FINALLY!”
Another:
“Girl, five thousand dollars???”
Mia threw her phone onto the bed.
She couldn’t believe the story had spread so quickly.
Then Noah texted.
Dinner tonight. 7 PM. Don’t wear black.
She smiled.
Why?
Because I said so.
That’s not an answer.
Trust me.
She stared at the screen.
Trust him.
She always had.
That evening, Noah picked her up.
He had arranged dinner at a small restaurant overlooking the river.
No cameras.
No crowds.
No auction.
Just them.
Mia looked across the table.
“This is strange.”
“What?”
“We’ve eaten together hundreds of times.”
“Not like this.”
She smiled.
“You’re right.”
They talked for hours.
About college.
Their first apartments.
Their worst dates.
The things they had never told each other.
Eventually Mia asked:
“Why me?”
Noah looked confused.
“What do you mean?”
“Why did you fall for me?”
He smiled.
“Because you were the first person who never cared what I had.”
Mia frowned.
“What did you have?”
“My family.”
She knew his family was wealthy but had never asked about it.
Noah continued.
“People always wanted something.”
Mia listened.
“You never did.”
He reached across the table.
“You just wanted me.”
Mia placed her hand over his.
The moment felt almost too quiet.
Then Noah’s phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
His expression changed.
“Who is it?”
He stood.
“I’ll be right back.”
Mia watched him walk outside.
She couldn’t hear the conversation.
But she could see the tension in his face.
When he returned, he looked different.
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re lying.”
Noah sat down.
“Lucas called.”
Mia’s smile disappeared.
“What did he want?”
“He wants to meet you.”
“No.”
Noah nodded.
“I figured.”
But Lucas wasn’t going to take no for an answer.
