Whispers of Destiny: His Belated Love

At first, Hogan thought he had mistaken someone else for her. When Rosemary walked in, he only caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye and wasn't sure.

Now he was sure it was her, "The moment you walked in, I thought you looked familiar. Turns out it really is you."

He plopped down on the stool next to her, legs spread wide in a carefree pose, "Checked out the catalog yet? See anything you fancy? I'll snag it for you." All content © N/.ôvel/Dr/ama.Org.

Each seat had a catalog on it, detailing the auction items of the day. Rosemary was about to speak when the frosty voice of Maxwell cut in, a comment begging for a punch, "Mr. Abbott, I believe you're in the wrong seat."

Only then did Hogan notice Maxwell's presence; he raised an eyebrow, "Rosemary, who's this?"

The two men locked eyes across the space - one brazen and bold, the other cool and collected.

Maxwell's eyes were a deep abyss, his arm casually draped over Rosemary's shoulder in a possessive gesture, "I'm her husband."

"Husband? You got married?" Hogan was out of the loop during the media interviews. He glanced at Maxwell's hand on Rosemary's shoulder, his face suddenly souring as he swiftly grabbed her arm, his voice low and tense, "When did you tie the knot? You once said you'd marry me."

Hogan was Rosemary's classmate, schoolyard bullies. His dad had strong-armed him into the military, turning the schoolyard bully into an even more domineering soldier.

His emotions surged, and his words came out more like barks. Rosemary was dumbfounded by his words, "What?"

When had she ever agreed to marry him?

Back in high school, they were classmates, and in college, they attended the same university. Hogan was straightforward, loyal, and protective. She and Stacey were at each other's throats daily, both headstrong. Initially, their paths rarely crossed until their homeroom teacher, aiming for better grades, paired them up. She was tasked with tutoring Hogan.

Two months to boost his grades by fifty points, that was the teacher's order.

A nerd and a bully together were like oil and water. They fought plenty at first. Although Hogan was rough, he had a rule against hitting girls. Rosemary, on the other hand, didn't hold back. Any time he slacked off, she'd let him have it, and she didn't go easy on him.

After a while, they ended up buddies.

Hogan, with his sharp features and domineering personality, insisted, "The night before I left for the military."

Rosemary struggled to remember that night, but it was a long time ago, and they had been drinking. Hogan rambled on for over three hours - who could remember if any weird promises were made amidst that?

Maxwell gripped Hogan's hand on Rosemary's arm, "Mr. Abbott, please conduct yourself with decorum."

"It's okay; marriages can end in divorce."

Their voices rose almost in unison.

Maxwell's grip suddenly tightened, a stark contrast to his touch on Rosemary, his fingers white- knuckled and unyielding on Hogan's wrist. His gaze was deadly, the chilling aura like a knife

pressed to Hogan's throat, "So eager to be a homewrecker, huh? You're really doing your ancestors proud."

Hogan, the king of playing dirty, had few rivals, "No worries, I'll just get in line. Once you're done, I'll make my move. Looks like things between you aren't great anyway - probably won't be long."

Maxwell's menacing eyes fell on Hogan's face, their grips silently battling, a stalemate in the making, "You won't get the chance."

Just as Hogan was about to retort, the auctioneer, dressed in a cheongsam, gracefully took the stage, signaling the start of the auction. Pearl, who had been chatting with others, came over too, and Hogan had to swallow his words, rising and gesturing a phone call to Rosemary, "We'll be in touch."

Everyone in the venue had taken their seats, and the auctioneer had begun the introduction. With Rosemary's identity as Mrs. Templeton now public, the majority of the crowd was fixated on her, curious to see the kind of woman who had captured the cold-hearted patriarch of the Templeton family.

Hogan stood at a towering six-foot-two, his presence next to her drew even more attention. So even without looking back, Rosemary could feel countless eyes on her. Under these circumstances, all she could do was nod.

As Hogan walked away, Maxwell shifted his gaze to the stage as the first auction item was presented. His voice cold, "Mrs. Templeton, you sure know how to play the field. Even mimicking those promise games?"

"Me and Hogan are just friends. Cut the sarcasm."

Maxwell let out a half-smile, "Friends? Your guy bestie?"

Rosemary glared at him, "Even if he is, it's none of your business."

"You're my wife. If I can't have a say, then who can? Or perhaps there's someone else you'd prefer to listen to?"

"As long as I'm happy, I'll listen to anyone but you."

Maxwell withdrew his gaze from the displayed jewelry and leaned closer to Rosemary's ear, "Don't provoke me, unless you want to put on a show of our 'loving' marriage for the other esteemed ladies here."

She forgot Maxwell was shameless! Rosemary turned her head, searching the audience for Victoria. Without Maxwell's invitation, she wasn't sure if she'd been able to get in.

There weren't many people around, and as Rosemary scanned the crowd, she finally spotted Victoria in the very last row at the very end. As Rosemary looked over, Victoria looked back.

Rosemary raised her eyebrow at her, and Victoria's lips visibly dropped.

Tsk. Judging from Victoria's temper, after such an embarrassing scene, she would have likely stormed off. But not only did she stay, she even entered the auction hall and got a bidder's paddle, apparently dead set on winning something.

As the auction progressed and items were sold off one by one, the moment came for an emerald bracelet. Victoria raised her paddle to bid.

The bracelet had got some killer translucence, super clear, and it wasn't going for peanuts - the bidding started at a whopping half 100 grand.

The price shot up from the starting bid of 120 grand, all the way to 820 grand before it started to chill out. Rosemary glanced over and caught Victoria with a face tighter than a drum.

"820 grand going once, anybody wanna go higher? 820 grand going twice..."

Victoria's lips curved ever so slightly, her face screaming relief.

Rosemary raised her paddle.

"870 grand," the auctioneer's voice was all rise and fall, really amping up the mood.

Maxwell gave her a look, "Dig it?"

"Yeah," Rosemary rested one hand on her cheek, casually waving her bid number with the other.

Victoria raised her paddle again, this time slamming down extra 100 grand straight up, clearly hell- bent on getting it.

Maxwell said coolly, "Doesn't suit you."

Sure, it had got great translucence, but the color was too old-fashioned, not exactly fitting for a young gal like Rosemary.

She tilted her head, and gave him a cheeky wink - all playful, but the words that came out were anything but, "I want it anyway."