Camelia waits patiently behind large black drapes.
She was the last one in line to be presented. Despite Stefan's earlier comments boosting her confidence, her nerves were in over drive quickly destroying her resolve at a spiraling rate. She paced back and forth, biting her lip in anticipation.
Clapping erupted as the last bid reaches $50,000 dollars. Camelia stops in her tacks, stiffening up as if she were struck by lightning. Her head begins to spin as her heart pounds loudly in her chest.
"Would the winner please step forward to claim your lady...?" The auctioneer asked, his loud voice reaching new octaves into the mic.
Involuntarily, Camelia's knees begin to quiver. Glancing down at her legs she resumes pacing again to keep the circulation moving. She notices her hands. They too were shaking slightly, she clenched them into fists, folding them under her chin, deep in thought.
She couldn't go through with it.
She needed more time. The announcer will have to give her name, running the risk of revealing her true identity. Camelia needed to stay anonymous and a mystery to Stefan long enough to buy her time. For what, she still did not know.
All she can confirm is It can't happen just yet and she needed to come up with a plan fast.
A firm squeeze to he shoulder makes her jump in place. She twirlers around to come face to face with Annie, her mother.  Their eye colorâ identical twin sets. India ink blue meets India ink blue. The only difference was they were framed by two distinguished hair colors. Light and dark.
"You look beautiful tonight Camelia, chin up and back straight, remember?"Â She reminds her in encouragement and provides her with a confident smile.
Her mother always had a gift that sensed the distress rolling off her as if they were sound waves. Those words always did the trick, ever since that day on her birthday, they always managed to remind her to be positive and believe she was capable of anything.
She straightens her back and raises her chin confidently.
"Miss. St. James, it's your turn now." The coordinator announced, pointing to the stage. The woman had her other hand closed over the ear piece as she listened to whoever was communicating with her.
"I need you to do one thing for me..." Looking at the young woman who looked no older than thirty with dark Caramel blonde hair and a name tag that read, Ashley. "Ashley...I'm not stepping foot on that stage unless the speaker omits revealing my name. It's important I stay anonymous. Before, during and after the end of the auction." Camelia gave her one of the most intimidating, unwavering stares she could manage. The very same ones her father used. The type of look that could cut glass.
"Can you make it happen because if not, I'm not going on that stage." She threatened. This time, Camelia wasn't backing down and relent as she had always done most her life. This time she was going to stay as stubborn as she felt.
"I-uh...quite frankly, I've never had anything like that asked before, but I don't see why not. One moment while I speak to the auctioneer. Don't move an inch. I'll be right back."
Camelia glances back at her mother witnessing the pride shinning in her eyes. "I'm going to go back out there, looks like you have everything under control."
"Yes, thanks mom."Â Offering her a reassuring smile.
Camelia waits as Ashley speaks through her ear piece and the device clipped on the cuff of her suit. Smoothing her sweaty hands along her hips, she takes a deep breath to calm her nerves. It was one the boldest things she had ever done. If it were possible to high five herself she would have.
Time is what she needed and buying herself the extra time allowed the outcome to work in her favor. It was of the upmost importance that Stefan not know it was her.
For now.
It was the only way she was going to get what she wants. And what she wanted was Stefan.
It was time to take measures into her own hands. Recognizing the need in his stare, his body language calling out to her was the undeniable answer she was waiting for. It was a sign, and she'd be damned if she was not going to try.
He was her prime target. Always had been and always will be. As the old adage goes...you want something done right, you got to do it yourself.
Camelia trembled with anticipation. If she did this there would be no turning back.
"Okay, I relayed the information and you should be good to go. The presenter loved the idea and the mystery of it. You're going to be the prime and most sought after out of all the ladies tonight!" Ashley informed her in delight, while clapping her hands in excitement. Camelia wished she felt as excited as Ashley looked. Instead she paled and felt her blood pressure drop.
That was not part of her plan.  She didn't want to be the most sought after lady of the night!
"The last young lady for this evening is our mysterious lady in red. She is the most unique of all the contestants tonight. The lady will remain a mystery to us all but one personâour lucky winner. I will however, say this...she is smart, independent, and loves a good mystery herself...will the lady please enter the stage?"
Smooth, real smooth, she thinks with a roll of her eyes. The man's voice wasn't loud and big for nothing. He could lie too.
Camelia took a deep breath and squashed her doubts. Standing tall, proud and confident as the Statue of Liberty, the heavy black drapes part, allowing a small path illuminated by the bright glare of the spotlight. Stepping forward, It took a few seconds to adjust her gaze as she walks slowly to where the auctioneer stands behind his podium.
Loud clapping and cheers came from the audience making Camelia blush hotly under her mask. Wolf whistles spread, piercing the air. Some people stood, mostly men, showing their approval.
All this was for her? She was dumbfounded.
Camelia had to admit, it felt good.  All these people suddenly helped her self-esteem sky rocket to new heights.  It made her feel bold and brave...beautiful even. Imaging she looked much like one of the contestants in the Miss Universe pageant.
True, it was nerve wracking to appear in front of a stage before so many but she had to remind herself it was for a greater causeâa greater good. This was not just about her, feeling instantly selfish.
Sometimes one must conquer their fear in order to achieve a purpose, she chided silently in her head.
She was conquering a weakness by taking a risk. Had she decided to run away like a coward she would lose. Sometimes people lose by taking risks but always lose more if nothing is tried. Camelia was proud of herself for once.
She kept her hands resting at her sides until she reached the blue X tape marked on the floor. When she stopped, she placed a hand on her waist and struck a pose mimicking what the models did in the magazines.
"Get your bidding paddles ready ladies and gentleman! I have a feeling this night is going to be a night we shall never forget!" The announcer voice echoed and bounced against the walls above the audiences clapping and murmuring.
Camelia began scanning the crowd and offered a small smile. A smile she did not quite feel.
Spotting her mother and father, they stood up and clapped with encouraging smiles. Her mother mouthed, I love you, and Camelia nodded back as her smile widens.
Fighting herself not to look, her eyes had a mind of their own as they flickered over the many heads roaming and searching until her gaze lands on Stefan standing in the very back wall with his arms crossed over his chest.  The hair on the back of Camelia's neck stood on end, and a tingle swept down her spine.
He was staring directly at her.
Once their eyes met, it was impossible for her to relax, not with him mere feet away.  There was just enough light coming from the countless crystal chandeliers dimly illuminating above the attendees to silhouette his strikingly sharp features. A dark frown marred the hard lines and sharp angles of his features. His strong jaw looked tense as if he were grinding his teeth together.
He was angry.
Internally, she was delighted that she got under his skin and hit a nerve. It was a simple solution really. If he wanted to know who was behind the mask, he'd have to do something about it. It was his turn to work for her attention not vice versa.
It was a little game of hide and seek. Either he loses or she does.
"Starting bid is atâ". The announcer spoke up but was interrupted.
"$100,000". A male voice shouts calmly.
Camelia breaks eye contact and shifts her head to the right, gasping in surprise. The gentleman was blonde haired and very handsome with a lightly trimmed beard. He smiles broadly and sends her a wink from behind his dark purple mask. She wanted to cringe up into a ball of embarrassment. It was the most outward attention she had ever pointedly received from a man.
"Well..." The speaker started and cleared his throat before continuing. "I have $100,000, do I have $150,000?"
"200,000!"Â Another shouted.
"$300,000!"
"$400,000!"
Camelia felt like she was going to get whiplash as her head kept focusing left and right as bids were shouted in every direction. It was beginning to make her head spin as a headache starts to form.
"$500,000". The dark blonde haired man from earlier calls out with a voice that executed absolute control and confidence.
A hush settles over the audience. The many men and woman were sitting on the edge of their seats in anticipation. It was like they were watching a show they couldn't get enough of.
"One million!"
The last one came from a familiar faint British accented voice and she smiles recognizing her father's Raven black hair and handsome strong features. He gives her a nod, raising his bidding paddle high to claim the one million dollar bid.
He sent her a small devilish smile as whispers rippled like a tidal wave over the audience. However, she was grateful for his support, disappointment crashes over her. She had this desperate hope Stefan would reach out to her somehow and try to place a bid.
He was the only man she wanted bidding for her.
Sparing him a single glance out of the corner of her eye, Camelia notices he barely moved from his brooding stance. The only thing she could clearly see was his lips set in a flat line.
He doesn't want you. The doubt whispered. He's here with a golden goddess, why would he?
Within a second she felt ashamed, embarrassed, and humiliated, the negatively swirling inside her head.
A knot twisted in her stomach and she felt herself pale again as the smile retracted from her face.  It took all her strength not to run back behind the drapes in shame. She was burning up on the inside.
She thought she had gained his attention. She started to believe again. The look in his desperate eyes said one thing and his actions reflected an entirely other purpose.
Again she was the fool. A hopeless romantic. She was gifted with an imagination that precedented her realistic expectations.
Camelia had a feeling It was going to be a very disappointing and miserable evening.
*****
He knew the presence of the mysterious lady in red marked a significant change in his life. Something inside him locked into place.
For the first time in months he felt alive. He had been living with emptiness for last few months, feeling it take bits and pieces of his soul. Like a ray of light, when he first laid eyes on her it was then a epiphany happened, leaving a sense of everything good and right, instantly depleting the aching loneliness inside him.
As his eyes memorized every aspect of her figure he realized just by looking at her she was his sun in the darkness. His lady in red was a beacon, his light that called out to him, her aura was bewitching, attractive and influencing his own feelings much like a flower blooming under the rays of the sun. Starring at her mended the ache that had constantly anchored him since his grandfather's passing.
He couldn't feel the hollowness in his chest anymore. How could this one mere girl make him feel so much in a matter of minutes?
When he touched her a overwhelming need overcame him, forging a surge of electricity through his veins. He could have sworn their souls touched.
A big part of his dilemma and mounting irritation was how she withheld her name from him. He disliked how she dodged his questions. It was pure desperation that insisted he try and unveil the woman behind the mask.
He watched her move down the runway with clenched fists, head immobile and her neck stiff and proud. Aside from the act she was nervous and trying very hard to hide it. A pretty flitting smile appears on her red plump lips. That too looked a bit forced.
Adding further to his growing anger was spotting all the hungry looking men wanting to win a dance with the dark beauty. He could well imagine his expression looked thrunderous. Stefan didn't know the extent of experience she had with men but he sensed it hadn't been much. The strong urge to go on stage and whisk her away from all the prying stares was becoming increasingly harder to hold at bay.
The muscles in his cheek twitched with every passing second.
Look at me, he urges telepathically.
The mask she wore reflected against the bright spotlight as she shifted her head. She was fighting the urge.
Stefan witnessed when she lost the battle and her gaze shifted toward him. His clear eyes clashed with hers, taunting her, challenging her to face him. Her gaze pierced his soul. He was utterly enthralled by herâwrapping him around every one of her fingers.
His eyes burned with a over consuming need to go to her.
You are mine.
A surge of possessiveness made him stiffen. Stefan takes a step forward then stops.
Stefan yearned to know how she would feel in his arms, taste her sweet luscious lips, spread open mouthed kisses along her pale soft skin.
He imagined hurrying across the ballroom, closing the distance as he dashed straight toward the stage and jumped, leaping swiftly and gracefully like a sleek Panther, determined to snatch her off stage before anyone staked their claim.
Once he had her, the first thing he would do was untie her mask and reveal what his eyes starved to see. Afterward he would run his hands through her long tumbling dark locks, imagining how silky it would feel spread all over his bare chest.
It made his fingers twitch uncomfortably.
"I want her, why pretend anything less?" He asks himself.
And Stefan had never wanted anything more in his entire life.
He tore his attention away from the stage and focuses elsewhere, his ears perking as he listened when the one million dollar bid is shouted. His gaze narrowed down to slits at the man and immediately recognized Julien St. James.
Stefan blinks in surprise.
His grandfather's best friend was married and his wife did not appear one bit offended as far as he could tell. Switching his eyes back to the mysterious enchantress he notices her smile widen.
A silent communication passed between the couple and the lady in question.  Stefan was confused by the closeness he witnessed and his patience was at a snapping point.
Did they know her?
"Stefan?" A voice calls out to him. "Stefan?"
He shifts his head towards the faint voice, irritated by the interruption. He was going to give that person a piece of his mind when he notices it was his date. Selena takes a step back as if afraid of him. "A-are you alright? Since we've been here you haven't sat down..." She declares tentatively.
"Yes." He replies, clearing his throat. "I was preoccupied with a phone call this entire time." He lies smoothly, offering a tight smile to ease her apprehension. "I will be right there, you go on." Dismissing her without seeming rude.
"I'm needing to visit the ladies room, I'll meet you at the table."
Without uttering another word, he nods curtly watching her retreading figure.
She was a block road in his plans.
In that very moment he regretted asking Selena, wishing he had come alone. It was disrespectful and purely insulting if he were to place a bid on the girl with his date only a short distance watching.
He was in the middle of a game of tug and war.
At one end, Selena was pulling him. While the other end stood his lady in red beckoning him with her fingers. Stefan hated weighing his options. He was determined to unveil the lady but he was bound tonight by another.
"What the hell am I going to do?" He murmurs to himself, fists clenched tightly along his sides.
He was running out of time.
******
"2 million." The blonde man countered back holding his bidding paddle. Camelia observes the handsome man stroke his lightly bearded chin.
The last thing in the world she wanted was to stand still and look pretty for all these strangers. She wished the floor would swallow her whole as a bout of nausea threatened to make her sick.
More bids were shouted, but she couldn't hear them, bowing her head. Her mental distress was rising, the emotions pounding against the edges of her mind were overpowering her self control.
A high pitch sound rang in her ears as the voices faded in the distance like rippling tidal waves. The feel of her heart beating like a sledge hammer against her ribs forced her breaths to come out too fast and too short. Her vision starts to blur, and she begins shaking like a leaf but by sheer will power she manages to pull on the positive energy from the deep recesses of her being and manages by some miracle to tune everything out and concentrate on herself. Shaking her head to clear the anxiety, she takes deep controlling breaths through her nose.
"....going once, going twice....Sold!" He shouts into the microphone.
Camelia snaps our of her near panic attack. Her attention is diverted back to the auctioneer who strikes his wooden gravel against the sound block signifying the end of the auction.
A deafening silence slices the air. The audience was too shocked, too speechless to even breath.
Too occupied to focus, battling herself from not collapsing, Camelia was left deprived of the important information. Who won? Not knowing sent chills down her spine.
She was lead into this auction blind and ended up even blinder to the reality of her position. She was completely and utterly stunned. A sense of doom washes over her.
"Congratulations young lady." The man says to her. "Ladies and gentleman have it be known this night is the second highest bid made in history. The largest donation made in a single auction was 5 million dollars....Now, will the winning bidder please come forward and claim your lady?"
Camelia looks around wildly searching the crowd. The audience break the silence and speak quietly amongst each other. Some covered their mouths with a hand, obviously trying to hide their gossiping.
It took only a few seconds until the man approaches. Both perfectly arched eyebrows shoot up towards her hairline and she blinks in surprise still not being able to comprehend how the auction ended nor could she believe the smile of the gentleman who came to claim her.
________________________________________________________________________
Thanks for reading everybody. Next up will be the big reveal. Who do you think is the winner?
Notice how Camelia differentiates from her mother Annie in the same scene? (His Duchess readers will understand this). Camelia is younger and inexperienced whereas Annie was older, wiser and more mature.  It's true what they say..with age, grows wisdom.
***For those who haven't read His Duchess, I recommend that you do. I promise it won't disappoint!***
Thank you in advance for voting, commenting and adding to your reading lists!
-Shaz