The Breaking Point of Mate: Giving Up on My Alpha novel Chapter 85

Chapter 85

Third Person’s POV

After he spoke, his eyes swept across the crowd before drifting toward the front row, carrying a trace of hesitation.

It wasn’t a challenge. It felt more like… confirmation.

Camille finally drew her brows together, leaning closer as she murmured to Archer, “Maybe… we should just… let it go?”

Fifty million had long since crossed the line of reason.

The hall fell into complete silence, every pair of eyes locked on the quiet, commanding figure at the center of the front row.

“It’s fine.”

Archer chuckled softly, his tone gentle–almost indulgent. “Didn’t you say your grandmother liked it? Go ahead and bid.”

In that moment, the sweet orange scent of Camille’s pheromones seemed to lift, an instinctive reaction, as if she were soothed by the Alpha’s public approval.

Without hesitation, she raised her paddle again, her voice crisp and assured.

“Sixty million.”

A barely perceptible stir rippled through the room.

Evander followed immediately, his tone deliberately light. “Seventy million dollars.”

After placing his bid, he turned toward Archer, his voice half–serious, half–playful, as if testing territorial boundaries.

“Alpha Archer, the elders back home adore antiques like this. Mind doing me a favor?”

Archer met his gaze, his expression composed, lips still curved in a polite yet distant smile.

“My apologies, Alpha Evander.”

His voice was low, but carried an unyielding finality that left no room for argument.

“My family… has elders who appreciate such things as well.”

He said my family.

Not the elders of the Haines family. Not Camille’s grandmother. But those he personally acknowledged as family within his own pack.

The single phrase landed like an invisible brand, casually placed upon Camille.

Melanie and Gillian heard it clearly.

That vase was meant for Camille’s grandmother.

Yet in Archer’s definition, Camille’s grandmother had just become “one of his family“.

The implied sense of belonging stood in almost cruel contrast to his distant attitude toward Melaule and the Willis family

Camille did not hesitate again.

“Eighty–five million.”

This time, Evander did not follow.

At last, the auction hammer fell. The antique vase sold for eighty–five million.

Chapter 85

+30 Bonus

The room’s attention–envious, cautious, reverent–quietly shifted toward the Alpha seated beside Camille, who had never raised his own paddle.

On the surface, Camille had won.

In truth, Archer had secured the victory for her.

Yet as the applause faded, Camille’s fingers tightened unconsciously.

A near–hundred–million–dollar price tag strained even the Haines family.

And she knew perfectly well-

Archer’s original ceiling for her had been one hundred million.

She had merely taken it upon herself to push the number slightly lower.

It was a lingering trace of caution within her–as a woman, as the favored one.

At the thought, a secret warmth stirred in her chest.

It was the security of being indulged by the Alpha, permitted to stand beneath his protection.

“Fuck…”

Gillian muttered under her breath beside Melanie. “That’s almost a hundred million.”

She wasn’t wrong.

The combined bids for the two items were already nearing that mark.

This wasn’t just envy.

It felt more like being crushed under something immense.

Melanie pressed her lips together and said nothing.

Gillian tilted her head, studying her cautiously. “Melanie… are you okay?”

To her, Melanie’s pale complexion seemed like the obvious result of Archer’s now blatant favoritism toward Camille.

And Camille happened to be the daughter of a woman tangled in Melanie’s mother’s sordid past.

That layered history alone would drive most female predators mad.

But that wasn’t what truly bothered Melanie.

“He’s rich. How he spends his money isn’t my concern.”

Her voice was unexpectedly calm.

She paused before continuing.

“What matters is… if they want the same pieces I do, my finances simply can’t compete.”

It was the truth.

Not jealousy. Not resentment. Just the brutal reality of unequal resources.

Gillian froze, then nodded slowly. “Well… true. But she’s already bought two pieces. Surely she won’t bid again?”

Melanie didn’t answer.

Chapter 85

+30 Bonus

Because she understood better than anyone-

With Archer’s wealth, spending another hundred million tonight on three or four pieces would be nothing more than mild. entertainment.

Just then, the lot Melanie had been waiting for was carried onto the stage.

An oil painting.

Starting bid: five million.

“Six million,” someone called.

Melanie raised her paddle. “Seven million.”

Her voice wasn’t loud, but it carried clearly.

Only then did Camille seem to notice her.

She turned toward the sound, their gazes meeting briefly across the room.

Her expression revealed nothing. She merely tilted her chin slightly before turning away again, as if confirming something long predetermined.

“Ten million.”

Melanie’s heart sank.

If Camille recognized her voice, there was no way Archer hadn’t.

Yet he didn’t turn around.

Not even a flicker of hesitation.

“Holy shit…”

Gillian nearly bit out the words. “She’s actually bidding?”

Evander raised his paddle again. “Ten and a half million.”

Melanie pressed her lips together. “Eighteen million.”

Carnille didn’t even glance back.

“Twenty–five million.”

As if toying with a plaything, she casually pushed the price to an unnecessary height.

Melanie’s fingertips turned cold.

“Twenty–eight million,” Evander countered.

Melanie drew in a steady breath. “Thirty million.”

That had always been her psychological limit.

Bidding twice in succession after Evander, she could almost feel the subtle weight of surrounding stares

Evander finally looked toward her.

His gaze lingered for a moment before he lifted a brow, offering an ambiguous smile.

Melanie responded with a polite nod.

Chapter 85

+30 Bordes

Then-

“Forty million.”

Camille’s voice fell again.

Like a muted thunderclap.

Melanie clenched her fists.

Her budget collapsed silently within her mind.

Thirty million. Forty million. Fifty million…

For a fleeting, absurd moment, she considered selling the villa Archer had given her. It could fund several more rounds of bidding.

After all, it had been a “casual” gift from him.

But Melanie knew better than anyone that the painting wasn’t worth that price.

It wasn’t that she lacked the ability to be reckless.

She simply didn’t have the right.

In the end, Melanie folded.

“Should we… call Archer?” Gillian whispered.

Melanie had considered it, of course.

And she already knew the answer.

He wouldn’t make Camille back down for her.

Even so, Melanie pulled out her phone.

The moment the call connected, her heart skipped.

Across the room, Archer felt the vibration and slipped his phone from his suit pocket.

Camille happened to glance at the screen, noticing the unlabeled number.

“Who it is?” she asked casually.

Archer smiled but didn’t answer.

The next second, he pressed decline with precise finality.

That last shred of hope was extinguished by the cold, metallic click of disconnection.

Melanie’s mind went blank.

“…He didn’t even answer,” Gillian muttered, cursing, under her breath.

Melanie said nothing. She simply slid the phone back into her bag.

And in that moment, she understood with brutal clarity-

In this silent territorial war, she had been stripped of even the right to be answered.