Chapter 4

The auction was packed with high-society figures, and Dominic Vance was there too.

He was seated regally in the center of a private box on the second floor.

Ethan, Chloe, and I sat in the front row, allowing me to clearly see that the first item up for auction was a piece by my mother from thirty years ago.

"…Madam Hayes was a renowned jewelry artisan during her lifetime. Her early works are cherished by collectors worldwide. Today, three pairs of her earrings are returning to the market…"

I bid frantically, but every time I made an offer, Chloe would raise the price, clearly trying to outdo me.

"Help me!" I shot Ethan a look. "You promised me! You said you'd get me whatever I wanted today, no matter the cost!"

Ethan met Chloe's eager gaze and softly refused me. "I agreed to help you bid on a gift to win over Dominic, but would Dominic even care about these earrings? Don't be silly."

My heart was burning with anxiety. I regretted that all my cash flow was tied up in company operations, leaving me no extra money for bidding.

In the end, Chloe successfully acquired all three of my mother's pieces.

"The wings on these butterfly earrings are too big. I don't like them." Chloe, with a flick of her wrist, cut the delicate gold filigree, and two gemstones tumbled to the floor.

I was stunned. "Are you crazy? How could you ruin perfectly good jewelry?"

"I bought them, so I can do whatever I want with them." Chloe cackled with glee, then broke and cut the other two pieces of jewelry, throwing them to the ground.

Whispers and snickers broke out around us.

"Chloe's just trying to get a rise out of her."

"Exactly. Eleanor's mother clung to her status as the legal wife back then, making Chloe an illegitimate child for years, and her mother a publicly scorned mistress."

"But now Chloe has really made a name for herself. Everyone knows she's Richard Hayes's favorite daughter. They say Ethan loves her, and once he marries her, Eleanor will surely be kicked out of the Hayes Group."

"Eleanor is truly useless. No money to participate in the auction, so she can only watch her own mother's jewelry be destroyed…"

My heart bled in that moment, watching the jewelry my mother had painstakingly crafted, day and night, being desecrated into garbage.

The auctioneer on stage presented the next item: "A Breguet Tourbillon timepiece from the early 19th century, starting bid one million…"

Dominic Vance on the second floor was the first to bid, immediately raising the price to three million.

It seemed he liked this watch. I instantly joined the bidding, going back and forth with him, pushing the price to twenty million.

Ethan's face beside me turned dark. Chloe, unaware of the situation, scoffed at me, "Don't pretend to be rich, you can't afford it!"

As Dominic bid a high price of thirty million, I directly shouted, "Whatever it takes!"

The entire hall gasped, shocked that I had the money to snatch something coveted by the billionaire Dominic Vance.

My next sentence pushed the atmosphere to a climax once more.

"I'm paying with Ethan Cole's card, and I'm giving this watch to Dominic Vance."

Everyone's jaws dropped as they watched me use Ethan's platinum card, instructing the staff to deliver the timepiece to Dominic Vance's box on the second floor, accompanied by a bouquet of red roses, a symbol of affection.

Within half a day, the news of me spending Ethan Cole's money to pursue Dominic Vance swept through the entire high society circle.

That evening, I was dressed to the nines. As I walked into the dazzling garage, Ethan rushed up to block me.

"Do you know what people are calling me now? They're calling me a humiliated cuckold! Spending money to help my fiancée get another man!"

I gave him a sidelong glance. "Better than being called a backstabbing scoundrel, isn't it? I'm actively taking the blame for the relationship, letting people think I'm the one cheating. Shouldn't you be on your knees thanking me?"

Ethan gnashed his teeth, forcing out a cold laugh. "You spent my money. Did *he* like it?"

The "he" he referred to, of course, was Dominic Vance.

I lit up my phone screen, shaking it twice in front of him. "See that? Dominic sent me a message ten minutes ago: 'Eight PM tonight, Grand Zenith Hotel, Room 8808.'"

Ethan's face instantly turned ashen.

I swaggered, patting his face. "What are you gawking at? Hurry up and drive me to my date with Dominic!"

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