Chapter 214

"See that?"

The camera finally tilted up to focus on the face of the person in the private box.

Just like the previous times, he wore a golden mask that covered his entire face tightly, revealing nothing.

Cruz was startled by this bizarre appearance. He frowned and cursed under his breath, then turned to look at Olivia, his eyes questioning her, You made me miss the chance to see the diamond just to look at this mask?

Olivia couldn't explain much to him, so she just turned her head away, ignoring his questioning gaze.

Cruz grunted and told the woman to turn the camera back to the auction stage.

In the end, that green agate gemstone was bought by William for nearly three million dollars.

Watching the item being delivered to William's box, Cruz felt even more heartbroken, almost grinding his teeth to dust.

He silently vowed to himself that once Michael calmed down and was willing to unfreeze his card, he would definitely ask Michael to find out who this William really was, and he'd get that diamond even if he had to pay extra!

The items that followed were also nice, but since none of them matched Cruz's taste, he felt down for a while.

As for Olivia, her mind was racing because that person really was William, so she didn't pay much attention to the rest of the auction.

Until that pink diamond with a starting bid of over seventy million dollars was pushed onto the display stand.

Even through the screen, Olivia could hear the suppressed gasps from the venue.

The diamond sparkled brilliantly under the laser lights, perfectly cut, radiating the crystal-clear quality that only natural diamonds possess.

"Mr. Johnson." The woman's voice on the phone was trembling slightly. "You've been quiet all evening. Were you waiting for this diamond?"

Cruz's brow furrowed into a knot, his expression awkward and uncomfortable, looking terrible.

Fortunately, he had never been on camera, so the woman couldn't see his expression. Otherwise, she would probably have understood, forget about this pink diamond—he couldn't even afford the cheapest item here today.

At this moment, people at the venue had already started bidding one after another.

Cruz watched with an unbearable itch in his heart, but he didn't have a penny, making him so anxious he kept scratching his head.

Just then, a hand gently patted the back of his hand twice.

Olivia mouthed to him, "Bid."

At first Cruz didn't understand what she meant. He frowned in confusion and asked back, "What?"

Not wanting the person on the phone to know there was someone else in the room, Olivia leaned close to Cruz's ear and repeated in a low voice, "Bid."

A flash of shock like lightning streaked through Cruz's mind.

His whole body tensed up, and for a moment he was so shocked that even his hair seemed to stand on end.

After a long while, he slowly turned his head, frowning as he stared at Olivia, "Are you kidding me?"

Over seventy million dollars, not seventy bucks.

But Olivia's expression remained calm, her face showing no emotional fluctuation. Only her hand resting on Cruz's shoulder tapped twice, indicating he hadn't heard wrong.

"I don't have money." Cruz said in surprise.

Even though he lowered his voice, the woman on the phone still heard, "Mr. Johnson, what did you say?"

He immediately pressed his lips together, staring at Olivia and shaking his head repeatedly.

Olivia leaned down close to Cruz's ear and whispered, "If no one else bids and the item goes to you, I'll pay for it."

She spoke calmly and composedly, but these words hit Cruz's ears like an earthquake.

First, she seemed very certain that someone would definitely bid higher, and the item definitely wouldn't end up in Cruz's hands.

Second, where did she get so much money to be able to say something like that?

Could it be that Michael loved her so much that even before marriage, he'd already given Olivia control of all his assets?

Cruz's mind raced with speculation. The woman on the phone lost her patience, "Mr. Johnson, are you planning not to bid on anything tonight?"

Though her words were polite, the implication was questioning Cruz, Can you not afford anything here anymore?

People in their profession as auction agents lived off the commission from clients purchasing high-priced collectibles.

If Cruz didn't buy anything tonight, she would have worked the whole evening for nothing. No wonder she was getting anxious and her tone was deteriorating.

"Who says?" Cruz was indeed provoked into anger. He raised his voice and said loudly, "This pink diamond—I'm bidding on it."

After speaking, he glanced uneasily at Olivia.

She pulled up a chair and sat behind him, looking composed with a calm gaze, appearing completely confident no matter how you looked at it.

Cruz was also infected by her demeanor and gradually calmed down, indicating to the woman that she could start bidding.

At first, there were still seven or eight people bidding. As the price started being measured in hundreds of millions, the number of bidders obviously decreased.

In the end, only Cruz and William were still bidding against each other.

And the price had gone from one hundred million to two hundred million dollars.

Not just Cruz, even the woman bidding for him broke out in a cold sweat, "Mr. Johnson, maybe we should just forget it."

Since this auction house was established, she had never seen such a high auction price.

Cruz also looked at Olivia trembling, swallowing as his throat rolled, his eyes asking for her opinion.

The woman's thin lips pressed slightly together, her eyes narrowed slightly. After pondering for a moment, she shook her head slightly, indicating he should continue.

Cruz had no choice but to answer, "Continue."

As soon as he finished speaking, William's box lit up again, followed by the host's exclamation, "William from Emerald City bids three hundred million dollars."

The whole venue gasped.

Cruz's legs went weak and he nearly slid off the sofa.

Fortunately, at this moment Olivia said in a calm voice, "No need to bid anymore. But we have a request."

"What request?" Cruz asked.

"Let our person deliver the item to the box personally. I want to see what this Mr. Brown really looks like."

Although the auction house had no such precedent.

However, if Cruz's side hadn't bid so aggressively, this pink diamond wouldn't have sold for the highest transaction price in the auction house's history.

So when the woman representing Cruz made this request, the organizers only hesitated briefly before agreeing.

Several hostesses accompanied the woman to William's box. To avoid drawing attention, she deliberately placed her phone in an inconspicuous position in her shirt pocket.

The door opened. The moment she saw Byron walk out, Olivia's breathing froze—that guess was about to come true.

"I'm the person who was bidding against Mr. Brown earlier. I'd like to deliver the item to Mr. Brown personally. May I?" the woman asked politely.

Byron turned to look into the room. A low voice came from inside, "Let her in."

At this moment, Cruz suddenly whipped his head around, looking at Olivia in surprise, "You knew all along?"

That voice was clearly Michael's!