Chapter 48 Auction
Rossie was the centre of attention at the auction that day. Although her appearance was not as spectacular as the other girls'.
The most eye-catching aspect of Rossie's appearance was the wild-rose brooch she wore on her chest. It was the work of renowned designer Kylie.
"It was a brooch by famous designer Kylie. I heard that a wealthy man bought the brooch directly from Kylie and gave her a blank check so that the designer could write the price herself. He said the brooch was a symbol of unconditional love."
"That beautiful woman is so lucky."
Lily watched Rossie quietly, then frowned. It was undeniable that she was unhappy because Rossie was getting attention.
"Damn! She's really using Mr. Dominic Cavendish!" Lily grumbled.
Daisy, annoyed by Rossie's charm, whispered to Lily. "I raised you like a precious gem. But why did you lose to that country girl?"
"Mom! I tried," Lily replied sadly.
"So what if Rossie is now in a relationship with Cavendish? Rossie will never marry him. He's a used man! Bryce will never take her back either. No one wants her!"
"Huh! Don't be so confident! Haven't you noticed that Bryce has been avoiding you lately?" Daisy sneered.
Rossie continued walking and moved further away from where they were sitting, almost reaching the front row. At that moment, Kelly felt nervous, especially after seeing Alex glance in Rossie's direction.
"Mom, is that country girl sitting there?" Kelly asked.
As Rossie got closer to the front row, Bryce looked in her direction, his heart pounding. But Rossie didn't care about him at all and headed straight for Dominic's seat.
Bryce furrowed his brow. He breathed heavily as he glanced at Rossie, who was several seats away from him.
"Wild Rose suits Rossie very well. So the tycoon who gave Kylie a blank check is Dominic," Alex muttered, deliberately provoking Bryce.
Bryce tried not to care.
"I'm really impressed with the way Dominic spoils Rossie," added Alex.
Bryce's blood boiled at this; his hands clenched and squeezed his pants. He thought he was the greatest person at fighting for something, like when he bought a necklace with a red heart pendant for Lily, but in reality, what Dominic did was even greater.
During the three years Rossie had been married to him, he had never once given her a gift, not even a set of clothes bought at a department store. But now with Dominic, Rossie seemed to have the world.
Bryce felt slapped in the face. His pride as a man had been trampled on. Now he compared Rossie when she was with him and Dominic, and the difference was vast. Anyone who saw them would think that it was only natural for Rossie to choose Dominic.
Soon after, the auction officially opened. Alex, the Thorne family's representative, immediately stepped forward to deliver the opening speech. At that moment, Kelly watched him with her mouth agape. She was completely mesmerized and dreamed of becoming Alexander Thorne's wife.
Applause echoed as Alex stepped down from the stage. He smiled cynically and glanced mischievously at Rossie.
Rossie stared at him coldly for a moment, then looked away. Bryce quietly observed them, and his expression turned gloomy.
Alex sat back down next to Bryce, crossed his legs, and interlocked his fingers to form a cone. He looked confident, and this.
"What you did to Rossie was inappropriate. This is in public, you shouldn't be looking at her like that!" Bryce warned him with a frightening glare.
Alex just chuckled at this. "Ha ha, what's the problem? Have you just realized that Rossie is charming and now you regret ignoring her?"
Bryce didn't answer, especially now that the auctioneer had started introducing the items.
Bryce didn't know much about antiques. He was only here to find a pocket watch with a dragon engraving for his grandmother's birthday. Therefore, he didn't respond at all to the flower-patterned vase that opened the auction.
Only a few people were interested in bidding, and the final bid was $1 million.
"One million once!" exclaimed the auctioneer.
"One million twice!"
"One million three times!"
Still no one had responded, until finally the auctioneer was about to swing the hammer to close the auction when a clear, soft voice was heard.
"Two million." Rossie casually raised her bidding paddle. Her bid surprised everyone.
Bryce glanced at Rossie and chuckled. He thought the price of one million was already too high. He thought Rossie was just a stupid girl who didn't understand antiques and wanted to waste Dominic's money.
"Five million!" Everyone turned to see Lily raising her bidding paddle high. Rossie couldn't stand it anymore.
"Six million!" Rossie raised her bidding pad again.
"Seven million!" Lily refused to be outdone.
Daisy began to feel nervous. She had never attended an auction like this before, so she was shocked by the vase's price. This was only the first item. They should have waited and seen what else was up for auction.
"Mom, should we participate?" Kelly asked Miranda in a low, almost whispering voice. She was a little unhappy that Lily was stealing the attention.
"We're family. Don't compete with each other." Miranda had attended many auctions and knew that the best items were usually saved until the end.
"Eight million." Rossie raised her bid board again. She was determined to win the vase.
Daisy's blood pressure was rising. She hadn't planned on spending that much of her budget on a birthday present for Mrs Johansen Senior. She felt completely overwhelmed!
"Nine million!" Lily got carried away, her eyes red as she raised her bidding pad again.
The audience began to get noisy!
However, Alex smiled slightly and muttered. "This is the first item up for auction, and it's not a valuable item. But the price has already reached this amount. I've made a huge profit! So, Bryce, should I thank the former Mrs. Johansen or the future Mrs. Johansen?"
Bryce clenched his fists. His lips pursed into a thin line, and his face darkened like a storm was coming.
"Lily, don't be influenced by Rossie. Nine million for a vase is too high." Daisy tried to remind her daughter. Her palms were sweaty from thinking about the money being wasted.
Rossie smiled cynically. It looked like she was about to raise the auction paddle, but she held back.
"Nine million! Sold! Congratulations to Miss Lily Jones of the Jones Group on her first auction purchase."
Lily smiled, her face flushed with triumph. She was so proud of having beaten Rossie, that disgusting woman.
However, Daisy's heart felt broken. Her face froze, full of wrinkles. Unbeknownst to them, Darren was quietly monitoring the situation on his cell phone from outside the auction room.