Chapter 36: Jonas's Pursuit
One hundred million dollars was just the starting price, and all you'd get in the end was a chance to meet him. After hearing this, many people abandoned their plans to bid casually.
There were only ten spots available. Most people bidding on the first spot were just testing the waters. I figured the competition might get especially fierce toward the end, so I kept raising my bid and finally snagged the first invitation for five hundred and sixty million dollars.
Later, Lucas bought the third spot for seven hundred and seventy million dollars.
Michelle participated in every round, but gave up once the price exceeded four hundred million dollars. She probably figured that as long as Lucas could get Roger, it meant Byron would be saved.
The battle for the last spot was truly terrifying. The final price was nine hundred and forty million dollars. People marveled at the buyer's wealth, while others thought dropping so much money on what might be worthless paper was crazy!
After the auction ended, the ten buyers who won the right to meet Roger were told to go to the blue building in the northwest corner of the island at nine o'clock the next morning. Marcus and I discussed it and decided to return to the ship to rest for the night.
Lucas made the same decision. After all, the auction was over, Silver Eagle Auctions wouldn't protect the buyers' safety anymore, and the island environment was completely unfamiliar. Comparatively, the ship was safer.
Morning.
I walked out of the cabin onto the deck, stretching lazily in the sunshine.
There were more ships floating on the sea than I'd imagined. Overnight, some people had already left, while others chose to stay and watch the excitement.
I heard movement nearby and turned to see Lucas. His ship was next to mine, and he seemed to have come out to observe the other ships, too.
I ignored him and turned back toward the cabin.
Since buying the diamond crown yesterday, I hadn't spoken a word to Lucas.
Lucas treated me like I was invisible, too. Alfred said, "Mr. Valeri, it's Mrs. Valeri."
I heard Lucas reply from behind me, "There won't be a Mrs. Valeri anymore. You all should change how you address her."
At seven-thirty in the morning, we returned to the island. The auction house's chefs hadn't left yet and had prepared a lavish breakfast for the buyers.
"Good morning, Bella." Harold greeted me warmly. "Did you sleep well last night?"
"The waves were really rough in the first half of the night, and the ship rocked so much I couldn't sleep. Later, I got so tired that once I fell asleep, I didn't notice the rocking anymore," I said. "How did you rest last night?"
"Pretty well. Susan prepared sleeping pills for me, and I slept straight through till morning!" Harold said with a hearty laugh.
"Where's Jonathan?" Harold asked.
"He stayed on the ship."
Jonathan was nervously guarding the diamond crown, afraid someone might steal it or rob him.
Then I exchanged good mornings with everyone else, except Lucas. Lucas had his hands in his pockets, keeping his distance from me, looking like he had a chip on his shoulder.
Marcus complained to me quietly about Lucas. I tried to comfort him: "This is actually good. When we get back to Starstream City, we should be able to get divorced smoothly."
Marcus still frowned. "I hope so."
We waited at the dock for five minutes, but Michelle and Amelia were nowhere to be seen—they'd been invited to spend the night on the Thornfield family's ship. The person attending the auction wasn't Stephen, the one with the nickname "Ironblood Consigliere," but one of his favorite mistresses. Michelle was a good friend of this lady.
There was no limit on the number of people who could land on the island today, but they needed to verify the invitation. Lucas had to wait for them.
The Caldwell family was forced to wait, and I felt bad about leaving them behind.
The sea wind was blowing hard. I pulled my coat tighter and was about to suggest waiting in the restaurant when Lucas spoke up first: "Grandpa, Uncle Simon, you go to the restaurant first. I'll wait here."
Harold's good mood had been blown away by the sea wind. "I don't think those two care much about their son and brother!"
Lucas apologized guiltily. Harold knew there was no point getting angry at him, so he sighed and pulled me toward the restaurant: "Why should we wait for those two? Bella, you must be cold. Let's go to the restaurant and get something hot to drink."
Harold felt very guilty toward me now. Not just him—the whole Caldwell family felt sorry for me on Lucas's behalf.
Halfway through breakfast, Lucas walked into the restaurant looking upset.
Alfred and the other bodyguards followed nervously behind him. Amelia and Michelle were nowhere to be seen.
Harold frowned and asked, "Where are those two?"
Lucas was in a terrible mood. "They'll come to the island with Diana."
Diana was Stephen's mistress.
Simon asked in confusion, "I remember Michelle didn't buy an invitation last night?"
"Another buyer resold one to her," Lucas said.
"Then forget about them," Harold said coldly.
At eight-fifty, the buyers gradually arrived at Roger's residence, a blue building in the northwest corner of the vineyard, surrounded by layer upon layer of guards.
From the guards' attire, you could tell they came from at least two different forces. Rather than protecting Roger, it looked more like surveillance.
"It's Silver Eagle Auctions, Nighthawk Mercs, and people from the Langford family," Marcus quickly scanned the markings on the guards and whispered in my ear.
"Isn't the Langford family the one hunting Roger down?" I was a bit puzzled. Nighthawk Mercs seemed to be a mercenary group that had taken the contract!
Marcus was also confused; his brow furrowed tightly. "As long as Roger isn't bought, the auction house will keep protecting him. But once someone buys Roger today, he probably won't make it off this island."
"That would be terrible." I thought to myself that at worst we'd waste a few hundred million dollars, but we couldn't risk our lives.
"Bella!"
I heard someone call me and turned to see Jonas's smiling face.
"You're here too." I wasn't too surprised.
"Yeah, wherever there's valuable merchandise, there's me, Jonas." Jonas shook his head. "What a shame, though—this time I'm bound to lose money! If I'd known you'd be here, I would've tagged along on your invitation and saved myself that wasted money."
"Look at you, Jonas, trying to save money at my expense." I laughed and scolded him. "Whether it's a losing deal or not, we don't know yet."
Jonas also greeted Lucas, then joked, "You two are always together. Are you getting divorced or not?"
"Yes." Lucas and I said in unison.
Jonas's eyes lit up. "So that means I have a chance?"
Lucas instinctively frowned. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, I'm pursuing Bella." Jonas openly stated his plan. "Bella's so outstanding, there'll definitely be more and more men pursuing her in the future. I need to get ahead of the game and block the competition."
Marcus really appreciated him. "You've got good taste, man!"
I felt a bit helpless. "Stop joking around, Jonas."
"I'm not joking. As soon as you and Lucas get divorced, I'm going to pursue you with everything I've got." Jonas looked at me intensely.
"Don't you know she has a fiancé!" Lucas shouted angrily.
Jonas glanced at him. "You're the one who doesn't know anything. Jonathan has a lover he's been with for years. Bella and Jonathan have probably already called off their engagement."
Lucas froze on the spot.