Chapter 33 Can You Afford It
"Ariadne!?" Crystal exclaimed in shock.
She exchanged a glance with Catherine before turning her gaze to Xander, who was looking at Ariadne, his face expressionless. He looked at Ariadne from head to toe. She wore a one-shoulder blue gown with her dark brown hair loosely open. She looked absolutely stunning. Adrian, Autumn, and Tiara were all there with her, posing for photographs on stage.
"What's she doing here? Is not this a gala for the world's top businessmen?" Margaret said with displeasure.
She gave an expression as if she had seen a dirty beggar. Her gaze moved to the children.
"She even brings her bas.... kids with her." Margaret changed her words as Xander gave her a look.
Aaron looked longingly at the children. It was his first time seeing them. The stage was brightly lit, but the surrounding area was mostly dark. After a few clicks, Ariadne looked in the other direction, near the stage, and Zidane's parents joined them. They all posed together, like a family.
"Oh....so they have come with the Watson family. Smart."
It occurred to them.
"Of course, she's the CEO, so it's expected that she will accompany them." Crystal said in a mocking tone.
Catherine gave her a knowing smirk. Xander furrowed his brows at Crystal as he observed their exchange. However, she gave him a coquettish smile in reply.
After a while, the Watson family finished taking photos, and Xander and the others climbed onto the stage. Everyone's attention was immediately drawn to them. When Ariadne noticed them, her gaze fell on Xander, who was already staring at her. He averted his gaze to Gerald Watson, who approached him with a smile.
"Mr. Blake. I was looking forward to meeting you today. It's a pleasure." Zidane's father shook his hand and began a conversation.
Others seemed to avoid Ariadne and instead engaged in a conversation with the Watson family. On other occasions, Crystal would have come to greet Ariadne in front of Xander to act as a nice woman. However, after the mall incident, Crystal began to show her displeasure with Ariadne openly in front of him. Only Aaron looked at them with a smile. Ariadne gave him a nod before leaving the stage with her family.
After a brief conversation, the Watson family also left the stage. Aaron, Emma, Crystal and Catherine posed for photographs while Xander stood with Margaret. After a while, Margaret and Xander joined them. Finally, Xander and Crystal posed for a couple's picture. They went to the building after the photoshoot.
They entered a hall and were greeted by a large crowd of all the invited businessmen and the brand owners. Everyone had come with their families and additions. The hall was beautifully decorated. However, it was not the auction area. It was an entertainment area intended to keep the guests engaged until the auction began. Entertainment programs were taking place on the stage at the center of the hall. There was food on the left side of the hall, along with a bar. On the right side, there were some statues. A large area behind the stage was draped with a curtain. There were also seats to sit on.
As Xander and his family entered the hall, several business families approached to speak with them. They took drinks from the waiter and began talking. Xander looked around the hall and spotted Tiara with the kids in the food section. However, there was no sign of Ariadne. After a while, Xander excused himself and exited the hall through a side door leading to a garden. There were several benches in the garden. He decided to spend some time alone, so he sat on one of the benches and lit a cigarette.
In the hall, everyone was spread out. It was like a party. Tiara and the kids were also roaming around the hall. Ariadne left them shortly after they entered the hall to finalize the details for the auction.
"Hello, kids." someone spoke from behind them while they were looking at some statues in a corner.
They turned to see a middle-aged man.
"Do you like this statue?" the man pointed to the statue they were looking at.
"I like this one." Autumn pointed to a fairy statue.
She replied innocently, without thinking that the person was a stranger. Adrian, on the other hand, frowned as he carefully observed him. They had never met with this man before.
Tiara cleared her throat. "Kids, do you know who this man is?"
"No." Adrian said, looking sharply at Aaron.
"He's your grandfather. Your mother's dad."
Aaron was taken aback by Tiara's words, as he hadn't expected her to introduce him to the children.
"Really?"
Adrian and Autumn's eyes widened with shock. Tiara nodded at them.
"Wow... we have got so many relatives here." Autumn said enthusiastically.
"My name is Aaron Miller and I am your grandfather. What's your name?" Aaron smiled at them with affection.
"My name is Autumn and he is Adrian. Why didn't you come see us?" Autumn pouted.
Aaron's face fell at the question.
"Forgive me, dear. I was.... busy at work. I will pay you a visit soon." he touched her head, his eyes moistened.
"Dad?"
When Aaron heard the voice, he turned to look at Ariadne. She just happened to be returning from her meeting with the organizers, at that time.
"Oh, Aria. I just came to meet with your kids. They are adorable." he smiled.
Ariadne noticed that his eyes were moist.
"Granddad promised to visit us at home." Autumn chimed in from behind, making Aaron stiffen.
He turned and looked at the child. He couldn't stop smiling as Autumn addressed him as granddad.
"Oh really. That's great." Ariadne smiled at Autumn before turning to Aaron. "You are welcome to visit them, Dad." she couldn't bring herself to break Aaron's heart, so she agreed.
The old man was visibly relaxed after hearing that.
"Aaron." an irritating voice came from behind, stopping Aaron to say anything.
They all turned to see Emma with a scowl on her face.
"What are you doing there? Come here." She said with a fake smile.
She was with a group of women, some distance away from them. Aaron felt guilty and looked at Ariadne. However, she stopped him before he could say anything.
"It's okay, Dad. We are fine. Go and accompany them." Ariadne said calmly.
It no longer affected her because she had no expectations of any of them, and she made sure to teach her children the same. They also had no expectaions from anyone other than their family of six.
After a while, Ariadne needed to go again to speak with the organizers because the auction would begin soon.
.
As the party progressed, Crystal, Emma, and Catherine joined Margaret and interacted with the most prominent families in the hall. They didn't even glance at Ariadne and her children, as if they didn't know them at all.
"Where is Mr. Blake?" a lady from a royal family asked.
"He has gone outside for a while. Actually, he doesn't like crowded places. He will be back before the auction." Crystal said, posing as a loving partner.
"I see. You understand him very well. Beauty with brains... Mr. Blake is lucky to have you." the lady praised.
"Thank you."
Everyone congratulated Crystal on her engagement to Xander. Everyone wanted to have a conversation with Xander. However, as he was not present in the hall, they all spoke with his mother and fiancé instead. In noble society, only the most powerful and successful people received attention. Others were totally ignored.
"Attention, ladies and gentlemen." a woman entered the stage and addressed all of the guests. "Now it's time to take a look at the items up for auction today." she added pointing to the side of the hall, which was covered by a curtain.
At her signal, the curtain lifted, revealing a line of 30 boxes.
"Please, take a close look at the items. The auction will begin shortly. Thank you." the girl said before leaving the stage.
The boxes were illuminated with lights, and each contained a product. The items were kept there, but no brand names were mentioned.
Everyone headed towards the boxes to look at the items. However, Tiara remained in the food section with the children, unconcerned, eating their food.
"Look at these beggars.... gobbling foods like there is no tomorrow." Margaret said, casting a scornful glance at the three of them.
They were also going to see the items. But when they saw Tiara and the kids eating carelessly, they stopped in front of them. While others were excited to see the items, they paid no attention.
"Of course people like them don't get a chance like this everyday.... free food." Crystal said as she glanced at the foods.
Aaron and Xander were not with them, so the four women had complete freedom to mock them.
"Oh, common, Crystal. They can't afford anything here. So free food is their only option." Catherine remarked.
"Yeah, we were starving for a decade, you know? Today is our chance to eat." Tiara winked at them with a big smile.
The kids giggled.
"But why it's bothering you? It's not like you are providing the food here." Tiara raised an eyebrow at them.
"What a shameless girl! Let's go. Don't waste time on these people." Emma said before dragging others towards the boxes.
"I would like to see your faces at the end of the auction." Tiara muttered with a smirk.
.
After a while, the woman announced that it was time for the auction, and the guards escorted the guests to another place. As the hall became nearly empty, Tiara and the kids went to look at the items.
They looked at the items from other brands as they knew which ones were Autumn Collection products.
Adrian told Tiara that he needed to use the restroom. As Autumn wanted to stay in the hall, Tiara told a guard to keep an eye on her and left for the restroom with Adrian.
While looking through the boxes one by one, she came across one with a beautiful pendant inside. Her eyes glowed when she saw the product. She knew it was an Autumn Collection product as she designed it. It was her first design, and Ariadne put it up for auction.
"Do you like it?" someone asked from behind.
Autumn turned and saw Crystal. She was smiling at her, which caused Autumn to smile back.
"Yes. Do you think it's beautiful?" She asked excitedly, not noticing their smirk.
"Of course, it's beautiful. But the reality is, can you afford it?" Crystal smirked as she asked.
While the other three women beside Crystal laughed mockingly, Autumn looked at them with her doe eyes, perplexed.
"I don't want it. It's for...."
"Of course, you don't want it." Crystal cut her off as she bent down to her level. "Because you already know that you can't afford it."