Chapter 283 Isn't That Marital Fun?
"Where are we going?" Thalia asked.
"There's an auction tonight."
"I'm going with you?" Thalia was confused. If the two of them showed up together at this kind of public event, the news media would break the story before tomorrow even came.
William had an agenda.
Was he planning to reveal her identity?
Thalia's mind raced, thinking about how to refuse. "I need to get up early tomorrow morning. I want to go back and rest."
William saw right through her. While putting on his suit jacket, he pulled open a drawer and tossed her a catalog with all the items from tonight's auction.
"Turn to page seven."
Thalia obediently flipped to it and immediately spotted the necklace.
A whole piece of clear jade that looked valuable from every angle.
This thing could be worth a building.
"A gift for me?"
William glanced at her. "You spend every day hoping I'll die, and you still expect me to give you jade?"
Thalia said, "Isn't that just married couple banter?"
"What kind of good wife spends every day hoping her husband dies? I don't want that kind of banter."
"Just tell me! Are you giving it to me or not?"
"If you don't, I'm not going."
She was all about being practical. She wasn't so idle that she'd just spend every day keeping a man company.
"Zephyrine will be at the auction tonight. I heard she wants to bid on this necklace as a birthday gift for Mrs. Carter."
"This jade is worth at least a hundred million dollars. Does she still have money to spend on these things?"
"Whether she has money or not, she has to try. Mrs. Carter calls all the shots in the Carter family. As one of her many children, Zephyrine definitely wants to get benefits from her, and she can only get them by making her happy."
"And everyone in the Carters knows that Mrs. Carter has a special love for jade. Today's piece is a rare whole jade, so Zephyrine will do whatever it takes to get it."
"To please Mrs. Carter?" Thalia asked.
"Something like that."
Whenever Thalia heard about a girl having to scheme and plot to please her own parents, she felt grateful. Grateful that Hayden was already dead. Otherwise, she'd be just like Zephyrine now, racking her brains every holiday to figure out what he liked, then using all her connections to get it and give it to him.
How pathetic.
If someone has to live their whole life in the shadow of pleasing others, that's just too stifling.
What's the point of living?
Emerald City was full of heiresses living stifled lives.
Thalia tossed down the catalog. "Let's go!"
"You'll go now?" William raised an eyebrow.
"If I don't go, you'll definitely be unhappy, and then you'll think of ways to torment me."
William didn't want to admit it, but that was true.
Every time he suffered any grievance with Thalia, he'd compensate himself in another way. He couldn't let his spirit be crushed while his body got no satisfaction, right? That would be too pathetic.
The auction was held in a vintage garden estate with extremely high privacy. The parking lot elevator went directly to the private boxes.
The space between each box was huge.
The first floor was the public area, and the second floor was where only people of high status could go.
The boxes on the second floor were numbered one through ten. William's status made him tonight's big shot, directly occupying box number one.
Thalia had attended many such events with Hayden before. When Hayden was Emerald City's richest man, they also usually ended up in box number one.
"Where's Zephyrine?"
"Number eight." William picked up the pot and poured her coffee. Thalia took it and sipped it absently.
"Does Kurt know? Why hasn't there been any reaction?"
"At his age, even if he's going to make a scene, he won't do it in public. They'll deal with it behind closed doors. But just because you don't see any damage to their relationship on the surface doesn't mean they're actually fine." William understood Kurt. Behind the title of Emerald City's top industrialist was also the reputation of being a good husband.
The couple hadn't fought in all these years, hadn't even had any scandals. Career achievements made the marriage, and the marriage also made the career.
It was a relationship where they prospered together or fell together. Who would be stupid enough to destroy that harmony?
William lowered the curtain in the box. There was a screen inside showing a live feed of what was happening downstairs.
Thalia rested her chin in her hand, watching the people below introduce the auction items. She only sat up a bit straighter when they got to the seventh item, waiting to watch William's performance.
"You're planning to compete with Zephyrine?" she asked.
William replied, "She'll definitely want this jade. I'm just here to make her pay more for it."
"Zephyrine's been quiet since last time. Finn's been watching the people on the list, and none of them have been threatened or had any large bank transactions. So it looks like she's not short on money right now. But what if she pays a high price for this jade?"
Thalia gave William a thumbs up. "William, you are really something."
Last time, William had a chance to act, but because Thalia was involved, it was hard to resolve.
But next time would be different.
"Next, we're auctioning an item obtained from a famous collector—a whole piece of jade. The entire jade is crystal clear, without a single cut mark anywhere on it. It's a rare masterpiece."
"Starting bid: twenty million dollars."
As soon as the host finished speaking, Thalia blinked at William, who immediately operated the screen.
"The guest in box number one bids fifty million dollars."
"Sixty million dollars."
"Eighty million dollars."
William bid again. "One hundred million dollars."
"The guest in box number eight bids one hundred and ten million dollars."
Once the price hit a hundred million, most people stopped.
Only William kept pursuing. "One hundred and fifty million dollars."
"Mrs. Lowe, this price is already beyond what we can afford," someone beside Zephyrine reminded her.
But after thinking for a moment, Zephyrine still decided to raise the bid. The hostess of the Carter family loved jade. If she could make her happy at her birthday party, what she'd gain would be worth far more than one hundred and fifty million dollars.
Zephyrine raised her paddle again. "One hundred and sixty million dollars."
Thalia looked at William and asked, "Are we still bidding?"