Chapter 42 William: Why hasn't she texted me yet?
Meanwhile, the people who had photographed William and Isabella outside had already posted the photos and videos online.
In an instant, the hashtag #William brings Isabella to the gala# shot to the top of trending—
"Mr. Brown actually showed up, and in a Bugatti no less!"
"I knew his date would definitely be Isabella!"
"Yeah, last time he went to the 'Voice of Heaven' live show for Isabella, and now after two years he's attending a charity gala again with Isabella as his date. Everyone knows what his intention is!"
"His intention is Isabella!"
"He just wants to bring Isabella out in public to piss off Amelia! Hahaha, am I right or am I right?"
"...Haven't you guys noticed that Isabella looks absolutely stunning today!"
Soon after, another hashtag appeared on the trending list—
#Isabella's black wedding dress#
"I almost forgot, Isabella only has six months left. The gown she's wearing this time is actually like a wedding dress, a black wedding dress. I'm crying."
"Right, Isabella must really want to marry William, but unfortunately there's still someone in the way!"
"Please, seriously, Amelia just get lost already. Can't you see that Isabella fainted last night from her intense schedule lately? But even so, she still wants to promote awareness for those sick children and contribute her love. Amelia, how can you even compare?"
For a moment, the praise for Isabella intensified, earning countless tears.
...
Inside the charity auction gala.
Jeffrey was looking at those online comments, absolutely furious.
"This is just ridiculous," Jeffrey said to Amelia. "I'm telling you, we never even invited Isabella!"
"How could a legitimate charity gala like ours possibly invite a homewrecker?"
"Look at what she's marketing out there! What wedding dress? It's disgusting! Our theme is clearly focused on raising funds for critically ill children, promoting awareness so more people can see these children's struggles, but now it's all gossip about her and William!"
Jeffrey grew more and more angry as he spoke.
Usually at these high-society galas, there's plenty of beauty competitions and relationship marketing, and as long as people actually donate money, nobody really minds.
After all, judge by actions, not intentions.
But Isabella's tactics were simply revolting.
A wedding dress, and that William, with everyone saying he's breaking all his rules for Isabella.
Are they acting like Amelia is dead or something!
"I've never seen a homewrecker act so brazenly!"
Amelia was grateful for Jeffrey's indignation on her behalf.
But there was nothing they could do.
Because Isabella carried a get-out-of-jail-free card—[Isabella only has six months to live].
As long as she had that, many things could be infinitely forgiven.
On the other side, William was also looking at his phone.
Scanning the hashtags on the trending list, William confirmed that the marketing campaign was in full swing outside.
So he opened his messages and checked.
No new messages from her.
William frowned slightly. Bad connection?
Last time after he and Isabella left the Brown Group together, Amelia had put on an act with Mia and Dash.
This time, bringing Isabella to the charity gala, what would her reaction be?
The message page was still stuck on the text he'd sent her—[Grandpa's condition isn't good, he wants to see you.]
He scrolled up, but still no messages.
His finger paused for a moment. William exited the conversation, but the next moment, messages started refreshing intermittently.
The network was working perfectly fine.
She just hadn't sent him any messages.
William's lips pressed together slightly.
"William?" Isabella beside him noticed something was off and called out to him. "What's wrong?"
William closed his eyes, put away his phone, and when he opened them again, his eyes had returned to calm.
He shook his head, but his hand hidden under the table clenched slightly.
...
Time passed slowly, with one auction item after another being presented and then purchased by buyers.
Donors could decide their own donation percentage, and the Adams Group's auctions liked to group all items with the same percentage together. So at this charity auction gala, except for specially marked items, all the auction items had a donor contribution rate of 70%.
Therefore, aside from the first antique used as a warm-up item at 50%, all other donation percentages were 70%.
This was an auction hosted by the Adams Group, and every item that made it onto the stage was worth a fortune.
Isabella watched item after item go up for auction without bidding, because they were all very expensive.
She wanted to show William that she was an independent person who used her own money, but she didn't want to hemorrhage cash either.
Finally, near the mid-show break, an item appeared.
"The next auction item is a tanzanite. The specific details... After evaluation, this tanzanite is worth at least 1 million dollars. Its..."
As the auctioneer spoke, the blue tanzanite was presented.
The lighting at the Adams Group's auction was perfect. As soon as this deep blue tanzanite appeared, it captured everyone's attention.
This tanzanite was of extremely high quality and absolutely beautiful.
As everyone looked at it, Amelia also glanced over.
This was the gemstone she had provided.
She had first sold it to Jeffrey, who handled the personal information processing before putting it up for auction.
From the moment she decided to come, Amelia knew she had to contribute something.
Because this was a charity gala.
If she just showed up without making any gesture, it would be hard to get past Oliver.
And this time, her goal was to win over Oliver.
Although this tanzanite wasn't as expensive as most auction items, it was decent enough and appropriate for her status as a rising artist.
And also...
Amelia lowered her eyes slightly.
This had once been the birthday gift she prepared for the child that was no more.
When she got this tanzanite, she had been so looking forward to the child's birth.
But now...
After learning that this charity gala's beneficiaries were sick children, she had taken out this tanzanite.
Consider it doing some good deeds for the child she had lost.
Hopefully it was doing well on the other side.
Under the lights, the deep blue gemstone sparkled brilliantly.
"This tanzanite has a starting price of 700,000 dollars, with increments of..."
As the auctioneer's voice fell, a paddle went up, with a number displayed on the accompanying board.
"Bidder number 888 bids 800,000."
As the auctioneer's voice rang out, everyone looked toward bidder 888.
The [888] bidding number wasn't something just anyone could get.
Then everyone saw Isabella holding up that paddle.