Chapter 36
Sophia nervously grabbed Amelia's hand, her nails digging into the flesh, as if Amelia was spending her money.
"Amelia, stop bidding! That's over ten million dollars! We could buy several villas with that!"
Amelia stared at Matthew. Since he was wearing a mask, she could only see Matthew's indescribable eyes. From his expression, he didn't seem angry that Amelia was competing with Mia, but he didn't seem to encourage her to go against Mia either.
What was Matthew really thinking?
Since he didn't say anything, Amelia decided to see the bidding through to the end!
Although there was a lot of money in the bank card, compared to the three years of youth Amelia had wasted, it was nothing! In other words, the money in the bank card belonged to her, Amelia, and she could spend it however she wanted!
"Sophia, you're underestimating my husband. Ten million dollars is nothing to him! I really like this blood ruby. Spending ten million dollars to buy a gemstone I love and contributing to charity - why not?"
Sophia frowned in distress.
"But ten million dollars is an astronomical amount to me!"
She really wanted to tell Amelia, if you don't care about ten million dollars, why not just give it to me!
Amelia raised her hand, her voice firm and her eyes confident and determined.
"Eleven million dollars!"
She had checked the bank card - there were several more ten million dollars in there. Mia was welcome to keep competing!
Mia had already used up the money Matthew gave her. She was both unwilling to give up and didn't know how to ask Matthew for more support, so she put on an act of being a good wife and mother.
"Matthew, I don't want this gemstone anymore! Even if I could win the bid, I'd feel bad spending so much of your money! As long as you're by my side and stay with me until the end, I'm completely satisfied! As for the gemstone, let Amelia have it!"
Matthew touched Mia's hand affectionately.
"Mia, marrying you is the greatest fortune of my life!"
Mia felt disappointed!
She thought Matthew would speak up and continue supporting her to compete with Amelia!
Although she tried her best to hide it, her face still showed some displeasure.
The auctioneer finally announced, "This blood ruby has been won by this beautiful Miss for eleven million dollars. Let's all give her a round of applause and thank her for making an outstanding contribution to our Emerald City charity!"
The room erupted in applause.
Sophia grabbed Amelia's hand excitedly. "Bidding is so thrilling and fun! But it's a game for rich people - people like me can only watch!"
Having won the gemstone, Amelia didn't want to watch Matthew and Mia show off their affection anymore, so she stood up.
"Sophia, it's getting late. Let's go home!"
Just as she and Sophia left their seats, she suddenly heard Matthew's cold voice, "Twelve million dollars!"
Amelia was shocked. What could make Matthew bid so high!
She turned around and saw it was a Jesus statue, 1.5 feet tall, carved incredibly lifelike.
Matthew was bidding on this statue to give to Mia, to pray for her and protect her.
No wonder Matthew didn't support Mia in competing with Amelia - he had already set his sights on this statue. How thoughtful of him!
Amelia couldn't help muttering to herself. "If I had a terminal illness, would you bid for me?"
As soon as she asked, she already knew the answer. Matthew would never care about her like this!
"Amelia, what are you saying?" Sophia asked, confused.
Amelia pulled at the corner of her mouth with a forced smile.
"Nothing!"
Suddenly, another familiar voice rang out at the auction.
"Fifteen million dollars!"
Amelia was surprised, thinking, Jeremy is here too?
Amelia looked in the direction of the voice and found a pair of burning, affectionate eyes gazing at her. Amelia's face couldn't help but flush.
Although the person was wearing a mask, Amelia recognized him as Jeremy!
Amelia quickly avoided Jeremy's gaze, lowering her head shyly.
Matthew was determined to win the statue and immediately turned to find his competitor.
When he saw Jeremy and Amelia making eye contact, the muscles in his jaw immediately tensed, and his fighting spirit was instantly ignited.
"Twenty million dollars!" Matthew's voice was cold and oppressive.
Jeremy countered, "Twenty-five million dollars!"
Matthew's cold eyes flashed with a challenging glint.
"Thirty million dollars!"
Jeremy pursued relentlessly. "Thirty-five million dollars!"
A sinister smile curved Matthew's lips.
"Forty million dollars!"
Mia asked unhappily, "Matthew, what's so special about this statue that you'd spend so much money bidding on it?"
Matthew said gently, "I want to give it to you, to bless you through this hardship and free you from illness!"
Mia immediately brightened up, her disappointment at losing to Amelia vanishing instantly.
"Matthew, you're so good to me!"
But then she said insincerely, "Didn't I just say that as long as you're with me, I'm completely satisfied! I don't need the statue."
Matthew gently stroked Mia's chin, gazing at her affectionately.
"I'll be with you, and I'll give you the statue too!"
"Matthew, I love you!"
Mia shot Amelia a challenging glance, then hugged Matthew's waist tightly.
If Matthew wasn't wearing a mask, he wouldn't have let Mia hug him.
Amelia tried her hardest to ignore them, but they were like flies on her eyelashes - impossible to shake off.
After thinking for a moment, Jeremy chose to continue.
"Forty-five million dollars!"
Matthew raised one hand and shouted dominantly, "Fifty million dollars!"
The two men chased each other, the price climbing all the way up to one hundred million dollars!
The whole room was in an uproar.
"They're not trying to get the statue - they're clearly competing with each other!"
"One hundred million dollars has already broken the auction record for this statue!"
"Who are they? They're spending so much money!"
Matthew continued to cast challenging and contemptuous looks at Jeremy. The auctioneer's hammer hung in mid-air.
"One hundred million dollars once!"
"One hundred million dollars twice!"
Jeremy rubbed his chin, looking disappointed. He wanted to give this statue to Amelia, but Matthew was like a man possessed and wouldn't let go!
The Wright family's resources were still far behind the Moore family's!
After weighing the pros and cons, Jeremy had to give up.
He stood up and walked out of the auction hall dejectedly.
The auctioneer's hammer finally fell hard.
"This mysterious gentleman has won tonight's Jesus statue for one hundred million dollars. Let's give this gentleman a round of applause to congratulate him and thank him for his outstanding contribution to our charity!"
Amelia's eyes quickly swept over Matthew and Mia, and she said softly, "Sophia, let's go!"
The two came to the parking lot when Jeremy suddenly ran over, took off his mask, looking disappointed.
"Ms. Martinez, I wanted to give you that statue as a gift, but unfortunately Matthew got it! In terms of assets, I admit the Wright family still has a gap with the Moore family."
Amelia smiled casually.
"Thank you for your kindness! But even if Mr. Wright had won it for me, I wouldn't dare accept something so expensive!"
Jeremy stared at Amelia intently. "Ms. Martinez, a woman as beautiful and elegant as you deserves any treasure!"
Sophia stood beside them with mixed feelings. Why does Amelia get all the good things in the world? Amelia's husband is very rich, and now there's another very rich man pursuing her! So enviable!
Jeremy's words were sincere, and Amelia felt very embarrassed, her face turning red.
"Mr. Wright, Sophia and I need to go. Good night!"
With that, she grabbed Sophia's hand and quickly got into the car.
"Ms. Martinez..." Jeremy wanted to say a few more words to Amelia, but she ran away too fast.
In the car, Amelia's mind kept replaying the image of Matthew and Mia embracing, and her heart hurt as if stabbed by a knife.
"Amelia, there seems to be a car following us. Could it be that Mr. Wright?" Sophia suddenly said.