“M. Houghton, you’re too kind. I have always admired your work, and for me, it’s worth any amount of money to buy it!”
“Just a moment ago, I was thinking about buying ‘Phoenix Emerges from Vast Sea,’ wondering if there was a chance to meet you. I didn’t expect you to come over yourself!” Lilia exclaimed excitedly.
“Hmm! Well said!” Augustine nodded expressionlessly and said flatly: “Since you’ve finished speaking, please invite Ms. Sharp up here.”
Huh?
Rose?
This statement almost made everyone in the room fall over. They were all stunned.
“Me?” Rose was taken aback and couldn’t understand why “Timothy Houghton” suddenly called her name.
“… Rose?!” Lilia’s smile froze for a moment as her hands unconsciously trembled before she became endlessly shocked.
“Yes, Timothy Houghton is calling you. Why don’t you go up?” Flynn nodded lightly and said flatly.
Augustine looked at Rose and smiled, “That’s right! Ms. Sharp, can you come up on stage?”
After confirming again, Rose walked onto the stage with thousands of doubts in her mind and stood next to Augustine.
Augustine spoke to the audience below, “I have been watching this art exhibition backstage all along. Thank you very much for your high praise.”
“Especially Ms. Sharp who pointed out my state of mind when painting ‘Dragon Roaring in Brurridge.’ It moved me deeply!”
“Violence, revenge, hatred towards heaven! Straightforward! Yes indeed, that was my state of mind when painting this piece.”
“So ‘Dragon Roaring in Brurridge’ isn’t good. It wasn’t successful. It’s a stain on my career.”
“I am grateful for meeting someone like Ms. Sharp who understands me so well.”
“I’ve decided to give Ms. Sharp the painting ‘Phoenix Emerges from Vast Sea’ as a gift!” Augustine had been observing Flynn closely from backstage throughout this entire exhibition, analyzing his words, expressions, movements and etcetera carefully during that time period.
After one art exhibit ended, Augustine knew what Flynn had been thinking about.
Silence.
Dead silence!
Everyone’s brains exploded with shockwaves after hearing Augustine’s announcement.
“Rose really hit bullseye! She even received thanks from Timothy Houghton himself who gave her his masterpiece ‘Phoenix Emerges from Vast Sea’!”
“Oh my god! That painting is priceless. Ms. Hussain couldn’t even buy it for 6 million dollars but Rose got it without spending any money while also receiving praise from Timothy Houghton himself!”
“No, I can’t believe it. It’s too unbelievable! Does that mean… the whole room was barking up the wrong tree and Rose was right?” The crowd looked at Rose with mixed emotions – envy, jealousy, anger, shock – all converging into a sigh.
“But… I have to buy it for 6 million…” Lilia blushed and looked ashamed. She didn’t understand why things had turned out this way.
River stood up and challenged Augustine, “Mr. Houghton, are you really planning on giving ‘Phoenix Emerges from Vast Sea’ to Rose? Ms. Hussain is willing to pay 6 million for your painting!”
Kimber also looked shocked. She thought Lilia had it in the bag.
But Timothy turned his head and gave the painting to Rose instead. He even treated her as a confidant!
“I’ll offer 10 million!” Lilia clenched her fists tightly and gritted her teeth, “Mr. Houghton! I’ll offer 10 million for your ‘Phoenix Emerges from Vast Sea’!”
Boom!
The room erupted in chaos.
“10 million? My god! Ms. Hussain is willing to pay 10 million just for this painting!”
“Ms. Hussain wants to humiliate Rose by doing this. She’s so proud that she won’t tolerate such an embarrassing situation.”
“10 million? This is already Mr. Houghton’s highest auction price ever! Throughout history, there have only been a few paintings sold for over 10 million dollars! Mr. Houghton probably won’t refuse!”
Everyone marveled at Lilia’s wealth.
She was ruthless when she acted – spending millions without batting an eye!
Flynn sneered with disdain in his eyes; he even felt disgusted.
“You still refuse?”
When Augustine shook his head, Lilia almost screamed, “15 million dollars!”
She wanted what I wanted; no one can take it away from her!
Especially not against her archenemy who took her ten years of hard work to defeat!
15 million?!
Everyone present went crazy; they stared at Lilia incredulously as if their eyeballs were about to pop out of their sockets.
Lilia had taken things too far against Rose!
“Do you think money can make me change my mind?” Augustine said darkly, “I’m not someone who lives solely for money.”
“I don’t need money nor do I like women like you who think they can solve everything with money.”
“And most importantly,” he added sternly, “I don’t want my artwork displayed in your house full of stench.”
“A gentleman is ready to die for his bosom friends. Ms. Sharp is my confidant. Even if I were to paint a special work for her, it would be worth it.”
“Ms. Sharp, from today on, you are my friend!”
“And let me give you some advice, Ms. Hussain. Don’t think that just because you have a few bucks means you can do whatever you want.”
“If you hang around Ostrad more often, there are plenty of people who can take down the Hussain family! You should be a little afraid!” Augustine glared at Lilia with anger and didn’t hesitate to humiliate her.
“Just a small Hussain family? F*ck off!” The King of the Underworld said that if he wanted to destroy them all at once.
“I live in Eahta and am a man under one of the six elders of Imperial Center. Killing the Hussain family is as easy as killing chickens for me! Who’s afraid?”
“If it weren’t for Timothy Houghton’s identity being involved here, I’d slap your arrogant face until it was black and blue!”
Augustine’s humiliation caused Lilia to stumble back into her chair with sweat beads forming on her forehead.
She had grown up with everything she could ever want or need and had never experienced any embarrassment before this moment in front of Rose – especially not by Timothy whom she couldn’t regain face from.
Her pride was shattered but there was nothing she could do about it.
“Am I dreaming right now?” Rose stood beside Augustine holding Timothy’s gift painting while trembling slightly with tears in her eyes.
Countless nights filled with despair where she would fall asleep staring at “Phoenix Emerges from Vast Sea”, dreaming that one day she too could rise like Phoenix into heaven above… And now here she stood owning this very painting herself!
At this moment, Rose wasn’t an imposing CEO or enchanting beauty anymore. Instead, she felt like an ordinary girl who had been blessed by their idol.
“Achieving ‘Phoenix Emerges from Vast Sea’… I finally got what I’ve always dreamed about.” She excitedly shared her joy with Flynn while holding onto the painting tightly.
“This artwork has taken so much effort from Timothy himself; you must treasure it well,” Flynn nodded his head lightly while smiling faintly.
Rose bowed deeply towards him.
“This whole situation…” Everyone shook their heads helplessly feeling mixed emotions inside themselves.
Rose stole the spotlight, leaving Lilia to face a harsh critique from Timothy and lose face in front of everyone.
Of course, the one who felt the worst was River, who had hoped to climb up the social ladder by impressing the Hussain family with a fake painting of “Mountain Villa.” Instead, he was humiliated by the forger and dragged Lilia down with him.
To make matters worse, Rose – whom he despised – became friends with Master Houghton! It was too much for River to handle; he collapsed onto the ground in shock and passed out.