How did Bianca always end up with men like that? How?
Just then, the auctioneer spoke. “This gentleman bids one hundred million. Any higher offers?”
Everyone looked at Natalie. She had promised to win the car, so she couldn’t back out now-not over this amount.
Natalie clenched her teeth hard. She knew she couldn’t beat someone that rich, but she couldn’t accept the shame either.
“One hundred and ten million!” Natalie shouted, forcing herself to stay strong.
“Two hundred million,” Wyatt said without any stress.
Two hundred million?
The room filled with whispers. People looked around in shock, then turned to Natalie with pity.
Sweat started to form on her forehead. She clenched her jaw and yelled, “Two hundred and ten million!”
“Three hundred million,” Wyatt said, calm as ever.
Three hundred million?
The crowd buzzed with shock. People whispered around the room.
“Who is this guy? I’ve never seen him before.”
“He’s really generous!”
“He raises the bid by a hundred million, and Natalie only adds ten. If she can’t afford it, she shouldn’t pretend. It’s embarrassing.”
Natalie heard the whispers. Her face turned red. Her pride pushed away all reason. She couldn’t lose here-not in front of Bianca.
“Four hundred million!” Natalie shouted, making sure everyone heard her.
Four hundred million?
The crowd gasped. Cars worth that much were rare around the world. It made Natalie seem extremely wealthy.
Noticing the change in people’s eyes, Natalie felt proud. She lifted her head high.
As the whispers grew, a staff member walked up to her.
“I’m sorry, Miss King. You haven’t registered four hundred million in assets with us, so you can’t place that bid.”
The staff member’s words quieted the room. Then came the mocking voices.
“She’s been bragging this whole time, but she doesn’t even have four hundred million. Why act rich?”
“I thought someone like her made way more. Looks like it was all for show.”
“That can’t be right. A top star like her should be making billions. How does she not have it?”
The whispers grew louder. People began to boo. Their eyes were filled with judgment.
Natalie’s face went pale. Her teeth clattered from shame.
Her fame as “Best Actress” came mostly from one movie she did with Vincent. After that, she rose to fame but never worked on her acting.
Good roles stopped coming. She spent too much and saved too little.
A staff member stepped forward and asked gently, “Miss King, would you like to place another bid? But please remember, you only registered three hundred and fifty million in assets. Anything beyond that won’t count.”
Natalie’s hands curled into fists. Her nails dug into her skin. Her eyes burned with anger. Around her, soft whispers of pity only made it worse.
Natalie said nothing. She couldn’t bring herself to speak.
She knew she had lost, but she didn’t want to accept it.
“Miss King, your bid?” the staff member asked again after a long pause.
Her face burned as if she’d been slapped. She tried to stay calm. After a deep breath, she said, “Forget it. I just realized this car isn’t worth my time or money. Let someone else take it.”
The staff member blinked, caught off guard, but stayed polite. He gave a small, understanding smile and said, “Noted. You’re withdrawing.”
The auctioneer quickly took charge. “If that’s settled, are there any bids higher than this gentleman’s three hundred million?”
The crowd stayed quiet. Some shook their heads.
“Going once at three hundred and ten million. Going twice at three hundred and twenty million. Three hundred and thirty million, going three times! Sold!”
As his voice stopped, golden confetti fell from above, covering the red Lamborghini in a festive glow.
A staff member walked up to Wyatt and said with respect, “Sir, the car is yours. Please follow me backstage to finish the registration.”
Wyatt looked at Bianca and said, “This car is for her. She’s the owner.”
The staff member glanced at Bianca, unable to hide a trace of envy.
When the crowd heard this, they froze. All eyes turned to Bianca.
It hit them-this powerful man had spent a fortune just for her. Who was she to deserve that? How could he make such a bold move for one woman?
Natalie was so angry she felt lightheaded. Her chest tightened as she stared at Bianca.
What did Bianca have that made her worth three hundred million? Why her?
After all her years of hard work, Natalie still hadn’t reached four hundred million in wealth. Yet Bianca had just been given a car worth three hundred million-just like that.
Jealousy ate away at her. She was at her limit, but she couldn’t do anything about it.
With no choice, Natalie turned and stormed out of the exhibition.
Meanwhile, someone in the crowd leaned in and whispered, “Isn’t that Dave Evans’s partner? The CEO of the Phoenix Alliance Group?”
“Didn’t he call off his engagement and give up his share in the Evans Group because of her?”
“Why is she with someone else? Did she break up with Dave?”
“Yeah, they just split. Now she’s with some rich mystery man. She moves fast.”
Bianca’s eyes widened when she heard Wyatt say the car was for her. He had spent a huge amount, and now he was giving it to her as a gift.
Now she understood what Dave meant.
Wyatt was only carrying out Dave’s orders.
Wyatt didn’t have the right to make that kind of decision. If Bianca rejected the gift in front of everyone, it would embarrass him.
She let out a quiet sigh and gave a small nod.
She knew it was better to talk to Dave about this later, in private.
Meanwhile, Natalie, who marched out of the exhibition, was clearly furious.
Her assistant quickly followed her and was too scared to say a word, thinking Natalie would vent her anger towards her.
But then, Natalie stopped in her tracks. She turned to her assistant and snapped, “Did you get all the photos?”
The assistant answered carefully, “Don’t worry, Natalie. I took plenty. I even recorded a video.”
Natalie’s mood quickly lightened. “Good. Bianca, just wait. You’ll pay for embarrassing me today.”
****
A staff member guided Bianca and Wyatt backstage.
As they walked, Bianca sent Dave a message.
When are you free? We need to talk.
He didn’t reply.
After a moment, Bianca halted her steps.
Wyatt looked at her, confused. “Is something wrong, Miss Scott?” he asked.